All of us are very excited to meet all of you and to get to know you all
and for you to get to know us. We assume that we all have one common
goal: to further peace in our area and in the world entire. So, let's get
together and see how we help change the world….
The coordinator of the Jewish Israeli delegation Liz Vanun
My name is Liz Vanun and I am an English teacher at Carmel Zvulun Regional High School, which is situated near Haifa, in Kibbutz Yagur. I was born in Amsterdam, Holland and moved to Israel when I was twenty years old. Though I have lived in Israel ever since, I have had the opportunity to spend time in many other countries; I love to travel, meet new people and their culture. Israel, being a melting pot of so many different cultures, is therefore the perfect place for me.
I am both honored and excited about having been given the opportunity
to be part of a delegation that represents our country in such a
wonderful and important program. I strongly believe that meeting each
other, exchanging different, and often opposite views, are essential in
the attempt to get a better understanding of each other. It is not enough
to talk about peace; actual steps must be taken to attain what we all
want. The 4Peace camp is a great opportunity to lay the foundation for
better understanding, better communication and empathy for the pain
and loss of the other side.
I am looking forward to meeting everyone and hope that, alongside the
differences, we will be able to look beyond them and discover that we
have far more in common than we initially thought.
1. Ofir Ya'acobi
My name is Ofir Ya’acobi and I am 15 years old. Iam a student at Carmel
Zvulun Regional High School and I am in the 8th grade. I have lived in
Nofit since I was 4 years old. Nofit is a small, rural place, not far from
Haifa. I like to read boos and listen to music. I also enjoy watching TV.
However, the thing I like to do best is gymnastics. I train 3 times a week
with a professional group of gymnasts, representing our regional council.
I also dance once a week.
I am glad to present my country and be a part of the 4Peace project. In
my opinion, I am a peaceful and friendly person and I will be able to
connect to the people and contribute to the project.
This project is important to me because of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict,
which is the biggest issue that we deal with in the Middle East today.
Therefore, it is important that teenagers on both sides talk about it to
promote peace on our region.
2. Dror Richter-Baruch
Hello, my name is Dror Richter-Baruch and I live in Nofit with my
family. I am 15 years old and I was born in 1998. I am an 8th grade
student at Carmel Zvulun Regional High School. I love music and have
played musical instruments since I was in the second grade. I played all
kinds of flutes and later on started playing the guitar and the harmonica.
Now I am playing the cello. Another thing I like very much is
orienteering and I participate in an orienteering competition every
week.
I am glad I was chosen to represent my school and country in front of
teenagers from other countries. This delegation is important to me
because I believe that world peace is impossible to reach in this decade,
but can be reached in the future. In my opinion the future of our world is
in the hands of the teenagers of today: our hands.
The camp and its goal – peace – can help us to develop the means to
make the world a better place and that is something I really want to be
part of.
3. Ido Ninburg
My name is Ido Ninburg and I am 15 years old. I live in Nofit, a small
place near Haifa. I like to listen to music, play the piano and the
harmonica. I love art and spend a lot of time painting, drawing and
creating art on the computer.
I am so glad that I was chosen to be part of the delegation because I like
to influence other people and be influenced by them. I would really like
the world to be a more peaceful place and want to do my share to
accomplish this.
I expect to hear opinions that are different from mine, knowing they will
have an influence on me and on my environment. I would like my
opinions to influence others, as well. When that happens we will be able
to understand each other better and can work together to get closer to
peace.
4. Itay Lotan
My name is Itay Lotan and I live in a Nofit, a small village east of Haifa in
Israel. I am 14 and half years old and my hobbies are playing the guitar
and playing tennis. I have one sister and one brother, who are both
younger than me.
I want to participate in the 4Peace Camp because I want people to hear,
basically, to listen to the things I have to say on the subject. I think that
there are many people who don't know all the sides to the story and
don't think about it, either.
I think it will be a great experience for me to tell our side of the story
and to hear the other side of the story, as well. I think I have something
to contribute to the Camp and hope I will get a lot out of it, as well.
5. Itay Mick
My name is Itay Mick and I live in Nofit, which is a small rural place,
about 20 minutes each of Haifa. I like to play the saxophone and the
flute. I also love sports, especially tennis and riding my bike. I play soccer
with my friends and used to play basketball in the past. I love to be
outside and go on hiking trips.
It's important to me to participate in the 4Peace Camp because I love my
country. I want to serve in the army and I know why I want to do so. My
parents have always told me that it is important to fight for my country.
I want to hear what other people think about Israel and will try to
understand why they have these opinions. It gives me the opportunity to
voice my opinions and give my point of view, and, at the same time,
listen to the opinions of others and try to understand the point of view
of others.
6. Tomer Aviv
My name is Tomer and I am 14 years old. I live in kibbutz Sha'ar
Ha'Amakim, which is near Tivon and about 20 minutes east from Haifa. I
like to read a lot, sing and play the guitar. I also love to draw. When I
have time to watch TV I prefer shows like Friends and the Big Bang
because they are funny and make me laugh.
I am glad that I was chosen to join this delegation because it is a once in
a life-time opportunity. It's important for me to show the world that
there is more to my country than what people see and hear on the
news.
I am looking forward to meeting new people, make new friends and
listen to opinions that are different from mine. I have my own opinions
but am willing and interested in listening to others because, if we don't
learn to listen to each other we will never get close to peace.
7. Adi Marciano
My name is Adi Marciano and I live in Kibbutz Ramat Yohanan, which is 20 minutes east of Haifa. I am 15 years old and have a brother and a sister. My hobby is dancing; I dance 3 times a week. I have danced since I was a little girl and my favorite styles are Hip-Hop, Classical and Modern Dance. Dance is like medicine for the soul for me. Whenever I am happy, sad or upset dancing cheers me up and it enables to express myself. In my free time, or what is left of it after school, dancing and family, I go out with my friends. I love my friends, they make me happy.
It's important to me to be on this delegation for peace because I think that the troubled relations between our two nations and other nations in the world hurt us and humanity as a whole. For example, because of a lack of cooperation the technological progress is slower. If we used the means and resources together, we would be able to get better and faster results. Good relations with neighbors and friendly relations between people are good for our world and for a better future. The possibility to travel to all places in the world, hear different languages and see different customs will contribute to the general awareness and acceptance of different people and different cultures.
8. Ido Patish
Hello, my name if Ido Patish and I'm 15 years old. I was born in Israel, on
December 7th, in 1997. I live in Kfar Bialik which is 15 minutes from Haifa
and I am a student at Carmel Zvulun Regional High School. My hobbies
are playing the guitar, watching TV, playing computer games and
listening to music. I also like to run and do so almost every day.
I am glad I was chosen to join the delegation of the Peace Camp because
I think that I can represent my country very well. In addition, I am
looking forward to meeting new people from different countries, who
speak a different language and come from a different culture.
It is important for me to go to the Peace Camp and do the best I can to
represent Israel and the Israeli side of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and
to promote peace, not only in our region, but worldwide. I was chosen
from among many students who wanted to go to this camp and I am
really honored.
I want to share my knowledge and experience of the State of Israel and
help others understand not only our point of view, but also what we are
all about: our language, culture and more. In addition, I want to hear the
opinion of the Palestinian people on the Israel-Palestinian conflict and
try and understand their point of view.
