By
– September 1, 2011
Sharing Our Homeland tells the story of Palestinian and Jewish children at a summer peace camp, and how the camp is working to give children from two different cultures and religions a glimpse at their similarities. The goal of the camp is to create a foundation for peace in a time when conflict remains rife. In creating the book, author Trish Marx hopes to give readers insight into the conflict between Israelis and Palestinians and to convey a message of understanding and hope. When she first heard about Givat Haviva’s Menashe Summer Peace Camp, Marx was eager to spend time there. A frequent visitor to Israel, she had actively sought examples of Palestinians and Jews trying to live together peacefully, with respect for one another. At the camp she aspired to document what she saw in photographs and personal interviews. “Cindy and I knew we were documenting just one story about a very complex part of the world where there are many compelling stories,” she writes in her author’s note. “What took place at Peace Camp was important, however, because it offered a message of peace and hope not often heard from this region.” Her book briefly describes two families: that of a Palestinian child named Alya, who lives with her family in the Arab village of Meiser in northcentral Israel, and that of Yuval, an Israeli Jewish boy who lives in a moshav called Maor, a short distance away. In a two-page history, Marx outlines the circumstances that bring these children so close to each other physically, but prevent them from meeting. It’s a cursory history lesson to say the least, and not necessarily one that juvenile readers could absorb. But it’s presented neutrally, without the author showing a bias for one side of the conflict over another.
As they prepare for summer peace camp, both children are apprehensive as they wonder what kids from the ‘other side’ will be like. Is friendship possible, they wonder? We hear about the activities and see the children having fun swimming and playing games together. One day emergency response teams come to the camp to explain to the children what they have to do each day to keep all the citizens of Israel safe. Both Yuval and Alya have experienced violence and fear in their lives. The camp takes the children to see a kibbutz, and give them a chance to bake challah. They also visit an Arab village where they make another bread called taboon. Marx and Karp follow the children home on the weekend and document their prayer rituals and Sabbath ceremony.
Sharing Our Homeland points to the commonalities shared by Palestinian and Jewish children, and highlights the extent to which the Menashe Summer Peace Camp creates a place of understanding and friendship between two cultures and religions otherwise bisected by its antithesis. Marx is cautious not to take sides or make her discussion overtly political, and she does an excellent job in the book, making it a good educational resource for a school library. For ages 9 – 12.
As they prepare for summer peace camp, both children are apprehensive as they wonder what kids from the ‘other side’ will be like. Is friendship possible, they wonder? We hear about the activities and see the children having fun swimming and playing games together. One day emergency response teams come to the camp to explain to the children what they have to do each day to keep all the citizens of Israel safe. Both Yuval and Alya have experienced violence and fear in their lives. The camp takes the children to see a kibbutz, and give them a chance to bake challah. They also visit an Arab village where they make another bread called taboon. Marx and Karp follow the children home on the weekend and document their prayer rituals and Sabbath ceremony.
Sharing Our Homeland points to the commonalities shared by Palestinian and Jewish children, and highlights the extent to which the Menashe Summer Peace Camp creates a place of understanding and friendship between two cultures and religions otherwise bisected by its antithesis. Marx is cautious not to take sides or make her discussion overtly political, and she does an excellent job in the book, making it a good educational resource for a school library. For ages 9 – 12.
Lauren Kramer is a Vancouver-based journalist, wife, and mother with a lifelong passion for literature. Born in Cape Town, South Africa, she has won awards for her writing and reported from many corners of the world. Read more of her work at www.laurenkramer.net.