DEALING WITH RELEVANT ISSUES at Givat Haviva

Following a Givat Haviva International Department seminar in July, the leaders of 81 British teens from the Habonim-Dror movement were delighted with the reaction of their young charges.
The one-day seminar dealt with Israel’s Arab citizens and their connection to and relationship with the Palestinians. The 16 year-old movement members from London and the northern England Jewish communities participated in workshops explaining background to the Arab-Israeli conflict and in particular the identity crisis of the Arab citizens of Israel and Jewish-Arab relations in the Wadi Ara region.
They also had the opportunity to meet and discuss with Arab Israeli citizens as to how they dealt with the realities of being a citizen of a country that was in conflict with their people and of the deepening of the identity dilemma following the l987 intifada.
The seminar was rounded off with a visit to the Amir mountain range vantage point of Katzir from where the teens were able to oversea a large portion of the West Bank and across the State of Israel to the Mediterranean.
Using maps detailing the pre-1967 border between the State and the then annexed by Jordan West Bank down below, the youngsters showed great interest in understanding the process of the Oslo Peace Accords and division of the West Bank to Areas A, B and C – whilst overlooking a heavily populated Palestinian area divided in to B and C areas, and the security fence also visible from above.
“To meet up with people and hear their personal stories was fascinating for us all,” said Daniel Filson, the newly appointed Habonim-Dror field worker based in London.
“The interest of the young people was maintained all day as the issues were relevant and they understood so much more than from what is presented in the media.
“Everybody should have the opportunity to participate in meeting with Jewish and Arab Israelis in the way it is done at Givat Haviva,” said Daniel.
Of Daniel’s leadership colleagues, Deborah Brown is the up-and-coming head of the Habonim-Dror movement who will be based in Manchester and Aimee Cohen is the movement’s camp organizer based in London.
The fourth member of the leadership team, Daniel Weisberg – a psychology graduate from Birmingham University – is returning to the learning bench to start a PhD in child development but will continue to work with the movement during his studies.