Israeli-Palestinian Dialogue at Youth Summer Camp

Five days of fun, but also some tough moments, for this group of Palestinian and Israeli students.

They're taking part in a summer camp in northern Israel put on by a grassroots organization of bereaved Palestinians and Israelis, who've lost loved ones in the Israel-Palestine conflict.

At the end of the 5-day camp they assemble with their parents at the Arabic city of Um-el-Fahem in Israel, and sum up their experiences.

For some of the teenagers, this was the first time they'd ever met their Israeli or Palestinian counterparts.

[Madj, Palestinian Student from the City of Hebron]:
"I have come to take part in this camp in order to learn about the opinions of the other side." "Jews are not just Jews who kill."

[Romi Genosar, Israeli Student]:
"I think a lot about Israelis having stereotype of what Palestinians are like. But they're really fun to be around and really funny and nice, and they have a very strong opinion of the situation."

The Israeli and Palestinian children have lost family members to the conflict between the two nations. Madj lost two uncles and one cousin, and Romi lost an uncle.

During the summer camp Madj and Romi worked together and produced a joint project reflecting war and loss.

[Romi Genosar, Israeli Student]:
"Yea, we took from Arabic and Israeli newspapers, and we took pictures of war and conflicts and we painted on them. And we also wrote a letter to uncles on it."

One of the fruits of the youths' collaboration was forming a joint hip-hop group, in both Arabic and Hebrew.

The children promise to keep in touch through email and social networks. And a suggestion to hold the next summer camp in the Palestinian Authority was met with loud applause.

NTD News, Israel

Reporter: Aviva Grunpeter Photographer: Anat Markram