Givat Haviva Voice

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...

On the dry, grassy fields of the Givat Haviva campus in northern Israel, 70 boys from fourth through sixth grade spent Tuesday afternoon running around, playing in the pool, and getting to know one another. The children are all neighbors, from the Wadi Ara and Menashe regions of Israel, and they came to the Givat Haviva campus of the Center for a Shared Society for a three day Soccer for Peace Camp. Although most live within a twenty minute distance from each other, they rarely have the opportunity to interact, since half of the boys are Arab citizens of Israel and the other half are Jewish citizens. In his opening and closing remarks to the campers, Givat Haviva director Yaniv Sagee told them that sport is a means to bring hearts closer together, and this philosophy guides the three-day-long experience. The camp is funded by Soccer for Peace, an American non-profit that seeks to unite children in war-torn areas through their shared love of soccer. “You can give a group of ...

We, the 2018 Heart to Heart delegation, have come together to express our opposition to Israel's recently legislated Nation State Bill. We are Jewish and Palestinian youth, between the ages of 14 and 15 who are all citizens of Israel. We believe in creating a better future by working together towards a shared society. For the past three weeks we have been . participating in a youth delegation in Canada in order to give hope to the next generation. After reading and discussing Israel's Nation State Bill we feel angry and upset. We feel that the law is unfair. Some of us feel disappointed, ashamed, frustrated and scared for the future. We are all opposed to the bill and our different reactions are a reflection of the way in which this bill will affect our communities in different ways. Our delegation came to Canada to address problems of discrimination and inequality in Israel and we feel that this new law is pointing our society in the opposite direction....