NEWS AND EVENTS 📩 GIVAT HAVIVA

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Dear friends, dear partners,

When you read this newsletter, you will become acquainted with the connections that are the exact opposite of the reality in which we live here in Israel. In our country, there is widespread use of politics of identities to create a policy of "divide and rule". Every day we experience the poisonous fruits of the effort to preserve the existing situation by spreading fear and hatred of the other, by drawing the shutters and closing the hearts toward the reality, needs, desires and hopes of the "other". We at Givat Haviva believe in equality and partnership as a basis for "life itself," here in our common country, Israel.

That is why I am excited when, together with the "Tag Meir" organization, we hold a joint seminar for teachers, Arabs and religious Jews, two sectors ("tribes" as President Rivlin calls them) whose connection is extremely rare. That is why I am so proud that our Education Department, together with the Moreshet Heritage House here at Givat Haviva, is leading a training course for the heads of the youth promotion departments on Holocaust remembrance and the Nakba.

Without limitations and without fear, we learn together about the worst disasters and pains of the two peoples living here together. But in order to build a shared society, our emphasis is on developing the future, which will enable a new and just reality. We do this every day in partnerships between neighbors and in education. Together we will be strong enough to swim against the murky stream that tries to separate us, and together we will change the direction of the current for building a shared and equal society - you will read about all this in this newsletter.

Sincerely,

Yaniv Sagee

Executive Director, Givat Haviva

6th Annual Givat Haviva Conference
The Roadmap To A Shared Society - From Theory To Practice

Government ministers, Knesset members, mayors, civil society activists and leaders from Israel and around the world will participate in Givat Haviva's Sixth Annual Shared Society Conference, exploring ways to implement the measures recommended in the Roadmap for a Shared Society.

In the Roadmap project, Arab and Jewish experts, representing the diversity of Israeli society, formulated a work plan to promote a shared society in Israel. Throughout 2016, they complied a series of concrete recommendations in areas of education, economic development, governance, land use, and culture. During the past year, their proposals were updated in response to feedback from over 20,000 people who participated in online and in-person public engagement process. The final recommendations were presented to the Knesset in December 2017.

The purpose of this year's conference is to explore practical steps to advance the implementation of the roadmap recommendations for the creation of a shared society, in collaboration with other organizations in national and local government, civil society, education and academia.

No fee for participation - registration required. To register click here

Givat Haviva to Open International School for 'Shared Society Leaders'

Tamara Zieve, The Jerusalem Post 18.03.18

Half of students will be Arab and Jewish Israelis, half from abroad. Israel’s first international school for “leaders for a shared society,” is set to open in September, the Givat Haviva center announced last week. The Givat Haviva International School (GHIS) will be the first high school of its kind in Israel to feature focused preparation for leadership and conflict resolution.
Read mor e...

Opinion: The integration of the Arab population into employment - the interest of the entire society

Walla, Mohammed Darawshe, February 7, 2018

The Arab sector suffers from wage discrimination, an early exit from the labor market and a low rate of employment among women. Creating the conditions and infrastructure for the integration of Arabs will lead to growth that the entire economy will enjoy. Recent data from the Employment Service show that the Arab population in Israel is still not well integrated into the labor market. This lack of integration is expressed in a number of different phenomena, which must be understood in order to bring about a change in the situation. For the article in Hebrew...

Conference - The Public Intellectual in Israel

Opening speech by Mohammad Darawshe, Director of Equality and Shared Life at Givat Haviva.

The Israel Democracy Institute, February 22, 2018

The conference examined the character and purpose of the Israeli public intellectual, from a historical and contemporary perspective. In addition, various ways of cultivating public intellectuals were examined.
To view the speech (in Hebrew)...

Pictures from a month of activity – Givat Haviva Education Department

Workshop for Arab teachers and teachers from the State Religious Education System

For the first time in Israel, a first course of its kind on the subject of coexistence opened in Givat Haviva for Arab teachers and teachers from the state religious education system. The course is a joint initiative of the Givat Haviva Education Department and Tag Meir.

Heart to Heart – across the generations

The first conference of graduates of the "Heart to Heart" program took place on February 10^th in Givat Haviva. "We were pleased to discover that many of the participants carry good memories of the program and pass on the commitment to find a way for Jews and Arabs to live together," the organizers say.

The green lawns of the Jewish-Arab Center for Peace at Givat Haviva were teeming on Saturday with the dozens of graduates of the Heart to Heart program, who met for the first time in order to examine what are the memories that the graduates carry in their hearts and the positions they hold over the years. read more...

Through Different Eyes Youth Leadership
A regional leadership group for Arab and Jewish youth met this month for a seminar on shared society. This group has been meeting once a week since the beginning of September 2017. The young people learn about the reality of our lives as Jews and Arabs through the lens of the camera. In the summer, the group will travel to a summer camp in the United States and after they return to Israel, they will lead joint projects in their communities.

A training course for the directors of the youth promotion departments on Holocaust and Nakba memory

Right: Prof. Mustafa Kabha on the Nakba of the Palestinian people and its implications.

Left: Dr. Batya Dvir from the Moreshet Heritage Center on Holocaust denial after World War II.

Students of Musmus learn to give a speech in Hebrew
Sanaa, a student from the elementary school in Musmus, speaking at the graduation event of the Yachad – Children Teaching Children program, led by the Givat Haviva team.
The program was implemented this year in the Ma'ale Iron municipal council, together with schools from the Megiddo Regional Council.
You are invited to listen to Sanaa:

THE COMINGS AND GOINGS OF FEBRUARY, 2018
Once again the Givat Haviva International Center hosted folks from many different countries who are either in Israel for extended stays such as overseas volunteers living and orking in kibbutzim; German youth spending their gap year volunteering in the country; German high-school students on an exchange with Israeli peers; American high-school students on a study tour of the country – as well as teen members of a Westchester, US Reform synagogue.
How much more diversity with an international flavor can you get than that? read more...

Megiddo – Ma'ale Iron Partnership
In the Megiddo - Ma'ale Iron Partnership we have seen significant achievements in recent years in promoting important issues for the two authorities, such as formulating a plan for extensive commercial cooperation between the two authorities in a future project that is planned together. read more...

So, what's new?
Nature is in full bloom, "Connections in Space" is coming up (April 8-14 in the Megiddo Forest) and we have a new art show by photographer Yosef Hochman: Red Skies: "… but I wanted something more, more than what's there." And you? Did you want something more? I did, we did. read more...