Givat Haviva Voice

On page 13 of the “Deal of the Century,” almost as an afterthought, hidden among all the clauses about annexations and a conditional Palestinian state, the President of the United States brings up the vision of transfer, and then adds a justification to this that should shock any Jewish person living in the United States. This is something that is astounding in and of itself, when you take into account that the four architects of the agreement: Ambassador Friedman, son-in-law Kushner, and emissaries Greenblatt and Berkowitz are all themselves Jewish Americans. Trump is proposing the option of an exchange of land in which Wadi Ara (the northern triangle), along with the southern triangle up to Kafr Qasem, will be transferred along with its residents (because according to this plan of course no one is vacating his home) to the State of Palestine. Not a personal transfer where a resident is thrown out of his home, but rather a collective transfer is what he proposes, throwing citi...

Wreath ceremony at the Nyamata memorial, Kinazi. The remains of 50.000 victims of the Genocide are buried here.  From left to right:  Torsten Reibold, Representstive Europe Givat Haviva/Havatzelet Bernhard Kukatzki, Director State Agency for Civic Education  Dr. Beate Welter, Director Memorial SS Außenlager Hinzert, Rheinland-Pfalz Roger Lewentz, Minister of Interior Torsten Reibold, Givat Haviva´s Representative in Europe participated in the official 25th commemorations of the Genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda. Torsten Reibold was part of an official delegation of the German Federal State of Rheinland-Pfalz – a decade-long partner, both to Givat Haviva and the Republic of Rwanda. During their stay, the group visited several memorials, remembering the atrocities of summer 1994, spoke with politicians and official representatives as wel l as survivors´ organizations and civil society activists engaged in reconciliation efforts and preserving the memories of the v...

During a parliamentary visit to Israel, President of Austria Mr. Alexander van der Belen and his entourage chose to visit Givat Haviva, as a leading organization building a shared society in Israel. In his remarks, the President thanked Givat Haviva for being a source of hope not only for Israel but for people throughout the world. The President praised Givat Haviva for being an inclusive and unusual institution in its successful and pioneering activity toward building a shared society. He said he hopes to share our experience and lessons learned with the inhabitants of Austria, involved in their struggle to build their own society. He took particular pleasure in meeting the students of the Givat Haviva International School and their fresh, young spirit. Read more about President van der Belen’s visit <here> Album of the event <here>

Nov 2, 2018 Visit of the Minister of Justice of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia, Mr. Peter Biesenbach. The Minister of Justice of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia, Mr. Peter Biesenbach, arrived at Givat Haviva at the head of a delegation of jurists. This is Mr. Bisenbach's fifth visit to Israel and his fourth to Givat Haviva. The Minister asked to hear about Givat Haviva’s educational programs and encounters. He was especially interested in following up what was revealed to him during his previous visits, in particular how to create real, social and interpersonal interactions in these meetings beyond mere formal meetings between the young students. During his visit, the minister and his delegation also met with students from the International School and heard about the reasons that led them to come to study at GHIS. The delegation included: Minister of Justice of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia, Mr. Peter Biesenbach; Dr. Andreas Christians, Head of the Depa...

At the beginning of September, a delegation and seminar for the leaders of the March of the Living delegations and leaders of the youth exchanges with Germany and Poland was held in Germany. It was attended by a delegation from  Havatzelet and Givat Haviva’s Historical Department. The delegation was hosted by the Caritas Institute in Nuremberg and Haus Am Maiberg Institute in Heppenheim. This was the first meeting of its kind of experts from Germany, Israel and Poland who have been involved for years in multi-cultural delegations and meetings on issues of collective memory, the Holocaust (March of the Living to Poland) and the youth exchanges with Israel, Germany and Poland. The encounter created an opportunity to exchange experience and knowledge on complex educational issues, such as difficult historical content (Holocaust and memory) and intercultural challenges during encounters between youth from conflict areas. The discussions considered the need for joint thinking...

We, the members of Givat Haviva’s Public Council, stand in support of all those who are leading together the agenda for creating a shared society in Israel - even at these difficult times in the wake of the National State Law - An Israeli society based on civic equality, substantive democracy and protection for minorities: these are the values expressed in the Declaration of Independence of the State of Israel. We are categorically opposed to the oppressive National State law whose hasty enactment has created a deep rift between Arab citizens and the state, and we seek its immediate revocation. This law delivers a mortal wound to Israel’s social resilience and undermines the legitimacy of the citizenship of some 20 percent of the country's population. The law nullifies the principle of equality, which is critical to our efforts to establish a shared society, and undermines the foundations of equality that we have been working on for 70 years. Alongside our serious...