Connecting children Today, BFP has twenty clubs throughout Israel and additional clubs in Jordan and Turkey – annually reaching around on thousand youths from Israeli, Palestinian, Bedouin and Druze communities.“The real highlight is when I go to the desert and I see these Bedouin kids, who have nothing and they come and they bow, and we match them with kids from the cities. They practice and laugh and have fun together. That’s probably the most inspiring thing, when I see these kids together,” says Hakim.The Twin Dojo program that operates as part of BFP pairs each community up with another nearby community of a different ethnic background, thus helping to break down pre-conditioned stereotypes.The groups begin by participating in a joint martial arts training session. Once they have warmed up, they are led in interactive ice-breaker games. Parents who attend the session also get to meet parents from other communities. In addition, BFP is focused on female empowerment and has an equal number of female/male participants. It also provides self-defense training for adult women.The program is inspired by a documentary film called Shadya, which was produced by Hakim himself. The film tells the story of an Arab-Israeli girl named Shadya from a traditional Muslim home in an Arab village in the Galilee. Under Hakim’s training, she becomes a mentor for girls in her village, a world karate champion representing Israel and a BFP instructor. The film won first place in the International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam in 2005.NoCamels - Israeli Innovation NewsFollow @JPost_Lifestyle
Promoting Arab-Israeli peace through martial arts
Israeli NGO Budo For Peace aims to strengthen participants’ physical, mental abilities and break down barriers.
Connecting children Today, BFP has twenty clubs throughout Israel and additional clubs in Jordan and Turkey – annually reaching around on thousand youths from Israeli, Palestinian, Bedouin and Druze communities.“The real highlight is when I go to the desert and I see these Bedouin kids, who have nothing and they come and they bow, and we match them with kids from the cities. They practice and laugh and have fun together. That’s probably the most inspiring thing, when I see these kids together,” says Hakim.The Twin Dojo program that operates as part of BFP pairs each community up with another nearby community of a different ethnic background, thus helping to break down pre-conditioned stereotypes.The groups begin by participating in a joint martial arts training session. Once they have warmed up, they are led in interactive ice-breaker games. Parents who attend the session also get to meet parents from other communities. In addition, BFP is focused on female empowerment and has an equal number of female/male participants. It also provides self-defense training for adult women.The program is inspired by a documentary film called Shadya, which was produced by Hakim himself. The film tells the story of an Arab-Israeli girl named Shadya from a traditional Muslim home in an Arab village in the Galilee. Under Hakim’s training, she becomes a mentor for girls in her village, a world karate champion representing Israel and a BFP instructor. The film won first place in the International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam in 2005.NoCamels - Israeli Innovation NewsFollow @JPost_Lifestyle