Joint Activity- Bnei Akiva/Hanoar Haoved V’halomed/Dror Israel
Category: National (2016)
When having a global conversation about unity and peace, the youth are often at the center of pushing and shaping strategies around forming longer-lasting solutions. This is largely because the youth form a significantly larger part of the collective global population, thereby making this population an inevitable target for influence when pursuing a political, social, or cultural agenda. This has been known to create divisiveness among the youth resulting in, unfortunately, retrogressive circumstances such as engagement in criminal activities.
Bnei Akiva and Hanoar Haoved V’halomed are two youth groups widely known in Israel for their bold yet distinctly unique world views on both cultural and political matters. While these differing opinions on important global matters world most times than not create a divide between loyal members of either group, these two youth groups found a way to try to work together harmoniously in the spirit of uniting members from both divides and, to some extent, positively influence other populations across the world.
By first identifying common ground as well as some of the ideologies the two groups share, significant progress has been made towards uniting people with typically contrasting views on matters affecting their community. These two groups have shown deliberate efforts towards a united Jewish community, thereby inspiring rivals to engage in compromise and tolerance for each other. A further aim of the joint activities initiated by these two youth groups is to have a chance and platform to learn about each other while spreading new knowledge to help reach a wider audience of members who are otherwise widespread.
Conclusion
There is a global need for unity and peace during these turbulent times that have heightened the level of uncertainty among different communities across the world. Since its inception, the Jewish community in Israel set in motion a movement that has worked vigorously to promote unity among its community spanning the entire world. There have been deliberate efforts by schools, sporting institutions, youth groups, and societies to try and construct a generational bridge that connects the Israeli Jewish community to the international Jewish community. With the establishment of the Jerusalem Unity Prize befittingly awarded on Unity Day, some much-needed appreciation and recognition are bestowed upon those looking to encourage unity on a global scale.