Walking in Jaffa's Shoes

Dear supporters,

The last few months have not been easy, particularly the past weeks in which we saw renewed violence in Gaza result in dozens of deaths. During these challenging times, we turn to our work and our participants to give us hope.

Thanks to your support, hundreds of local and international participants have undergone our alternative tour of Jaffa this year. During May, we took part in a local initiative surrounding Nakba Day on May 15th, in which people had the opportunity to hear from a number of local guides, both in person and online. All the guides were from Jaffa, so they all were able to tell not only the story of the city, but also their own personal and family stories, connecting what happened in 1948 to their lives today.

Then, in July, you helped us host our first in person event since COVID-19 - a launch of our short documentary on Jaffa, a virtual companion to our tours. In the short documentary, "I'm From Jaffa," viewers are taken on a tour of the nearly 4,000 year old city of Jaffa. Told through the eyes Amoneh Asfour - born and raised in Jaffa - "I'm From Jaffa" gives viewers chance to break out of the usual story told by city authorities, by which Jaffa is merely a suburban neighborhood of Tel-Aviv or a tourist attraction, and to see the city in its impressive past and the hardships it faces today. Amoneh and her family's story is an important reminder that the only way to get to know a city is through the experiences of its residents, challenges and all. Over 60 of our community members gathered to watch the film, and then to listen to a panel of Jaffans discuss the film and their experiences living in the city. A few days later, we held an online screening in English, in which participants got to hear from the film's subject, Jaffan activist Amoneh Asfour, who spoke about language, identity, and her connection to Jaffa. We have begun to show screenings of the film to schools, and to engage youth in conversation as to their own thoughts and feelings about the film. Our hope is to expand our capacity next year and to hold more screenings for youth in local school, as well as bring more schools on in person tours - something we can only accomplish with your continued support. You can view the film here, and please reach out if you're interested in scheduling an online screening in your community.

Thank you for making all of this possible, we hope to be writing you in near future under better circumstanes.

Sincerely,

The Sadaka-Reut Team

Since the start of 2022, we have completed our Tours Facilitation Training Course, in which seven local Palestininan and Jewish Israelis were trained to facilitate Sadaka-Reut's alternative tour of Jaffa.

Over the years, through Sadaka-Reut’s nearly four decades of educational shared society work with dialogue groups, we developed a socio-historical tour of Jaffa that tells the once vibrant Palestinian port city’s unheard story, one that goes beyond Jaffa as merely a suburb of Tel-Aviv or an appealing tourist attraction. Through the tour we reveal the complexities - and thus the opportunities - that color the lives of the Palestinian and Jewish communities in Jaffa, and in mixed cities in general. Ignoring these complexities continues and strengthens their existence, whereas directly engaging with them is a necessary step in order to create opportunities for shared living. After the events of May, we have been blown away by the number of requests we have received to give tours to Palestinian and Jewish schools, local community centers, international gap-year programs, and other interested parties. At the moment, we do not have the capacity to give tours to all who want, nor are we able to offer tours free of charge, thereby limiting the communities and individuals who can participate. 

Through our facilitation training, we created space for our bi-national group participants to develop skills for joint bi-national work, practical facilitation tools, and knowledge they can share with their local Jaffan communities as well as communities outside of Jaffa. The course took place over three months and had 12 sessions, including dialogue groups and historical analysis, practical facilitation experience, and lectures from local experts (residents, activists, and academics) so that the participants will be equipped, in turn, to run tours in Jaffa to different groups from a place of deep familiarity with the city’s historical context. Because of this project, we have already been able to serve a larger population by running several times the number of tours we are currently been able to. 

During the month of April, we took part in a local initiative aimed at ending the housing crisis in Jaffa, which currently has over 500 families that are set to be evicted from their homes. As part of this initiative, both old and new facilitators lead local tours for Jewish Israelis, in order to raise awareness and knowledge surrounding the historical and current circumstances that have lead to the housing crisis. Thus far, over 100 locals have undergone our tour of Jaffa as part of this initiative.

It is because of your support that locals have been empowered to tell their personal and family stories, and to bring their experiences to others. We thank you dearly and hope you will continue to support this important project!