Although during the pandemic we continued to run courses online, we are now slowly emerging from the coronavirus restrictions and have already begun to conduct our activities in person again. So far, there have been two such activities; a session of our change agents course for lawyers, and the opening of our 5th course for leaders in shared cities. Fortunately the hall of the Fred Segal Peace Library is large enough for the participants to sit two meters apart and thereby comply with the requirements for social distances. Nevertheless, we were afraid that the participants might be reluctant to attend – but they all came – the Shared Cities course opened with 19 participants! This week, they will meet again for a three-day workshop.

When I came to greet them I thought of the song composed long ago by the poet Shaul Tchernikovsky:

Laugh, laugh at the dreams
About which I, the dreamer, has spoken.
Laugh, that I believe in man,
That I still believe in you.

One other in-person activity has taken place – this time by our dedicated graduates, who met in Nazareth to formulate ideas and plans for a new School for Peace branch in the north of the country.

Graduates of the SFP / ACAP courses for architects and planners have also been active in creating an online declaration of opposition to the Israeli Government’s proposed annexation plan. Architects, planners and Geographers are invited to sign!

Dr. Nava Sonnenschein,
School for Peace Director