Dr. Tareq Abu Hamed, from East Jerusalem, says Arava program’s students have compulsory, confidential, ‘brave’ conversations where both sides find it hard to talk, hard to listen

By LUKE TRESS20 February 2025, 

Southern Israel’s Arava Institute for Environmental Studies was five weeks into a semester-long program when Hamas invaded Israel on October 7, 2023. The institute, which hosts both Israeli and Palestinian students, was planning to send participants home due to the war when a group of students approached its leadership.

“The students came to us and they said, ‘Guys, we decided to stay with each other. We refuse to leave,” said Dr. Tareq Abu Hamed, the institute’s director.

fuil report: https://www.timesofisrael.com/us-colleges-could-learn-from-israeli-palestinian-dialogue-says-head-of-eco-institute/