All Nations Café

For the past year we have been nurturing the dream of conducting a camp for kids and parents from different nations in the peaceful and serene atmosphere of the Sinai peninsula in Egypt. The idea was to invite children from countries in the Middle East and elsewhere to a camp where they will get to know each other on the heart level, have meaningful interaction between themselves and with the surrounding environment and create something new together.

We chose a particular beach on the beautiful coast line of Sinai called “Ras a Satan”, or “The Ras” for short. The owners, Sigal, an Israeli woman and Ayash, her Bedouin-Egyptian husband, shared our vision and created both the physical and the emotional space for the kids camp to take place.

We invited several families from Israel, Palestine, Egypt and other countries to participate in the camp. Due to financial and organizational difficulties, only one family came specially for the camp, while the rest of the children were already on vacation or living in Sinai.

The plan was to have a morning and an afternoon group session, and in between everyone was free to enjoy swimming, scuba diving, playing and doing acrobatics on the beach.

The opening session of the camp was held in a large ventilated hut made of palm trees and straw dedicated for the kids. We held a sharing circle and each member received a quality card written in English, Hebrew and Arabic with a specific quality he or she had to exercise during the following day. Then each person chose a partner with a complementing quality to co-operate on acting both qualities out.

On the second day each person told the group what he or she did in the past day to practice their quality. We then had a Mayan astrology reading with Miso from Switzerland and a Mayan yoga class with Zoe fron the UK. In the evening, when the sun started to descend, we went with Kelvin on a trip to the Bedouin village in the desert next to “The Ras”.

We were hosted by Bedouin women who gave us sweet black tea and flat bread they made on an open fire and offered us beads they threaded for sale. Zoe’s two year old son, Phoenix, was fascinated by the free roaming goats, and eight year old Matan collected fallen goat hair for an art work we were planning to do. The adults were asking the women questions about their lives, and twenty two year old Adam and ten year old Yael translated the questions to Arabic and back to Hebrew and English. We also saw a few camels hanging around the village, and Daphna, together with Matan and Yael, made up a catchy camel song, which later became part of our theater show.

We left the village and walked into the dusky colorful desert, where we sat and shared the different experiences of being out in the ochre red desert, compared with the turquoise blue ocean. On our way back we were invited to sit in the yard of another family, this time with the men. They gave us more sweet black tea and told us something about their lives in mixed Hebrew, Arabic and English.

The next morning we used different colors of sand from the desert to make paintings. Bushra, a seven year old Bedouin girl, loved it so much that she made about 10 different paintings, some of them together with Yael. After drying them up we hanged the paintings in passpartouts on the wall of our hut and they looked fantastic.

In the afternoon we played a game of guessing words connected to the Bedouin life through pantomime. We invented a version in which two people come up with a combination of words and have to guess who their partner is without speaking, then the whole group has to guess what their words were. This game was one of everyone’s favorites.

The next day we had a clay workshop. After a short introduction by Kelvin, the kids and parents went on to make remarkable cups and kettles, animals and decorations from yellow and red clay found in the desert nearby. Kelvin himself made dolphin and bird shaped flutes from clay as a souvenir for the camp participants. Twenty one year old Yael had an idea to recycle used plastic bottles found in abundance on the beach and she transformed them into colorful hanging rotating decorations for the camp’s hut.

In the afternoon we had a brain storming session about the closing theater show, and we decided to make three scenes about meetings and interactions in Sinai and to call it: “Encounters of the Sinai Kind”. The first was about a meeting between a stressed Israeli businesswoman (ten year old Yael) and a Bedouin couple (Dhyan and seven year old Kamar), where she loosens up to the tunes of an ethnic melody sang by a Bedouin child (six year old El-Yam) and all of them learn to better understand each other. The second scene was based on the camel song we wrote on our desert hike. It was about a camel race (four and a half year old Avner gave the start signal) where two competing camel owners (El-Yam and Matan) are inspired by the friendship between their camels (Kamar and Yael) to stop arguing and begin communicating and getting to know each other. The last scene was about a fisherman (Yael) who catches a talking fish (Kamar), and is persuaded to empathize with the fish and release him, and eventually decides to join him for a game of underwater “Taki”.

We spent the last camp day rehearsing the scenes and inventing and improving the songs accompanying each scene. In the afternoon the kids put up a musical show in our decorated hut, in front of their parents and many guests who were on vacation there.

The show was a tremendous success, and the audience was thrilled by the way the acting and by the message and the spirit of the performance.

We closed up with a sharing circle, where all the kids and adults who participated in the camp spoke about their feelings and about the things that moved them most during the camp.

The strong positive response we received from everyone who was involved in the camp, and especially from the participants, encouraged us to start thinking about doing a camp next year, with enough funding to bring more children, especially from countries such us Palestine, Jordan, Syria, Lebanon and Iraq.

We send a big heartfelt thanks to all people who made this camp possible:

Hosts:
 Sigal (Israeli), Ayash (Bedouin) and the Bedouin tribe

Organizers:
Dhyan (Israeli) and Daphna (Israeli)

Helpers:
 Kelvin (British), Adam (Palestinian), Yael (Israeli), Zoe (British) and Miso (Swiss)

Participants:
 Yael, Anat and Peter ” The Keinans” (Israelis), Matan (Israeli), Kamar (Israeli),
El -Yam (Bedouin and Israeli), Bushra (Bedouin), Ahmed (Bedouin), Avner (Israeli), Leo (French), Manuel (Spanish) and Liza (German)

by Dhyan Or

A genuine and deep interest of European friends in the situation in the Middle East, particularly in Jerusalem and the activities of the All Nations Café - inspired us to have this year’s caravan in Europe, specifically Germany, Switzerland and the UK, from where we felt the strongest pull.
 We saw it as a rare opportunity to have an intimate meeting of Israelis, Europeans and Palestinians in a unique atmosphere of joy, creativity and open heart.

During the months preceding the caravan we held weekly preparation meetings, in which people from different nationalities and localities with varied skills and talents were drawn to participate. These heart-sharing circles created a sacred space to express our emotions and dreams, and gave birth to songs, melodies and other artistic creations.

Before leaving for Europe we held several events in Israel and Palestine.

First we held a celebration in West Jerusalem, where the performing group included: Ofer, Hilla, Mohammad, Miriam, Vered, Daphna and myself. Vered began by inviting the audience to Stones of Love - a healing ceremony using stones to transform the energy of the place. The first part of the event was a concert of our songs in Hebrew, Arabic and English, followed by Blessings, led by Miriam, where each person in the audience and the group walked up to new people and offered a spontaneous blessing. During the second part the audience joined us in a large circle while we all chanted a Zikr, moved in harmony, meditated, sang, clapped hands and danced together. The energy rose very high, and we continued into the night with a heart dance led by Jeff and a free dance with dj Asaf.

A week later we set up a Bedouin style camp at Nabbi Mussa in the West Bank with the help of our Palestinian friend Abdullah. There, apart from the concert and the Stones of Love, we had a Debka dance performance from Hebron, and the first Jerusalem Labyrinth Walk. Conceived by Shoshana and created with the assistance of Daphna, myself, Mae and friends from Germany - this labyrinth was designed with the intention to touch each walker’s life and to allow them a sacred space in which to offer their dreams, as well as to connect the spirit of people from all around the world and to invite them to focus their prayers on Jerusalem and the Middle East.

A few days before setting off to Europe, we had another Labyrinth Walk, this time in a valley in East Jerusalem in view of the Dome of the Rock. Here, Palestinian children and Israeli adults walked together.

On May 3rd, the Caravan team took off to Germany. We arrived at ZEGG, a young creative socio-ecological community in Belzig, near Berlin, on the 60th anniversary of the self-liberation of this town, and were invited to attend an official ceremony in the forest at a site of a former women’s work camp. From our first day in Germany we were shown a warm welcome, first class treatment and dedicated and loving hospitality that touched us deeply.

On May 4th, Vered held the Stones of Love ceremony, and Miriam had a sharing circle with people from the community. This way both we and our hosts could get a feeling for each other before that evening’s concert. That evening was Holocaust Memorial Day in Israel, and we gave a concert at the San Diego Café in ZEGG, in which we also held a memorial ceremony. Vered openly expressed her difficulty, as a second generation of Holocaust survivors, in coming to Germany, and her words deeply touched everyone. We continued the concert with friends from the community who joined us in drumming, singing, playing the piano and dancing sacred dances. We had two pleasant surprises: Our hostess Barbara sang a song in Hebrew with Daphna, and Hagara, collector of songs and dances of all nations, taught us an Israeli dance.

On a lesser note, we realized that our team member Muhammad, who was supposed to arrive from Palestine and play the oud during the caravan, could not come, due to a death in his family, as we found out later.

On the special date: Thursday, 5.5.5, when Ascension Day and Father’s Day were celebrated in Germany, we drove to Prinzhöfte to a Permaculture community near Bremen, where Reeka, a co-founder of the All Nations Caféי, used to live. We gave a cozy fireside concert to a group of Permaculture designers who live in Germany, Holland and Italy, and as in the first performance, we were deeply moved. We continued to share with the people during the weekend with a Kabbalat Shabbat ceremony on May 6th, Stones of Love, and Labyrinth Walk at a park in the center of Bremen on May 7th.

Early on the morning of Sunday May 8th, we drove back to Berlin to be there in time for the 60th Liberation Day events at Brandenburg Tor, where the Berlin Wall used to stand. We were received by the enthusiastic Bernd, Mohammed Herzog, Achim and Gernod, who then took us under his care and invited us to stay in the comfort of the boarding school where he works.

The encounters we had in Berlin were intense, overwhelming and wonderful. They included a concert at the Intercultural Caféי of the local Muslim community, a session at the Mormon Church, teaching classes at the Königin-Luise school and a concert at the Jerusalem Inter-religious Center, opposite the Jewish Museum. All that added to the experience of this diverse, international, bubbling city, which is still bearing marks of its divided past.
 
One of the highlights of our stay in Berlin was the Jerusalem Center concert on May 10th, at the time of Israel’s Memorial Day. Honoring the casualties of war, we stood in silence - Israelis, Palestinians, Syrians, Germans, Japanese, Moroccans and Nigerians - praying for cessation of war and in that moment bringing peace to our world.

Another highlight was on the following day, May 11th, at the boarding school where we were being hosted. We gave a presentation to 11-13 year old children from countries such us: Germany, Portugal, Ghana, Iraq and Iran. The kids were so open to receive our message and so intelligent that they asked us how we fund our caravan and wanted to support it by purchasing the caravan’s music CDs. Gisela and Manfred, the house’s mother and father, expressed their wish to come with the children to one our forthcoming Middle East Kids Camps on the Sinai coast in Egypt.

At the end of our stay in Berlin, I received the devastating news of my father’s death. After praying about it and talking to my family, I decided to stay with the caravan for another week, and then return home.

On May 12th, when Israel was celebrating its Independence Day, we arrived in Tübingen, south Germany, where three members arrived from Canada to join the caravan: Kemal, Lorne and Lisa, who was responsible for a significant part of the caravan’s funding.
 
We were hosted by the beautiful German-Israeli-International Dana, at the Leibniz House, a big self run student home. We held a touching concert and Kabbalat Shabbat with a group of students from different nations, including Libya, Palestine and Brazil, as well as dear Mr. Benedikt, who came with his wife and friends, one, a sitar player from India. I shared my terrible loss with the audience and Daphna dedicated a song to my father’s soul. We also had a first (but not last) chance to hear Kemal’s lovely voice in a Rap he composed.
 
On the 13th we went to the town’s main park, and spread out the Labyrinth in the midst of the children’s grounds. Their reaction was immediate: many kids, including babies, jumped on the Labyrinth and started running in circles along its path. At some point we held hands with the children and walked to the center, where we sat and some kids sang songs in German. A spontaneous street show was formed and it drew more kids as well as their parents. We sang and collected some coins from the audience, and then sat down on the Labyrinth and shared one-on-one with people who wanted to learn about us and our vision.

On Sunday May 15th, Nakba Day, commemorating the Palestinian 1948 catastrophe, we set off to Lausanne, to meet and perform together with friends from Gaza. That day we held the closing Stones of Love ceremony, during which Vered and Miriam were deeply moved, feeling the Earth responding and thanking them. We drove to Switzerland through the Black Forest and Freiburg, where a lovely and ecologically active family invited us for lunch.

On May 16th, we came together for a sharing circle with new friends from Gaza, Syria and Iraq in the office of our Palestinian host, Awni, who lives in Lausanne. The atmosphere was very open, allowing a wide range of emotions to be expressed: hatred and love, sadness and joy, judgment and compassion, despair and hope. We then ate together a delicious home made Middle Eastern dish prepared by our hosts. The rest of the afternoon we spent getting to know each other more deeply and rehearsing for that evening’s main event - the joint performance, which would include a martial arts spectacle with Muhammad, Palestine’s champion in Kubudo, and his friends from Gaza.

That evening, in front of a Swiss - Middle Eastern - North African audience we had a concert that was, in the words of Israeli George Rosenberg, “Making the impossible possible.” It was a collaborative Israeli - Palestinian - Syrian - Iraqi - Swiss production, that gave room to express and reveal, rather than hide, in a constructive way, the actual thoughts and feelings each of us had.

On the following day, May 16th, we were hosted by Jutta and Sylvia in the serenity of their community’s home in Basel. Jutta and her singing partner Suzanne joined us with their angelic voices for the closing concert, which we gave at the Open Church, a marvelous cathedral at the center of Basel. We collected a generous donation from the audience for which we are grateful. We could not think of a better venue to end with a Hallelujah, praising and thanking God for the wonder, the immense love and the oneness we experienced in this caravan.

Conclusion

The personal and the collective, joy and sadness, life and death, were all ceaselessly at play throughout the caravan, and presented a constant challenge for each of us personally, and for the group as a whole, to integrate these paradoxes, by keeping our hearts open and by allowing the whole spectrum of emotions to be expressed.

Through this integration, the Divine Providence helped us complete the mission we were sent to achieve: to demonstrate the possibility of different people from different, even hostile, nations to live together in cooperation and sharing.

If you would like to take part in the caravan experience, you are welcome to buy a copy of the Caravan Music CD.

   This season the All Nations Cafe is focusing on the young, encouraging kids to tap into their individual talents, to share and to learn from other kids, and together create beautiful realities.

We are currently working on a weekly basis at four locations: “Downtown” in east Jerusalem, A-Toor - a neighborhood on the Mount of Olives, Jabel Mukaber in south east Jerusalem, and Al-Azariya - a Palestinian village in the West Bank.

On occasion, we also work with kids from west Jerusalem, Haifa, Nazareth and from other places around the the world.

Our activities include storytelling, theater, dancing, singing, playing instruments, artwork, crafts, gardening, recycling, emailing and more. This way we allow many paths of expression and can carefully address deeper underlining issues, such as non-violence, morals, responsibility and leadership.

We encourage visitors and volunteers, young and “young at heart”, to visit and
participate in our programs. During the last months we had many different
people taking part in our Al-Azariya program, among them a Jewish settler and a
girl serving in the Israeli army.

We also had a Jewish Israeli girl join the activities of the Arab girls and boys
in A-Toor for the first time. All these encounters were extremely beneficial for
both parties involved, breaking through the superficial generalizing image of
“the other”, and meeting the actual human being behind it, playing together,
embracing and learning from each other.

You can see many photos depicting these activities in our web site
AllNationsCafe.org under Photos.

by Reeka

Welcome to the AllNationsCafé 2006 !  Nice to have you here ! Are you visiting us for the first time ? Come join a tour on our site… see the place, the rooftop café, the permaculture garden, meet interesting people from all over the world, enjoy a cup of original fair-trade coffee on the terrace or take some time to browse through our small info-bookshop supplying you with the latest activities from networks in Israel… or lean back on one of the fluffy sofas and just listen to the Arabic music compiled by a young Palastinian DJ. The AllNationsCafé experience picks you up wherever you need it.

You make your way up the hill. The Mount of the Olives is welcoming you with a walk up the steep road. Takes you past the entrance to the gates of the Garden of Gethsemane and the AllNationsCafé-Guest-House right next to them.
You look up and are surprised. The big ‘AllNationsCafé – welcome friend !’ metal sign above some stairs shows you that you have found the place you want to see. You have read about this place in your Lonely Planet for the first time, have followed the event list on the web-site for weeks and heard about it on the Hebrew radio on your first day in Israel… a place, famous for its unconventional concept, its unique multicultural program and a profile that stands for quality and taste. And now you’re there !

You climb up the stairs, shaped in organic curves and covered with colourful mosaics by local artists.
A small terrace opens before you. It is nice and cool up here, a roof of green leafs covers the wooden plateau and a composition of big terracotta pots with Oleander, bamboo plants and flowers creates an almost forest-like atmosphere. Small groups of tables and chairs, all handcrafted by artist woodworkers, and sofas with red fluffy cushions offer you to take a seat… not many are vacant. You see people of all ages sitting and laughing, playing board-games or exchanging thoughts in a concentrated conversation. Small sculptures and pieces of art-work from all over the world draw your attention – this place has been visited by many international life-artists who have felt the urge to leave a gift !

You make your way through to the open entrance door, towards the music playing inside, an interesting fusion of Arabic Traditionals and electronic subculture beats. The scent of Turkish Coffee and nagila welcomes you as you enter the coffee shop. Only now can you see how small a place the AllNationsCafé is – a tiny house built from local stones, into the slope of the hill. ‘Almost like a cave !’ you think as you proceed to the bar – and immediately like the friendly atmosphere inside.
A modern and yet tastefully chosen interior design pleases your senses on first sight. Main colours are white, red and black, the colours of the AllNationsCafé. Two large windows open to the terrace and in the back part of the room an open door leads to the garden and the ‘rooftop garden café’. Light wooden tables and chairs match the small bar and the buffet displaying dishes and cakes of the day. A modern Syrian painter’s pictures are exhibited on the wall, showing scenes of the everyday life in the capitols of all Middle Eastern Countries. The room is clean and well set up.
Shelves on the walls contain books, handycrafts and frames with pictures and poems. One corner is set up with a wooden notice board displaying the work of activists of all parts of the country: a strong network has grown between organisations and initiatives – the ‘New Jerusalem Vision Initiative’ is now reaching out to both the Knesset and the Ramallah Headquaters, joining negotiations with new and fresh concepts of coexistence and cooperation.

You sit down at one of the tables next to the board.’What is your order, please ? ‘. The friendly face of a young Indian girl appears in front of you: Sheila, 18, born in Puna as a Jew, now in Israel with her family – and the first of her friends to withdraw from the Army Service ! Doing two years of voluntary service in non-profit projects instead: The AllNationsCafé is the first one she chose. ‘The diversity of the program and its openness for any kind of creativity fascinated me from the first moment I heard about it.’ she tells you later. ‘I joint the team… and it really changed my life !’
The international AllNationsCafé-network is a perfect opportunity for anyone to find the right connections for his personal project: Artists, writers, journalists, political activists, religious and secular, all are connected through the AllNationsWeb, a medium that has reached international standards and is informing about AllNationsCaféActivities in Israel, Palastine, Europe, Canada and the US… an exchange program is now being set up for more volunteers who want to share their free energy with the world.

A first glance at the menu makes you ask for a moment to consider. A range of international dishes and local specialities sounds too good to be true – all made from organically grown fresh ingredients and bought through FairTrade organisations.
You order a ‘Kenia Highlands Ice-Coffee’ and some fruit cake and lean back in your comfortable chair, taking a rest from all the new impressions.

After an hour of contemplation and conversation with Sheila, she takes you outside to see the garden and the rooftop.
‘It’s a permaculture garden’, she explains, ’showing the simple principles of self-sustaining systems put into a design for small units of land. Basically suitable for any land-owner of a small  property… could be an existential contribution to the life of many… and would really make a difference in our ecological crisis !’
She shows you around: herbs and flowers for bouquets frame the paths through mixed beds with small bushes and veggies. A ‘Chicken tractor’ draws your attention: a large cage without a floor keeps 5 chicken inside. ‘Only for two hours a day !’ she assures – ‘they loosen the soil for the new beds, so we don’t have to do it.’
The compost is situated in a distance from the building – a new system using Effective Microorganisms and the chicken dirt to turn the kitchen waste into highly nutritious and fertilizing soil within less than 4 weeks– without using any chemicals.
You can hardly see any irrigation pipes, because the ground is already after 1 ½ years covered with shrubs and mulch plants. ‘We only irrigate 3 months a year in the hot season. The rest of the time is maintained with a watering system that uses grey water from the village above and runs it in pipes under the surface. The organic plant sewerage beds on its way clean it so well that we could even drink it.’
A young forest of fruit, nut and olive trees leads you down again.

A small wooden bridge leads to the second terrace on the rooftop of the building. The sun is going down – can you believe it, so late already ! – and the cotton sun shades have been taken down. Sinai atmosphere welcomes you with carpets, pillows, matraces and low tables. Some people sit together and play music, others take a nap or read one of the brochures from the bookshop.
You find a free space on one of the pillows and decide to stay for a bit longer. Instead of meeting your friend downtown later, you call him and order him to come here instead… and get to know a magical place with an incredible potential.

After you indulged a large dinner with your friend and stayed for a presentation on a school program that is organized by local parents, you get on one of the regular AllNationsCafé-Shuttle-taxies… another good idea that secures the financial existence of young local drivers and ensures a constant access to the site – because even in critical times, AllNationsCafé-cabs are allowed through roadblocks.

You reach home and review your day. A very inspiring experience you’ve had. Not the last time – that’s for sure !

The All Nations Café is hosting a 10 day full board winter camp at a peaceful beach in north-east Sinai for children aged 7 to 13 from different countries in the Middle East. The camp’s goal is to launch a Middle East Kids Council which will take responsibility over various issues -  ecological, social and spiritual - concerning the region as a whole, and will work together on a regular basis, across political borders, to create a sustainable, peaceful and co-operative Middle East.

Kids from the following countries have already stated their interest in joining the camp: Israel, Palestine, Jordan, Egypt, Syria, Iraq, Morocco and Libya. Children living in other places in the Middle East as well as elsewhere in the world are most welcome to join.

The camp’s program includes:

> Meeting and getting to know kids from other countries.
> Sharing beautiful things between the different nations: folktales, songs, dances, food and drinks, games, etc. 
> Learning about issues* facing the region today and working in small mixed groups on creative developments to be presented at the conclusion of the camp and published on the internet. 
> Researching, planning and doing hands-on environmental activity at the campsite: Setting recycling points, preserving the coral reef, planting an organic garden, converting the camp to solar energy, sea water desalination, etc.** 
> Snorkeling, swimming, hiking and lots of fun.

* Environmental concerns: Coral reefs preservation, re-desertification, clean water supply, recycling, awaking environmental awareness, sustainable energy, etc. Inter-Cultural issues: Language, myths, drama, music, dance, etc.
Spirituality: Prayers, sacred ceremonies, manifestation, the Elements, Gaia, etc.

** Some of these activities are long term and will be implemented during the following months and years by the locals and by the camp members.

 a Kinder Garden, initiated by the All Nations Cafe team, is the first attempt to create organic gardens in the Mount of Olives in East Jerusalem.

3 classes from the girls’ elementary school, between grades 4 and 6, have started the program in spring 2004, each taking care of a garden plot or a classroom, and making it green, organic and sustainable.

The students are in the process of planning the first community garden in the neighborhood, so kids would have a safe and nourishing environment to play and to work at after school hours.

We have started an afternoon class as well, open for all kids interested, including kids from other neighborhoods, where the program is largely based on their own wishes and needs and where decisions are made unanimously after a round of discussions allowing each child to voice his or her opinions.

During the summer vacation, some of the girls have conferred the ideas they have been taught in the program to their younger brothers, and by the beginning of the new school year they have joined our afternoon activities in the neighborhood.

Seeing how naturally and swiftly these kids pick up new ideas and share them with each other, has made us even ore enthusiastic about making our afternoon meetings into a Kids Council, where they come up with projects and activities and we unanimously decide upon a course of action. The issues we deal with range from neighborhood ecology and culture to ecotourism in the Middle East and preservation of a coral reef in Sinai.

For the past two months we’ve been developing a children’s parliament in Jerusalem where the children take responsibility for the situation in their villages, in their lives, and apply their creativity toward a solution. We’re looking to develop the same model throughout the region at large. During our peace caravan to Jordan, we met children from Egypt, Jordan and Iraq, and they volunteered to be ‘ambassadors’ to this parliament in their countries.

Now we’re envisioning a Middle Eastern conference for these children — coming from countries from all over the Middle East, together, during the Christmas break.

We had a thought about how effective and wonderful it would be to invite the children from Vernon in Britich Columbia, Canada to participate. They have been learning about the tradition of the Caucasus all of their lives — about how to live in love, and how to apply love to life situations. I think it would be a tremendous contribution to a Children’s Middle Eastern Council.

The location for the conference would be in the Sinai Desert, which is in Egypt. It borders Israel and Jordan. It is a lovely resort on the Red Sea, very peaceful (not anywhere near a conflict zone).

The children could also raise some funds, and we can think together of avenues which may want to contribute.

  We have a recommendation to appeal to UNESCO to obtain support for the All Nations Cafe in Jerusalem and elsewhere.  The UNESCO website is:  UNESCO.org.  We are to click on “on-line services”.  UNESCO is a branch of the UNITED NATIONS that deals with economic, social and cultural matters.  I’m wondering whether there may be some grants that we could access for the very worthwhile All Nations Cafe endeavours.

One idea that just came up was to apply to the MAB biosphere program through UNESCO for nature reserves. We could apply for such status to a Sinai beach resort and convert it into an All Nations Cafe. It’s first activity would be a Middle Eastern Children’s Council. It could be a model for countries all over the region.

With peace in our beings,

Lisa

a Kinder Garden, initiated by the All Nations Cafe team, is the first attempt to create school gardens in the Mount of Olives in East Jerusalem.

3 classes, at grades 4th, 5th and 6th, have started the program in spring 2004, each taking care of a garden plot or a classroom, and making it green, organic and sustainable.

The girls are also planning to create the first community garden for the neighborhood, so kids would have a safe and nourishing environment to play and to work at after school hours.

Kids living in East Jerusalem rarely encounter a green plot on their way to school or at school. The most common view is concrete and garbage, and the beautiful view of the Temple Mount down the hill.

Through taking initiative, cleaning, planning, getting tools and planting seeds in the ground these girls are taking responsibility for creating their reality, both outer and inner.

By managing this garden project and achieving the goals they set for themselves these girls have gained a shovel to dig inside and discover their hidden potentials.

For Palestinian girls in East Jerusalem there are very few options of career or a hobby, usually becoming housewives or school teachers. Now they can dream about creating their own future, starting a business or a service to the community and having the confidence to pursue after it…

The All Nations Café, which is on tour this summer around the Middle East and the World is still opening its gates in Gethsemane garden on occasion to receive a beautiful crowd of people from all nations who come to share their song, dance and good spirit.

Last Friday at the cafe in Jerusalem was a lot of fun. Hila made a wonderful yoghurt and cucumber (Tsaziky) salad with olive oil. Lisa prepared a refreshing organic lemonade. Claire, just back from France and soon going to Delhi, came with to share travel stories and helped a lot in the kitchen.

Some of our best musicians showed up. Masoud with his wife Karen and with his Oud accompanied Yael Tai in a magical medieval song. Then he played an Arabic tune for Hila’s oriental (belly) dancing, joined by Daphna and Yael. Miriam played us her new CD, recorded a few days before. In this CD, she is singing peace songs in Hebrew, Arabic & English, and Masoud is playing the oud.

It seems like the cafe became a Jerusalem landmark for tourists. Daphna and Yael passed a couple of Americans with their Israeli guide on a tour of the Old City and told them that the All Nations Café is the place to go. They turned out to be very talented musicians themselves, and doing creative work with youth in L.A. and in Egypt. Batya, a good friend who is moving from west Jerusalem into the walls of the Old City (against the regular flow), has come with another American who are involved in trauma healing in Seattle.

Khaled Ansari, from the family that owns the cafe, entertained two friends, one of them is Ismail from Jabel Mukaber, a frequent guest who came in right after the Friday prayer at alAqsa mosque across the road.

The sun was lowering behind the picturesque churches and mosques of the city, the heat of the day was giving way for a cool breeze of Shabbat setting the atmosphere for the closing of another magical event at the All Nations Café.

The kids cabinet from A-Tur has held its first meeting at the 7 Arches Hotel on the Mount of the Olives - overlooking the Dome of the Rock and the old city of in Jerusalem. The newly formed cabinet - comprised of 7 kids - has unanimously declared peace with all nations and continents of the world.

The local members of cabinet - aged 6 to 12 years - were joined by two colleagues from Nazareth who learned a Circassian dance and helped phrase a letter to Nancy Ajram, a popular Lebanese singer, who has been acknowledged as an inspiration to oriental dancing throughout the country and is honorably invited to perform with the kids dance company.

During the first intermission, the cabinet performed Kafa and Chechen dances from the Caucasus mountains. During the second intermission the kids chose to perform yoga asanas, such as lotus pose, fish pose, head stand and sun salutation.

Among other ideas, such as cleaning the neighborhood, planting flowers and educating other kids to take care of the environment, the cabinet is planning to design and paint unique All Nations Cafe T-shirts to send with love to kids in Europe and America.

The last part of the day was a pulse-to-pulse prayer circle overlooking the city of Jerusalem, where each kid made a wish and all answered: “Ameen”. The kids wished for different things such as peace, disappearance of separating walls, success for the cabinet’s projects, happiness of all humanity, prosperity and marriage for the older girls.

The meeting was adjourned with three All Nations Cafe traditional Wooshes, sending out the good energy to the sky.