Weeks of heightened political tension in the Middle East are the most difficult times for students and staff at the Arava Institute. The flotilla incident off the coast of Gaza generated anger and conflict among our students. At the same time, the mixed feelings of both staff and students towards the situation also created internal conflicts inside each one of us as we listened to the news and watched the television reports.

Before the week started, we had been planning on sending the students on a two-day trip to Jerusalem as part of the Peace Building and Environmental Leadership Seminar (PELS). On Monday, when the events began to unfold on the news, the staff met to discuss whether or not it was right and safe to send the students on the trip. The original program of the trip was to meet with politicians, journalists, human rights activists, and alumni involved in an environmental project. The staff decided to go ahead with the trip but to make some adjustments to the program in order to avoid meetings in East Jerusalem.

In the meantime, the student life staff worked to create a safe space for the students to release their feelings in a way that would avoid hurting each other and would enable the program to continue to function. That evening, the staff helped the students organize an internal discussion that allowed them to exchange opinions and to get out their anger. It was a difficult discussion, but the students used the many tools they had learned in PELS which enabled them to say difficult things to one another without things falling apart. Michelle Shachar, head of PELS and Student Life, and I made a strategic decision not to participate in the discussion but to give the students their space. Program associates were present, but the students ran the discussion themselves, and it went on until the wee hours of the night. We understand that it was a very difficult discussion and that some students left still angry and conflicted.

Despite the difficulty, it seems that this session was enough to enable students to continue in the day-to-day campus life, going to class together, eating in the dining room, and preparing for the upcoming field trip. The night after the flotilla incident, I sat in front of the television, falling deeper and deeper into depression as I watched the Israeli and international coverage of the tragic events off the coast of Gaza. Suddenly I was reminded of a birthday party for Shira Kronich, one of our staff members. My wife Barbara and I were both happy to escape the television and walked over.

We walked into the coffee house as if we were entering a dream. About thirty students had organized a surprise party for Shira. The students, Israelis, Palestinians, Jordanians and North Americans, were all sitting together around one long table, smiling, laughing, and telling jokes. As soon as Shira walked in, they burst into singing "Happy Birthday" in three languages. They acted like a group of students anywhere else in the world, happy to take a break from studies and just enjoy being together.

On Thursday afternoon, the students left for the field trip. In Tel Aviv, they met with Tania Hary, Director of International Relations of Gisha, an Israeli NGO whose goal is to protect the freedom of movement of Palestinians through the Israeli legal system. Gisha was the organization which helped the Arava Institute win its case to allow Palestinian students to study at the Institute. Tania gave the students a vivid description of life in Gaza and some of the challenges faced by Gazan and West Bank Palestinians to travel. Obviously, many of our own students had no problem relating to these issues on a personal level.

The next morning, the students heard from two journalists, Amira Hass, who writes for the Israeli daily newspaper "Haaretz," and Tom Weiss, who hosts an American radio program called "The Ambassadors Show." Amira and Tom (both Israelis) represent very different perspectives on the blockade of Gaza and the discussion was quite lively. Students participated fully in the discussions, asking questions, arguing, and engaging in an issue that even for the North American students is very personal. After lunch, the field trip closed with a talk from the co-directors of the Israel Palestine Center for Research and Information, Gershon Baskin and Hanna Senora. Hanna spoke as a Palestinian about the general mood of the Palestinian people, while Gershon concentrated on what he believes must happen in order for the proximity talks to succeed. Surprisingly, with all that is happening in the Middle East, both Hanna and Gershon are optimistic that peace between Israelis and Palestinians is within reach.  It was nice to finish the field trip and the week in general with a hopeful message.

As this tough week came to a close, I was filled with awe at the continued courage and resilience of our students. It is an unfortunate reality in this part of the world that as soon as conflict breaks out, the first thing that happens is the end of discourse. It is perceived as not honorable for enemies to speak to enemies, and so often the secondary casualties of violence in the Middle East are the very coexistence activities between Palestinians and Jews that are designed to lead us out of the cycle of violence. The small revolution that is taking place at the Arava Institute is that the first thing that our students do in a time of conflict and crisis is to meet and talk. The talks are difficult, but that is how trust is built, by knowing you can say harsh things and still remain friends.