Palestinian and Israeli school girls were hosted by the SPCA at an event held in cooperation with the Peres Center for Peace
The SPCA Department of Humanistic Education was delighted, during the first week of Spring, to host a group of Palestinian and Israeli girls who took part in a humanistic educational activity with animals presently sheltered in the SPCA. This unique event, which we named “New Spring – New Hope”, was held in cooperation with the Peres Center for Peace, in the presence of the Egyptian Ambassador in Israel as well as diplomats from the US and Switzerland, and was covered by the Israeli and foreign media.
The girls, who came from Jericho and Beit Shemesh, were taken on a tour of the facility, given in Arabic and Hebrew, which focused on values such as aiding the weak, tolerance, giving, and respecting the other. The young visitors had direct contact with the animals being sheltered in the SPCA –abandoned cats, horses undergoing rehabilitation after having suffered abuse and neglect. As the highlight of the tour, the girls took the dogs waiting for adoption for a walk, giving them a lot of attention and love.
According to Yaniv Ovadia, Director of the Department of Humanistic Education: “Palestinian and Israeli children working together for the benefit of animals in distress, proves that change is possible and that education is the core. Research shows that there is a direct connection between the manner in which we relate to animals and our behavior towards one another. Animals don’t care about religion, nationality, race or color. All they ask is to be treated with respect and we, humans, have a lot to learn from them”.
We wish to express our heartfelt appreciation to all the organizations and people who contributed to the success of the event. A special thanks to Domino’s Pizza, for the donation of trays of vegetarian pizzas, and to Moshe Ahuvi of the famous Jaffa confectioners, Piece of Cake who voluntarily prepared vegetarian pastries and an impressive cake with the caption “Peace of Cake”.
