Peter Yarrow
צילום: TML Photos/Michael Friedson
Operation Respect coming to Israel
Singer Peter Yarrow of legendary folk group Peter, Paul and Mary arrives in Israel to promote education project aimed at promoting coexistence and tolerance among Israeli, Palestinian school children
Legendary American folk singer and civil rights activist Peter Yarrow gave a moving presentation in Jerusalem on Thursday when he revealed his educational program, Operation Respect, to a select group of Israeli and Palestinian journalists under the auspices of The Mideast Press Club, an initiative of The Media Line news agency.
Yarrow created the non-profit project in 2000. Since that time, OR curricula teaching coexistence and tolerance among school children have been implemented in more than 22,000 American schools and in schools in Hong Kong, South Africa and Croatia.
Yarrow, of the famed American folk trio Peter, Paul and Mary, is now venturing into the complicated waters of Israel and the Palestinian territories, hoping he can make a change in attitudes among Israeli Jewish, Israeli Arab and Palestinian schoolchildren through the project.
Parallel to its introduction into Israeli schools, Yarrow and foundation co-founder/chairwoman Dr. Charlotte Frank, who is traveling with him, had planned to introduce the project separately into Palestinian schools, with a view toward eventually combining the two programs to encourage Israeli-Palestinian dialogue at a later stage.
But Yarrow was unable to visit the Palestinian territories on this trip, which was sponsored by the American Embassy. The US Consulate in Jerusalem, which has responsibility for the American presence in the Palestinian territories, felt that post-Operation Cast Lead, the timing for the visit was not appropriate. But Yarrow was nevertheless able to reach Palestinians by presenting and discussing his program with Palestinian journalists who came to Jerusalem to meet Yarrow and hear about Operation Respect alongside their Israeli counterparts.
Mix of skepticism and hope
Undaunted, Yarrow appealed to the journalists present at the Mideast Press Club session to give the program a chance and to help spread word of the initiative. The idea was received, particularly by the Palestinian audience, with a mix of skepticism and hope. Some of the Palestinians said they see complications that did not exist in the cases of black Americans that Yarrow frequently drew references to.
For decades, Yarrow has fought for equal rights for minorities in the United States. He believes that where adults who have experienced the hardships of a conflict have become cynical and lost faith in the possibility of peaceful coexistence, children are the natural targets and disseminators of nonviolent ideas.
To make a point of the specific difficulties encountered in this region, one of the Palestinians, a journalist with the popular daily Al-Ayyam, explained that he was held up for more than two hours at the Israeli army coordination office in Ramallah where he went to pick-up a permit to enter Jerusalem to attend the Yarrow event. The permit had already been approved, but the sluggish bureaucracy nearly prevented him from attending the event altogether.
“I have an eight-year-old son who wants to see Al-Aqsa Mosque, but he can’t come to Jerusalem because he needs a permit,” the journalist said. “Some kids in the West Bank need permits just to get to school, so how do you think that changing an idea can work in this situation?”
Children to inspire parents, leaders
Yarrow, had referred to his decades of experience in the civil rights movement that included producing and coordinating events for the anti-Vietnam War movement; festivals for peace at Madison Square Garden and Shea Stadium; and the "March on Washington" in 1969 that some historians see as the turning point in public opinion of the war. Other issues where he has contributed his time and talent include combating hunger, homelessness, and the nuclear threat; and in support of education and equal rights.
Responding to the Palestinian's suggestion that the Palestinian situation is not analogous to the American Civil Rights movement, Yarrow, in an exasperated voice, replied that, “Of course there are impediments (to success in improving lives in this region). We’re living with the reality and we have to change that. If you want to break it, don’t expect the parents to do it and don’t expect the leaders to do it. Expect the leaders and the parents to be inspired by the children who are ready to do something that the (leaders) are not ready to do. Understand that extraordinary things have happened.”
Yarrow challenged the skeptics, insisting that, "I’ve seen this happen in the US and in the civil rights movement…let them do it with each other and THEN meet. Just let them live it. It happened in America. How did we get Obama? Because the kids went to school together and if we hadn’t have done that – never.”
The declared aim of Operation Respect is to “promote the infusion of character education and social and emotional learning principles into school curricula.”
It envisions a learning climate where children can develop without fear of bullying, ridicule and violence. Yarrow frequently refers to a startling statistic that at least 160,000 American school children stay home every day because of their fears of being bullied in the classroom or school yard.
More than 150,000 copies of the program have been distributed to educators since Operation Respect's inception through the assistance of the McGraw-Hill publishing company, where Frank serves as a senior Vice President.
Song that 'changed my life'
Operation Respect traces it routes to a song called Don’t Laugh At Me: a song Yarrow says "changed my life." The haunting melody and poignant words make the point unmistakably, frequently touching a nerve with the listeners.
I'm that kid on every playground/ Who's always chosen last/ A single teenage mother / Tryin' to overcome my past/ You don't have to be my friend/ But is it too much to ask/ Don't laugh at me/ Don't call me names/ Don't get your pleasure from my pain.
The program uses the power of music to help children make a heart connection with those different from them, and makes them more receptive to lessons offered through the activities in the accompanying curriculum.
“As an educational activist I believe that all children can learn. What makes Operation Respect different from other programs is the music,” said Dr. Frank.
Frank, who possesses a remarkable background in education and leadership, said children often came to school with all the problems they had at home and in the community.
“Operation Respect is designed to have the music and activities to talk about how we should be honest, respectful and responsible,” she said.
Yarrow's involvement with the US Embassy began when Andrew Koss, Counselor for Public Affairs, saw the reference to Operation Respect in an op-ed piece written by The Media Line's Felice Friedson following the Acco riots last fall. The editorial had appeared simultaneously in the Israeli newspaper the Jerusalem Post and in the Palestinian newspaper, Al Quds.
Friedson made the introductions and the trip was planned to coincide with the dedication of an "American Corner" in the old city of Acco. The cultural and education center received a rousing kick-off when city leaders from the Jewish and Arab communities joined US Ambassador James Cunningham for the Corner's grand opening. Israeli superstar David Broza joined Peter Yarrow on-stage to augment the musical celebration that featured a classical trio comprised of Israeli Jewish and Arab teenage musicians.
Reprinted with permission by The Media Line
