In these difficult days when the guns are again roaring we are drawn,
whether we like it or not, into
the circle of blood and suffering which threatens to continue to harm many
civilians on both sides of the battle.
Here at Givat Haviva we maintain, despite it all, the regular activity
of the Jewish-Arab Center for Peace (despite how strange it sounds to talk
about peace at the moment…) – and the activity of Givat Haviva in general.
Even while in the
background the terrible thunder of the sounds of war in the south is spreading, we continue to
implement various programs for youth; the Arabic courses in the JACP continue;
the Face to Face encounters between Jewish and Arab youth continue and the
facilitators of the program are preparing the upcoming sessions; the staff of
Children Teaching Children continue the activity in the schools; courses for
women’s empowerment and Arab communal leadership continue their activity;
exhibits in the Peace Gallery are mounted; the Shared Communities flagship
program is moving on as scheduled.
In addition, we are making
strenuous efforts to continue our contacts with our friends in Israel and
around the world, and even with our Palestinian neighbors as far as possible.
We are all hopeful that the
parties involved in this war will find the appropriate way to move on to
deliberations and agreements as soon as possible, in order to stop the injury
to innocent civilians and enable safe and normal lives on both sides of the
southern border. We know that only an agreement arising from understanding and
mutual acceptance, based on a dialogue between responsible administrations, can
advance us towards stability and peace in the entire region.
Givat Haviva turns to all of its friends and partners to join this
call, in order that we can reach immediately a stage where the representatives
of both sides can sit together and talk, and place the entire region on the
road to understanding and peace.
Yaniv Sagee
Executive Director, Givat Haviva
