| Title: Language for Coexistence: A Summer
Project for Peace Presenter: Dafna Ashkenazi ’08, Psychology Advisors: Jonathan Cheek, Psychology Abstract: What would you do if you were granted $10,000 to carry out your own Project for Peace? In my home country of Israel, I organized weekend-long Arabic workshops in the Arab village of Arara. Despite its offi cial status as a Jewish state, almost 20 percent of Israeli citizens are Muslim and Christian Arabs. While Israel’s offi cial languages are Hebrew and Arabic, few Israeli Jews speak Arabic, whereas most Israeli Arabs speak Hebrew. My presentation reviews how this project aimed to promote knowledge of Arabic among Hebrew-speaking Israelis, and, in the process, to create a meaningful cultural exchange between the Jewish and Arab residents of Israel. Questions that I will address include: How does one convince Israeli Jews to spend a weekend in an Arab village? How did Arab residents respond to the unprecedented number of Israeli Jews strolling around their village? To what extent did members of these communities transcend cultural stereotypes? |
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"Preparing for my Tanner presentation allowed me to think critically about my summer project in Israel, and explore the impact it had on me. Sharing my experiences with everyone at Wellesley was rewarding thanks to people's interest and positive feedback."
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