Givat Haviva Voice

My father, Ya’acov Sagee, was a Jew born in Europe. The Second World War, which was the Holocaust for my people, led to the death of a third of our population. My father became a refugee and an orphan. A child without a home. In July 1948, upon the establishment of the State of Israel, he came to the kibbutz where I live to this day and where I raise my own children. Kibbutz Ein Hashofet. Only there did he find his home and his freedom. Three months before he arrived at the kibbutz, which was founded in 1937, my kibbutz’ Palestinian neighbors from the village Kafrayn lost their homes and their freedom in the war known by my country as “The War of Independence" and by the Palestinians as "The Nakba," the catastrophe. When I was a boy, my father, a Holocaust survivor, took me to the ruins of Kafrayn and taught me the most important lesson I have ever received: “An injustice is not corrected by creating a new injustice,” he told me. “Until there is justice and peac...

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...

Sixty years after the conclusion of WWII, the UN decided to make January 27 th , the date of the Red Army’s entrance into Auschwitz, the official date of the International Holocaust Memorial Day commemorating the victims of the Holocaust. The UN issued a decision encouraging member states to develop curricula to teach the younger generations the lessons of the Holocaust in order to prevent such crimes in the future, to preclude any attempt to deny the Holocaust, and to denounce all instances of religious intolerance, racism and violence against ethnic or religious groups. Here in Israel, we focus on anti-Semitism, so Naftali Bennett, who is both Minister of Education and Minister of the Diaspora, presented The Anti-Semitism Report in this week's cabinet meeting. According to the daily paper “Yisrael Hayom," this Report indicates that more than 40% of EU citizens hold anti-Semitic views and agree with the statement that Israel behaves as did the Nazis or that Israel is con...

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...

Together with all those who love this country, the peace camp, and Givat Haviva, I mourn the passing of Yossi Sarid, who was a partner in the struggle for the soul and the character of the State of Israel. I knew Yossi when he was Minister of Education, and I never forgot the attention and encouragement he gave me in my position as head of the National Council of Youth Movements and general secretary of HaShomer HaTzair. Yossi was the clear voice of the Left and the Peace Camp, a voice that was sharp as a knife and was unwilling to remain silent in the face of any injustice in the one country that he knew and loved, always loyal to his belief that one should demand more from what he loves most. Yossi was a politician, but first and foremost an educator who believed in education as the key to shaping the character of Israeli society. This was the aim of his actions and writings, and the source of his support for Givat Haviva’s activities in his various positions in politics and...

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...

Dear Friends and Partners, This update is written as our country is yet again immersed in another cycle of bloody conflict. Once more, blood spills all around us, fueling the fire of hatred and fear between the two nations who share this land. This is a time of great danger for the personal safety of citizens of both nations and for the existence of democracy in Israel. This is the moment of truth regarding the impact of our programs and our ability to preserve elements of shared society amidst the surrounding conflagration. The roots of the conflict lie in the occupation and its current incarnation, inducing a sense of erosion of the status quo on the Temple Mount / Haram al-Sharif. The bloody events have spread from Jerusalem to every corner of Israel, leaving Jewish citizens afraid of Arab citizens and Arab citizens afraid of Jewish citizens. Precisely at this difficult time I was glad to see the valuable impact of the strategies that Givat Haviva pursues all year. Together w...