SHARE EXPERIENCE WITH GIVAT HAVIVA COUNTERPARTS
Margo Stanislawska-Birnberg and husband Jack Birnberg chatting with Orit Meoded, co-director of Givat Haviva's Children Teaching Children program and right: with Roi Peled, co-director of the Face to Face youth encounter program
Margo Stanislaw-Birnberg and her husband Jack are two very fascinating guests we were honored to welcome to Givat Haviva recently at the request of Hanna Siniora, editor-in-chief of the English language newspaper The Jerusalem Times and co-founder of IPCRI (the Israel Palestine Center for Research and Information) based in Jerusalem.
The Billadi Publishing House and the Givat Haviva Jewish-Arab Center for Peace are joint partners in the All for Peace radio station visited by the Birnberg's during their stay in Israel. It was there they met with Siniora and Mosi Raz, a former member of the Israeli Knesset, nowadays a co-director of All for Peace and close associate of Givat Haviva.
Although both have lived for many years in Australia (Melbourne), Margo is originally from Poland and Jack, Belgium. Margo migrated to Australia in 1963 together with her parents and it was in Australia that she met her academic husband Jack (specializing in French Literature but now retired). After the Second World War Jack spent 10 years in Warsaw where he helped rebuild the city before deciding not to return to Belgium but settle in Australia.
The native French-speaking Birnberg is a member of Peace Now. He closely follows and monitors events in the Middle East and was one of the thousands of signatories on a much publicized letter sent to the European Parliament by the controversial and recently founded French based JCall organization.
Whilst in Givat Haviva the Birnberg's met with and discussed Givat Haviva projects with Hagai Halevi, executive director of Givat Haviva; Myriam Degan-Brenner, director of the Noa-Nuha Center for Women and Gender Studies; Roi Peled, co-director of the Face to Face youth encounter program and Orit Meoded, co-director of Children Teaching Children.
The couple heard about Givat Haviva in general terms from the International Department's Lydia Aisenberg who also accompanied them on a tour of the region incorporating a visit to Barta'a village, the Reichan checkpoint and driving through Areas B and C in the northern part of the West Bank that lays on the Israeli side of the security fence.
Margo Stanislaw-Birnberg is an accomplished writer, poet and has been involved for a long time in working with Aboriginal communities in Australia. She has spent many years in the desert regions of Central Australia living among several Aboriginal communities and co-authored the Aboriginal Artists Dictionary a landmark publication focusing on Aboriginal artists, their stories and extremely colorful, attractive and culturally important forms of art on rock, in sand and also on canvas and material.
The Aboriginal Dictionary is a meticulously research biographical dictionary containing more than 1000 entries about artists from the central and western deserts and the Kimberley region of Australia and set to become the definitive reference work on aboriginal artists of those regions and an essential reference for all collectors and people with an interest in Aboriginal art.
"The book includes brief biographies and exhibition details for artists who painted from the beginning of the 1970s to late 2003," explained Margo who also spoke about the terrible conditions the majority of Aboriginal people in Australia live in.
She also told many emotional, poignant and highly interesting stories of her meetings with the Aboriginal people, one of the few "white people" as Margot says, to gain the trust and friendship of the local communities.
Alex Birnberg, Margo and Jack's son, is a member of the Core Team, Action for Life organization, a body aiming to develop a new generation of change makers equipped with integrity and spiritual strength who are committed to transformation in the world by starting with themselves.
Unfortunately time was short and hopefully Margo and Jack will once more visit Israel in the not too distant future and continue to be in contact with us in the interim period.
"This has been an extremely interesting day and so much to learn," commented Jack Birnberg who industriously made notes throughout his visit and intends to write a report of his visit to Israel when he returns home to Melbourne.
Myriam Brenner-Degan and Margo Birnberg chat about women's issues within the Israel Arab Muslim and Australian Aboriginal communities.
Photos & Text: Lydia Aisenberg.
May, 2010
