Lydia's International Email Bag at Givat Haviva
By Lydia Aisenberg
November 18, 2008
In October 2008 the large youth choir known as "No Limits", from Kastellaun, Germany, toured Israel, giving concerts and sightseeing. They also spent some time touring Wadi Ara and Barta’a village with Givat Haviva's International Department.
Dr. Klaus Kugelmeier accompanied the thirty members of the "No Limits" choir and the thirteen adults traveling with them. He emailed the following upon his return to Germany: “Since our return to Germany I have told friends about this very impressive afternoon with you. No kidding – this was to me one of the highlights of our visit to Israel!”
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Dr. Morris Gordon from Vancouver, Canada, spent a morning touring the Amir Mountain range, the Jewish settlement block of Shaked and the divided village of Barta’a.
“In September 2008 we took a morning with Lydia touring the region around Umm el-Fahm and the nearby villages. We had the opportunity to view the area from different vantage points, and, with a better sense of geography, get a better idea of the realties facing the population in the area. Only with such a geographical perspective could I get a sense of the security issues faced by Israelis on the one hand, and the realities of living with the security fence on the other.”
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Rachel Sussman, a middle school history teacher from New York paid us a call in the summer during her research of educational establishments dealing in multiculturalism. Apart from an in-depth report describing her day with Givat Haviva, Rachel also emailed the following: “Shalom. I’ve just sent off a package to you including materials about my school and the activism programming that I do with the upper grades, as well as a note of thanks for your warm welcome this summer. I was overwhelmed by your generosity of time and energy, as well as your passion for peaceful coexistence. I really enjoyed that day and learned so much.”
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Yair Zivan, British Union of Jewish Students Campaigns Organizer, accompanied a group of British students on an Israel Tour with Givat Haviva on the itinerary. Yair later emailed his comments about the visit and the high scoring percentages given by the group: “Our impressions were excellent – a really excellent day where we all learned a lot. It was pitched at the right level and gave the group really useful things to take back to campus. Thank you so much, Yair.”
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Hillary Rubesin, an art therapist from Philadelphia and cousin of staff member David Mendelsohne emailed Givat Haviva after her visit to the campus and surrounding area: “Today I had the honor of visiting Givat Haviva, an educational center for Arab-Israeli relations that focuses on co-existence through peace-promoting workshops. Up until now I had been meeting with co-existence supporters of my Birthright 'Peace, Pluralism, and Social Justice' trip, but we had not visited any Arab towns. I was excited to finally have the chance to meet face to face with an Israeli population that I have felt conflicted about for years. I guess that actually says it all – Here I am, an American reform Jew who has felt conflicted by Israeli-Arab relations since the day I began to understand my rabbi’s sermons as a child. Yet. Until today, I had never been face-to-face with Palestinians with Israeli citizenship (I believe that’s the term Lydia and David used). How are we ever to understand or feel conflicted OR resolved about people and/or situations if we have never come face-to-face with them?
“Growing up, without knowing ANY Israelis OR Arabs living in Israel, my rabbi’s sermons attempted to lead me to identify with the Jewish people in Israel. MY people. Even then, something didn’t sit right with me. Not because I didn’t want to identify with my people, but rather, because I didn’t KNOW any of my people. I felt disconnected from BOTH sides, Israeli and Palestinian. Visiting Givat Haviva today helped me to feel more connected to the conflict in general. Even if we don’t come to any solutions about the Israeli-Arab conflict at any point soon, at least this organization is bringing people together – giving a face, a voice, to the other. And that’s a start. After all, Lydia has been working at this center for many years, and she still remains hopeful. It gave me hope, too.
“Be it through the arts, or talking, or simply visiting the homes of the 'other', today helped me realize that I do still believe that some sort of co-existence can be possible. I guess I just needed to see it for myself.”
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Meirav Kallush, Israeli emissary of The Movement for Reform Judaism in Britain, has completed the two-year post and returned to Israel to study. Prior to her return Meirav emailed: “I’m extremely happy at the response from our groups visiting Givat Haviva this summer. They have learned, experienced and met, with people their age they would have never met if not for Givat Haviva.
“I hope that in years to come we will be able to get as many Reform members as possible to experience a Givat Haviva seminar. Yishar koach for all the amazing work you and your team have been doing.”