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Organization	The Tisch Family Zoological Gardens, the Biblical Zoo in Jerusalem
Region	Israel
Website	Website
Facebook	Facebook
Twitter	@Twitter
ProjectLeader	Nicole Wexler

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Bringing together all communities - Jews, Muslims, Christians, Druze and others - in Jerusalem, through environmental education to inspire members of divided communities to conserve the environment and local wildlife. Finding common ground facilitates mutual respect, understanding and dialogue as well as a sense of the wider community between diverse ethnic and religious groups so that together we can strive toward a shared future.

Challenge

This project addresses the coexistence challenge in Jerusalem where decades of political conflict has led to deep mutual distrust between communities. Few opportunities for personal contact between communities leads to stereotyping. By engaging in ongoing positive interaction, participants from neighboring communities gain mutual understanding, respect and trust at the grassroots level. Even simply visiting the Zoo in the company of other communities exposes people to a different reality.

Long-Term Impact

More than 750,000 visitors benefit from indirect education at the Zoo annually; while over 100,000 young people participate in varied direct environmental education programs enabling them to serve as leaders for nature conservation in their communities and as ambassadors for change. By focusing on protection of the environment as a shared goal, the Zoo aims to provide a setting for trust and relationship building by helping people create a new narrative of inter-communal cooperation.