RSY-Netzer youngsters taking a break on campus and more young Brits returning to their coach after a visit to Barta’a village
Thirteen hundred teens from Britain spent a month of their summer break in Israel this year – a record for the UK’s UJIA backed Israel Tour. Hundreds of the teens from various different youth movements participated in Givat Haviva seminars on campus during the months of July and August. They heard about the educational projects of Givat Haviva, were given the opportunity to discuss complex topics with Israeli Jews and Arabs and guided around places of interest in the Wadi Ara region.
An even larger number of their American peers also undertook likewise seminars over the hectic summer period.
Apart from the teens Givat Haviva hosted a group of British students in Israel with the Union of Jewish Students as well as a smaller group at a later date comprising the UJS leadership for the approaching academic year, both UJS study groups also with the backing of UJIA.
Some of the students had been to Givat Haviva a number of times in the past, either as participants at sixteen on Israel Tour, others both as participants and later madrichim of different movement orientated teen tours or leading Birthright and other groups in recent years.
Matt Keston, recently appointed UJS fieldworker for the Midlands, graduated the Givat Haviva-MASA Intensive Arabic Semester in June, returned to Britain only to come bouncing back again in July with the UJS leadership seminar who met at Givat Haviva with the International Department’s Dr. David Mendelsohn, a social linguist and archaeologist, and Najeeb Abu Rakia from the neighboring village of Meisar.
Some months before signing up for the 5-month Intensive Arabic Semester, Matt had participated in a 10-day Birthright UK tour – part of the programme being a seminar with the Givat Haviva International Department, the writer giving a talk prior to leading them on a tour of the Green Line, Amir mountain range and Barta’a village.
“Little did I know at the time that the Birthright tour was going to take me down this track,” commented Matt when the writer visited the UJS Camden, London offices at the end of August.
Matt Keston and Richard Verber (sitting) and right, Anthony Ashworth-Steen, Director of UJIA UK Education & School Activities
Richard Verber, UJS Development & Education Director, who has also been to Givat Haviva many a time, added to Matt’s comment that he thought a seminar at Givat Haviva an extremely important experience for groups of youth, students and others from Britain when on study tours of Israel. He spoke warmly of his own Givat Haviva experiences and said he would continue to work toward ensuring UJS students would continue to have such seminars on their tight schedules.
Meeting with Anthony Ashworth-Steen, Director of UJIA Education and School Activities, proved to be another boost in the individual and seemingly collective support of the ‘Givat Haviva Experience.’ Well known to Givat Haviva during his Habonim-Dror movement days, Anthony accompanied the UJS leadership group this summer and said that the meeting at Givat Haviva with Dr. Mendelson and Najeeb Abu Rakiah had been of great value to those who will be taking on the running of UJS for the 2010-2011 academic year.
“I have always had a warm place in my heart for Givat Haviva,” said Anthony. Works both ways of course!
Another heartening link for Givat Haviva is the appointment of UJIA Community Programme Youth Worker Jared Ross in Scotland. Encouraged by Anthea Mason, formerly of UJIA Scotland, earlier this year Jared participated in a MASA program in Israel with a segment of the programme taking place in Givat Haviva. Jared had said at the time that it had been suggested by Anthea he take over from Ben Freeman (also familiar with Givat Haviva) who was moving to London. Following his Israel programme Jared obviously decided to postpone his university studies for a year to take up the important role of leading UJIA youth activities in Scotland and is already putting the valuable experiences gleaned during his stay in Israel to use for the benefit of Glaswegian and other Scottish Jewish youth.
As always this year’s teens teens, with 30 to 45 participants in each group, all have one thing in common – they are sixteen, happy to be on holiday and possibly even happier to be holidaying far away from their parents and siblings back home. Soaking up the Israeli sunshine, swimming and sight-seeing, many on a first time visit to the country, they exuberate excessive energy and not always attentive – and that’s putting it mildly. For the last few decades trying to interest the youngsters in the super-sensitive issues and daily realities of Jewish-Arab relations in Israel and promotion of peace education projects, the conflict and how Israel is portrayed abroad, seems sometimes rather like pulling teeth but the International Department seems to succeed in implanting knowledge and tickling many a youngsters curiosity box to know more.
This writer should know being the one having to reply to all the emails!
Meeting with some of this summer’s teens in their natural habitat after returning from ‘Tour’ the writer found just how important the Givat Haviva seminar and venture out and about in the Wadi Ara area had been with phrases such as “one of the highlights of tour,” “mind-boggling” and “unexpectedly interesting,” used to describe the experience.
Even parents of some of the youngsters were moved by their offspring’s enthusiasm for that particular slot in their tour schedule and so a few home visits made - armed with maps, pamphlets and a great feeling of accomplishment on behalf of Givat Haviva and leaving with the hope that not only will the International Department see these young people again in the not too distant future, but also their parents next time they are in Israel.
“For a 16 year-old to say that such a seminar was of such interest really impresses me – and even more so when that particular teen happens to be my son,” said a parent who wished to stay anonymous in case her son took umbrage!
With winter sessions approaching after the High Holidays, the International Department staff at Givat Haviva look forward to receiving and working with more groups of youth and students from Britain and look forward to further developing the excellent relationships built up over the years with our colleagues in the British youth movements, the UJIA, UJS and tour operators Israel Experience.
UJS students meeting in June with Palestinian businessman Allam Abu Abead who runs a business in Barta’a and West Bank in the background and right, a group photo with Barta’a in background
SEPTEMBER, 2010
Photos & text: Lydia Aisenberg
