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...

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 ...

Some weeks ago, Givat Haviva hosted a group of German youth who arrived in Israel on a reciprocal visit. The Youth Exchange Delegation is part of an annual leadership project of the youth departments of the Baqa al-Gharbiyye and Menashe Partnership. The project is led by the Education Department at Givat Haviva and the Pardes program, a group of Hashomer Hatzair educators engaged in youth education for social involvement and activism. The name that was chosen for the project, "I am/not wanted?" refers to the issue of the refugees, from a past and present perspective, with regard to the waves of war refugees and labor migrants during the Holocaust, after the Second World War and to this day, in Germany, Israel and other countries in Europe and Africa. During the intensive, multi-workshop week, the youth visited: At the "Besa" ["word of honor" in Albanian] exhibition at the Moreshet Institute in Givat Haviva, showing the rescue of the Jews of Albani...

Last month, Givat Haviva Israel's Executive Director Yaniv Sagee spoke at the United Nations in New York as part of the final step in gaining Consultative Status for Givat Haviva for the UN’s Economic and Social Council. Consultative Status in the Council is the highest status the UN gives to non-government agencies, giving them a number of rights to participate in the work of the UN, to present their viewpoints, and to deliver testimony. By granting Givat Haviva this status, it also means the UN has certified that the work done at Givat Haviva has direct relevance to the aims and purposes of the United Nations. We are excited about this important new relationship with the UN!

Givat Haviva, the Center for Shared Society in Israel, sharply condemns the attack in Jerusalem last Friday, in which Israeli policemen were killed by Israeli civilians. This is not our way! This is an act that has no place and justification in any context. It strikes a mortal blow to the holiness of the place and It undermines the Israeli democracy and undermines the efforts to build a shared and egalitarian society in the State of Israel. We welcome the condemnations of this act by the leadership of Arab society and call upon the government and the citizens of Israel not to be dragged after extremists on both sides who seek to harm the delicate fabric of society and to sow separation and fear among its members. Our condolences to the families of those killed. Yaniv Sagee Mohammad Darawshe Riad Kabha Samer Atamni Dudu Amitai

Photos & text: Lydia Aisenberg   Yuval Danieli is an Israeli artist with a particular penchant for researching the history of art in the kibbutz movement, not surprising when one learns that the kibbutz born Danieli is the Director of Images at the Yad Yaari Research and Documentation Center at Givat Haviva. “Yad Yaari was established to preserve and promote the intellectual assets of two key movements in Israel’s history, Hashomer Hatzair, the first Zionist youth movement founded in Eastern Europe in 1911, and Kibbutz Artzi, a federation of 85 kibbutzim that was founded in 1927,” explains Danieli, a member of the Hashomer Hatzair kibbutz of Hamapil, founded in 1945. Nowadays those kibbutzim, although still Hashomer Hatzair affiliated, are incorporated into the United Kibbutz Movement representing a total of some 270 communities throughout Israel. Danieli’s rather large office at the Givat Haviva campus is crammed with books, files and artifacts of over...

Photos & text: Lydia Aisenberg Childhood friends from Newcastle, England, Judith Sischy and Lynn Leon Ross were among the many visitors to the recently opened HAMSIN-50 exhibition at the Givat Haviva Collaborative Art Center & Peace Gallery. The friends had visited the Givat Haviva campus in the past, but never together.  Lynn, who emigrated to Israel in 2010 and lives in Hofit, a rural community in central Israel, actually had an exhibtion of her very powerful art work - entitled Identities - shown at the Givat Haviva gallery in 1995 after which the exhibition moved to Haifa for another successful showing.  Lynn’s 1995 solo exhibition of drawings and photographs was officially opened at Givat Haviva by the then British Ambassador Andrew Burns who was not only very impressed with the British born artists creations but also at the time made very positive comments about Givat Haviva’s achievements and aspirations for the future.  He also presented a...

 Text and photos: Lydia Aisenberg “I have been to Israel at least 20 times in the past but for some reason I never visited the Givat Haviva Center for Shared Society, and have to admit to this being a real mistake,” German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier told hundreds of Israeli Jewish and Arab educators, Israeli teens, overseas students and local Jewish and Arab dignitaries during a visit to the doyen peace education campus in Wadi Ara. “My wife and I have been really touched meeting old friends again here in Israel but also in the making of new ones as we are experiencing such a warm and friendly an atmosphere such as here today in Givat Haviva, and for that we thank you,” said President Steinmeier toward the end of a 2 hour visit to the 1949 founded organization which he described as being “an isle of hope.” “Where politicians failed you are succeeding in showing that Jews and Arabs can live together in Israel and as you say, the goal must be to show youngsters co...

A week ago, for a moment, it seemed like a ray of light pierced the darkness. The prime minister and the leader of the opposition spoke together about a historic opportunity for peace that would justify a partnership between them. By the next day it was clear that the light was from the engine of the train of war and hate … and we got a right-wing nationalist government. In the choice between peace and war, between democracy and ethnocracy, in the choice between a politics of fear and a politics of hope, again and again my beloved country chooses the slippery slope that leads to ruin. But we have not gathered here today for the sake of anger and wailing. We have gathered here to strengthen the construction, the partnership, the hope, the true light and not the false. We have gathered together because we are connected partners in the society which is marching toward that slippery slope, but we are also working to prevent the crash and to create an alternative. 2500 years ago, t...

Givat Haviva condemns the heinous murders committed against innocent civilians in Tel Aviv last Friday. We share in the mourning of families who lost their loved ones, praying for a quick recovery of the wounded, and hope that those responsible for the crime will be caught soon. In the face of rumors and suspicions poisoning the public atmosphere and the venomous incitement against all Arab citizens of Israel, incitement in which unfortunately the Israeli prime minister decided to play a major and destructive role, we stand behind the public announcement of the Council of Ara-Arara strongly condemning the murder and declaring in unambiguous terms "that this is a case of one man who is not representative of the villagers" and stressing "that the incident is alien to our culture and the culture of both villages." As an organization acting in partnership with the Local Council of Ara-Arara on behalf of shared living, we know that their statement faithfully reflects...

The government of Israel was wrong to outlaw the northern branch of the Islamic Movement. This measure shows a lack of insight and understanding of Arab society in Israel. Transparent relations between Jewish and Arab citizens are essential for the democratic fabric of the state of Israel and for the relations between Jews and Arabs living in a shared society, even if at times such relations are challenging and difficult. The activity of the northern branch of the Islamic Movement did not meet the expectations of the Jewish public, and even parts of the Arab public, but better that it be open and transparent than clandestine and underground. Yaniv Sagee, Executive Director of Givat Haviva, and Mohammad Darawshe, Director of the Center for Shared Society, said, "Dialogue between conflicting narratives is difficult and challenging, but it is better than no dialogue. The state should deal with the issues raised by this discourse in a more democratic and educational manner th...

Givat Haviva is deeply shocked about the attack in the synagogue "Congregation B'nai Torah", where five people lost their lives. We send condolences to the families of the victims and wish speedy recovery to the wounded. There is no justification for harming innocent people and there is nothing that can excuse the slaughter of worshipers during the prayer service. Givat Haviva condemns all attacks towards Israeli and Palestinian civilians, synagogues and mosques. We call on the leaders of both sides to avoid any unnecessary incitement and do everything to stop the deterioration and acts of revenge which are leading us to a vicious circle of violence. We call upon the leadership to act harshly to terrorism and to return to the path of reconciliation and hope.  The Israeli-Palestinian conflict contains too much pain, suffering and loss. We must go back, soon, to the path of conflict resolution. It is possible Stop the cycle of bloodshed. And give us a c...

Yaniv Sagee, Executive Director, Givat Haviva Twenty-four years ago I fell in love with my wife and life partner, Galia. I was then 26 years old, the Secretary General of Kibbutz Ein Hashofet. This was about a year after I returned from representing Hashomer Hatzair and the Jewish Agency in the United States. It was four years after I completed my service in a Paratroopers Commando Unit, where I spent time Lebanon and served in the First Intifada as part of my reserve duty. Galia was a fresh discharge, who had just completed her military service as a welfare officer of the Golani Brigade. After five years of being together, we got married and our first son was born, Tav Sagee. Today, after the completion of his year of civil service in Hashomer Hatzair, he was inducted into the army for combat service. At the height of the Gaza conflict, the next generation is joining the cycle of war. How long will this continue? My father, Yaakov Sagee (Weissman) was born 77 years ago, in...

Mr. Mohammed Al Madani and the Palestinian delegation, the Deputy Chief of Mission at the US Embassy, Mr. William Grant, mayors, heads of peace organizations, the Kibbutz Movement, youth movements, students, dear citizens – Salam aleikum! Welcome to Givat Haviva, ahalan wa-sahalan! From the day it was founded, 65 years ago, by the kibbutzim of Hashomer Hatzair, Givat Haviva has been committed to peace. We have organized this conference together with our Palestinian associates from Al Tawasul, out of a sense of urgency shared by citizens who are holding hands, demanding their leaders to make peace. It was almost a year ago that President Obama visited here in Israel.  He chose to make his keynote speech at a public event, addressing the entire nation. In that speech, he said: "That's where peace begins -- not just in the plans of leaders, but in the hearts of people.  Not just in some carefully designed process, but in the daily connections -- that sense of emp...