Applause and cheers erupted from the crowded room as musicians put their instruments to their sides, stood and faced their audience, residents of the Palestinian village of Salem, with pride.

This was the maiden performance by students of the Salem Music Center following 9 months of learning.

With 6,000 inhabitants, Salem is a few kilometers from the city of Nablus, West Bank. The village lies between two Palestinian refugee camps, and the illegal Israeli settlement of Elon Moreh and near Skali Ranch outpost.

The Israeli occupation of the West Bank, and the settlements have been sources of pain and hardship for the village. The locals have faced land confiscations, physical assaults, checkpoints, Jew-only roads and loss of livelihoods as their olive trees were burnt or uprooted. Worst of all, they faced a murder.

The second Intifada (the Palestinian uprising) in 2,000 resulted in Israeli controlled closures and curfews, trenches around villages, and huge boulders at entrances, hindering Palestinian movement.

Young Palestinian musicians pose for a group photo with members of Israeli volunteers' Villages Group.

An Israeli volunteer greets a Palestinian girl in Salem Village, West Bank

Young Palestinian musicians pose for a group photo with members of Israeli volunteers' Villages Group.

An Israeli volunteer greets a Palestinian girl in Salem Village, West Bank

News about a family from Deir al-Hattab who were unable to purchase medicine for their two-year old epileptic daughter due to the closure of Nablus reached Israeli Asaf Oron, a social activist and volunteer. She remained untreated for 10 days. Eventually when taken to a hospital in Nablus, it was too late.

Oron maintained contact by telephone with the family, listening to tales of dire life in the West Bank, and how difficult it was to reach their olive groves. Thus began the work of the Villages Group.

Operating under the motto “Perhaps we cannot bring about a general peace, but we can perform deeds of peace,” these Israeli volunteers try to be a link, in a sense, between Israelis and the Palestinians.

Knowing that soldiers would not shoot Israelis, the group began their work by accompanying villagers to their olive fields, providing a safe passage.

The Villages Group challenges the status quo. Ehud Krinis, a member of the group, explained that aside from making direct contact between Israelis and Palestinians, “the group does not have a formal agenda.” If there is a need for something in the village, they extend help.

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