Press

Israeli Opposition Leaders Are Wary of Alliance With Arab Parties. But Voters Are Surprisingly Open to It

Givat Haviva CEO Michal Sella argues in her Haaretz oped that opposition party leaders need to  welcome partnering with Arab parties in their elections campaigns.  “There is a sizable proportion of supporters of opposition parties who might support leaders intent on forging Jewish-Arab cooperation,” Sella writes. “There is a good chance that the way to power of the parties leading the opposition will have to entail cooperation with the Arab parties. There apparently is a significant group of opposition voters who are receptive to this idea. They deserve a leadership that knows how to lead.”

Dikla Tomer Kaial: Director, Jewish-Arab Center for Peace Education Department

Dikla Tomer Kaial, Director of the Jewish-Arab Center for Peace Education Department, shares her story of why she came to work at Givat Haviva and her commitment to advancing Jewish-Arab understanding in Israel. “I’m really happy that I work in this field because I feel like I walk the talk. I do every day what I believe in — at home and at work,” says Kaial.

Art is the only language we speak. It's irrelevant where everyone came from

“Art is the only language we speak. It’s irrelevant where everyone came from,” Maariv, February 3, 2026 A group of eight Israeli artists, Jews and Arabs, from all over the country, gathered in Givat Haviva for three months of creatin and living together in one space. In advance of their closing exhibit, “No Space Between Us,” they spoke with Maariv about their experiences in the Givat Haviva Joint Center for the Arts residency program. “The participants put aside their lives, their homes, not work. They try very hard to get here, and everything takes them very much out of their comfort zone,’’ says Anat Lidror, director of the residency program and curator of the Givat Haviva Art Gallery. “They are in a different situation: a common society, a new place, new people and also a situation of developing a personal process. It’s a very exposed place, and many times we feel that we need to give them this space, to get to know each other. There is no better way to get to know each other than to live 24/7 together.”

OPED: Israel-Diaspora Partnering for Shared Society

Friends of Givat Haviva Executive Director Jonathan Lack, in his Times of Israel oped, urges Jewish and Arab citizens of Israel, and American Jews, to work together with to build a shared society.

Feature Story: Jenan Halabi Profile

Working with Jewish and Arab teenagers at Givat Haviva, Jenan Halabi has come to see photography as more than a skill or an art, but as a tool to open conversations about identity, belonging, and shared life—especially in moments when words fall short. “At first I came as a photography teacher, and from there I developed into something completely different,” Halabi says.

OPED: Voters Want Partnership

Givat Haviva CEO Michal Sella, in her Ynet (Yedioth Ahronoth) oped, Voters Want Partnership, argues in favor of Jewish political parties welcoming the support of Arab parties in elections this year. The Partnership Index, Givat Haviva’s annual survey of Jewish and Arab citizens, shows that 41% of centrist voters support the inclusion of an Arab party in the coalition government, and among supporters of the Netanyahu bloc of the Change bloc 43% support involving an Arab party. “Mathematically, ideologically, and morally, cooperation with the Arab parties cannot be ruled out, and every fifth Israeli should not be excluded from the political game. Centrist voters show that they are open to the idea, as do voters of the Change Bloc. They deserve leadership that knows how to count and, most importantly, how to lead,” Sella writes.