Pickle making in Jerusalem with CCECH
While we were recently in Israel, Donna and I visited one of the school projects run by CCECH (an Israeli charity that MHS are supporting though our Kol Nidre 2018 Appeal). We jumped on a bus from Tel Aviv towards Jerusalem and got off at Abu Ghosh where we were picked up and taken to the school in Ein Rafa which is about 14 km west of Jerusalem. At the school we were greeted with a warm welcome from Simon Lichman the founder of CCECH and about 90 school kids, their parents, grandparents and teachers.
The kids had come from the Renaissance and Nisui schools. Renaissance is a Moslem/Palestinian school in Beit Hanina in East Jerusalem and Nisui is a Jewish school in downtown west Jerusalem. The kids have been working together for a couple of years in one of CCECH’s co-existence programs, Ein Rafa is a perfect neutral space for activities.
So how do pickles help with mutual understanding and co-existence? Well, it turns out that all of the families participating whether they are Arab, Askenazi or Sephardi have family traditions of making pickles – spicy, mild, fancy and simple – this event provided an opportunity for the kids to sit with parents, grandparents and visitors (e.g. us) learning different recipes and ways of making pickles.
By the end of the morning there were over 100 jars of pickles to take home, recipes had been shared and more importantly the kids had learnt a little more of what they shared with each other which hopefully will be another small step to a better future.
If you are visiting Israel and would like to visit one of the CCECH projects in and around Jerusalem you can contact Simon via the CCECH website or contact me and I will set something up for you.
Steven Feldman