FINDS AN APPRECIATIVE PLACE WITH NAILSWORTH QUAKERS in the UK
‘Children Write for Peace’ published by Givat Haviva and the street sign in Nailsworth, Gloucester, pointing to the 17th Century Quaker (Friends) Meeting House where members have praised the English, German, Hebrew and Arabic publication.
Nailsworth in England is a very special place. Set in the Cotswolds, the village is picturesque, has a rich history and the locals are among the most friendly I have ever met whilst traveling around the UK.
It was during a stay with friends in this town that I met some of Nailsworth’s Quaker community and had the opportunity to be shown around the stunning 17th century building where the community gathers.
Nailsworth Friends Meeting House, originally a barn, has been a place of worship since 1680. The wooden beams, stone walls, narrow spiral staircase and rather small rooms literally ooze history and an atmosphere of peace and tranquility. The basement is a small kindergarten, the second floor quite a large room where folks meet and upstairs, a small room with comfy armchairs for sitting and quietly contemplating.
On the wall of the upper landing hangs an embroidered appliqué entitled ‘Dove in a Rose Garden’ by Diana M. Khan, a work commissioned by Holocaust survivor Lizel Perks.
Prior to making aliya in the sixties my only experience with the Quaker movement was to go every now and then to a Friends Meeting House when I was living in Birmingham. Once a month they showed documentary films with no charge! One of the most memorable of those films was about Petra in Jordan and probably at the time my imagination would never have stretched to actually seeing myself visiting that wondrous site some decades later.
The Quakers always struck me as being non-political peace loving people who embraced all folks. In recent years I have had dealings with not a small number of British Quakers through my work at the Givat Haviva Jewish-Arab Center for Peace in Israel and have found my earlier Quaker assessment badly bruised.
In latter years the World Union of Churches has been organizing volunteers from all over the world to work with Palestinians in the West Bank. They are known as Ecumenical Accompaniers and the majority of British participants, Quakers. Many are retired teachers, lay clergy and students. When they return to their countries of origin they give talks about their experiences in the West Bank and those that I have either heard or been told about, have been virulently anti-Israel and widely quoted in local medias.
In the days that I dealt with EAPPI groups the topics for a one-day seminar were around the Givat Haviva Jewish-Arab educational projects for shared citizenship in Israel, anti-Semitism (a personal story) and the history of the kibbutz movement coupled with a visit to my own kibbutz, Mishmar HaEmek in the Jezreel Valley, a few kilometers down the road from Megiddo (Armageddon)!
The last few groups have not come to either Givat Haviva or Mishmar HaEmek but I am told they are taken to visit Sderot instead. Given the choice, I prefer they go speak to the people in Sderot.
Now, back to the Quakers of Nailsworth!
Jane Mace, a member of the community, is a former Ecumenical Accompanier and had made a presentation to that and other communities upon her return. Unfortunately when I was in Nailsworth, Ms. Mace was away on holiday out of the area.
Nailsworth Friends Meeting House warden, Su Chard and other Quakers I met during my stay told me of Ms. Mace’s presentation where she – unlike most of her fellow EAPPI volunteers I have knowledge of – gave balanced presentations dealing with both sides of the conflict.
Indeed, heartening to hear.
Returning to Israel and wanting to show appreciation of the warm welcome extended to me by the Nailsworth Quakers, a copy of the Givat Haviva publication ‘Children Write for Peace’ was sent to the community – together with information regarding the educational projects encouraging Jewish-Arab encounters in Israel.
A short time later Jane Mace, the lady I did not get to meet, emailed the following:
“I would like to express warmest thanks for the generous gift you have sent us of the book ‘Children Write for Peace.’ It is a really lovely collection to look through, and a wonderful project to imagine that must have taken place to create it. I propose this very Sunday to share one or two of the pieces with our children’s meeting. First as always there will be a need for the children here to appreciate what it might be like to grow up either as Palestinian or Israeli.
I am sorry to have missed your visit to our Quaker Meeting House here in Nailsworth. I would very much have liked to meet you and share experiences.
As I think Su told you, I was fortunate to spend some time in the West Bank last year. Our task was to monitor human rights, promote a just peace, and in doing so, meet and support peace efforts by both Israelis or by Palestinians. Each week I wrote a blog. Under the title ‘Children get together’ you can read how, near the end of my time there, I spent a day at the Barkai Center for Soccer and Coexistence in Menashe (Wadi Ara). The main focus was for me to discover this project. I have a misty memory of Said Arda, my host for the day, taking me to meet two Israelis at the kibbutz for perhaps a half hour conversation in their home when I feel sure they spoke of the work of Givat Haviva.”
In friendship, Jane Mace.”
September, 2010
Photos & text: Lydia Aisenberg
