Hundreds of Israelis, including a delegation from NIF grantee Tag Meir, came together last week to show solidarity with the Arab-Jewish village of Neve Shalom / Wahat al-Salam, following two separate arson attacks within the space of a week.

Just before the first day of the new school year for the village’s Jewish and Arab children, the school building was completely burned down. Several days later, Neve Shalom’s library was burnt down.

“As we know from history,” one resident said, “a society that burns books soon burns people. We are worried that these hate crimes have begun with the village’s public buildings and next they will target our homes.”

Nadwa, a teacher at Neve Shalom from Abu Ghosh is a former teacher at the bilingual Hebrew-Arabic school in Jerusalem which was also the victim of arson in the past. She hopes the culprits brought to justice.

Located midway between Jerusalem and Tel Aviv, Neve Shalom / Wahat al-Salam (“Oasis of Peace), was established in 1978 by Arab and Jewish families as an agricultural cooperative. There are currently nearly 350 Jews and Arabs living in the village.

Photo via Tag Meir Facebook