Young Arabs and Jews at U of T who want understanding and peace rather than conflict, have a forum on campus to get their voices heard.
The journal Yalla launched its first issue last year with the purpose of creating a dialogue between Canadian Jewish and Arab youth about the Israel-Palestine conflict. The journal features a collection of short stories, poetry, photography, and essays.
Editors say the journal is different from other discourse about the conflict.
“The purpose of the journal is to get to the humanity behind the headlines. There’s always so much controversy and shouting on campuses and only bad news in the papers,” says Meena Rafie, one of Yalla’s editors. “Youth care about what’s happening and [we want] our generation to see the other side’s perspective.”
There are an equal number of Jews and Arabs on the editorial board. The editors aim to have an equal amount of submissions to the journal from Jews and Muslims as well, but are also looking for writing by anyone else who feels attached to the Israel-Palestine conflict.
The editorial board has grown, with half of the editors based in Toronto, the other half in Montreal. The journal was recently honoured with an award from Forces Avenir, which recognizes and promotes student acheivement.
“We hope to attract as diverse a crowd as possible, because this is a global issue that affects young people and adults,” says Ran Goel. “Most people have some opinion of what’s going on, but rarely do people consider the other side.”
The board is also interested in broadening the distribution of Yalla to extend to U.S. universities.
You can view last year’s edition at www.yallajournal.com and email submissions to [email protected].
