Pelham Teens at United Nations

Recently, six area high school students from Huguenot Memorial Church visited the United Nations as a part of a program organized by Givat Haviva and the Presbyterian Church (USA) United Nations Office. 

Givat Haviva, an interfaith educational program based out of Israel, brought a group of Israeli Jews and Palestinian Muslims to New York City to chat with area Presbyterians.  These Israeli and Palestinian youth had been meeting once a week for the entire previous year, discussing peacemaking, interfaith and intercultural understanding, in an attempt to bring change to their volatile region.  Presbyterian youth from four local churches were given the opportunity to spend a day with their peers from the Middle East. 

After eating and taking a United Nations tour together, the youth were asked to work in teams of six to come up with ways to bring peace to the world on the International Day of Peace, September 21.  These brainstorming results can be seen on YouTube, and some highlights were, “free music concerts, poetry readings, group service projects and people praying about forgiveness.” 

The youth fascinated me.  They were deeply engaged, being creative, yet realistic, about what might make sustainable change.  They got along incredibly well even though there were language and cultural barriers.  We heard stories about how the Palestinian and Israeli youth had worked hard to better understand one another and get along.  The entire experience was very inspiring.  Yet we were left with a story that gave us a taste of their unfortunate reality. 

A 17-year-old Jewish young man shared his experiencse with the Givat Haviva program this past year.  He said that it had taken him a while, but he realized how much fun he could have with his Islamic neighbors. He said it was a joy to see them every week and he looks forward to still being friends when they went back to Israel after their stay in New York.  But there was a catch.  He reminded us he will turn 18 next year and will have to serve in the Israeli army.  He said that it will be hard when he was a soldier because he isn’t sure what he will be asked to do or how he would be directed to treat his newfound Muslim friends.  He was optimistic about the future but was wary about how it would impact his life and those of others. 

Let us use his cautious optimism as a guide for our discussions with those whom we do not necessarily agree with.  These area and Middle Eastern youth were full of such a passion for life and the promise of tomorrow.  I hope that their visions become our reality.