Palestine
Since 2002, the Flame of Hope, known formerly as Earth Caravan, has initiated and implemented peacebuilding and community support projects and activities throughout Israel and Palestine, most recently by giving charity Tao Shiatsu treatments to families directly affected by the October 7th, 2023 Hamas attacks in southern Israel.
Other notable projects have included:
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Providing economic and material support to coexistence ecovillages in both Israel and Palestine working for peace and reconciliation
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Donating a desalination water purifier to a community in the Gaza Strip
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Supporting and renovating a women's professional training association and youth club center in Tel Aviv
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Giving regular free Tao therapy treatments at a special needs center and a center for mental disorders in Tel Aviv
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Carrying out mindfulness and non-violent communication workshops to Israelis and Palestinians at peace education conferences
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Offering Tao therapy treatment to displaced families in East Jerusalem
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Giving regular meditation and mindfulness workshops at a Jewish-Arab Kindergarten in Jaffa city and at an Arabic Kindergarten in Umm al-Fahm
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Helping to build roads and infrastructure for disadvantaged communities in the south Hebron Hills
From 2015 to 2019, the Flame of Hope team travelled throughout Israel and Palestine carrying the Peace Flame of Hiroshima and offered support to the most vulnerable communities affected by the conflict.
The Flame of Hope visited and delighted Bedouin children of the Jahalin tribe in Mishor Adumim. At a summer camp organized by the Rabbis for Human Rights organization and nuns from the Catholic Comboni Missionary Sisters of Italy, Caravan participants rejoiced with the local children through music, dance, acting, and creating origami.
The Flame of Hope team also accompanied Bedouin Shepherds in the Jordan Valley to bear witness to the harsh realities imposed on them. While in the Jordan Valley, a photovoltaic solar system was donated to the village of Al-ʿAqaba that numbers thirty-five families. While in Al-ʿAqaba and working with members of Ta’ayush, Flame of Hope volunteers helped rehabilitate and restore one of the surroundingwater village water wells.
