Parenting in a Binational Space: A series of dialogue and learning meetings for parents of the Neve Shalom – Wahat Al Salam Bilingual School.

This new meeting series is an initiative of parents at the school who felt that the challenges of parenting in a bi-national space during war warranted a deeper discussion with professional guidance. The series was organized with Tamar Zohar Shemesh, coordinator of the parents’ community at the Neve Shalom – Wahat Al Salam Peace School.

A group of mothers and fathers from the school came for five meetings, once a month on Friday mornings to discuss issues of identity, belonging and partnership as parents in a binational community. 

The meetings were jointly facilitated by Ibrahim Agbariya and Tal Kolka and combined presentations on parenting in general and parenting in a bilingual school in particular.  

• Dr. Natalie Levy presented her research findings on binational schools, comparing frameworks created out of ideology and choice to those developed out of geographic and socioeconomic necessity.
• Clinical psychologist Dr. Oli Schneider offered practical tools for mediating the difficult circumstances of the war for our children, while attempting to address the unique complexities of doing so in the bi-national space in which they study.
• Sabrine Masarwa, an educator and activist, shared her perspective as a Palestinian teacher in the Israeli state education system and in bilingual schools.

Participants were enthusiastic about continuing the dialogue meetings on a regular basis. They noted how important the meetings were for strengthening their sense of belonging and deepening their sense of commitment and partnership that are so crucial to dealing with the unique challenges of parenting in a bi-lingual, bi-national space.

The participants shared their feelings about the series:

“I was happy for the opportunity to hear diverse voices, to communicate, listen and understand. This is an important and necessary initiative, especially in times of crisis.”

“The lectures were fascinating and thought-provoking. In each of them, I felt that the topic was not exhausted and that there was room for further exploration.”

“The meetings provoked thought about the way in which identity issues can be mediated for our children, and reflected the challenges and dilemmas of parents in such settings.”

“It was exciting to see how good intentions of coexistence meet our complex reality, and to continue to try to deal with it out of hope rather than despair.”

Based on the success of the program and on feedback about the importance of the meetings, we are working on a follow-up program for the upcoming school year. 

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