On Thursday July 28, the SFP conducted a teacher in-service training session for literature teachers on the subject of teaching Palestinian poetry in the Jewish classroom. Forty two teachers took part from high schools around the country. The training session took place in the framework of a three day seminar dealing with the struggle against racism. The training was organized by Dr. Shlomo Herzig who oversees the subject.

Hadil Kayal, a graduate of the “Two Peoples Write from Right to Left” program, together with SFP programs director Roi Silberberg, conducted the unit, and focused on teaching the poem “Common Enemy” by Mahmoud Darwish.

The teachers expressed surprise at the choice of this poem, especially at a time when there was debate in the media critical of the Palestinian national poet.

After an introduction to the life of Mahmoud Darwish and explanation of the various periods of his writing style, the group was divided into two sub-groups to discuss feelings evoked by the reading of the poem.

Finally, in a plenary session, they discussed several key issues: symmetry and non-symmetry between the parties in conflict, consequences of reading a poem in translation, social images of the other in the conflict.

At the end of the training, several teachers expressed interest in participation in the course “Two Peoples Write from Right to Left” of the SFP.