GIVAT HAVIVA INTERNATIONAL DEPARTMENT The Comings and Goings of FEBRUARY, 2014

Winter seems to have ignored Israel this February with spring like weather, flowers blossoming before their time and confusin g the human species as much as those of Mother Nature. Blue skies, carpets of colorful wild flowers and all the shades of green be tween. Another busy month for the International Department staff with interesting and challenging groups of youth and adults from diverse backgrounds and countries but with a shared aim, to glean more knowledge about this beautiful but somewhat trouubled land.

MA’ASE OLAM – Young folk on a MASA program working with communities in Rehovot & Acre A group of 35 young people (mostly from North America) spending 10 months in Israel with Ma’ase Olam, an organization attemp ting to build a movement of leaders committed to working together to ensure that young people on the margins of Israeli society get a quality education, attended a day seminar during the course of which they participated in a workshop dealing with the topic of the Arab citizens of Israel followed by an in-depth tour of the region.

MA’ASE OLAM: Peace with a smile: Ma’ase Olam participants show off their Givat Haviva purchases whilst standing alongside the Peace Pole message ‘May Peace Prevail On Earth’ that is firmly planted in the concourse of the Peace Library at Givat Haviva and right: Beverly Aron, Director of Education, Ma’ase Olam and participant Alexa Appell , both of whom from Leeds, England and the only Brits among the group of mostly Americans The first port of call out and about with Lydia Aisenberg was the speedily developing town of Harish, one of the Seven Stars of Sharon, communities started in the late 1980s. Overlooking the Green Line from the excavated perimeters of the expanding infrastruct ure being created between Harish, Umm al-Kuttuf and the Dotan Valley, the students began to address maps in order to achieve better bearings of where they were and what they could, or in the case of the 1949 Armistice Line (Green Line), what they couldn’t s ee. During the tour the students were able to better understand the course of the electronic security fence, the area west of the fence but over the Green Line and many of the layers of complexities that have developed in the area since the 1967 war. “I didn’t realize that it was so easy for us to enter the West Bank here and see Palestinians working in their fields, and yet they are not allowed to go over this invisible divide called the Green Line,” commented one of the confused students during the tour.

Now you see me, now you don’t – discussing the pre-1967 lines in the area whilst gaining better understanding of the geography and topography of the region as Lydia explains events before and after 1967

FACEBOOK COMMENT FROM MA’ASE OLAM. On Sunday our Fellows visited the Palestinian/Israeli-Arab village of Barta'a, which has the distinction of straddling the Green Line dividing Israel and the West Bank. Fellows heard perspectives from Israeli -Arabs and Palestinians about challenges of access, identity and economics created by the border. The tiyul was guided by freelance journalist and former Jerusalem Post writer Lydia Aisenberg, who mixed her peace -minded ideology with an honest assessment of what it was like to live through two intifadas in such close proximity to the West Bank, and how the conflict affects the ongoing safety concerns of Israelis today.

ISRAEL EXPERTS, BIRTHRIGHT–TAGLIT 10-DAY CULLINARY EXPERIENCE

Left: hearing from Lydia about Givat Haviva from the steps of the Peace Tree on the main lawn and right: speaker Amir Gara (right) and Michael Gropper, Western Regional Director of Moishe House and Israel Experts Birthright -Taglit staff member accompanying the group who hailed from different states in America. Michael Gropper, a staff member of Birthright-Taglit who also accompanied an Israel Experts Birthright group from the States last year said: “Last year the seminar was excellent and now again today. It is so good to come here for these sessions,” Michael commented. Unlike most Birthright-Taglit groups, this particular group centered on a common interest, that being the culinary delights of Israel! The Israel-Experts organized visit to the country also dealt with the myriad of local traditional foods to be found in Israel. The group of “foodies” spent time tasting local delights served by traditional Middle Eastern women in Yeroham; participated in a workshop on Druze cuisine; a workshop on modern Israeli food with popular chef Guy Gamzu of Aria in Tel Aviv and more. Hopefully the seminar in Givat Haviva with Lydia Aisenberg and Amir Gara will have left the American appreciators of Israeli food with plenty of food for thought and an appetite to learn more about the continuing Givat Haviva educational programs and Shared Communities projects bringing Jews and Arabs to sit together and put their differences, and culinary skills, on the discussion table.

STEPHEN MATCHET & JUSTINE PIANKO Australian students Stephen and Justine spent their Oz university break working with special projects in Israel and reconnected with Lydia to reminisce the seminars at Givat Haviva they had participated in last year and 2 year ago

In the dark of the night: Justine and Stephen and Justine with Lydia Stephen Machet is the National Treasurer of the Australasian Union of Jewish Students (AUJS) and Justine a member of the AUJS and who has held student leadership roles. Stephen has been on AUJS-Givat Haviva seminars a number of times in the past and last year so did Justine. The following email was received after the visit from Stephen.

Hi Lydia. I'm writing this on the plane between Istanbul and Singapore; flying between Australia and Israel isn't the easiest. Over the last 6 weeks, I have been undertaking what's known as Vacation Work Experience. I'm studying a Bachelor of Science a nd a Bachelor of Engineering (Mechanical), and in order to graduate from the engineerin g component, I need to do 12 weeks' work experience in total, and it can be done anywhere in the world, doing anything, provided that I am supervised by a qualified e ngineer. I was working at Given Imaging in Yokneam, which is the company that shot to fame in 1998-2001 with the development of PillCam, a non-invasive capsule with 1-2 embedded cameras that takes photos of the oesophagus, small bowel or colon (depending on the model). It provided me with incredible insight into where the skills I have learnt in my degree can lead, and what can be achieved with some (very complicated) extensions. Moreover, working in the company itself was like working with your extended family: when I asked for assistance or advice, I was welcomed by everyone within the engineering and other departments and told to take a seat next to them. The highlights included participating in a clinical study (if you'd like to see some photos I can send them), and se eing the product development process from beginning (identifying an issue, determining appropriate solutions and using computer aided design software to design and refine the solution) to end (seeing the final product "in the flesh"). Overall it has been an i ncredible opportunity and experience. Stephen.

Justine, who is studying a Bachelor of Commerce and Bachelor of Laws at Monash University in Melbourne, the same campus as where Stephen studies also dropped Lydia a line. Thank you very much for inviting us into your home. It was wonderful to see you. I really enjoyed learning about the history of your Kibbutz. During this stay in Israel I studied in Hebrew University, Har Hatzofim campus. The Rothberg International School has a three week crash course in Israeli law and international law. It was very int eresting and dealt with issues which were connected to your tour. For example we considered the legality of the West bank, the 'barrier' and the way the Supreme Court applies occupation law. I helped to teach English to Russian and Ethiopian immigrants at Yemin Orde School for a week. I am pleased because I feel that I helped and I also was very lucky to have a great time and get an insight into the school! Both Justine and Stephen promised to keep in touch and continue to pass on information about GIVAT HAVIVA to others back home in Australia.

REV. PETER MIANO with group of pilgrims travelling Jordan, Israel & Palestinian areas with the Bible Society of America

Rev. Peter Miano (second from the left background) and group taking a walk around Kibbutz Mish mar HaEmek.

The American Christian pilgrims visited the Holocaust Memorial to the Children of the Holocaust in Mishmar HaEmek, heard about the history of the community, founded in the Jezreel Valley over 90 years ago. A Hashomer Hatzair kibbutz, Mishmar HaEmek is visited by many Givat Haviva seminar participants wanting to learn more also about the kibbutz movement, the ideology of Hashomer Hatzair and connection to the Wadi Ara campus. Another group with Rev. Peter Miano has been booked also for next month and the close connection of many years continues with the Bible Society of America founder. LANDESZENTRALE FUR POLITISCHE BILDUNG, RHEINLAND-PFALZ

Christian Sterzing & Wolgang Faller from Landeszentrale hopping lines and fences in the Dotan Valley as dusk falls and lights pop on from Harish across Israel to the coast in the region.

Groups of German educators visiting Israel from Rheinland-Pfalz with the Landeszentrale fur Politische Bildung organization have been participating in International Department seminars for many years and this month we were visited by two heads of the organization in the country organizing the visit of a large group of folks later on this year. As daylight was gradually disappearing, dusk settling in to darkness, Christian Sterzing and Wolfgang Faller were taken on a ‘quickie’ tour so as to share some of the aspects of a tour of the region for their intended visit in October. HIGH-SCHOOL AND COLLEGE EDUCATORS on 4-day pilot tour of Israel spent a few hours with the International Department in the region Two hours, two sites and get us to the airport on time!

Israeli tour guide Frances Oppenheimer (right) helping UK teachers find where they are on the map (Barta’a)

A group of UK high-school and college educators who participated in a whirlwind 4-day tour of Israel organized by Anglia Tours in Britain and IsraelExperts in Israel, joined Lydia Aisenberg for a few hours on their way from the north of the country to the airport! In just a few hours Lydia managed to share the view from the Megiddo car park of the Jezreel Valley, Gilboa mountain range and Palestinian Autonomous city of Jenin in the corner of the valley; visit the Katzir observation platform overlooking the West Bank’s Dotan Valley and a quick visit to the village of Barta’a. All in record time and much to the satisfaction of the rather tired but highly motivated British educators. A relationship between Anglia Tours, dealing in overseas educational learning experiences for UK schools & colleges and other specialized groups, and the Givat Haviva International Department began to develop a few years ago when Colonel Alain Chissel, Managing Director of the company and his director wife Anita, undertook a pilot tour organized by IsraelExperts and incorporated a visit to Givat Haviva entailing meeting with Lydia and a brief tour of the Wadi Ara & Dotan Valley regions. A short time later they booked their first seminar for a visiting group, Eton College and last month the second group from Eton participated in another seminar and a further group of Eton students booked for later this year. The Chissel’s are a fascinating couple. Colonel Chissel was commissioned into the Queen’s Regiment in 1971 and served for over 30 years. Founding Anglia Tours in 1997, the company has grown to be the UK leading tour operator in fully guided history tours for schools. Colonel Chissel’s wife Anita is Swedish born. With no family connections to the

Holocaust, Anita Chissel developed a keen interest in this particularly dark period of history and has led hundreds of tours to Auschwitz/Birkenau and trained many other highly professional guides. Since their return to the UK, some of the teachers have been in contact and see a visit to Givat Haviva as an integral part of itineraries in the making for future visits to Israel with groups of students and we look forward to continue the ground breaking work with Colonel Alain and Anita Chissel in the future. SEMINAR FOR KIBBUTZ GEVA OVERSEAS VOLUNTEERS

Brenda Landes and her charges, the volunteers of Kibbutz Geva For many years Givat Haviva’s International Department has offered the opportunity to kibbutzim to hold a seminar on -site for their volunteers and this month Kibbutz Geva once again booked such a program for the volunteers from many different countries presently living and working at the Jezreel Valley kibbutz. Veteran volunteer coordinator Brenda Landes has been a stalwart supporter of the Givat Haviva volunteer seminars for many years and following this month’s seminar dealing with map reading, fences, lines and background to the Middle East conflict, Brenda commented on the importance of the seminar and in an email expressed the positive comments also made by the volunteers themselves following the sessions. “Now my big problem is choosing which of them can go to the 2-day Volunteer Seminar in Givat Haviva next month as they ALL want to go,” Brenda told Lydia Aisenberg following the seminar she gave at Geva.

Haakon Erikson from Norway with Kibbutz Geva volunteer leader Brenda Landes in front of a photograph of founder members of Kibbutz Geva displayed in the kibbutz dining room in celebration of the kibbutz 90 th anniversary since the Jezreel Valley kibbutz was founded and right: Yoav Galili and son Dylan pointing to founder members, the grandparents of Yoav! When Lydia arrived to conduct the seminar at Kibbutz Geva, a visitor from Norway was just about to wind up his visit to the kibbutz. Haakon Erikson was a volunteer in Maoz Haim “in his youth” and was visiting Israel with his teenage daughter. Whilst Norwegians were visiting the nearby site of Gan HaShlosha (Sachne) they got into conversation with a few Norwegian volunteers from Kibbu tz Geva and so popped in for a visit. Haakon Erikson is one of 7,000 members of the Norwegian pro-Israel organization of MED ISRAEL FOR FRED (With Israel for Peace) and was most interested to hear about Givat Haviva but unfortunately couldn’t stay for the seminar session but exchanges of information made and hopefully future cooperation nurtured. The organization’s website: www.MIFF.no

BIRTHRIGHT-TAGLIT: Young professionals from all over the United States

Expert staff: Birthright-Taglit young professionals ISRAEL EXPERT organized group tour guide Yoav Bruk and Birthright staff from the United States, Rachel Shpayher (left) and Debrah Silverman (right), during a break in the seminar for their group of Am erican young professionals who heard talks from Lydia Aisenberg and Amir Gara in the Sarah & Yaacov Eshel Peace Library. LEFT: The impressive wall size colourful advert for one of the largest educational tour operators in Israel as photographed in their Y avne offices during a visit by International Department staff members Lydia, Uri Barel and Keren Farkash.

GIVE PEACE A HAND – A MILLION WOULD BE GOOD TOO. Lydia explains to Birthright-Taglit participants about activities on and off campus in the Givat Haviva Peace Library including background to the Million Hands project that had taken place the day before their arrival on campus, hundreds of colorful hands still dotted all over the main lawns of the campus.

Left: A handful of peace and right: Executive Director of Givat Haviva Yaniv Sagee putting forth a pair of extra hands for the cause. NES AMMIM INTERNATIONAL CHRISTIAN VILLAGE Volunteers from Germany, Holland and Italy working at the kibbutz style community near Nahariya

Welcome to Givat Haviva; explanation about the history of the campus (centre) Simon from Italy with a Million Hands momento from the main lawn and right: viewing the Arabic language collection of newspapers in the library before moving on to the Arts Center

Rainer Stuhlman, responsible for the Nes Ammim study program and community volunteers, meet ing with Etti Amram, director of the Givat Haviva Arts Centre followed by a viewing of the current exhibition in the Peace Gallery and right: beginning their tour of the region with Lydia at The Joseph Project drill site of the Zion Oil & Gas Company near Ma’anit and reading sign with quotation from the Bible and connection to the Evangelical Christian oil seeking company who have been drilling in the area for over a decade.

At the end of an amazingly user friendly clear & sunny day, the Nes Ammim folks were presented with a glorious view over the Jezreel Valley (Jenin, Tanachim, Mt. Gilboa and Palestinian villages large and small in the corner of the valley) at the end of the seminar/tour where extremely supportive and positive remarks were made by the participants, whom we hopefully will see again for a follow -up seminar in their community of Nes Ammim. So, yet another challenging and highly rewarding month of groups and individuals gracing our campus, sharing experiences with Jewish, Arab citizens of Israel and Palestinians just down the road and around the corner and expressing their thanks at bein g afforded the opportunity. URI BAREL, KEREN FARKASH and LYDIA AISENBERG The International Department, Givat Haviva Photographs: Lydia Aisenberg