Toward the creation of a Shared Society, Givat Haviva serves as a platform for public action, to express and reinforce public belief in and support for a shared society and solidarity between Israel’s Jewish and Arab citizens. Actions have included mass public educational and dialogue events, art installations, and joint initiatives of Givat Haviva with other shared society nonprofit organizations. Below you can see short descriptions and links to some past actions that arose in response to current events. These events are in addition to Givat Haviva’s ongoing activism and public engagement. Givat Haviva will continue to respond to current events with innovative activities involving the public to create a shared society together.
On December 4, 2018, Givat Haviva joined the women's struggle against the rising violence in our country and enabled every employee to strike together with the women of Israel. In the morning, all of Givat Haviva staff went out to the Wadi Ara intersection as one body - women and men, Jews and Arabs, young and old - demonstrate against silence in the face of the continuing violence against women and to demand the government implement the budget to mitigate violence against women and help its victims. Media coverage of the Women's Strike in English here.
July 30, 2018 The Largest Arabic Lesson in the World: In response to the passage of the National State Law, Givat Haviva, together with other shared society organizations, held a mass Arabic lesson at Habima square in Tel Aviv. The event was attended by thousands. See media coverage in English here and here. Link to the event, with photos, here.
On June 8, 2017, Givat Haviva held a series of events marking 50 years of occupation since the Six Day War. The day began with the Green Line Walk, along the path of the invisible border, whose location appears on maps but is imperceptible on the ground. Givat Haviva with Machsom Watch hosted the walk, during which participants spoke of their experiences during and since the war, marked the location of the Green Line, and hiked 6 km from the lookout point to Givat Haviva.
Back on campus, participants were treated to an interactive viewing of the exhibition Hamsin: Regarding the Occupation (scroll down for English) at the Givat Haviva Peace Gallery, followed by a stirring assembly with inspired speakers and musicians, featuring our shared aspirations for a swift and productive end to the conflict.
At the end of the day, Givat Haviva hosted an Iftar dinner with our Muslim friends and staff celebrating Ramadan, followed by a gallery talk with some of the artists who had produced the works for Hamsin. See photos of the day’s events here.
From October 12-19, 2015, Givat Haviva set up a Dialogue Tent at the Megiddo junction, as a place for Arab and Jewish residents of Wadi Ara to sit down and speak together and to demonstrate solidarity in the context of a wave of rising hostilities and violence between Jews and Arabs in Israel. Givat Haviva maintained the tent as an open and facilitated dialogue space for a week, including a demonstration of solidarity along Road 65 that winds through the Arab and Jewish settlements of Wadi Ara. The Dialogue tent then moved to the Givat Haviva campus for the remainder of the month to encourage solidarity and rapprochement between the areas Jewish and Arab residents. See pictures from the Dialogue Tent here.