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German school children learn about Israel

Updated: 28/Dec/2006 18:47

Israeli ambassador Shimon Stein with German children participating in the project

Photo: Embassy of Israel, Berlin

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BERLIN (EJP)--- The Israeli embassy in Berlin, in cooperation with several regional culture ministries, has completed a series of seminars in schools throughout Germany.

The “Project Days - Getting to Know Israel Differently” aimed to give school children and teachers further insight into Israel from an Israeli perspective.

Almost 1,500 children and teachers attended the Project Days hosted by the University of Hohenheim in Stuttgart (Baden-Wuerttemberg), the Technical University of Chemnitz (Saxony) and the Wilhelm-Loehe-School in Nuremberg (Bavaria). The governors of Baden-Wuerttemberg, Saxony and Bavaria were the patrons of the events. The three patrons, all from Christian Democratic oriented parties, have been outspoken supporters of Israel.

According the Israeli embassy, most participants seemed to have gone away with a more positive image of the country – which would project seem a success.

Social and political facets

The embassy’s aim was to project Israel as a country not only plagued by war – but as a country with a wide array of social, cultural and political facets usually left out of mass-media reports. The seminars put special focus on Israel’s music and film industries, gave insight into Jewish traditions, underlined the region’s dire water shortage and emphasised the humanitarian projects that the Israeli army has undertaken world-wide.

A “real life” Israeli student was present at each of the venues in order to answer questions from the point-of-view of a young Israeli. Ambassador Shimon Stein and his deputy, Ilan Mor, also stood by to answer questions from a political point-of-view.

Israeli artists Gil and Tal Ofarim and Shai Hoffmann were highlights which gave the seminar’s participants a look at the tiny country’s large creative side – which goes far beyond the nation’s high-tech prowess most people might have heard about.

The embassy knew that the participants’ views would have been conditioned by the media reports that focused solely on tragedies. Children who attended the seminar confirmed this. The positive feedback which the embassy received confirmed the need for such Project Days which it hopes to continue in other regions of the country.