Name
Building Bridges in Broken Places: Arab Muslim and Jewish Israeli Children are “Voices of Hope”
Date & Time
Friday, July 31, 2026, 9:00 AM - 9:30 AM
Description
This study examines how young voices construct narratives of possibility, reconciliation, and hope through musical expression within the context of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The "Voices of Hope" initiative, featured on Israeli television with emotional commentary from participants, was established by Eva Pitlik Lautersztein, a retired educator, conductor, author, and musician at Kibbutz Hukok in northern Israel. Born in Germany in 1946 to Holocaust survivors, Lautersztein immigrated to Argentina before settling permanently in Israel, bringing a profound understanding of displacement, trauma, and resilience to her pedagogy.Since 2015, Lautersztein has developed bilingual musical experiences to engage Arab Muslim and Jewish children in schools from Israel's Central region, Northern territories, and Tel Aviv-Jaffa Metropolitan area. Participants originate from segregated communities, attend separate educational systems, and typically lack proficiency in each other's languages—Hebrew and Arabic—creating significant intercultural exchange barriers.In 2025, in response to escalating regional tensions, the initiative expanded to incorporate theatrical arts through a collaborative musical production. This evolution reflects Lautersztein's transformative pedagogy: "The main goal is to change social consciousness. In cooperation, both sides win, but in war, both sides lose. I really believe that it may lead to hope for future peace. It will take time, but as educators, we must start now" (e-mail communication, September 27, 2025).The musical adapts a narrative by acclaimed Israeli writer Ephrayim Sidon, highlighting shared human experiences across ethnic and religious divides. The project's development methodology exemplifies systematic binational collaboration through intentionally balanced creative team structure. The production team comprised four specialized professionals selected for youth-oriented performance experience and intercultural competency: Arab composer Nizar Elkhater and Jewish composer Moshe Zorman collaborated on musical composition, while Arab stage manager Raga Knaan and Jewish stage manager Asaf Pietrokovsky coordinated theatrical production elements. This partnership model operationalizes the initiative's philosophical commitment to authentic cross-cultural collaboration at every level of artistic production. The Ben Gurion Prize provided funding for staffing, demonstrating how institutional support enables ambitious peacebuilding initiatives while preserving artistic and educational standards.The "Voices of Hope" initiative offers insights into how creative collaboration transcends political divisions and creates spaces for alternative narrative construction among youth in conflict contexts. By positioning children as active agents of social change rather than passive victims, the program challenges dominant discourses of inevitability surrounding protracted conflicts, demonstrating the transformative potential of arts-based interventions in divided societies.
Location Name
512H
Full Address
Palais des Congres - Montréal Convention Centre
1001, Place Jean-Paul-Riopelle
Montreal QC H2Z 1H2
Canada
1001, Place Jean-Paul-Riopelle
Montreal QC H2Z 1H2
Canada
Session Type
Paper Presentation
Presenting Author(s)
Ambigay Yudkoff