I recently returned from five months of volunteer and study in Israel on a program called Tikun Olam in Tel Aviv-Jaffa.  As a volunteer on Tikun Olam, I found myself immersed in places and experiences that allowed me to work actively for change. For example, at the Israel Tennis Center-Jaffa, I taught tennis to a mixed group of Arabs and Jewish kids, who joined together as teammates to improve their play. I watched my group learn to work together both on the court and on the sidelines. Many of them did not grasp the significance of the group's diversity, but that was also the beauty of it.  When they entered the courts, the boundaries created by race and religion – so apparent in a tense city like Jaffa – disappeared.

 

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