A Busy Summer at Givat Haviva as Unprecedented Numbers of Young People Visit Campus

August 20, 2007

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An astounding 1,800 young people from many different countries passed through seminars organized by the International Department, Givat Haviva during the month of July, 2007.

Needless to say, as demanding as the task of lecturing to and touring the Wadi Ara region with so many diverse groups of teens to late-twenties, the challenge was met, hopefully to mutual satisfaction.

From feedback received from both participants and the tour operators who booked the seminars, as well of course from our overworked but well satisfied staff, so far it would seem that is definitely the case.

In one of the busiest months that the department has known since founding some 25 years ago, groups from all over the United States and Canada, Europe and Australia spent time dealing with the subject of background to the Middle East conflict, the Arab citizens of Israel, the Palestinians and the events of recent years, particularly since the 1993 Oslo Peace Process and its ramifications.

Generally at the end of the month we mention all groups and post their photographs on the Givat Haviva International Department’s web page.


However, if one was to do this for the month of July 2007 it would appear more like an encyclopedia than end of month report and therefore a general summary will replace the usual detailed version.

The majority of the groups came through the TAGLIT- BIRTHRIGHT program, with two main operators making sure that a Givat Haviva experience was part of the young peoples 10 day Israel insight.

Groups of students booked through tour operators ISRAEL EXPERTS and ISRAEL EXPERIENCE saw hundreds of students studying at universities and colleges situated in almost all corners of the United States, the width and breadth of Canada, from throughout the United Kingdom and Ireland and European countries the likes of Hungary, Bulgaria, Poland, Holland and Germany, as well as from far off Australia.

Almost half of the seminar participants in July were 16 year-olds and in the main came from British youth movements such as the Federation of Zionist Youth, Habonim-Dror, Bnei Brith Youth Organsiation, the Liberal Jewish youth movement, RSY Netzer and NOAM.

Their North American peers came from Jewish schools, youth movements (Young Judea) and twin city exchanges under Partnership 2000. Some of those groups came from Denver and other cities in Colorado, Pittsburgh and Baltimore to name just a few and were joined on seminar with Israeli kids they were just getting to know.

The TAGLIT-BIRTHRIGHT groups were also accompanied by IDF soldiers. In the main the young Israelis are unfamiliar with the Givat Haviva campus, projects and programs and as has happened many times in the past, some commented on how important they saw the seminar not only for the students from abroad but also for themselves.

For the visitors from the abroad, traveling with the young Israelis in order to get to know them becomes a lesson in itself when dealing with sensitive political and historical issues as we do in our seminars and usually prove the saying: 3 Israelis equals 10 different opinions to be more than correct!

Summarizing July 2007, when the heat of the noon sun broke long standing records here and there as we broke our own departmental record of seminar participants, we can definitely state that last month - both weather wise and seminar wise - was hot, hot, hot!

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