V
Page 4-The CartadiairJt'wisli News, Friday
VVesf bdnlic i>n(^^
The Arabs have returned to Sidna Ali ("Our Master All"), the beautiful but neglected Moisleiri site on the Mediterranean just past Herzliya at Nof ;Yara. The , walled courtyai-d and the vaujted rooms, topped by,a minaret, are now occupied by groups of Arab ^children from Judea and Samaria, together with their own instructors. The idea: "To give these children their firist holiday at the seashore."
By the end of this month,
about one thousand l)oys.and girls from towns and villages in Judea aiid Samaria will have had some taste of the seashore — either by way of a week's stay at Sidna Ali, or else by a day's bus outing to Tel Aviv and its surroundings, with a swim at the Nof Yam beach. '
This is the plan of the Ministry for Social Welfare which, together with the MU-itary Government, has organized the program. Financial contributions come from
the Swedish "Save the ChU-dren Fund", through the Swedish Organization for Individual Relief.
The * Oliver in'' campers; are boys only, between the ages'of 10 and 18, they come in groups from various Arab welfare institntipns. Individual famUies" are still reluctant to send their children for a "holiday iii Israel".
When I visited the camp last week -•'Welcomed by a sign in Arabic, Hebrew, and English -r three groups were
cordial
new
w
STEmBEM
because we care
By HELGA DUliMAN
Jerusalem Post Service
rest-hour irt Jewish institutions. Some of the older ones were playing darts with the instructors, andone— a very hefty youngster — was lifting an enormous dumbell. Most of the instructors wore shorts . and knitted shirts; the boys L saw were in khaki clothes that seemed quite presentable but were on the whole several sizes tO|0 large.
"NO^ 1 must ask you not to take photographs," said Mr, Hijmir. "I have not given permission to anyone, ^Nevertheless photos have appeared in the local press.) Mr.^Takomi has taken quite a few, in fact he has even taken some films. You may be able to get photos from him later."
Moshe Takomi of the Ministry for Social Welfare is an extremely.impressive young
Israeli, the supervisor of the Sidna All camp, Arabic-siieaking, university^educat-ed, he is concerned exclusively with making the camp run, with ironing out iadmin-istrative difficulties together with the Arab staff. For his part, he is as little given to. sentimentality as is Salah Hijmir,
Moshe Takomi does haye with him one small, lively detail: his six-year-old son Guy, the youngest individual on the premises and the only one speaking exclusively Her brew. Guy gets along very well with the boys --not only because he Is the boss' son but because, after all, it is practially impossible for children not to get along in the sea and the sun.
Yet it is hardly a simple matter of shining upturned
faces and instant brotherhood. The day the Arab children arrived, thiere were some stones thrown by nearby reisldents. After a few days the atmosphere had, changed to the extenttbatthe boys ire now being Invited to visit neighboring homes (which are by no means very elegant).
Furthfermore, the visitor can hardly be unaware that the structure oh the neighboring dune, jut north of Sidna Ali; is a wire-enclos-'ed compound for Israel juvenile delinquents. On the other/Side is HerzIIya's municipal summer camp.
"There was not much en^ thuslasm on the part of the Arab authorities to send the cbildreUj" Moshe Takomi told me, "But how that they see we are by no means do-
ing any brainwashing, they are much more interested. It Is possible that a group from Gaza will come for the last period."
The position of the Arab director is this: "I think it is a good thing for our boys to know the country, and in genera^■to have new experiences. After all, I consider Israel my country — from Jaffa to Amman."
Had he forgotten his swimming over the past 20 years? He laughed. "Of course not. Sometimes for holidays 1 went toBeirut, and then there is the Dead Sea. Although we had no swimming pools in East Jerusalem, there were ponds in the area. But in any case, swimming is like bi -cycle riding: it's something you don't forget What you forget are your debts."
A display of drawinKs by the campers.
in residence: 14 boys from a Bethlehem school for juvenile delinquents, 29 from a Nablus Orphanage, and an equal number from aRam-allah institutiOii. The boys had spent the morning at the beach. ("The Nof Yam lifeguard is very helpful. He helped us make a 'human pyramid'.") That afternoon they were off to see the circus at Netanya, The next day, a trip was scheduled to Acre for a meeting with Israel Arab youth. Nearly every day buses with "day trippers" arrive, often groups of girls. A bus ftom East Jerusalem was expected the following day.
The director of the camp is Mr. Salah Hijmir, who is also director of the Bethlehem Reform School. He came to the summer camp with the 14 youngsters now at his institution, and members of his staff.
"Before the June War, "he told me, "we had from 70 to 100 boys at my School. The majority fled, and now there are-only 14." It appears to be an open institution: two of the boys attend regular high school.
Mr. Hijmir is a distinguished-looking man who was born in Jaffa and who, before 1948, was.>x)ae-x)£-the. coun%^< try's foremost athletes; he-pWyed^ left centre In the Ar-ab.selected Palestine football team. "1 was also a very good swimmer, that was one of the reasons I decided to take this job — which is not one that every Arab teacher wouldbe Interested in. I wanted to be near the sea, and to swim again. Unfortunately, bathing conditions haven't been ideal since we've been here, because of the waves."
The children, he said, were tremendously excited by the idea of the sea." All that they know of the sea is from .the cinema, and-they literally throw themcelves into the water. We have programs about the oceanover there you can see a coUectlpn of shells the boys have made, and some of their paintings. Our Instructors give lectures on the sea, which is in fact the therife Of this camp."
Were there no problems, I asked, in mixing boys classified as delinquents with those who are simply wards of institutions? "I'd say that my children may be better behaved than the others," said Mr. Hijmir with a serene smile, "Besides, you know the saying that it is wise to mix sheep with goats. The goats are very quietand may move too slowly. The sheep are quick and may be too active. When you put them together, the goats calm the sheep down while the sheep get the goats moving," .
As to mixing with Israel youth, there was quite a bit of this; generally on an unofficial basis. "The local , boys Hying near- here turnup every afternoon, during the free hours, and they play , football together with our boys, I haye nothing at all < against this, though some of the Instructors thought we ought to keep them out." I Some~youhg girls come too; . and evenings, when films are shown, there Is of course a i huge crowd Interested In a , free performance. The West ' Bank children speak no He- i brew, but some of the local families are Arabic-speak- ' Ing, In any case," as Mr, | Hijmir points out, "youdon't need language to play foot-
ball,"
Was this the first time his boys hgjd had such a holiday? The first to the sea, yes. But, Mr. Hijmir assur- ^ ed me, spme sort of camming holiday was the rule. Not last >ear, of course: "But before that we went to such places as Jifha, near Ram-allah, or Jerash. In fact, I prefer camping out in tents and not in a built-up place such as this. By the way, it was extremely dirty whenwe arrived. We cleaned it up ourselves, and put in electric wires ourselves as well." (It had been used as a warehouse by Bnei Akiva.)
During my vis it, some boys were cleaning up the wooden tables and benches after lunch; others were resting. I had a glimpse of about 10 in a cool, thick-walled room, lying on blanket rolls on the floor, just as Ihave seen at
ei^^^^^27<^ ^^^Ttlted
Me
' *
Happy New Year To All My Friends
PAT RICCIO AND HIS ORCHESTRA -
(WINNER IN THE *BEST BAND' CONTEST - AMERICAN FEDERATION OF MUSICIANS)
WEDDINGS
• BAR-MITZVAHS
PAT RICCIO NEW
iwtm
A MAN AND A WpMAN STRANGERS IN THE (MIGHTl
(W RCaO/the 9en3ua«y Off sax
If
W
i
m
i 1
■ m
m m
m m
!
■"■Sim
m
m
Listen to 'What's Nevy' -A brand new CBC network radio show - featuring new young stars
with Pat Riccio and his group every Saturday night. CBC radio 11:30 p.m.
in the coming Year 5729
fly OJUrMTi
EUROPEAN EXCELLENCE ALOFT
and meet your friends en route to ISRAEL and EUROPE
74 Victotin St , Toronto, 36 3 7012
1117 St Catfierines St W., Montreal, 849-7428