Israel and Jordan

Over the carnival holidays, pupils from the upper school of the Julius-Lohmann-Gymnasium travelled to Israel and Jordan with history teacher Michael Wendel, where they experienced the Middle East conflict first-hand and not just through history textbooks.

After a relaxed start in the very western and liberal Tel Aviv, they experienced the multiculturalism and religiosity of Israel and the many facets of the conflict at every turn in Jerusalem, whether on visits to the Old City, in discussions with movements and organisations such as MEET (Middle East Entrepreneurs of Tomorrow) or Combatants for Peace, on an excursion to the West Bank, where the construction of settlements and walls with all their consequences became tangible, or at street demonstrations for democracy and against the planned judicial reform: they were confronted everywhere with the different views and attitudes, fears and concerns of consistently friendly people - all of whom they could understand in their own way.

These very intense impressions were then supplemented by some very emotional conversations with Jordanian pupils from a Round Square partner school in Amman, who, due to their Palestinian roots, gave them a completely different perspective on the issue. Here, the impact of the refugee issue became very clear: millions of Jordanians from Palestine who may never feel Jordanian and mourn a homeland they have never known.

The tour was rounded off with excursions which, in addition to all the unresolved problems, showed them one thing in particular: how incredibly beautiful the region is - whether at the Dead Sea, at St George's Monastery, which was built high above a gorge in the middle of the rock, or - which was of course a must on a side trip to Jordan - in the ancient rock city of Petra, one of the new seven wonders of the world.

This intensive week in Israel and Jordan taught them a lot: they did not find a solution to the Middle East conflict, but they realised how important it is to be open and talk to each other. And even if the current situation is volatile, the encounters with wonderful people give us hope that the conflict can one day be resolved.