By: Dory Ableman, University of Western Ontario, Hasbara Fellow
It’s been an absolute pleasure to learn and connect with the Hasbara Fellows cultural competency and sensitivity program. I was inspired by the tremendous leadership and programming that goes into developing such a strong, intuitive, encompassing, and engaging experience. The students in our group made for a fantastic adventure of deep connections, much meaningful discussion, and plenty of time to break down our memorable and complicated encounters together.
One of my favourite part of the experiences was seeing the intricate issues other cultures share in real-time. Never mind just reading a textbook, our guides took us right into the action with bullet-proof buses, highly qualified and diverse mentors of mixed opinions and backgrounds, and evident significant coordination that makes the experiences possible. From entering Rachel’s tomb to touring towns across the Green Line, navigating Chevron or standing in Rawabi, exploring Jerusalem’s underground tunnels or soaking up the ocean in Netanya, sun of Sderot, or enjoying the beautiful and rich cultural surroundings of Haifa, Tel Aviv, and Tzfat, Hasbara gives you a deep view of one of the oldest, most diverse, and interesting places on earth.
My take-home message from the program is that everyone has a story. Right on the first day, our diverse catalogue of speakers made it clear to me that we will never fully understand a people unless we grow up in their shoes and speak their language. It is misconceptions and negative preconceived notions that contribute to divides in our vibrant, diverse, and captivating societies.
This is discussed in a diary entry I shared midway through the program:
“What I learned on #HasbaraIsrael so far:
-Everyone has a story. It is important to give it the same amount of, and better yet, even more, respect than one would hope they give to your story if you hope to interact effectively with them.
-It is likely impossible one will ever truly understand the viewpoint of another population, especially that of visible minorities, due to their different lived experiences. Assuming or pretend one does may negate the experiences of the other.
-All lived experience can be valid and should be acknowledged in a discussion to improve the discussions quality and potential
-Everyone can be born with good intentions and has serious potential to make a significant positive change in the lives of others. One should avoid contributing to stereotypes that limit others by confining them to expected roles and abilities
-The vast majority of people only hope to contribute positively to the lives of others or the world in their own way. Regardless of one’s perceptions of them, there is at least someone who thinks very highly of them. This makes education and awareness from a young age important to bring increased tolerance, collaboration, and peace.”
From eating at a beautiful mountain-top view Druze community home, speaking with locals from across the region in Arabic, Hebrew, French and English, driving ATV’s by the Syrian border to see with our own eyes the different communities nearby, meeting mothers from Tanzania and Zambia at Save a Child’s Heart, and spending the day at a Hashomer Hatzair kibbutz, the Hasbara experience really opened my eyes to the vast horizon of what is there to learn.
The Hasbara cultural experience has strengthened my skills in leadership, communication, critical thinking, and cultural competency. I am grateful to have participated in this eye-opening and memorable adventure, and look forward to how it and events like it will continue to help me grow as a leader who can work best with diverse people in our ever-shrinking world in future.
