With the assistance of local Arab and Palestinian Jerusalemites, we organized a series of book club discussions on textual sources pertaining to Israel, Zionism and Judaism.
In so doing, we not only introduced Arabs and Palestinians to ideas, beliefs, and outlooks held by Israelis and Jews, but also encouraged analytical and in-depth discussions on a range of geopolitical and historical topics, from settlements and security to the Holocaust and the Jewish attachment to the Land of Israel.
In encouraging open discussions about core aspects of the Jewish and Israeli narrative, we sought to expand the knowledge and imaginative horizons of the non-Jewish residents of Jerusalem in the hope that such dialogue would reverberate well beyond the physical confines of the book club into wider Arab and Palestinian society.
“In encouraging open discussions about core aspects of the Jewish and Israeli narrative, we sought to expand the knowledge and imaginative horizons of the non-Jewish residents of Jerusalem”
For information about our other activities see here
"The connecting Hamza" association initiates connecting Jews and Arabs, Israelis and Palestinians, through learning each other's language.
The purpose of this learning is to provide a basis for an ongoing process of getting familiar with the meanings and nuances that are embedded in each language in order to pave the road to understanding the cultures and traditions of the participants.
The process of teaching each other creates bonding on a personal level through a combination of fun and challenge.
The process will include, among other things, educational and cultural workshops, such as: sharing authentic Arabic and Israeli music, food, lectures, watching films and discussing them and tours that allow experiencing the togetherness through fun, non-political activities.
Getting to know each other on a personal level allows the participants to overcome the barrier of fear, suspicion and dehumanization of the other.
Hamzah (Arabic: همزة) (ء) is a phonemic glottal stop in Arabic that is produced at the beginning of uttering a sound. More precisely, hamzat QaTaA is a sound that blocks the vocal tract.
However, the name of our non-governmental organization is derived from hamzat wasil (hamzat al-wasil همزة الوصل) which, UNLIKE the hamzat QaTaA, does not block the vocal tract but rather helps connecting and merging the sounds of two words.
This phenomenon symbolizes the purpose of our activities: to connect people from both sides on an individual level through language despite the barriers; Despite the "hamzat QaTaA": the obstacle that blocks the progress, the flow and the connection.
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The Connecting Hamza / המזת החיבור 