On Friday, the 11th “Runners Without Borders” race took place between Ein Yael and Beit Safafa. The race, which has become a Jerusalem tradition of sports, connection and community, was held this year with the support of the Jerusalem Center for Near Eastern Studies (the Mormon University), the Ono Academic College, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the Jerusalem Municipality.
The race was attended by hundreds of runners of all ages and demographics, including contingents from the Muslim Quarter of the Old City of Jerusalem and other heavily Arab neighborhoods of the city.
The participants included groups of youth from the Al-Mawlawieh Primary Girl School, the Islam School in Beit Safafa and the Boys School in Shuafat, who took an active part in the event, as well as a large group of runners from the Mormon University and the Ono Academic College from the Jerusalem campus.
Approximately 400 runners took part overall. The youngest participant was a 3-year-old boy, and the oldest was a 79-year-old man.
The “Runners Without Borders” organization runs mixed youth running groups from all over Jerusalem – from the west, from the east, and from all the populations living there. The purpose of the activity is to reduce tensions, reduce fear, and create a continuous human encounter between young men and women who come from different worlds but share a common path. The annual race is the culmination of a deep and ongoing effort at unification, which proves year after year that sport is a language that succeeds in connecting people.