Interns for Peace
Encyclopedia
Interns for Peace is an organization founded by Israeli Arab Farhat Agbaria and American Rabbi Bruce M. Cohen
in 1976 with the mission of fostering the creation of personal relationships between Israel's Arabs and Jews, with the goal of creating greater understanding and promoting peace.
After five Arab citizens of Israel were killed in Nazareth
by Israeli security forces during the Land Day
protest on March 30, 1976, Cohen's congregants from Congregation Mishkan Israel
, Hamden, Connecticut
provided funding for a mission to Israel for Cohen to promote peace. While on his trip to Israel, he met Agbaria, an Israeli Arab who shared Cohen's vision of peace-building, and the two co-founded Interns for Peace. Initially the group trained American college students, but shifted over the years to training Arabs and Jews from Israel. Interns for Peace aims to foster peace through building personal connections between Arabs and Jews, with Cohen noting that "every time you create contact it's successful because it breaks stereotypes". Cohen sought to overcome longstanding attitudes in which Israeli Arabs are viewed as a fifth column
, while Jews are labeled as oppressors. By May 1980, the organization had trained 10 interns who spent six months at a kibbutz
learning Arabic and Hebrew and were placed in the Israeli Arab communities of Kafr Qara and Tamra
. The local Arab-led governments covered the cost of housing the interns while salaries were paid by Interns for Peace. Cohen emphasized that the organization is not a Peace Corps
, in which Jews would be the ones helping poor Arabs. Rather, Jews and Arabs would work together and learn skills from each other by working together. By 1999, Interns for Peace worked to create a chapter of the organization in the West bank
.
By 2010, the organization had trained 300 volunteers who have worked together on projects ranging from arts festivals to tree planting projects. By 1994, the organization had brought together 80,000 Israeli Arabs and Jews in community projects, helping build understanding through common action. Palestinians trained through the program and placed in the West Bank
and Gaza
could help Arabs identify and address their own community needs. An Interns for Peace program in 2004 had participants work together on road safety projects, addressing the lack of infrastructure in Arab and Jewish communities outside the big cities.
Cohen's widow, Karen Wald Cohen, is now international director of the organization, and Mr. Agbaria is chief of the Israeli division.
Bruce M. Cohen
Bruce Mark Cohen was an American Rabbi who co-founded the Interns for Peace, an organization founded in Israel in 1976 that is dedicated to fostering understanding between Arabs and Israelis through the training of community development and peace workers.Cohen was born on May 8, 1945 in Buffalo,...
in 1976 with the mission of fostering the creation of personal relationships between Israel's Arabs and Jews, with the goal of creating greater understanding and promoting peace.
After five Arab citizens of Israel were killed in Nazareth
Nazareth
Nazareth is the largest city in the North District of Israel. Known as "the Arab capital of Israel," the population is made up predominantly of Palestinian Arab citizens of Israel...
by Israeli security forces during the Land Day
Land Day
Land Day , March 30, is an annual day of commemoration for Palestinians of the events of that date in 1976. In response to the Israeli government's announcement of a plan to expropriate thousands of dunams of land for "security and settlement purposes", a general strike and marches were organized...
protest on March 30, 1976, Cohen's congregants from Congregation Mishkan Israel
Congregation Mishkan Israel
Congregation Mishkan Israel, in Hamden, Connecticut, founded in 1840 and incorporated in 1843, the year the Connecticut legislature first permitted non-Christian organizations to incorporate in the state, is one of the two the oldest Jewish congregations in Connecticut. .The congregation was...
, Hamden, Connecticut
Hamden, Connecticut
Hamden is a town in New Haven County, Connecticut, United States. The town's nickname is "The Land of the Sleeping Giant." Hamden is home to Quinnipiac University. The population was 58,180 according to the Census Bureau's 2005 estimates...
provided funding for a mission to Israel for Cohen to promote peace. While on his trip to Israel, he met Agbaria, an Israeli Arab who shared Cohen's vision of peace-building, and the two co-founded Interns for Peace. Initially the group trained American college students, but shifted over the years to training Arabs and Jews from Israel. Interns for Peace aims to foster peace through building personal connections between Arabs and Jews, with Cohen noting that "every time you create contact it's successful because it breaks stereotypes". Cohen sought to overcome longstanding attitudes in which Israeli Arabs are viewed as a fifth column
Fifth column
A fifth column is a group of people who clandestinely undermine a larger group such as a nation from within.-Origin:The term originated with a 1936 radio address by Emilio Mola, a Nationalist General during the 1936–39 Spanish Civil War...
, while Jews are labeled as oppressors. By May 1980, the organization had trained 10 interns who spent six months at a kibbutz
Kibbutz
A kibbutz is a collective community in Israel that was traditionally based on agriculture. Today, farming has been partly supplanted by other economic branches, including industrial plants and high-tech enterprises. Kibbutzim began as utopian communities, a combination of socialism and Zionism...
learning Arabic and Hebrew and were placed in the Israeli Arab communities of Kafr Qara and Tamra
Tamra
Tamra is an Israeli Arab city in the North District of Israel located in the Lower Galilee north of the city of Shefa-'Amr and approximately east of Akko . The name Tamra means date palm in Arabic...
. The local Arab-led governments covered the cost of housing the interns while salaries were paid by Interns for Peace. Cohen emphasized that the organization is not a Peace Corps
Peace Corps
The Peace Corps is an American volunteer program run by the United States Government, as well as a government agency of the same name. The mission of the Peace Corps includes three goals: providing technical assistance, helping people outside the United States to understand US culture, and helping...
, in which Jews would be the ones helping poor Arabs. Rather, Jews and Arabs would work together and learn skills from each other by working together. By 1999, Interns for Peace worked to create a chapter of the organization in the West bank
West Bank
The West Bank ) of the Jordan River is the landlocked geographical eastern part of the Palestinian territories located in Western Asia. To the west, north, and south, the West Bank shares borders with the state of Israel. To the east, across the Jordan River, lies the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan...
.
By 2010, the organization had trained 300 volunteers who have worked together on projects ranging from arts festivals to tree planting projects. By 1994, the organization had brought together 80,000 Israeli Arabs and Jews in community projects, helping build understanding through common action. Palestinians trained through the program and placed in the West Bank
West Bank
The West Bank ) of the Jordan River is the landlocked geographical eastern part of the Palestinian territories located in Western Asia. To the west, north, and south, the West Bank shares borders with the state of Israel. To the east, across the Jordan River, lies the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan...
and Gaza
Gaza
Gaza , also referred to as Gaza City, is a Palestinian city in the Gaza Strip, with a population of about 450,000, making it the largest city in the Palestinian territories.Inhabited since at least the 15th century BC,...
could help Arabs identify and address their own community needs. An Interns for Peace program in 2004 had participants work together on road safety projects, addressing the lack of infrastructure in Arab and Jewish communities outside the big cities.
Cohen's widow, Karen Wald Cohen, is now international director of the organization, and Mr. Agbaria is chief of the Israeli division.