In another group of Jewish and Arab women during the dance and movement intervention feelings began to surface. One woman, whose mother was in the hospital, started sobbing and was soon being held in the arms of a facilitator. Soon afterwards, another Jewish woman, Amira (not her real name), who was wavering, not knowing if to continue in the group, volunteered to work on her painful memories in front of everyone with Tamar, a facilitator.
Almost immediately she began talking about being sexually abused as a young girl by one of her relatives and how people in her family knew but no one intervened to stop it. Embracing her, Tamar listened, reminding Amira that she is not alone now...that things are different and that she has support... Amira began to sob. The circle of Arab and Jewish women seemed to breathe together and create a gentle cushion for this tender moment. Then one woman in the circle, Wafa (not her real name), an Arab leader, began to cry too. Tamar and Sylvi (the facilitators) saw this and so did Amira.
Slowly Tamar released Amira and watched as she walked towards Wafa. For a moment they exchanged a tearful glance and then opened their arms to hold one another. Wafa began to speak. She had been on the other side. She had known about a woman relative who was being abused and yet she had done nothing to stop it. Nothing. As their tears intermingled it seemed that the whole circle was joined by an invisible thread of human love and that Spirit was present...
Before she left Amira said to Tamar: "I would like to thank you twice... as a teacher and as a human being.."
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