Givat Haviva Voice

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!

May 27, 2018 Visit of Ministers of Education from German States : Dr. Stephanie Hubig of Rhineland-Pfalz Mr. Ulrich Commerçon of Saarland Mr. Udo Michallik, Secretary of the Federal Board of Education Mr. Tomas Kerstan, Education correspondent for Die Zeit The purpose of their visit Givat Haviva was to deepen their understanding of the impact of our work as an educational organization, especially within the formal education system. They were particularly interested in our work with the educators who in turn work with the children. Photos of the visit: https://www.facebook.com/GivatHaviva/posts/1021874694631148

In his words, “The Jewish people, dispersed over hundreds and thousands of years, always knew how to merge into the majority population. I expected that the Jewish people would become a model for the entire world, how to integrate the minority population in the best possible way. I am happy to learn about the center of Givat Haviva, whose activities and work strategy, has taken upon itself to serve as a model for the interaction of minorities in Israel.” More pictures here

Hewn from white Jerusalem stone, an impressive memorial to the children who perished in the Holocaust is situated just a few meters from the home of kibbutz born and raised sculptor and collector of Judaica, Aviram Paz. Having taken a particularly heart-wrenching feature from the late 1940’s created Shoah memorial - a desperate mother trying to protect her terrified child – Paz has sculpted from a large chunk of olive wood a very special, poignant Hanukiah for the approaching Festival of Lights celebrations. The eight hand forged chunky iron candle holders placed at the mother and child’s feet are representative of the fire and smoke emanating from the crematorium chimney stacks, emphasizing the connection between the celebration of the miracle of Hanukah and the devastation but also survival of European Jewry from Hitler, the Nazis and their henchmen. Completed in 1946, the memorial to the children who died in the Holocaust was created by Polish born Zeev Ben-Zvi who emigrat...

In cooperation with the JCRC of Greater Boston. The representatives met with Mohammad Darawshe, Director of the Center for Equality and Shared Society at Givat Haviva, from whom they heard about our vision and our day-to-day activity here at Givat Haviva, and discussed the opportunity to build a shared society in Israel.

A state visit marking 25 years of partnership between the state of Rhineland-Pfalz and Givat Haviva Photos:  https://goo.gl/qSUQGY  https://goo.gl/eGHdcN