By Micah Cowan
Following a heavy weekend in Alon Shvut filled with political discourse from both ends of the Israeli political spectrum, the cohort visited the village Netiv Ha’asara. This small city just a few hundred meters north of the Gaza border, is one of the most beautiful man-made sites in Israel.
After visiting the creator of the project, Tsameret Zamir, we watched a video about the life of people that live in Netiv Ha’asara. They live in a constant state of danger, but still have the will to keep living their lives and refuse to run away. We were then invited to take part in something truly beautiful.
Tsameret has taken the bleak gray walls that separate the Gaza strip and Israel and turned them into a living art project. The walls feature images and language of peace, love, and friendship. This wall would not provide a successful message if both sides could not see it, and Tsameret took this into account. The beautiful, colorful art can be seen from both sides of the wall, from Gaza and from Israel.
What’s truly magical about the Peace Wall is that everyone that visits contributes to its message. When visiting Tsameret and her studio, everyone chooses a small piece of mosaic pottery with different positive words in English, Arabic, and Hebrew, writes a wish or message on the back, and glues it onto the wall. The wall not only gives off a message of peace and love to those that view it, but also to those that get to contribute to it. Contributing our small pieces to this wall, we became a part of something so much bigger than ourselves.
As a cohort, full of individuals, no matter our political views, came together over this message, this mission, of peace. This semester on the Nachshon Project has not only created a cohort full of friendship, but also of a shared desire for peace.
