風蕭蕭_Frank
以文會友
重新人性化非人性化：重新思考中東和北非地區的人文交流
作者：Tom Vizel 和 George Stevens 2023 年 2 月 24 日
人文交流 (P2P) 長期以來一直被認為是促進和平和解決衝突的重要工具。在以巴背景下，P2P 倡議在 1990 年代廣受歡迎，但在實現兩國人民關係的有意義的變化方麵仍麵臨重大挑戰。盡管如此，P2P 交流在區域層麵促進理解和合作的潛力仍未得到開發。
本文闡述了“中東和北非青年”(Y4MENA) 倡議的 P2P 方法，這是一個新興的合作夥伴網絡，他們尋求利用 P2P 交流來建立更具包容性、彈性和可持續性的社會。 Y4MENA 網絡由 NOAL（以色列最大的猶太-阿拉伯青年組織）和 Dror Israel（NOAL 的青年領袖校友網絡，致力於建設更加公正和包容的以色列）創立，旨在團結整個地區誌同道合的組織，在中東和北非 (MENA) 各國青年和年輕人之間建立物理和虛擬交流，並基於對我們社會具有戰略意義的主題建立橋梁。
在討論 Y4MENA 的運營之前，重要的是解決該地區的非人化問題，以便將 NOAL-Dror Israel 的教育方法置於特定環境中。
重新人性的挑戰
以色列及其阿拉伯和穆斯林世界的鄰國經曆了多代人的相互非人化過程。阿拉伯世界的政治和知識精英將以色列和猶太人描繪成歐洲殖民主義的外國代理人，並利用反猶太宣傳在其民眾中煽動仇恨。反過來，以色列的猶太人多數派與阿拉伯和穆斯林世界隔絕，寧願將自己定義為“西方”國家，忽視學習阿拉伯語，並且通常對鄰國豐富的文化價值一無所知。
結果是，以色列徹底將對方非人化，並通過簡單的刻板印象來看待對方，而沒有更深入地了解其社會、生活經曆和內部鬥爭。即使在與以色列簽訂了數十年和平協議的國家（即埃及和約旦），阿道夫·希特勒的《我的奮鬥》也廣為流傳，而以色列人（萬一他們確實訪問了埃及的西奈或約旦的佩特拉）則盡量避免與當地居民互動。
因此，民間社會領導人麵臨的根本挑戰是重新人性化。換句話說，體驗“他者”作為個人和社會——作為一幅豐富的故事、困境和夢想的錦緞，即使他們不同意，個人也可以感同身受。
雖然遠非完美，但 2020 年《亞伯拉罕協議》（以色列與阿拉伯聯合酋長國、巴林、摩洛哥和蘇丹之間達成的一係列聯合正常化協議）為教育工作者、政府官員和民間社會領導人提供了一個獨特的戰略機遇，讓他們開始在這些社會內部和之間進行再人性化進程。再人性化不僅有可能加深不同國家之間的和平，而且還可能加強每個國家的內部實力，因為以非人性化的另一個版本為基礎的社會很少能有效應對內部挑戰。
再人性化有幾個關鍵組成部分。第一步是建立共性。P2P 領導者必須培養友誼，包括強調和加強人與人之間的共同價值觀。他們必須表明，盡管來自不同的社會，但人們已經分享了他們生活經曆的一部分。
在 2022 年最後一個季度舉行的 Y4MENA 以色列-摩洛哥青年交流中，一個由 30 人組成的小組（主要包括摩洛哥人和以色列人以及一些阿拉伯以色列人）在拉巴特和耶路撒冷接受了聯合培訓，深入了解了摩洛哥猶太人以及以色列的阿拉伯人和德魯茲人社區的故事。這些經曆使摩洛哥和以色列身份的簡單概念變得複雜。它們融合了美麗和心碎，並強調了這些民族、國家和宗教之間在曆史上和現在存在的重疊。
其次，必須從共同價值觀的角度來麵對根本問題。阿拉伯教育工作者需要了解大屠殺和反猶太主義，以重新人性化以色列人並挑戰他們自己的社會。訪問以色列並了解大屠殺——無論是在德國、波蘭還是在耶路撒冷的 Yad Vashem 博物館——都是令人不舒服但關鍵的步驟，必須在 MENA 社會中引起漣漪。正如大屠殺曆史學家耶胡達·鮑爾 (Yehuda Bauer) 所說，反猶太主義不僅摧毀了猶太人的生活，還摧毀了將其作為應對機製的社會結構。
同樣，以色列猶太人必須探索
殖民主義和伊斯蘭恐懼症，以了解中東和北非人民的經曆。這種對抗需要具有建設性和吸引力，而不是分裂性。
真正的影響：建立區域教育交流網絡
為了使人性化成為改變遊戲規則的因素而不僅僅是一個美好的想法，必須在所有可能的國家建立一個誌同道合的機構網絡，而不僅僅是培訓個人。非政府組織、學校、宗教中心、大學和政府機構具有個人（無論多麽有才華）無法企及的長壽、願景和發展潛力。
Y4MENA 尋找組織和機構合作夥伴，分享其對該地區所有國家和宗教更積極、更寬容和更可持續未來的願景。該組織在會議上或在線上會麵，建立夥伴關係，並討論具體的合作。從那裏開始，它進行小規模的高級領導交流以試水，建立更大規模的交流，並尋找政府和慈善夥伴，使真正的合作成為可能。
Y4MENA 的最終目標是建立一個網絡，為類似計劃奠定基礎，例如伊拉斯謨計劃（為歐盟穩定做出了貢獻）或以色列出生權計劃（成功加強了以色列與猶太人之間的聯係）。
明年，Y4MENA 預計將召集數百名來自 MENA 地區的年輕人。每位畢業生將把自己的經曆帶給 10 到 20 名同齡人、家庭成員和/或社區領袖，從而擴大該計劃的影響力。但要產生重大影響——成功地為該地區數百萬年輕人帶來改變——它最終必須惠及數萬名直接參與者和數十萬受益者。這種持續增長隻有通過誌同道合的機構網絡才有可能實現。
新視野
Y4MENA 已在四個 MENA 國家（摩洛哥、約旦、埃及和巴勒斯坦領土）直接開展業務，目前正在與另外五個國家建立合作夥伴關係。
為了真正發揮作用，Y4MENA 需要看看其他人遇到困難或不敢嚐試的地方，以開辟更多的可能性。
在以色列方麵，這意味著要吸納通常被排除在以色列傳統和平陣營之外的群體——米茲拉希、俄羅斯和埃塞俄比亞猶太人，並帶來自豪的以色列、猶太人和猶太複國主義敘事。這也意味著願意麵對巴勒斯坦問題並與巴勒斯坦夥伴建立關係。P2P 社區必須自豪而大膽地站在鄰居的立場上。它還必須關注在以色列猶太人和阿拉伯公眾中有著深厚基層聯係的組織（這種經驗在跨境 P2P 工作中是無價的）。
作為生活在 MENA 地區的國家，其人民必須共同麵對氣候變化、極端主義和整個地區青年所麵臨的絕望。這些是共同的問題，它們創造了基於共同需求的合作潛力——這是重新人性化的關鍵要素。
這種模式還處於起步階段，並沒有為區域社會之間的重新人性化提供完美的路線圖。然而，Y4MENA 項目確實提供了從深度和廣度兩方麵應對這一挑戰的新途徑。
Tom Vizel 是 Y4MENA 的執行董事，也是 NOAL 教育部負責人。
George Stevens 擔任 Y4MENA 運營總監和 NOAL 財務經理。
Rehumanizing the dehumanized: Rethinking People-to-People exchanges in MENA
By Tom Vizel and George Stevens February 24, 2023
People-to-people (P2P) exchanges have long been recognized as a crucial tool in promoting peace and resolving conflicts. In the Israeli-Palestinian context, P2P initiatives gained popularity in the 1990s, but still face significant challenges in bringing about meaningful change in relations between the two peoples. Despite this, the potential for P2P exchanges to foster understanding and cooperation on a regional level remains untapped.
This piece lays out the P2P approach of the “Youth for the Middle East & North Africa” (Y4MENA) initiative, a budding network of partners who seek to use P2P exchanges to build more inclusive, resilient, and sustainable societies. Founded by NOAL (the General Federation of Working and Studying Youth)—Israel’s largest Jewish-Arab youth organization—and Dror Israel—NOAL’s alumni network of young leaders working towards a more just and inclusive Israel—the Y4MENA network seeks to unite like-minded organizations from the entire region, create physical and virtual exchanges between youth and young adults from various Middle East and North Africa (MENA) countries, and build bridges based on topics of strategic significance to our societies.
Before addressing Y4MENA’s operations, it is important to address the problem of dehumanization in the region in order to contextualize NOAL-Dror Israel’s educational approach.
The challenge of rehumanization
Israel and its neighbors in the Arab and Muslim world have undergone a multi-generation process of mutual dehumanization. The Arab world’s political and intellectual elites have portrayed Israel and Jews as foreign agents of European colonialism and used anti-Semitic propaganda to foster hate among their populations. In turn, Israel’s Jewish majority has cut itself off from the Arab and Muslim world, preferring to define itself as a “Western” country, neglecting to learn Arabic, and generally living in ignorance of the rich cultural value of its neighbors.
The result is one in which the other is thoroughly dehumanized and viewed through simplistic stereotypes without a deeper understanding of its societies, lived experiences, and internal struggles. Even in countries with which Israel has enjoyed decades-long peace agreements—namely Egypt and Jordan—Adolf Hitler’s Mein Kampf is widely sold, while Israelis—in the off chance that they do visit the Sinai in Egypt or Petra in Jordan—try to avoid interacting with the local population.
As a result, the fundamental challenge civil society leaders face is rehumanization. In other words, experiencing the “other” as an individual and as a society—as a rich tapestry of stories, dilemmas, and dreams with whom individuals can empathize even if they disagree.
While far from perfect, here is where the 2020 Abraham Accords (a series of joint normalization accords that have been established between Israel and the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Morocco, and Sudan) represent a unique strategic opportunity for educators, government officials, and civil society leaders to begin the process of rehumanization within and between these respective societies. Rehumanization has the potential not only to deepen the peace between different countries, but also to strengthen each country internally, for societies that base their self-identity on a dehumanized version of the other are rarely effective at confronting their internal challenges.
Rehumanization has a few key components. The first step is building commonality. P2P leaders must foster friendships, which includes highlighting and strengthening shared values between people. They must show that people already share parts of their lived experiences despite being from different societies.
In Y4MENA’s Israel-Moroccan youth exchange, which took place in the last quarter of 2022, a thirty-person group—which included mostly Moroccan and Israelis and some Arab Israelis—underwent joint training in Rabat and then in Jerusalem, diving into the story of Moroccan Jewry and Arab and Druze communities in Israel. These experiences complicated simplified notions of what Moroccan and Israeli identities are. They mixed beauty and heartbreak, and highlighted the overlaps that exist historically and currently between these peoples, nations, and religions.
Second, fundamental issues must be confronted from a place of common values. Arab educators need to learn about the Holocaust and anti-Semitism to rehumanize Israelis and challenge their own societies. Visiting Israel and learning about the holocaust—whether in Germany or Poland or at Yad Vashem Museum in Jerusalem—are uncomfortable but key steps that must send ripples through MENA societies. As Holocaust historian Yehuda Bauer has taught, anti-Semitism not only destroys Jewish life, it destroys the fabric of the society that adopts it as a coping mechanism.
Similarly, Israeli Jews must explore colonialism and Islamophobia to understand the experience of MENA people. This confrontation needs to be constructive and inviting rather than divisive.
Real impact: Building a regional educational exchange network
To make rehumanization a game changer rather than just a beautiful idea, a network of like-minded institutions must be built across all possible countries, rather than just train individuals. NGOs, schools, religious centers, universities, and governmental bodies have the longevity, vision, and potential for growth that individuals—however talented—simply cannot reach.
Y4MENA seeks out organizational and institutional partners that share its vision of a more positive, tolerant, and sustainable future for all the nations and religions in the region. The group meets at conferences or online, forms partnerships, and discusses concrete collaboration. From there, it does small-scale senior leadership exchanges to test the waters, build larger-scale exchanges, and find the governmental and philanthropic partners to make real collaboration possible.
The ultimate goal of Y4MENA is to establish a network that can serve as a foundation for similar initiatives like the Erasmus program, which has contributed to the stability of the European Union, or Birthright Israel, which has been successful in strengthening the connections between Israel and Diaspora Jewry.
In the coming year, Y4MENA is expected to bring together a few hundred youths from the MENA region. Each graduate will bring their experiences to ten to twenty peers, family members, and/or community leaders, thus, amplifying the program’s reach. But to generate a significant impact—one that will succeed in making a difference among the millions of youths living in the region—it must ultimately reach tens of thousands of direct participants and hundreds of thousands of beneficiaries. This type of sustained growth is only possible through a network of like-minded institutions.
New horizons
Y4MENA has directly operated in four MENA countries—Morocco, Jordan, Egypt, and the Palestinian territories—and is currently building partnerships in five more.
To be truly effective, Y4MENA need to look at where others had difficulties—or didn’t venture—to open more possibilities.
On the Israeli end, this means incorporating groups—Mizrahi, Russian, and Ethiopian Jews—generally left out of Israel’s traditional peace camp, and bringing a proud Israeli, Jewish, and Zionist narrative to encounter. It also means being willing to confront the Palestinian issue and building relationships with Palestinian partners. The P2P community must proudly and boldly step into the shoes of their neighbors. It must also focus on organizations with deep grassroots connections among both the Jewish and Arab publics in Israel (this experience is invaluable in cross-border P2P work).
Together as countries living in the MENA region, its people must confront climate change, extremism, and the despair faced by youth across the region. These are common issues that create the potential for cooperation based on shared needs—a key element in rehumanization.
This model is in its infancy and it does not present a perfect roadmap for rehumanization between regional societies. The Y4MENA project does, however, offer new avenues to tackle this challenge with both depth and breadth.
Tom Vizel is the Executive Director of Y4MENA and the Head of the Educational Department at NOAL.
George Stevens serves as the Director of Operations Y4MENA and Finance Manager at NOAL.
