Through Others’ Eyes at Puffin

Through Others’ Eyes, a photographic exhibition named after a unique project of the same name that is organized under the auspices of Givat Haviva, a nonprofit educational institute in Israel, addresses the need for communication between Israeli Arab and Jewish teenagers, who rarely – if ever – have an opportunity to meet one another.

This project allows them to visit each others’ homes and communities under the guidance of an Arab and a Jewish facilitator, and they use photography as the basis for exploring questions of identity and co-existence.

An exhibit at the Puffin Cultural Center in Teaneck highlights a selection of the works created by students who participated in Through Others’ Eyes this year. During the summer, participants go to New York for three weeks, where they participate in Peace Camp at Camp Shomria, as well as special programming in the New York City area.

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The Givat Haviva Institute, founded in 1949, has been at the forefront of educating for equality and mutual dialogue and understanding between Arabs and Jews through formal and informal programs. Every year, 20,000 Israeli Jews and Arabs and thousands more teenagers and adults from different countries participate in the institute’s courses, lectures, seminars, and tours of the region.

Givat Haviva’s flagship program, Shared Communities, pairs an Arab village, Kfar Qara, with Pardes Hanna-Karkur, a Jewish town, for joint programs to bridge divides and increase communication and interaction across three generations of residents.

The exhibit opens on July 31. Call 201-836-3499 or go to www.puffinculturalforum.org.