Press
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June 19, 2025Houstonian helps build bridges between Jews and Arabs in Israel
Friends of Givat Haviva Interim Executive Director Jonathan Lack tells Houston’s Jewish Herald-Voice why, as an American Jew, he has long been involved with Jewish-Arab relations in Israel, and the pivotal role Givat Haviva has played since 1949 advancing understanding between Israel’s Arab and Jewish citizens. At Givat Haviva Arab and Jewish citizens “can work on things that benefit both communities. I’m passionate about this because I love Israel, and I want to see it through better times,” Lack says.
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May 30, 2025Where Do the Muses Go? The Art Field in Israel in a Reality of Extremes The Second Givat Haviva Art Conference Conference Summary
On May 16, 2025, Givat Haviva held its second annual art conference: "The Art Field in Israel in a Reality of Extremes."
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May 30, 2025Amid war, these Palestinians and Israelis say it’s imperative to talk peace
Mohammad Darawshe, director of strategy at Givat Haviva, Israel’s oldest and largest organization working for a shared Jewish-Arab society, says bridge-building is challenging for Palestinian Israelis, The Christian Science Monitor reports. “As peacemakers they have a very underutilized role. But if empowered by Israel and by Palestinians on the other side, then they could play a significant role in peacemaking thanks to our bilingualism and dual identity,” he says. “There’s real capacity there; it’s not a handicap. It’s because we are not 100% Israeli or Palestinian.”
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May 22, 2025Artists pursue coexistence in the shadow of Gaza
The Jewish Independent (Australia) reports on Givat Haviva’s Artists in Residence Program, where five Jewish-Israeli and five Palestinian-Israeli artists live together and create side by side for three months. Residency Program Coordinator Orit Reingewertz said the participants have Arab and Jewish mentors and work in a shared studio “so that they see each other and hear each other all the time.”
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May 13, 2025After Oct. 7, a hub of Jewish-Arab shared society faces its toughest test
As Israel reeled from the Oct.7 attacks, Givat Haviva took on roles that went far beyond its mandate — it became a refuge, a mirror for itself and wider society and a case study in whether hope can endure under siege, writes Tamara Zieve, Israel correspondent for Jewish Insider, in a feature article on Givat Haviva. “To work for a shared society is a life project,” said Mohammad Darawshe, director of strategy at Givat Haviva.
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April 18, 2025American Jews should prioritize shared society in Israel
“To not openly recognize that 21% of Israelis who are not Jewish are integral to the state, to not actually connect with them, is inconsient with our values as American Jews,” Friends of Givat Haviva Chair David Heller writes in his JNS oped. “The foundations of shared society have held firm since October 7, 2023,” he writes. “Our shared Jewish commitments, both American and Israeli, to democracy will embolden all who are working to strengthen the shared society in Israel.”