Havatzelet

Havatzelet was founded in 1967 by the Kibbutz movement. The aim of the organization is to support social and cultural projects within Israel as well as to inspire additional activities in the fields of science, sport, culture and art. Havatzelet is responsible for different projects, which operate independently under their own name and administration, gaining a high level of recognition in Israel. Havatzelet is an autonomous executive non-profit association regulated by public law.

WebSite: www.havatzelet.org.il

The project "Amudei Shalom - Pillars of Peace" is aimed at creating a basis for confidence-building and peace-promoting measures for Jews and Arabs in Israel. On this basis, three interrelated project parts – the pillars – have been created, supporting acquaintance, dialogue and cultural exchange between the two groups.

First pillar “Gesher LeKesher - Bridging the Gap”
Jews and Arabs in Israel live often side by side with each other and still they don't know one another. Their relations are characterized by stereotypes and prejudices and hence distrust. "Gesher LeKesher" works to bridge this divide by means of continuous encounters of Jewish and Arab youth. Two youth movements, the Jewish Hashomer Hatzair and the Arab Agiyal movement have teamed up for this project under the auspices of Havatzelet. For nearly six years already, they meet one another regularly, embark on scouting trips, discuss, experience each other and work on different social and environmental projects conjointly and on an eye-to-eye level. More than 200 youngsters from all over Israel are part of this project.

Second pillar “Young Theatre”
Some prefer to express themselves through art than by talking: art uses encoded and indirect approaches to transport messages and it speaks to the mind through one’s soul. In order to use these communicative approaches a theatre project has been founded as part of our endeavor to promote Jewish-Arab relations in Israel. Being guided by members of the two youth movements, a group of about 20 youngsters writes and produces one piece of theatrical art per year and stages it several times for an audience of peers, friends and family but also total strangers. By acting and working together with their counterparts from the other community the participants learn to transcend the boundaries of their usual identities, and to recognize and acknowledge the relativity of assumptions that they would normally see as cast-iron truths.

Third pillar “Festival Culture of Peace”
This part of the project attempts to improve the relations between the Jewish and Arab sectors of Israeli society by means of public relations activities on a grander scale. Each year in May, the Tzavta Theatre in Tel Aviv organizes a festival that presents both Jewish and Arab culture as part of one great Mediterranean civilization rather than different and largely irreconcilable entities. The festival gives Jewish and Arab artists – not only from Israel – the opportunity to perform together on stage, celebrating their similarities. It spans two weeks and performances are being staged in all parts of the country. From the Galilee in the North to the Negev in the South and, of course, in the larger Tel Aviv area, it attracts several thousands of people.