By Mohamad Mawassi, YES 2014-2015, Israel (Arab Communities)

Throughout July and August 2015, a group of Jewish Americans came to my hometown of Baga once a week to explore both the town and different points of view! The tour was organized by Kiyadat, the center for youth leadership development, which is a community organization that teaches youth leadership skills in order to help them become a new generation of leaders.

Kiyadat organized the tour in order to bring Arabs in Israel together with Jewish Americans to help them understand each other. Each tour took the Jewish Americans and a group of local Arab youth to visit Baqa’s special landmarks, including the separation wall between West and East Baqa (Palestine and Israel). After the tour, the youth from each culture sat together to talk about daily life. 

Since I had recently returned from America, the Kiyadat director invited me to attend the tours and meetings and help facilitate. Before the Americans arrived, I met with the local youth council to brief them on what life as a teenager in America was like. The meetings were a great success, and were beneficial for both youth groups. The Americans learned that there is an Arab minority in Israel, and had an opportunity to get to know what we are really like. On the other hand, the meetings helped the Arabs get to know the mindset of American teenagers and to practice their English.

It was a great honor for me to be there to help, and it is always wonderful to meet new people and build more worldwide bridges between the new generation of teenagers.

Mohamad was hosted by AYUSA in Owensville, MO