קול גבעת חביבה

Givat Haviva and the Jewish-Arab Center for Peace are deeply concerned about the recent rapid deterioration in Jewish-Arab relations, which threatens the entire Israeli society. The dangerous combination of long term institutional discrimination, as it was described in the conclusions of the Or Committee, with economic distress, rising racism, a sense of political persecution, the weakness in the treatment of the "Price Tag" terrorists, the threat to the status quo at the Temple Mount/Haram al-Sharif, and the feeling that there is a separate law for Arabs (as it was manifest in the latest incident in Kafr Kanna) – all contribute to the present situation where any incident could ignite the already volatile field.   We support the local leadership of the Arab society and our partners among the civil society organizations that have been making great efforts to calm down emotions and minimize the damage to the fabric of shared life in Israel. But this is not enough! We ca...

Yaniv Sagee, Executive Director, Givat Haviva Twenty-four years ago I fell in love with my wife and life partner, Galia. I was then 26 years old, the Secretary General of Kibbutz Ein Hashofet. This was about a year after I returned from representing Hashomer Hatzair and the Jewish Agency in the United States. It was four years after I completed my service in a Paratroopers Commando Unit, where I spent time Lebanon and served in the First Intifada as part of my reserve duty. Galia was a fresh discharge, who had just completed her military service as a welfare officer of the Golani Brigade. After five years of being together, we got married and our first son was born, Tav Sagee. Today, after the completion of his year of civil service in Hashomer Hatzair, he was inducted into the army for combat service. At the height of the Gaza conflict, the next generation is joining the cycle of war. How long will this continue? My father, Yaakov Sagee (Weissman) was born 77 years ago, in...

Mr. Mohammed Al Madani and the Palestinian delegation, the Deputy Chief of Mission at the US Embassy, Mr. William Grant, mayors, heads of peace organizations, the Kibbutz Movement, youth movements, students, dear citizens – Salam aleikum! Welcome to Givat Haviva, ahalan wa-sahalan! From the day it was founded, 65 years ago, by the kibbutzim of Hashomer Hatzair, Givat Haviva has been committed to peace. We have organized this conference together with our Palestinian associates from Al Tawasul, out of a sense of urgency shared by citizens who are holding hands, demanding their leaders to make peace. It was almost a year ago that President Obama visited here in Israel.  He chose to make his keynote speech at a public event, addressing the entire nation. In that speech, he said: "That's where peace begins -- not just in the plans of leaders, but in the hearts of people.  Not just in some carefully designed process, but in the daily connections -- that sense of emp...