8/23/2017 OneVoice International

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In Queens, high school students

create ads for Israeli-Palestinian
peace
14 June 2013 Shaina Low

Last month, I had the pleasure of visiting The Young Womens Leadership School, an all-girls junior and senior
high school in Astoria, Queens. I was invited by 10th grade world history teacher, Zander Lyvers. Zander and his
students were in in the midst of a unit on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and he was in search of organizations
working on conflict resolution that would share their work and also take the time to view and learn about the
students projects.

Their unit began by looking at theinflammatory Islamophobic advertisementsPamela Gellers American

Freedom Defense Initiative placed in the New York City subways last fall. As a project-based school, Zander
assigned the students to research the history of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict andcreate their own
advertisements that promote peace and reconciliation. In addition to creating the visual ads, students were
required to conduct research on the conflict and complete proposals detailing their ads objective, target
audience, and the issue that it was attempting to overcome.

During my visit, I had the opportunity to view slideshows of all the students projects and meet with pairs of
students to learn more about the motivation and inspiration behind their designs. One recurring theme
throughout the projects was a criticism of international intervention that is not directly accountable to the
needs and interests of Israelis and Palestinians. One advertisement depicted early 20thcentury British
diplomat Henry McMahon as a puppeteer controlling Arab and Jewish leaders, implying that the conflict in the
Middle East was one driven by Western interests.

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A personal favorite was a reinterpretation of British gra iti artist Banksys Balloon Girl (see the image above).
The young girls body is superimposed with the Israeli and Palestinian flags, and she is grasping a bunch of
balloons. Each of her balloons has the flag of a foreign country. In the students view, these foreign nations
have played a role in perpetuating or prolonging the conflict, rather than helping Israelis and Palestinians meet
their needs and interests.

Encouraging Israelis and Palestinians to be less reliant on international involvement and to take responsibility
for ending the conflict, the poster includes a quote from German writer Hermann Hesse which reads, Some of
us think holding on makes us strong; but sometimes it is letting go. This message, in particular, resonates with
OneVoices message to empower ordinary Israelis and Palestinians to establish their own roles in conflict
resolution, and without forgetting the past, find productive ways to move forward to ensure better futures for
both societies.

During each of Zanders three classes, I connected the students work with OneVoices by describing various
OneVoice campaigns includingOneVoice Israelsheadlines competitionandOneVoice Palestinesmural
initiatives, both of which used advertising and mass media to promote the two-state solution. The students
questions ranged from wanting to learn more about the challenges we face on the ground in Israel and in
Palestine, to learning more about OneVoices unique focus on empowering youth to be change-makers and
leaders in Israeli and Palestinian societies.

In each class, students asked about their own role and what they could do as New York City teenagers to make
a di erence and promote peace in the region. In our ensuing discussion, we brainstormed ways for them to get
engagedwhether it is educating their families or peers about the conflict by screening a documentary or
hosting a forum, meeting with their elected o icials and telling them that the resolving the conflict should be a
greater priority, or starting or joining club that is working toward conflict resolution.

Through IEP tours, I have visited countless university and high school classrooms across the county. In my
experience, teachers o en find it di icult to teach a unit on such an expansive, polarizing subject that covers
over a century of history and simultaneously demonstrate the impact of the conflict on American foreign and
domestic policy. Zanders untraditional approach impressed me; not only were students able to see how the
conflict directly influences discourse here in the United States, they were challenged to find creative ways to
promote a peaceful resolution.

*Shaina Low is OneVoices International Engagement Program Associate.

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