Soccer for Peace 2018

On the dry, grassy fields of the Givat Haviva campus in northern Israel, 70 boys from fourth through sixth grade spent Tuesday afternoon running around, playing in the pool, and getting to know one another. The children are all neighbors, from the Wadi Ara and Menashe regions of Israel, and they came to the Givat Haviva campus of the Center for a Shared Society for a three day Soccer for Peace Camp. Although most live within a twenty minute distance from each other, they rarely have the opportunity to interact, since half of the boys are Arab citizens of Israel and the other half are Jewish citizens.

In his opening and closing remarks to the campers, Givat Haviva director Yaniv Sagee told them that sport is a means to bring hearts closer together, and this philosophy guides the three-day-long experience. The camp is funded by Soccer for Peace, an American non-profit that seeks to unite children in war-torn areas through their shared love of soccer. “You can give a group of five Arab and Jewish kids a ball and they’ll be set by themselves for four or five hours without anyone bothering them,” says Na’el Awda, a referee in the Premier League (the top division in Israeli soccer) who came to show his support for the camp.

This is the fourth summer of the Givat Haviva Soccer for Peace Camp, and the program is carefully crafted. The children spend three days living together, playing and learning soccer, and getting to know each other in dialogue sessions. On the first day counselors divide the kids into five mixed teams, each with Arab and Jewish kids and each representing a different country, and these groups compete over the course of the three days, culminating in a final tournament and awards ceremony with representatives from the embassies of the countries of each team. According to Zakaria Mahameed, director of the camp, the competition provides a shared goal, allowing the kids to join together in their effort to win. “Soccer is shared by everyone, especially this year, with the world cup,” he says.

An Arab and Jewish counselor lead and coach each team, often serving as translators as well. Dekel Tiram, an energetic  Jewish counselor, explains that he tries to mix the children as much as possible, playing games involving switching seats and throwing them questions relating to soccer, which they can all talk about. A primary aspect of the dialogue sessions is that each boy speaks in the language most comfortable for him, and one of the counselors translates for the other children. “It’s very important that the Jews hear Arabic and learn that it’s not scary and that the Arabs hear Hebrew as well,” says Mahameed. Ahmed Abu Nahye, Tiram’s co-counselor, similarly finds ways to mix the group and bypass the language barrier. He is a professional soccer player who  has played for Israeli teams including Bnei Sakhnin and Hapoel Umm al-Fahm, as well as for the Palestinian league. “In soccer, language is not central. When I started playing soccer I didn't know two words [of Hebrew], but I slowly advanced and I hope these kids will learn from one another,” he says. He translates for many of the campers and works closely with Tiram to integrate the group.

Before this camp, few of the children had spent substantial amounts of time with the other.  It’s Odai Abu Nahye’s third summer at Givat Haviva’s Soccer for Peace Camp, and although he passed the age limit, he wanted to participate again, so he is volunteering with the counselors. Before participating in the camp, “I did not know any Jews,” he says. Now, though, he has Jewish friends with whom he keeps in touch throughout the year. His experience at Soccer for Peace Camp also changed how he viewed Jewish citizens. “The Jews are not exactly what I would have thought about them.” He believes now that many want to connect and interact with Arabs, which he didn’t think before.

Givat Haviva’s Soccer for Peace Camp opens up the opportunity for integration between the 70 students, and in doing so it lays the foundation for a shared and integrated society. “It starts with ‘pass me the ball’ or ‘pick it up’ or ‘kick’--that’s where the connection starts,” explains Tiram.  Mahameed hopes that when his young son grows up these camps that integrate Arabs and Jews won’t be special; they will be part of everyday life. “I want this to be normal--to live and play together and all feel that we are equal.”

Written by Maya Bickel