Children‘s voices, mixed with laughter, filled the hall of the Arts Center of Givat Haviva. The cheerful sounds coming from the classrooms were sprinkled with conversation, and if one listened carefully, they would have heard snatches of Arabic and Hebrew.

The voices were those of a group of sixty Arab and Jewish children who were brought together by Givat Haviva’s Yachad for the Environment program.

Yachad, which means “together” in Hebrew, is an acronym for creativity, experience and dialogue. The program brings together Arab and Jewish school children in grades five and six for a morning of fun and making new friends while learning ways to protect the environment by creating art using recyclable items.

The combination of art, coexistence and tolerance is consistent with Givat Haviva’s vision of a shared society, where Arab and Jewish citizens work together for the benefit of the society as a whole.

Yoram Afek and Suheir Fnadka, Jewish and Arab facilitators, encouraged their groups to introduce themselves through simple games, following which they were divided into smaller groups of equal number of Arabs and Jews.

The children found ways to communicate in spite of their lack of knowledge of the other’s language. Given the theme “home”, as they worked together, their hands sticky with glue, they decided how to build and what colors to use on their papier mache “homes”.

Ten year old Ran Datel’s group’s house included a car from a mustard container and soda bottle tops for wheels. This Pardes Hanna resident was happy to be able to do his bit to protect the environment by using recyclable items, and to make new Arab friends.

For Usra Korabi from Kfar Kara, this was the first time she had met Jewish children. Afek said, “It is amazing that these children live only a few kilometers apart yet they are so far away from each other.”

He talked about Sheked who was afraid to hold an Arab girl’s hand. Although Sheked explained his hesitation differently, Afek talked to him about hurting other people’s feelings, tolerance and respect.

Etti Amram, Director of the Arts Center, says, “The program has been very successful. The children meet face to face, and do something positive together for the environment.” She would like to see it eventually develop into a program which is used by the schools themselves.