Over the past week, I gained more insight into
the different components that define a mixed city with Jews and Arabs in
Israel. Living in Lod has started to get me thinking of what it truly means to live in a mixed city. There is definitely a lot of material to absorb here, with Jews and
Arabs working together on community projects and even being neighbors in some
cases. However, going to the breathtaking city of Haifa last week made me think
about an entirely different meaning for living in a mixed city. After visiting
Haifa, which appeared to include many more efforts for interfaith cooperation
than Lod, I began to think about what the ideal situation is for a mixed city
in Israel, and how this compares to my experience with and understanding of
interfaith relations.
From my observations, Lod falls rather low on
the mixed city scale, and cannot be truly considered an interfaith city. True,
there are many Jews and Arabs who live and work together in Lod and those
residents get along very well. My host family, for instance, has Arab
neighbors and is very friendly to them when they see them around. However, it
is not the same feeling of community that I experienced through my interfaith
work in college. On the American University campus, I felt that I was in a
completely welcoming environment whenever I stepped foot into a religious
service or meeting, regardless of the group that was conducting it. Even though
I'm Jewish, I had no problem attending events that predominantly contained
people from other faiths, and I found it so easy and fulfilling to engage
someone from a different faith in an educational conversation about their
customs. On the contrary, in Lod I feel that most areas are classified as
either Jewish or Arab, and one cannot feel comfortable enough to spend
significant time in neighborhoods concentrated by the opposite group.
After my visit to Haifa, I decided this city
much greatly fit my criteria of being both a mixed and interfaith city. One reason
for this was the activities that are organized to encourage friendly Jewish-Arab
relations, which are predominantly coordinated by the organization Beit Hagefen. Beit
Hagefen is a nonprofit that strives to create a safe space for all Haifa
residents to gain equal ground and express their cultures in an effort to
promote intercultural understanding. My group met with two representatives from
this organization who told us a bit about its background and the events it does
to involve all of Haifa's cultural and religious groups. One event that
impressed me in particular was the Holiday of Holidays Festival, which takes
place in the steets of Haifa around the November/December holidays (Christmas,
Hanukkah, and Eid-al-Fitr) and showcases different cultural and religious
symbols and performances. To my surprise, Beit Hagefen and other interfaith
centers in Israel do not conduct much discussion between the religious groups,
and instead focus on collaborative events between them. This was not what I
expected out of an organization that promotes interfaith unity, since most of
the interfaith work I'm experienced with greatly utilizes discussion about
religious topics that can bring different religious groups together. I was definitely
shocked, but I was glad to see the success of this method in bringing together
Haifa's multicultural residents.
Another aspect of Haifa's interfaith identity
that greatly impressed me was its emphasis on the Baha'i religion. When I went
to Haifa, I had the opportunity to tour the beautiful Baha'i Gardens and learn about the
fascinating Baha'i faith. This site is one of the holiest Baha'i sites in the
world because it is the burial site of the Bab, the predecessor to the main
Baha'i prophet Baha'ullah. I had toured the Baha'i Gardens once before, but
this time around I was able to get much more out of learning abut the religion's
unique practices. One aspect that really interested me was the openness to other religions, to the extent that
Baha'is are encouraged to look into other faiths and do not need to commit to a
religion until their early teenage years. I also found it interesting that Bahai's
traditionally worship at home, and "houses of worship" are generally
used for community gatherings and not for prayer services. In this sense, the
religion has a large individual component, and followers are allowed to form
their own unique relationship with God. Another interesting fact is though Akko
and Haifa are the two holiest cities for the Baha'is, no Baha'is actually live
in Israel permanently, because they do not wish to add to the religious
conflicts present in this land. This is such a fascinating religion to me, and
I hope I will get to learn more about it.
Both of these experiences made me think about
how Haifa residents noticeably integrate different religious and cultural
traditions into their society. The Baha'i Gardens are located on the slope of
Mount Carmel, and are very easily noticed when passing through the city.
Similarly, many Arab neighborhoods of Haifa are located in the center of the
city, and it is easy to see Arabs and Jews walking on the same streets and even
interacting. Lod closely resembles my idea of an interfaith city, but it does
not meet the criteria in the same way as Haifa. While Lod allows separation
between Jewish and Arab neighborhoods, Haifa discourages it. While Lod is prone
to occasional riots and narratives of misunderstanding, Haifa contains pockets
of cooperation and tolerance. Both are wonderful cities with great examples of
coexistence, but from my experience with interfaith work I believe Haifa is on
the better path toward Jewish-Arab coexistence and lasting friendship.
This week is my first week of working at the Elrazi school, and I'll surely have many interesting stories to post soon. Until then, l'hitraot!
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