THIS WEEK'S TRIBUNE  THIS WEEK'S TRIBUNE Playground for Peace called a good start for peace in Middle East
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Playground for Peace called a good start for peace in Middle East |
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Written by Rebeca Kuropatwa
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Tuesday, 10 November 2009 |
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Winnipeg – The Manitoba-Israel Shared Values Roundtable (MISVR) and the Jewish National Fund (JNF) have teamed up with the Tel Aviv Foundation to build a Playground for Peace in Jaffa/Tel Aviv.
The roundtable recognizes that Manitobans and Israelis share many important values, like democracy, public health care, public education, freedom of speech, human rights, sports and recreation.
According to Christine Melnick, minister of water stewardship, who heads up the roundtable, all of these values make up “healthy, civil societies.
“The hope of the roundtable is peace in the Middle East and we’re starting on the playground. We share a dream of celebrating our differences, living together in peace – children and everyone.”
The Playground for Peace will be a fully accessible, environmentally friendly and educational natural playground where Muslim, Jewish and Christian children, living in low income neighbourhoods of Jaffa/Tel Aviv, can play side-by-side in a peaceful, community-promoting, environmentally friendly atmosphere.
“It’s all about reconnecting children to the natural world through play,” said Melnick.
Last week the roundtable put on two evening events.
The first featured Tel Aviv singer Hila Eytan and Tel Aviv Mayor Ron Huldai, along with Melnick and Mel Lazareck, president of JNF Prairie Region, with more than 220 attendees by special invitation.
The second event featured a variety of musical performances (including Aboriginal, Chinese, Israeli, Jamaican, Ukrainian, Brazilian and Italian), with about 600 attendees.
Melnick told attendees that early that day, on his first full day as the new premier of Manitoba, Greg Selinger met with Huldai. “I want to assure you that under Selinger’s leadership, our partnership and friendship will only grow.”
According to Lazareck, as early as 1909, a close relationship already existed between the forming of the city of Tel Aviv and the JNF.
“We’ve already raised a lot of the needed funds [for the playground], with the Tel Aviv Foundation matching any donations the JNF raises dollar-for-dollar,” he said.
Rachel Manelson, Tel Aviv foundation director for Europe, the UK and Canada, said, “The foundation was created 35 years ago to raise funds and partner with individuals and communities around the world to better the lives of Tel Aviv residents in education, arts and culture, parks and social services.
“We’ve done more than 400 projects over the years, raising $450 million around the world.”
Projects like the playground are critical to Jaffa/Tel Aviv residents, said Manelson. “We must promote coexistence in Jaffa, where Jews, Arabs, Muslims and Christians live together side by side, as good neighbours, promoting peace.”
Huldai said, “Representing the first Hebrew city of the independent state, Israel makes me proud.
“Tel Aviv’s centennial is a real reason to celebrate and something we couldn’t have achieved without the help of the entire Jewish nation.”
Huldai shared some wise words of advice his father gave him on the day of his bar mitzvah.
“He told me, ‘Always remember to stand up to be seen, speak up to be heard and shut up to be appreciated.’”
A man who Huldai described as Israel’s “ultimate dreamer,” Zionist visionary Theodore Herzl, once said, “All men’s action originated in dreams.” Huldai said, “By Herzl’s vision, the state of the Jewish people is alive and well. And, like Herzl, Tel Aviv founders dared to dream. Today, it’s an international city of culture – free, tolerant and multicultural.”
To donate to the Playground for Peace, contact the JNF. |
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Last Updated ( Wednesday, 18 November 2009 )
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