As a model for religious and cultural coexistence among its inhabitants – from Jews and Druze to Muslims and Christians – the city of Haifa was the perfect starting point for our inaugural series of workshops with Palestinian women.
Led by local residents, our tour of Haifa took our Palestinian participants to various sites and communities with which they were previously unfamiliar and, under ordinary circumstances, would not easily be able to visit.
Through its ambitious itinerary, the purpose of this workshop and guided tour was, first and foremost, to help break down the barriers, both physical and emotional, between these Palestinian women and Israel. Over the course of the day, they visited the beach, the archaeological site of Tel Shikmona which includes findings from the Canaanite period until early Islam, the Baha’i Gardens, the mixed Arab-Jewish neighborhood Wadi Nisnas, and the Ahmadiyya community. Here, the participants visited the community’s mosque as well as the Kabbabir neighborhood in which they met ate dinner and dessert with community leaders, rounding off the day with discussions on coexistence. Having had a taste of Israel’s diversity in one action-packed day, the participants went home, but with much to think about.
“Our tour of Haifa took our Palestinian participants to various sites and communities with which they were previously unfamiliar and, under ordinary circumstances, would not easily be able to visit.”
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 