Flags of many countries hang from the lobby ceiling of the Tepper School of Business, forming a three-dimensional tapestry of bright color. Below the flags, two women sit at a table. Snatches of unfamiliar language can be heard as people hurry by. The women lean forward, intent on their conversation. They are speaking in English, though one would be more at ease in Arabic, the other in Hebrew.

Noha Bader, the Arabic woman with flowing dark hair and warm eyes, is a teacher of dyslexic children. She struggles to express her impressions of Pittsburgh. “The people here are very quiet,” she smiles, and the second woman laughs. Nurit Kelly, a Jewish ballet teacher with an easy smile, quickly agrees. “In Israel, we are shouting,” she jokes.

It is hard to tell from their easy manner together that these women come from a deep divide. They are taking a break from a 10-day workshop hosted by Carnegie Mellon. The GaliLead Project has sent 21 Arab and Jewish participants here from the Galilee region of northern Israel, with the hope of promoting mutual understanding and social change. The workshop is part of a two-year program, led by Paul Goodman, director of the Institute for Strategic Development, aimed at educating future leaders of that region.

After some small talk between the two women, the conversation turns to more serious matters. Immediately, the subject of language arises, and the two women struggle to express their complicated ideas in English. They help each other in supplying elusive words. After a few minutes, they forgo English and break into an animated conversation in Hebrew, leaning closer to each other and gesturing as friends do. They discuss the most basic roadblock to real communication. The inhabitants of Israel speak Hebrew (and often English), but most Jews don’t speak Arabic, and Arabs find it difficult to fully express themselves in Hebrew, a second language.

The conversation moves to other fundamental cultural differences, including the sensitive issue of identity. Kelly explains, “We don’t have the same identity in the same country. I say that I am Israeli,” while Bader describes herself as “a Palestinian Arab in Israel.” Even talking over such deeply felt issues, they chide each other in a familiar way. These many small gestures speak volumes.

Soon, the director scurries over—lunch is being served. The two women rush to complete their conversation. They lean forward once more, talking in unison, and spontaneously clasp hands. —Melissa Silmore (TPR’85)