Andrew Zakim of Metuchen, a junior at New York University, has founded a nonprofit organization to promote tolerance and understanding among Jewish and Muslim children in Israel through a summer camp devoted to the arts.
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The fine printJanuary 22, 2008
A Metuchen student at New York University has struck a note for peace.
Andrew Zakim, a junior in the Tisch School of the Arts Recorded Music program, has founded a nonprofit organization to develop a music and arts summer camp in Israel that will build tolerance and understanding among Muslims and Jews.
The effort, called “Notes for Peace,” is his senior project as a major in recorded music and politics.
Zakim, who grew up in Congregation Neve Shalom in Metuchen, formulated the idea in part on trips to Israel — including with Birthright Israel during his freshman year and at an ulpan last summer at the University of Haifa.
He was also inspired by contacts and friendships with ethnically and religiously diverse classmates and friends in New York and New Jersey.
“I’m pretty open-minded,” said Zakim. “I have many friends from different communities, and one of my best friends is a Pakistani Muslim.”
But despite that friendship, old wounds from years of conflict in the Middle East are not so easy to overcome.
“Some Muslim people have even mentioned Israel in conversation, but it usually ends the conversation,” recalled Zakim.
Zakim said the plan calls for Israeli Arabs, Israeli Jews, and Palestinians to take classes at the camp in music, photography, and film; some of the courses will be taught by notable artists from Israel, Arab countries, and the United States.
The idea is not only to give youngsters access to technologies and resources currently not available to them, but also to raise awareness about the importance of educating children about tolerance and the arts.
The program “will give kids a chance to meet their musical heroes,” said Zakim. “Campers will learn musical skills as well as sit in workshops designed to build community connections.”
Notes for Peace is expected to be incorporated by the State of New York as a tax-exempt nonprofit by the end of January. It has a multi-ethnic student board that is compiling a curriculum, applying for grants, and soliciting donors. It is expected that the camp will open in the summer of 2009. Zakim chairs the board.
“This is a really worthy cause,” said Farva Jafri, the board’s vice chair and an American Muslim. “We’re all committed to bridging the gap between Arabs and Jews in Israel. The arts are our way of doing it.”
An accomplished songwriter, Zakim is no stranger to camping, having served as guitar specialist and assistant music coordinator for Camp Nah-Jee-Wah of the New Jersey Y camps from 2004 to 2006.
It’s important to cultivate youngsters’ appreciation for and aptitude in the arts, said Zakim. “Ages 10 to 12 is the most creative age. The kids have no inhibitions. They don’t care what people think, and they speak their minds. We need to think of mediums where kids can express themselves in ways adults can’t.”
The camp’s offerings will include a series of music and arts instruction classes, music therapy workshops, and discussions aimed at fostering an atmosphere of trust, friendship, and community.
“If these 10- or 12-year-olds become really good friends in camp,” said Zakim, “I’m hoping that later when some event happens, they stop and remember, ‘Wait — not everyone’s like that,’ before they make broad judgments. I just feel people make too many sweeping generalizations about other people.
“I don’t expect this project alone will bring peace, but I think if they had this experience early in their lives it will make it easier to get to the point where peace is possible.”
The organization is now looking for volunteers to go to churches, synagogues, and mosques to spread the word about Notes for Peace. Zakim said he also hopes institutions will donate used instruments and equipment.
Zakim returned to Israel Jan. 21 to spend his spring semester at the University of Haifa. While there, he plans to raise funds and solicit support from Israeli universities and recording companies and meet with government officials and artists about Notes for Peace.
The fine print
NOTES FOR PEACE is taking donations ranging from $25 to $1,000, which would pay to send a youngster to the camp. A long-range goal of its founder, Andrew Zakim, is for the organization to be able to offer scholarships for Israeli Jews, Israeli Arabs, and Palestinians to study the arts at American institutions.
For more information, to volunteer, or to donate, visit the web site or contact Zakim directly.