The fluish Standard - The Jewish Standard

I haven’t blogged lately because I’ve been down with the flu – don’t know which one, but it’s really been exhausting (I slept for two days straight, then napped when I could, and am still worn out). The lesson is: Don’t hesitate to get that flu shot.

Meanwhile, there’s an article in the alumni/ae bulletin of my college – Bard, in Annandale-on-Hudson, N.Y. – about its new venture with Al-Quds University in East Jerusalem to offer a dual bachelor of arts degree and a master of arts in teaching.

I know nothing about Palestinian education – except that children are taught from an early age to hate Israelis – and I am glad that Palestinians will be able to broaden their knowledge and teaching skills through Bard. Even after the degrees are granted, what’s learned will be passed on to the next generations, which can only be good for all parties involved.

Bard’s president, Leon Botstein, and Al-Quds’ Sari Nusseibeh were on the Charlie Rose show this summer talking about the project. Botstein said, “The people [of the region] want a normal life. They want to change the inability to understand the other person’s point of view.”

And Nusseibeh said, “It’s very important to create tolerance and pluralism through this form of education. It will introduce new methods … that I hope are replicated, and I hope will awaken again the interest in education and culture as a way of enriching society.”

I hope so, too.

RKB

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