The second edition of the Scholas project has just concluded a gathering that, in the current context, sounds almost impossible: bringing together young people from Israel and Palestine at the same table. It´s not just another debate to see who is right, but an opportunity to look at each other, to listen, and to begin rebuilding the idea that the war destroys every day: that the other is human.
YUVAL ZUR
Young Palestinian
I think programs like these help us break through that dehumanization and see each other as humans, as equals, and it helps us dismantle these ideologies that are making everything worse. So I think it's a very important first step for a lot of people who don't get to speak to the other side, to kind of start unlearning what we've been taught since birth, which is that the other side is a danger. threat to our existence and we can realize that we can both work together and talk and create a better future.
For four days, fifty students had the opportunity in Rome to take part in a gathering where they could engage in dialogue and express themselves.
MAJD SHAHEEN
Young Israeli
What brought me here is... wanting to tell my side, my story, my family's story, my day-to-day situation, and how the history that they all talk about, as if it was ancient history, whether it's in Nakba or even before or after. Actually, it manifests in my life till this very day and in my family's life, and how we view the world and how we act and react in the dynamics that we live in.
As the final highlight of this gathering, the young participants had the opportunity to meet with Pope Leo XIV. Some of them were able to speak to him personally and discuss the current conflict situation in their places of origin.
JONATHAN GRILL
Young Israeli
And he smiled at me. He shook my hand. And he told me we all need to work on building bridges for peace, and that he promises to do that and continue working towards peace. And it was very warming.
I lost friends on October 7th, 2023. I lost, throughout the war, friends who were in the army and died in battle defending our country. I lost people I know who died from rocket attacks, from rockets launched at Israeli territory.
There were also young people from the United States at the gatherings. The Scholas project continues for another year with its work of support, seeking to help these young people keep building proposals and spaces for dialogue and connection.
BAM
Trans. CRT
