.
Windows members live in many towns, villages and refugee camps all over Israel and the Palestinian Territories as well as in many cities around the world. We see great importance in enabling our members to meet each other in a friendly, supportive, and safe atmosphere. Our goal is to offer to each community a special program that will give an answer to their specific needs and interests.
In most places our members meet in private homes or public places. We work to foster connections and build networks that will serve as venues for open dialogue and community-building.
We aim to continually expand the circle of people that find the courage to listen to each other and choose the road to peace.
.Our first friendship center was founded in 1999. We have since moved to our current office, in the heart of Tel Aviv. At our friendship center, we offer a wide range of activities, including lectures, meetings, films, tours, spoken Arabic courses and more, to a wide audience from both nations and all ages. The program is designed to give expression to voices seldom heard in the Israeli public discourse and to explore the complex history and reality of the region. The open atmosphere enables people to share experiences, opinions and emotions.
.After several years of operation, we were forced to close our Friendship Center in Tulkarm due to security concerns. In October 2006 the center suffered a break-in, stolen equipment and a fire. While this was devastating, the Tulkarm staff responded with great strength and passion to rebuild and move forward. However, due to the difficult political situation in the area, we no longer felt it was safe to operate the center and we made the painful decision to close it in late November 2007. During it's nearly three years of existence, the Tulkarm Friendship Center offered activities for children and adults, a library, various workshops, language classes and more. Our activities and relationships in Tulkarm and surrounding villages will continue despite this setback.
Additionally, we continue to foster our activities and involvement in other parts of Israel and the OPT, specifically in Jenin, Nablus and Um Al-Fahm and we are planning to open a new Friendship Center in the OPT in the future.
Please contact us if you are interested in receiving more information about spoken Arabic courses and additional center resources.
Humanitarian Aid
.The shortages of food and other material goods in the OPT grows constantly due to the ongoing occupation. To help the Palestinian population living under these conditions, we collect food, clothing, toys, household items, and other goods at the Tel Aviv friendship center where our volunteers sort, pack, and ship donations, mostly to communities with which we have established relationships. Our activists distribute the items according to need. Besides attempting to reduce — even if only slightly — the physical suffering of the population, we send with these packages a message of solidarity: there are many people in Israel who oppose inhumane actions conducted against the Palestinian population in the territories and comprehend the suffering these policies cause. Similarly, we distribute aid packages to people in need within Israel.
Economic Development
In addition to giving charitable donations to those in need in the OPT, it is also important to support grassroots development in the area. Windows supports efforts towards self-sustainability in the OPT. For example, through its friendship center in Tel Aviv, Windows sells olive oil made in the OPT.
.
.
.
|
created by LEDISMERA
|