Promoting Peace and Unity- Response to the Ongoing Crisis

Working together for a shared future in Israel

After discovering the scale of the recent atrocities committed by Hamas, it is still hard to digest the fear, suffering, and horrors that we Israelis saw and will continue to see in the coming days.

In these moments of terrible shock, Israeli right-wing extremists irresponsibly have called for revenge and are trying to ignite violence within Israel between Jewish and Arab citizens. We need to remember that it was not only Jewish citizens that were affected, but Israeli Arab society is also feeling the impact from the events last weekend.

We have complex and difficult days ahead. We are committed to exercising restraint and responsibility as we respond to the extreme forces with collaborative initiatives among Jewish and Arab citizens of Israel. We maintain the partnership between us as citizens and as humans to protect ourselves and our children, to protect what we have, and to try to see the hope and the light that will rise at the end of the darkness around us.

What have we been doing to address the needs of Israeli citizens during this crisis?

As an organization with Jewish and Arab staff, Givat Haviva is navigating this situation within our community, holding space for grief, anger, anxiety, and empathy.

Our role in Israeli society is more crucial than ever.

In order to prevent violence from breaking out across the nation, we are reorienting our work to meet the needs of the current crisis. The scale of these events will change the way young Jews and Arabs relate to each other, and we need to take action now to prevent this from happening.

Here are four major initiatives we are immediately undertaking:

• Givat Haviva has opened the campus to over 200 people from the Kibbutzim in the south.

• To mitigate the possibility of Israeli Jewish extremists inciting violence, Givat Haviva has been bringing together Jewish and Arab mayors and community leaders to figure out how citizens can come together during these times instead of growing an already deep divide.

• We have been very vocal in the media about this crisis and will continue to be as appropriate.

• We are restructuring our programs to fit the current crisis- we will send facilitators to schools to conduct educational programs while increasing teacher training capacity.

We will continue to update our supporters on programmatic initiatives and changes as we adapt to the current situation. Thank you for your prayers, financial support, and commitment to our mission. They are needed now more than ever.

Givat Haviva’s Head of Strategy, Mohammad Darawshe, lost his cousin in the Hamas attacks last weekend. His cousin, Awad Darawshe was a paramedic assigned to work at the festival in the south. Awad chose to stay and help the injured until he was tragically killed. He will be remembered for his bravery and heroism. You can read more about him in the articles below.

Remembering Awad Darawshe

An Arab paramedic who treated Israelis injured by Hamas militants is remembered as a hero