Boulder-based Sustainable Israeli-Palestinian Projects (SIPP) is hosting a Community Update via Zoom from 11:00 am to 12:00 noon Mountain Daylight Time on Sunday, August 15th. Grab a cup of coffee and join us and learn about positive activities in the region! Mark your calendar and RSVP!

SIPP’s Mini-Grants have already had a big impact.  One Mini-Grantee, AMAL-Spoken Arabic for All, reported that the ability to add three additional Arab-Israeli teachers to their cross-cultural language program was a huge benefit. SIPP’s support allowed AMAL to bring Arab language and cultural education to almost an additional 100 Jewish children in the Tel Aviv area, plus their parents.  Not only do the children benefit, but the Arab student teachers were able to gain important skills and experience in working in a Jewish environment. These photos are of a field trip to Jaffa that a group of students in the AMAL program took in June.

Following the sirens during the rocket attacks during the recent Gaza war, the children asked their schools and parents to reach out to the Arab student-teachers to check that they were okay and that they had not been hurt in the rocket attacks. The development of this empathy for people from different backgrounds to their own is something of which AMAL and SIPP are very proud.

SIPP’s 2020/2021 Mini-Grant recipients will bring the community up-to-date on their progress promoting peace and well-being among diverse Israelis, Palestinians and others. Their projects cover a wide range of civil society and environmental programs: 

• outdoor education for Bedouin boys and girls through off-road biking
• fostering connections among environmental entrepreneurs from Israel, Palestine, and the United Arab Emirates
• facilitating empowerment and cross-cultural ties between the Negev’s Jewish community and local Bedouin women
• providing cross-cultural Arabic language training;
• educational rain water catching
• environmental education
• online dialogue

SIPP has announced a second round of Mini-Grants and is currently accepting applications.

During the Community Update, attendees will learn about SIPP’s upcoming plans including potential partnership opportunities arising from the Middle East Partnership for Peace Act. SIPP’s Israeli liaison Lisa Talesnick will also provide a brief update.

To learn more, read SIPP’s Spring/Summer Newsletter and go to SIPP’s website (www.SIPProjects.org) to listen a recent KUNC interview with Board members Peter Ornstein and Bernard Amadei.

Peace often starts one person at a time, one group at a time. That is why SIPP’s focus on smaller projects, on the ground, is a key piece of efforts toward peace and reconciliation. 

All of SIPP’s successes happen because of your donor support and the efforts of its volunteer Board.

Please RSVP here to receive the Zoom link to join SIPP’s Community Update on August 15.

With your help SIPP can continue making grants with real impact! Donations are welcome at Make a Donation