FRIENDS OF GIVAT HAVIVA

For the year ended December 31, 2024, the Friends of Givat Haviva, Inc. supported the following programs:(i)Children Teaching Children - A unique educational program, offering in-depth two-year activity in grades 8 and 9, in both Jewish and Arab schools. The program focuses on accepting the other, equality, acquaintance, and friendship. (ii)YOUNITED - YOUNITED is a two-year boarding-school program that aims to promote peace in the Middle East and globally by developing a multicultural and international network of leaders that will work together to create dialogue, understanding, and collaboration between individuals and societies(iii)Through others eyes - Through Others' Eyes (TOE) is a dialogue and community-building project that brings 9 Arab and 9 Jewish teenagers together. The teenagers learn photography skills and learn about each other as they explore questions of identity, nationality, religion, and community. (iv)Baraem Hi-Tech Seeds - The Baraem Hi-Tech program at Givat Haviva allows promising Arab high school students in Israel to study computer science and technology and earn credits toward a bachelors degree in computer science while still in high school. This head start, available to the most talented Jewish students through the army, is the foundation for the Start-Up Nation.(v)Cross-Sector Teachers Exchange - The proposed program is a series of semester-long exchanges of teachers in pairs from Jewish and Arab schools. Schools will be paired based on proximity and parity to facilitate stronger connections between the schools, beyond the individual exchange teachers. The program will run for three years as a pilot with the Ministry before being scaled up and integrated into the educational system. In the first year, the mechanisms for implementation were created and honed on 14 pairs of teachers. In the second year, we plan to expand to 25 pairs. The program was paused for 2024.(vi)Awad memorial - This fund supports the building of a new computer room on Givat Haviva campus in memorial of Awad Darawshe who was killed on October 7th.(vii)Educational Encounters - The program utilizes informal peace education approaches, focusing on experiential education, Jewish-Arab encounters, dialogue, culture, arts, and joint activity. The program aims to reach students throughout the education lifecycle, starting in elementary school and continuing through high school. The need for educational intervention in Israel is rooted in the deep division between the Jewish majority and the Arab minority. Young people are the most vulnerable to powerful influences and subject to incitement. Givat Haviva's educational program aims to transform conflict trends among young people into a shared, democratic future for Israeli society. Bi national programs were not held for all class pairs like in previous years.(viii)Emergency Kibbutzim relief - this program was set up by the kibbutz movement as a way to get American funds to the kibbutzim that were impacted by the October 7th attacks.(ix)Hebrew Language Enrichment - This program aims to improve the Hebrew language skills of Arab citizens of Israel, as the level of Hebrew proficiency among Arab graduates of Israeli public schools is inadequate. The program is a three-year series for 7th, 8th, and 9th graders taught by Jewish teachers in Arab classrooms. The program seeks to achieve several goals, including creating a growing number of Arab youth proficient in spoken Hebrew and enhancing familiarity and understanding between Jewish and Arab educators.(x)Emergency Interventions in Academia program - Leading staff, management, and heads of faculties one-day seminar: The seminar is designed to guide faculty and staff members of academic institutions in how to navigate todays delicate, highly tense reality, through relevant lectures and activities. Leading faculty and staff are the ones responsible for their students well-being, along with the quality of their education. Academic professors and lecturers one-day tour in Arab cities: Humanities classes, sciences, and social sciences face different challenges. Conversations in the classroom differ, as do their intensity. Across all of them however, the majority of staff members in most faculties are Jewish. Because of this, Arab students are less likely to participate actively in class, especially during times of conflict. In addition, the fact that most Arab students are native Arabic speakers and use Hebrew as a second or third language, causes them to interact even less in the Hebrew speaking classes. We include this guided tour in Arab cities and villages, followed by a guided encounter with the village's youth, to enable the faculty and lecturers a better understanding of their Arab students background, culture, behavior, and perspective which will then translate into more inclusive teaching methodologies.(xi)Operation Swords of Iron In response to growing polarization between Jewish and Arab communities following the events of October 7, 2023, Givat Haviva implemented a series of uni-national workshops and seminars aimed at supporting youth through dialogue, reflection, and resilience-building. The program engaged over 1,000 Jewish and Arab students in junior high and high schools through in-school workshops, campus-based seminars, and weekly uni-national sessions tailored to the emotional and social needs of each group. Developed in consultation with psychologists and sociologists, the initiative provided a safe space for young people to process complex realities while fostering empathy and long-term social cohesion.