Neve Shalom - History

History

The name Neve shalom is taken from a passage in the Isaiah 32:18: "My people shall dwell in an oasis of peace.".

The village was the brainchild of Bruno Hussar. Born in Egypt the son of non-practicing Jews, he converted to Christianity while studying engineering in France. Witnessing at first hand the vitriolic anti-semitism of wartime France sharpened his awareness of his Jewish roots. He joined the Dominican Order, was ordained into the priesthood in 1950, and sent to Jerusalem to establish a centre for Jewish studies in 1953, where he obtained Israeli citizenship in 1966. In 1970, in order to promote eucumenical interfaith dialogue, he obtained forty hectares (120 acres) of terrain classified as no man's land in the Latrun salient, at a 'pepperkorn rent' of 3 pence a year on a 100 year lease from the local Trappist abbey. The area was desolate, treeless, unwatered and covered with brambles, and had not been under cultivation since the Byzantine period. At the outset foreigners came to share the experience with him, but few remained beyond one or two months, save for Anne LeMeignon who settled in a hut and stayed on.

Hussar's project envisaged the creation of a sociocultural framework that would enable residents to live on terms of equality and mutual respect while conserving the distinct cultural heritage, language and sense of identity each individual brought to the community from the complex mosaic of Palestine's historic communities. At the same time, it would be designed to function as a school of peace where people from all over the country could learn to listen to each other.

In Hussar's own words:

"We had in mind a small village composed of inhabitants from different communities in the country. Jews, Christians and Muslims would live there in peace, each one faithful to his own faith and traditions, while respecting those of others. Each would find in this diversity a source of personal enrichment.".

Conditions were harsh, and at first Hussar lived in a bus on the site. Even basic facilities like a bathroom were lacking, and showers could be taken only by driving once a week the 10 kilometres to kibbutz Nachshon. The first five families, four Jewish and one Palestinian settled there in 1978, dwelling in tents. Among the early members (from November 1980) was Major Wellesley Aron, grandfather of the Israeli singer David Broza. Says David Broza: "The group of people that my grandfather joined saw the place as an opportunity to expand on the idea of finding peace within yourself as a prelude to bringing peace to the community and the region". The School for Peace was established in 1978. The founding families came mainly from a secular background.

For years it survived as an orphan community devoid of official assistance. In 1994, after lobbying by foreign supporters and the American diplomat Samuel W. Lewis, the Israeli government had a change of heart and began to provide subsidies, and extended legal status to the village as a municipality. As a result it earned autonomous zoning rights. The "School of Peace" closed down in a monthlong strike, in protest and mourning, at the outbreak of the Al Aqsa Intifada in 2000, and made efforts to provide welfare for Palestinians as the violence spread.

While assimilation is not promoted, intermarriage is not disapproved of, though instances are rare. The preference is for each community to maintain its distinct identity. The forging of a convivial bicultural identity has not erased difficulties. Even in schooling, Grace Feuerverger's account documents, achingly painful tensions do arise in relationships as children, teachers and families interact. One resident stated the issue in the following terms:

The Neve Shalom/Wahat Al-Salam experience humanizes the conflict.It is called an oasis, but only as compared to other areas in the country. The village has many difficulties but at least we are not being broken. We do have personal squabbles as in any village, but we are living the conflict instead of fighting it.

To mark the advent of the new millennium, towards the end of the 1990s the Trappist monastery decided to hand over half the land, some 50 acres, to Neve Shalom/Wahat as-Salam as an outright gift to its residents.