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Friday March 29, 2002

Teens paint message of peace for greater community

LEE KRAVETZ
Bulletin Correspondent

Using colors ranging from blood reds to mild blues, the Jewish Youth for Community Action recently presented its continuing contribution to social change with a mural realized by a group of teenagers, all in the name of tikkun olam -- repairing the world.

JYCA unveiled the three-panel mural depicting images of war, oppression and peaceful gestures, at a release party last week in Oakland. The event was highlighted with socially conscious readings and presentations before a full house.

"JYCA teens care about the world so deeply," said Julia Caplan, program director of JYCA, a project of Jewish Family and Children's Services of the East Bay. "They decided to create something that reflects the way they view the world as it is today."

Now in its seventh year, JYCA focuses on youth empowerment and activism by teaching Bay Area Jewish teens, ages 15 to 18, leadership training and methods of community involvement.

Each year, JYCA chooses a focus and a project to get its message across to the community.

The jolting reality of Sept. 11 gave a voice to 30 teens who saw that the aftermath had stirred not only war in Afghanistan but also a resurgence of open racism toward both Muslims and Jews, Caplan said.

This year's anti-violence focus, she said, was a clear choice for JYCA to make. Not long after the September terrorist attacks on New York and Washington, JYCA was aware that the country was headed in a new, albeit familiar direction.

"By the time we started conceptualizing the project, it was obvious that the country was going to war," said 16-year-old Sari Block, head of the mural committee. "We all wanted to get our anti-war and pro-peace message across to everyone."

The mural's first panel shows red flames and black smoke, a person bound with ropes and chains, and accusatory fingers pointing at one another.

The second and third panels depict a process of change and civility, one panel showing soldiers and civilians walking up different sides of a tree and meeting at the top. The words 'Let there be peace, let it begin with me' are scrolled around a small piece of mirror.

The final scene shows a world made whole with gestures of peace.

About 15 people brought ideas to the table. Over the course of six months, working weekends and during group retreats, JYCA teens conceptualized the story and the images they wanted to use. It was as much a collaborative process as it was an exploration of individual coping methods.

More than anything else, though, the mural was a vision designed expressly to inspire both Jews and non-Jews to work for social change that will help lead to peaceful coexistence.

"We all had such a hard time with what we were seeing happening in the world and we all had so much we wanted to say about it," said 15-year-old Lily Friedman.

The mural brings together images that are often jarring and brutal, something that Friedman said reflected all of the mixed feelings JYCA members were experiencing.

Most notably, it puts a spotlight on the perspectives of Bay Area youth in a way that is easy for people of all ages to understand.

"It's a small-scale contribution against the rising violence these kids are seeing as a result of September 11," said Miriam Grant, JYCA's program coordinator. "It's obvious that they had so much to say about it."

For the next few years, JYCA will display its work in Jewish community centers and social justice organizations throughout the Bay Area. Coordinators have yet to determine dates and locations. To host the mural, call JYCA at (510) 704-7480, ext. 501.

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