At a camp in Greenfield, 5,500 miles from home, 10 girls were given one mission – to become friends.

The teenagers hail from Israel – five are Jewish, and five are Arab Israelis. Each came to the United States to live with the others for several weeks, form friendships and get to know people from the other side of the war that has wracked their country since October.

The non-profit Creating Friendships for Peace brings together teens from opposite sides of conflicts worldwide. With multiple locations across the country, it has been operating in New Hampshire since the early 2000s. To maintain neutrality, it accepts no government funding; it aims to foster world peace through friendship, mutual respect and understanding at the individual level.

“It was the best experience in my life ever, that I’ve had so far,” said Tala, one of the Arab-Israeli high-schoolers who attended the camp. (Only participants’ first names are used, for their safety.) “Especially when you’re a teenager and growing up, you get really curious. You hear about everything in the news, you get curious, you just want to know more. You want to hear about the other side, not just your side. Maybe you can change your mind if you heard the other side.”

The program brought the 10 girls to New Hampshire for a two-week camp in Greenfield, which wrapped up Tuesday. Now, they’re paired up – each Arab-Israeli student paired with a Jewish one – and staying with five separate host families before their return to Israel this weekend. Together, they completed ropes courses and communications workshops and visited the State House in Concord, the coastal region of Portsmouth, Boston and other spots around New England.

They also visited the Cohen Center for Holocaust and Genocide Studies in Keene, spoke with Muslim and Jewish leaders in the Monadnock region and completed various workshops and projects, including public speaking, team-building, environmental service, conflict resolution, leadership and restorative practices.

“CFP shows how people can overcome differences to repair a divided world,” stated Betsy Small, the executive director of Creating Friendships for Peace. “Ignoring others’ history and pain is instinctive when we don’t know each other, so we must know ‘each other.’”

The teenagers said the experience taught them about the other side of the war. Since they all lived together, they were forced to talk to each other. That resulted in no small number of disagreements – both about the conflict in Gaza and, for some, their roommates’ lengthy showers. The next morning, though, all would be forgotten.

“We shared our thoughts, our opinions, even though they were different,” said 15-year-old Tala. “We got into so many arguments, so many fights, but that made us to get into a conclusion that we can understand each other, even though we have ups and downs.”

The participants all met through program workshops before coming to the United States, but said they’ve grown closer during this time. At a field trip to Stepping Stones Farm in Temple on Monday, the girls were casual and comfortable around each other. They talked and laughed, and they eagerly shouted out their picks to partner up for the activities in the barn. Each took turns grooming and leading the horses around an obstacle course.

“We basically really connected to each other,” said Yael, one of the Jewish teens. “We really became close friends because we always see each other and sleep with each other and eat together and do everything together. We really became truly family.”

Before coming together for the camp, the workshops served as icebreakers and team-building exercises. The girls said this helped them feel more relaxed when committing to live in close quarters with their counterparts for several weeks. While they’re at camp, the families also get to know each other — the teens said their families and friends back home have been supportive of their involvement in the program.

Salma, who lives in an Arab community within Israel, is paired with Yael while staying with their host family. Salma said she doesn’t see many Jewish people in her day-to-day life, so she wanted to meet more Jewish friends and to show the world that making peace is “not that hard.” Yael echoed that sentiment about Palestinians and Arab-Israelis – she wants to learn about their culture and see them as human beings, not just the other side of a war.

“I really feel like in this difficult time in the world, we should really try to solve the problem between us. We cannot continue living this way, because it’s the wrong way,” Yael said.

The program hinges on recognizing each other simply as people out of the context of the war, but it also facilitates conversations about that conflict. Yael said it was difficult to talk about the war, but she came to understand that the other girls disagree with the war just like she does. Unfortunately, she said, there’s no other choice, and people must defend their homes.

“It’s really hard and difficult to speak about it, because it really brings up a lot of emotions,” Yael said. “Sometimes you can’t control it. Sometimes we cry, sometimes we laugh about it. I don’t know. It’s very, very difficult.”

Despite the challenge, some felt it was their duty to participate. Neomi, who’s Jewish, said she feels a responsibility to know the people she shares her country with. She said she joined the group to learn about others’ cultures and religions.

Once they return to Israel, the girls will enact their alumni plan, which includes staying in touch but also continuing to advocate for peace in their region and help spread awareness about shared society programs like Creating Friendships for Peace. Small said for some teenagers, the program brings about an internal transformation, affecting how they go about their lives and relationships. For others, it’s the beginning of an interest in civic engagement and peace-building.

For now, though, the girls are hanging on to every last minute together. Salma said they all cried at Tuesday’s farewell party every time another pair of girls left with their host families. Another Arab teen, Sana, summed it up after the Stepping Stones Farm field trip.

“I love this camp and these girls,” she said, “and I don’t want to leave.”

Charlotte Matherly is the Statehouse reporter for the Concord Monitor and Monadnock Ledger-Transcript in partnership with Report for America. Follow her on X at @charmatherly, or send her an email at cmatherly@cmonitor.com.