Tag Archives: The Keshet School

by | March 31, 2011 · 2:19 pm

Coach Robert “Bo Bo” Jurkovic Visits PPI – Middle East

Coach Robert "Bo Bo" Jurkovic led practices with some of our younger participants during his time with PPI-ME.

Some  of the strong selling points for playing with PeacePlayers International is that a PeacePlayer learns to think outside the box, meet and befriend players from different and traditionally averse communities, and develop greater social skills and awareness. But on top of all these important experiences, PPI is a good place to learn the game of basketball and meet top-notch basketball figures from abroad.  Thanks to the America House Life Skills Event Series, generously supported by the United States Consulate in Jerusalem, our young PeacePlayers have the opportunity to do just that.

Bo Bo leading practice in Keshet school.

For example, last week PPI – ME hosted coach Robert Jurkovic – a renowned junior basketball coach from Croatia – for a weeklong series of basketball clinics and conflict resolution workshops. His visit was part of a cultural exchange between regions that have experienced conflict and the role basketball can take in improving the lives and life-skills of youth in these regions. Robert (aka Bo Bo) is no stranger to working in foreign, and even conflict-ridden environments. He has worked in places like Israel and Italy, before returning to his home country of Croatia. Until a couple of years ago he coached the Croatian boys cadets national team, and today he runs the boys and men section of the Rijeka basketball club in Croatia. He helped cultivate many basketball players who went on to illustrious athletic careers.

Click the photo above to see a video of Bo Bo in action!

Robert, who is a long-time professional colleague of  PPI – ME Director of Basketball Operations Vito Gilic, came to Israel to lead a series of PPI – ME activities and to meet the girls and boys who play and learn with PPI – ME. Robert led practices for teams of all ages. He came to Keshet School in West Jerusalem and ran two practices with Jewish boys and girls from grades 1 – 4. A day later, he visited Ein Raffa – an Arab community near Jerusalem – where he led practice for our grade 1- 2 teams. He said it was a refreshing experience, as he hadn’t worked with young children for such a long time. Robert also got a chance to work with PPI – ME’s older players. He led our weekly LDP practice, challenging the players with drills that develop physical skills and quick thinking.

He also led a workshop with a group of female PeacePlayers at the America House facility. He spoke to them about basketball, life in a conflict zone (for them the Middle East and for him the wars in the Balkans). Then, he showed them the movie “Once Brothers” about the falling out between former best friends and basketball players Drazen Petrovic and Vlade Divac. Robert noted that this story, as well as basketball in general, can contribute to understanding the “other” and ourselves, beyond political masks or stereotypes.

It was a busy week for Coach Robert; but it was no doubt just as satisfying. The lessons he taught the children and youth of PPI – ME – both on and off the court – will not be soon forgotten, and they are bound to help the young PeacePlayers learn not only the importance of practicing their dribble and lay up, but also how peace and understanding can find room in their lives through basketball.

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by | February 24, 2011 · 2:18 pm

The Route of Learning Peacemaking and Basketball

In today’s post, Aran puts PPI – Middle East’s various programs in context, taking us from a team’s initial practice all the way to where we hope each of our players ends up, giving back to the next generation of PeacePlayers.

LDP members guide younger PeacePlayers at PPI - ME's MiniFest.

Most PPI – ME teams practice regularly within their local communities twice each week. Twice each month, they meet another  team from the “other” community for a joint practice called a “Twinning.” The first challenge for any team is to get to know each other, and within PPI – ME this happens on three levels – first, amongst a team’s players themselves; second, between the young PeacePlayers and their coach; and finally, amongst all the members of two twinned teams.

The Keshet School children host their twinned team from East Jerusalem.

One example is the program at the Keshet School in West Jerusalem where PPI – ME engages some 40 children, all of them new to basketball and new to PPI – ME. Before their coach could introduce them to their twined team from East Jerusalem, he had to gain their trust. This was accomplished by through a series of activities with three goals: to introduce the children to the game of basketball, to have fun (and through this fun, to build trust), and to prepare the children to meet their twinned team using PPI – ME’s key values and teachings. Last week, on a rainy day in Jerusalem, the two Keshet teams went through special classes that are based on the curriculum developed by PPI in partnership with the Laureus Sport for Good Foundation and the Arbinger Institute. In this class the children learned that every person on a team is important, no matter how small their role sometimes seems. Coaches will later build on this lesson to illustrate to children how any one person is equal to any other person.

Practice in Ein Raffa.

The program in the Arab community of Ein Raffa presented even more complex challenges, since the team’s coach is Jewish and does not speak Arabic. He has with him a translator from the community. In four months of practice, the team developed some special signals and code words. Though most of them don’t speak English, all the children know what the “baseline” is and how to assume the basic defensive stance in basketball. Progress is slow, but communication between the players and their coach is running more smoothly every practice.

LDP members learn from PPI's curriculum in-depth.

The ideal for all of our participants are the All Stars teams and the Boys LDP team. These teams are fully integrated. They are made of youth that understand not only the codes and tactics of basketball, but also the special mission of PeacePlayers International – to understand the lessons of equality and of seeing people as people, to be open towards the “other” and act according to these lessons, taking them outside of the basketball court to their communities. In the first MiniFest of the season, help a couple of months ago, the LDP boys and girls acted as instructors to our younger PeacePlayers. The young PeacePlayers have a long road ahead of them before they are able to live out this vision of openness and acceptance. Luckily, they have PPI – ME’s veterans to guide them.

PPI’s work in the Middle East is partially made possible by the generous support of the American people through USAID.

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by | January 27, 2011 · 2:03 pm

Children from East and West Jerusalem Come Closer Together

The twinned  “Mini” teams from East and West Jerusalem, both serving children in Grades 1 and 2, seem to be on the right track. Their frequent meetings must be beginning to work their magic.

A twinning at The Keshet School.

The initial questionnaires we give the children when they start our program, before they meet their peers from the ‘other’ community, are never bright. Both Arab and Jewish children usually say that they are nervous and worried about meeting children different from them. It’s clear that they don’t know what to expect from these joint practices. The same was the case with these children from East and West Jerusalem. When the children from East Jerusalem first came to the court in The Keshet School, in West Jerusalem, they walked hesitantly. Last week, when they came again, for the fifth meeting of the two teams, they were running onto the court.

Twinned teams usually meet twice per month. These teams play alternately in The Keshet School and in the Hand in Hand Bilingual School. The two places are only a ten-minute walk from each other, yet PPI – ME provides nearly the only opportunity for these kids to meet. January saw two meetings. The first took place in Hand in Hand early this month. The second was last week, in Keshet.

A twinning at Hand in Hand.

That session was run by PPI – ME’s Manager of Basketball Operations Vito Gilic. The drills this time were harder and more complex than before, signaling that the children have improved their basketball skills since the beginning of the season. Now they have the ball in their hands from beginning to end, and almost every drill requires them to dribble. When Vito yells “Island!” all the children go to the three circles on the court. When he yells “Water!” the children take shelter on the courtsides – all the time, they dribble.

The "Chair Game" requires concentration and cooperation.

Then Vito takes it up a notch. The children line up in two opposing lines. Vito demonstrates that he wants them to pass the ball from one side to another through a hoop that one of the coaches holds between the two lines. “After you pass the ball run around the hoop to the back of the opposing line,” Vito says. One of the boys from East Jerusalem jokes around and tries to jump through the hoop. It makes everybody laugh. From that point on, everybody’s trying to do the same thing – every time somebody does it, it gets funnier. The coaches try to keep the children in check, but to no avail. The same kids who had some worries about meeting the ‘other’ only three months ago now feel so comfortable together that they make up their own games.

The children have begun making their own games together.

This is only one sign that the frequent meetings are bringing the children closer together. More signs are everywhere. Children who before asked to get a ball only from their coach, now go directly to a kid from the ‘other’ community and join him or her in play.

This is a beginning. These children only began to play basketball and only began to make contact with the community from across Jerusalem’s cultural divide a few months ago. As they get better in basketball they will also become better friends. They will feel more comfortable with each other. They will see each other as people, and not just as ‘others.’ And then, as they grow up, they will pay all this forward.

This project is partially made possible by the generous support of the American people through USAID.

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by | September 16, 2010 · 4:52 pm

“With Every Training, with Every Meeting, with Every Lay-Up and Dribble”

Aran Rondel joined PeacePlayers International – Middle East just a few days ago, as a “jack of all trades” coordinating work in our Tel Aviv headquarters with our sites in Jerusalem, the home of most of PPI – ME’s activity. He’ll be coaching a team throughout the season, while helping to keep things running smoothly inside PPI – ME. He’ll also be a regular contributor to this blog. This week, he offers his initial thoughts about the program, and explains why he joined PPI – ME. Stay tuned for more from Aran!

Aran at "Recruiting Day" with the Keshet School

The Middle East is a troublesome region. Nobody is disputing this. But if one must find a silver lining in this hate- and fear-ridden place, it would be the fact that opportunities to change this situation knock on one’s door frequently. I was looking for some time for the right opportunity to contribute, in some way, to achieving a more peaceful relationship among Israelis and Palestinians. And it seems that I found it, teaching no less than my favourite sport – the game of basketball.

Some of Aran's young players.

I loved the idea of bringing communities together – specifically children from conflicted communities – through joint sporting activities from the second I heard it. I loved it before I ever heard of Arbinger, and I loved it before I ever knew how it was done. An idea this simple simply cannot fail. Moreover, this idea does not make peace more achievable – it IS peace. Twice a week – with every training, with every meeting with children from across the barrier, with every lay-up and every dribble – peace is made and children’s lives become richer and more normal.

A player at the Keshet School working on his handle.

This week, my first with PPI – ME, I met for the first time the children of the Keshet School, which integrates Jewish religious and secular children, in the West Jerusalem community of Katamon. At the school, I began coaching two teams with children from Grades 1 through 4. They still do not know their Palestinian peers from the nearby community of Beit Safafa, who will begin training with them shortly, but as I looked at them play I felt excitement at the things that await PPI – ME children this coming season: twinnings of teams from Palestinian and Israeli communities, partaking in the Leadership Development Program, holiday camps, special leagues, fieldtrips, tournaments, completely integrated teams playing n official leagues – all in the name of peacemaking and building bridges over decades of segregation and fear. Those children may not know it, but they are in the process of making peace already.

The Middle East surely has its rough points. To me, however, this means that there is just more work to be done. And I found my place to do it. While politicians try to find a way to talk about peace and envision what it would be like to have it, the children, myself and the rest of the PPI – ME staff will be on the basketball courts in Israeli and Palestinian towns and villages, seemingly playing basketball, really making peace.

This project is partially made possible by the generous support of the American people through USAID.

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by | February 18, 2010 · 11:41 am

PPI – ME Gears Up for a New Season of the Peace League

Make sure you check out the end of this post to learn how you can help support PeacePlayers International for free with just two simple clicks.

Girls from Esawiah pose with their coach, Basil, and LDP volunteers before playing in a "mini-basket" game.

In preparation for the 2010 season of the PPI – ME Peace Basketball League, a unique project bringing together Arab, Jewish and integrated teams, PPI – ME athletes of all ages have been taking part in friendly scrimmages. Girls between 8 and 10 years old from Beit Safafa, the Keshet School, Esawiah and the Hand in Hand School (the “Mini-Basket” bracket) have played in several tournaments, learning the fundamentals of basketball and becoming more familiar with the rules of the game.

"College" players driving to the basket.

Meanwhile, PPI – ME’s “College” level teams, ages 10-13, have also seen regular on-the-court action. Each Friday, girls from Beit Safafa and the Keshet School gather at the Hand in Hand School in Jerusalem for “Game Day,” an afternoon of scrimmaging on mixed teams. After the girls finish, the boys of Beit Safafa and Katamon take the floor. Not only do these events provide an opportunity for PPI – ME youth to gain game-time experience, but they also represent a marked increase in twinning activity. This programming season, many PPI – ME teams are twinning at least once per week, if not more. This has immeasurably strengthened the relationships between participants, who have bonded over basketball in spite of language and other barriers.

Efrat from the Keshet School exchanges a high-five with PPI - ME Basketball Operations Manager Vito Gilic'.

Jump ball to start the LDP vs. AIS game

After tipping off at the American International School (AIS) tournament, the Leadership Development Program (LDP) squad has continued to sharpen its skills with numerous scrimmages. LDP boys played against the Jerusalem School as well as the Anglican School, posting one win and one loss thus far. The Girls’ LDP kept its winning streak alive with a victory over AIS, which recently traveled to Jerusalem from northern Israel in order to play against this talented PPI – ME team. With many more games already scheduled and the LDP slated to participate in the next AIS tournament on February 28th, the group is poised for a busy – and most importantly, fun – spring.

Coach Samer Elayan leads the team

Playing defense

Want to take a simple action to support the boys and girls of PeacePlayers International – Middle East? We’re now eligible for inclusion in the latest edition of CauseWorld, a mobile app that lets you earn “karmas” – badges backed up by donations from Citi and Kraft – for your favorite causes just by visiting your own local hangouts. Vote for PPI to be one of three new Causes included in this round. (You can find us fourth from the bottom of the list on the right.) There’s no registration required and, with just a few seconds of your time, you’ll help others support PPI for a lifetime!

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