Page 11 - C.A.L.L. #43 - Winter 2017

of heightened tension that followed Israel’s military conflict with Hamas in Gaza. The cooperative
environment of the Akko Educators’ Kibbutz means that people are always discussing the projects that
they’re working on, sharing ideas, and identifying common challenges. This is how they recognized,
looking ahead at the calendar, that Yom Kippur and Eid-Al-Adha, the holiest days in Judaism and Islam
respectively, would fall on the same day. Advot went into action immediately. They printed fliers in
Hebrew and Arabic and mobilized groups of Jews and Arabs throughout the city to talk with residents
about the importance of tolerance and mutual respect. The Advot Center brought religious leaders from
both communities into every school in the city to discuss the significance of the holy days and the
importance of mutual respect. The plan of action was based on the concept that education is a more
effective strategy to reach people and effect desired peaceful outcomes than enlisting the police to
employ the threat of force to maintain order. When the day came, both groups celebrated their holy
days in peace.

Michal Keidar is a founding
member of the Akko
Educators’ Kibbutz and the
director of the Akko Advot
Center. “We believe that
Akko’s diversity is something
to be celebrated, not
begrudged,” she says. “Right
now, Akko is defined as a
‘mixed city.’ Our strategy is
based on taking the reality of
the mixed city and working
towards a vision of a ‘shared
city.’ If we can show that Jews
and Arabs here can do more
than just tolerate each other,
but, rather, truly live together Michal Keidar (center), leads a group of Jewish and Arab locals on a tour of
in solidarity, then it could the city’s social history.
shine as a beacon to the
entire country.”

It is an ambitious dream. Now, as the Akko
Educators’ Kibbutz embarks on this new
chapter, its members seek a better vantage
from which to help implement change. For
12 years, the Nofesh has been a good home.
In spite of its dilapidated state, the place has
a certain physical charm. Built near the city’s
southern shore, it offers commanding views
of the Mediterranean Sea and across Haifa
Bay to Mount Carmel and, to the northwest,
the ancient stone walls and turquoise
minarets of Old Akko, which is best viewed
as the setting sun paints the Levantine sky
Port of the old city of Akko, with the El Bachar Mosque in the shades of violet, pink, purple, and red. But
background. Photo: Oren Rozen the members of the Educators’ Kibbutz—

which has grown from the original 20 to

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