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INTERNATIONAL DEPARTMENT THE COMINGS AND GOINGS OF MAY, 2010
Summer is officially here, but the first few days of the month of May saw overcast skies and even some heavy rain breathing freshness into the rather dusty last days of April. A true spring-cleaning effort of Mother Nature one might say. May kicked off for Givat Haviva's International Department with the visit to campus of a group of 20 marvelous young talented artists and musicians from very diverse backgrounds on the last leg of a 10-month program in The MASA-Israel Experience Rimon School of Jazz and Contemporary Music & Bezalel Academy of Arts and Design program has brought to The Givat Haviva seminar allowed for a short explanation with regard the background of Haviva Reik – after whom the campus is named – and a short stop at the Peace Pole on the center lawn, hewn by Arab and Jewish teenagers from a 100 year-old eucalyptus tree trunk uprooted in a violent storm some years ago. After a workshop dealing with the topic of the Arab citizens of
RIMON & BEZALEL artists and musicians in Barta'a village and on the Amir mountain range at Katzir
The students were joined by Shosh Klieman, Long Term programs coordinator of The Israel Experience-Educational Tourism Services, the company charged with directing the formal and informal educational slots for the students. "This is a very unique and very diversified group of talented youth but although they are all very individualistic they have also shown the ability to come together as a group," explained Shosh toward the end of the seminar before all heading off to meet with Druze in Daliyat al-Karmel. "It is an extremely interesting experience for us Israelis working with them to have the opportunity to see the country, and ourselves, through their eyes." Whilst in Barta'a village the students engaged in conversation with Hassan Musarah, a Palestinian businessman selling carpets in West Barta'a. Hassan, who is from Hebron, explained to the students the procedure for applying for permits to cross the checkpoints between his home and successful business in the Israeli portion of the divided village and thanked the students for popping in to visit him.
Rimon & Bezalel students meeting with Hassan Musarah in his Barta'a carpet shop
THE ALEXANDER MUSS HIGH-SCHOOL IN
Over a hundred students from Following talks on the Arab citizens of Following lunch the three buses and their youthful passengers set out for a short tour of Katzir and Barta'a village – much to the delight of the local Israeli Arabs and Palestinians. "It is so good to see so many young Americans coming to visit and wish they had more time as we would really talk to them ," said one of the local teenagers in Barta'a told a Givat Haviva educator as the young visitors climbed back aboard the buses.
Amir Gara addressing the
Atlanta & Maryland students in West Barta'a and right: standing on a newly constructed bridge across the ditch that is physically the Green Line
About one hundred CALIFORNIAN STUDENTS studying a semester at Alexander Muss in Ramat HaSharon came hot on the heels of their Expecting only one group that particular day the staff were caught on the hop but quickly got organized and educators David Miron, Lydia Aisenberg and Inon Tagner carried out the talk and tour program with Amir Gara addressing all 3 groups together.
Milken High School students with teacher Alan (far right) and Givat Haviva's David Miron (far left) gathering by the Givat Haviva Peace Pole and the ad on the back of their bus tells us that The Ted Arison Family Foundation are proud sponsors of the Alexander Muss High School in Israel – and we in Givat Haviva are very proud to have the opportunity to work with so many fine young American Jewish teens.
San Diego High School students standing on the Green Line that divides West from East Barta'a in Wadi Ara
BIRTHRIGHT
Graduates from New York universities in Israel with Birthright-Taglit and their program organized by Israel-Experience, posing for a group photograph above the village of Barta'a and the West Bank in the background
The New Yorkers met and spoke for a few minutes with Palestinian businessmen in the village. "This is really amazing and so interesting to be able to talk to the people like this," said one of the students after meeting with Allam Abu Abead (right) and some of his friends from Jenin who are now working, or looking for work, in the village.
HABONIM-DROR from
Twenty Australians and 9 South African members of Habonim-Dror on their gap-year in
MACHON
Seventeen South Americans and their Israeli madrich Rafael Rosa (who made aliya from The students, who belong to the Hashomer Hatzair, Maccabi, Noar Hazioni and Youth Front movements came from Costa Rica, Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay and Mexico and part of over 100 South Americans presently studying at the Center for Youth Leadership (Machon) in Jerusalem. "This group chose to come to Givat Haviva as they are really interested to learn more about Jewish-Arab dialogue projects," explained Rafael who also said that about 10 years ago he had taken part in such a seminar at Givat Haviva!
The South American 'machoniks' walking from one side of the road to the other in Barta'a, basically walking on the Green Line – a ditch running under the road.
The following day a group of Jewish and Arab Israeli students from TEL HAI COLLEGE CENTER FOR PEACE & DEMOCRACY researching Jewish-Arab dialogue and on a 3-day tour of Wadi Ara and Jerusalem, spent some hours in Umm el-Fahm as guests of the local municipality and then toured the Amir mountain Shaked settlement bloc and Barta'a village with Givat Haviva International Department staff member Lydia Aisenberg before arriving in Givat Haviva for an overnight stay. Some of the 30 students and 3 teaching staff were puzzled as to where exactly the Green Line and security fence were in the area traveled and the comment "it's all so complicated" was heard a number of times.
TEL HAI students at the Katzir observation platform, East Barta'a and the West Bank in the background
MILKEN HIGH-SCHOOL FROM LOS ANGELES on semester at the Alexander Muss High-School in
A second group of students this month from the Milken High School, Los Angeles and presently undertaking a semester program at the Alexander Muss High School in Israel, spent a day with educator Inon Tagner from the International Department and Amir Gara from Jatt village in Wadi Ara. The students had many questions for speaker Amir Gara and the discussion continued in the campus courtyard as inquisitive students followed Amir to the car park! The students were taken on a tour of Wadi Ara and Barta'a village by Inon after a quick lunch on the lawn in Givat Haviva – and left for Hod HaSharon after a long but rewarding day.
MASA
Seventeen students from Participating in the 5-month MASA Israel Experience educational program known as AVIV, the 4 English, 3 Scottish, 2 New Zealanders and 8 Australian teens the teens kicked off their Givat Haviva program with a visit to the Peace Library where they met director Samira Mahmeed who showed them some of the newspapers from the collection of Arabic language papers and clippings now undergoing digitization with the help of funding from UNESCO. The Givat Haviva seminar dealt with the shared society projects as well as talks dealing with the Arab citizens of Israel, tour of the region, a workshop with Orit Meoded (together with the Givat Haviva-MASA Intensive Arabic Semester program students) as well as the visit to Mishmar HaEmek where they heard from Dafna Govrin, one of the founders of the Emda in-house museum of the 88-year veteran kibbutz and also met with Boaz Aisenberg, the eldest son of staff member Lydia, who spoke with them about growing up in a kibbutz children's house – an educational system disbanded in the early 1990s.
Left: Orit Meoded (center in red) with Aviv & IAS students during workshop; center: talking with Dafna Govrin – and far left with Boaz Aisenberg
PHILLY TEEN LEADERSHIP FEDERATION: High School Senior
Twelve teens from Philadelphia - in Israel under the auspices of the Philly Teen Leadership Federation and their High-School Senior Israel Advocacy program – spent a few hours on campus – on their way from the Galilee to Arad where they were due to set out on a camel trek! The group were accompanied by Pam Pearlmutter, a staff member of the Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphia, herself no stranger to Givat Haviva and the International Department's popular seminars having previously brought groups of Philly teens, students and teachers to seminars on campus in the past. Following lunch and a short talk, the Philly teens visited the Katzir observation point platform on a day where visibility was so clear it was possible to see right down the coastline to Tel Aviv. A visit to Barta'a was also included in the program with the teens asking many questions with regard the situation faced by the local Arab (Israeli and Palestinian) population in present times.
STUDENTS FROM THE
On a clear day one can see for miles – from the Katzir observation platform as this group of students from The
Following an almost two-week fact finding visit to the Palestinian areas and Israel, 15 students from The American University in Washington, DC came to Givat Haviva to hear about shared citizenship projects and other educational programs organized both on and off the Givat Haviva campus. Having participated in meetings with both West Bank Palestinians and Jewish settlers in that area, academics and other personalities prior to arriving in Givat Haviva where their visit focused more on the Arab citizens of
Lauren Barr (left) of the
****** SEE ARTICLE '
Masa-Givat Haviva INTENSIVE ARABIC SEMESTER students visit
A day out of the classroom to visit the Gilboa Mountain Range, Issachar ridge and Mt. Tabor with International Department guide Lydia was a welcome change for the students participating in the current (and fast drawing to an end) Intensive Arabic Semester. The students were treated to breathtaking views from
HASBARA FELLOWSHIPS (AISH HATORAH) from
As always, the present group of North American students participating in a 3-week program in Yisrael Neeman, tour guide and educator with the group is also a popular lecturer teaching the Intensive Arabic Semester students at Givat Haviva. The Hasbara Fellows were also accompanied by Lauren Krol, the
SEE ARTICLE: "TREMENDOUSLY WORTHWHILE" SAY STUDENTS OF VISIT TO GIVAT HAVIVA
MASA-BUDOKAN STUDENTS
One of the many long term programs on offer in The present Budoken group hails from the
Following a talk touching on the history and activities of Givat Haviva, the Israeli Arab population and the Palestinian people, the group was taken on tour of the region.
***** SEE ARTICLE: BUDOKAN BOWS DOWN TO GIVAT HAVIVA
VISITORS: LOOKING TO BOOK A SEMINAR and LOOKING UP FROM DOWN UNDER Left: Professor Thorsten Wagner outside the International Department & Jewish Arab Center for Peace Center in Givat Haviva and right) Jack Birnberg and wife Margo Stanislawska-Birnberg from Melbourne speak with Orit Meoded, co-director of the Children Teaching Children program at Givat Haviva
Fluent Hebrew speaker Professor Thorsten Wagner, whose areas of expertise covers Modern History, German Literature and Political Science, paid a call to the International Department this month in order to see what could be offered for a group of students he is bringing to From 1999-2000, Professor Wagner was a postgraduate fellow at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, 2001-2004 saw him at the Professor Wagner joined other guests, Jack and Margo Brinberg from
***** SEE ARTICLE MARGO AND JACK …
And that was the month that was – with many more groups booked to join us over the summer months in particular. Hilit Ben-Zvi, Uri Barel & Text & Photos: |
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