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Givat Haviva Institute for Arabic Studies is pleased to announce the opening of a spoken Arabic course for English speakers!
We are beginning with a small group pilot especially for friends of Givat Haviva.
What will you learn?
Beginner level spoken Arabic, no prior knowledge required.
How will you learn?
In ten one-hour zoom classes, plus software for independent practice.
When?
Sundays and Wednesdays, 9am PST, 12pm EST, 19:00 Israel
November 1 – December 2, 2020
How much does it cost?
$ 170 for full course registration only
To register, click here
If you have any questions, please contact Adi at arabic2@givathaviva.org.il
The course is contingent on sufficient registration.
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Arab Representation in the Public Sector
In the face of ongoing low representation of the Arab public in the public sector, the Israel Democracy Institute (IDI) held a special discussion in collaboration with Givat Haviva on July 8, which dealt with the importance of representing Arabs in government ministries, government companies and municipalities, and the opportunities and challenges. The discussion, involving senior policy officials and experts, some in the IDI headquarters and some via Zoom, was livestreamed by both the IDI and Givat Haviva, to facilitate public participation despite the Covid-19 restrictions.
The conference marked the twentieth anniversary of two important statutory amendments to the Civil Service Law and the Government Companies Law that mandated adequate representation the Arab population in all ranks and professions, in every ministry and unit of government service, and on government company boards. To view the recorded panels and conference summary (in Hebrew), please visit the conference page
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“Corona Hotel” at Givat Haviva
In response to a request from municipality heads in Wadi Ara, Givat Haviva quarantined a segment of the campus and lodgings to provide a haven for people in the area who have tested positive for Covid -19, but are symptom free, yet still contagious, to enable them to isolate from their families and keep them safe. This is operated with the Home Front Command, ensuring complete isolation from other activities on the campus, while providing a much-needed service to the region. The “hotel” has a capacity for 120 people, providing meals, access to medical services as needed, and sitting and recreation spaces outdoors. Givat Haviva aims to contribute in this way to minimizing the spread of the virus in the area.
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Webinars
During these times when travel is not possible, Givat Haviva senior staff has taken it upon themselves to reach out and keep our friends and supporters around the world in touch with what is going on in Israel, particularly regarding the issues that concern our organization. Mohammad Darawshe, Director of Equality and Shared Society, held webinars in July and August discussing Israel’s annexation plans and the marginalization of Israel's Arab politicians. On Sep 14, Executive Director Yaniv Sagee and Mohammad Darawshe hosted Rabbi Donniel Hartmann, President of the Shalom Hartman Institute in Jerusalem, on the topic “Can Jewish and Equality Values Coexist in Israel?” The recording of the webinar, in English, can be viewed here. (Note that Yaniv’s opening comments were not recorded, so the webinar appears to begin with Rabbi Hartmann speaking.)
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Gender Equality & Women’s Empowerment
On Sep 8, Anhar Masarwa, Director of the Department for the Advancement of Gender Equality, attended a meeting of the Board of the Association of Advocates for the Advancement of Women and Gender Equality with the Chair of the Committee for the Advancement of Women in the Knesset, MK Oded Forer.
On Aug 12, Givat Haviva hosted the Arab Mothers’ Protest March on its way from Haifa to the Knesset. The women and their allies were protesting against violence in Arab communities, and the lack of enforcement. The protesters spoke about crime and violence in Arab society against women, and their demand that criminal organizations be eradicated from Arab society.
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GHIS welcomed the opening of the international school year was with excitement and anticipation of returning to the school routine and the community, which was forcibly separated for a long time under last year’s Covid-19 directives. One hundred new and returning students are now embarking on the GHIS journey.
During the summer months, the school staff invested a great deal of effort obtaining the necessary permits for the entry of international school students into Israel and their arrival at the school. The international students began arriving during August for two weeks of quarantine, and the local students arrived at the end of the summer. The school and dorms opened in conformance with the guidelines of the Ministries of Health and Education.
Creating and maintaining a study routine during this period is complex, but the faculty is working hard, in collaboration with the student leadership, to find creative ways to deliver frontal and online lessons to maintain the high quality of teaching as well as the health of the students. In parallel with their studies, the students lead social lives adapted to the circumstances. The division into capsules enables the existence of social activities, while utilizing the open and safe spaces of the campus, which constitute a great advantage.
During the holidays, the local students continue choosing to remain isolated together at Givat Haviva, to enjoy and develop the unique community, demonstrating their identification with the international students’ difficulties and dedication to maintaining a healthy environment at school.
The GHIS team and students wish everyone a happy new year, a year of health, innovation, and growth amidst complexity.
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This year, the program will take part in the Ministry of Education’s new pilot for teaching spoken Hebrew in Arab schools, to be called "A Common Language". The project will include innovative teaching methods based on the ulpan model of Hebrew instruction for new immigrants. The teaching will be more personal and will be carried out in small groups.
During the summer, the program staff was busy preparing for the new school year, working with the Ministry of Education to recruit and train teachers, and see to it that they are placed in the schools. In preparation for the new approach, the program teachers underwent three days of intensive, specialized training at Givat Haviva, dealing with multicultural issues, significant, experiential teaching, and more. As seen in the photo, the training was delivered to groups of ten, which had to be kept completely separate, in conformance with directives from the Ministry of Health
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This is a picture of myself and Wisel, the Hebrew Teaching Coordinator at the school in a class I teach via Zoom to the new ulpan style class.
So far I have had two classes, which have gone well and had a good flow. The topics are interesting and the class sessions are good. Most of them go well through Zoom. It’s not like a face-to-face class but the material is also well adapted to the vitual platform because everything is built on presentations
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The program, providing students with an academic framework for a bachelor's degree in computer science, is characterized as one of the most successful programs in the country. It tries to meet the need of Arab youth to study and integrate into the high-tech market. At the end of October, our very first students will complete their bachelor’s degree after five years!
The current, summer semester will end in late October. Since the onset of Covid-19, studies have been conducted online. The 2020-21 school year will begin in early November and is planned to continue online. Registration for 2020-21 is underway, with the goal of reaching two groups (80) new students. |
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The Youth Encounters programming is in the midst of the transition to an online format. Despite the challenges inherent in having this sensitive encounter between teens through the Zoom platform, a number of options have been built for online series that we can offer to schools. Development was undertaken by a small team of our senior facilitators who are experienced both with facilitating our encounters and with offering content over online platforms. Along with the difficulties we feared in the beginning, we have also found opportunities inherent in online meetings, among them to reach more distant schools that have not previously taken part in the program, to engage in a program of meetings over a longer period, and the ability to enable students to meet regardless of covid-19 limitations. In September we will train the facilitators to offer the programming via Zoom and other online skills for this unusual year. We are also conducting teacher trainings for Arab and Jewish schools to bring Jewish and Arab teachers together to experience facilitated meetings and get to know each other so that they can eventually lead bi-national meetings of students. Our goal is to create through education of the younger generation, a shared society that is more egalitarian and aware, recognizing all its diverse groups and the need to remove barriers and fears.
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The spread of covid-19 and the uncertainty about the start of the school year has raised concerns about the program. From mid-June, we have met with the teams guiding the pairs of schools to think and prepare an outline for a distance learning program. The program will have to change and is adapting itself to virtual meetings. The response of the schools who are committed to continuing the program is higher than we expected and the program will continue to operate this year in its current format of nine pairs.
In August, we held the first training session of a series for the facilitators of CTC, with the aim of adapting the program to today’s demands. Students and instructors are excitedly awaiting the start of the school year and the start of the program.
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Despite the need for social distance and the associated limitations, "Heart to Heart - Canada" decided to hold a week-long virtual summer camp for graduates of Canadian delegations. The program included social activities, trivia games, and homework in pairs on social issues to promote the issues and produce products relating to them. The camp’s focus was imparting personal and social skills, raising current issues, and connecting them to our activities through activities such as a negotiation workshop in collaboration with Pathways and a conflict resolution workshop for youth led by Project Coordinator Samira Assi.
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The Joint Regional Business Forum has been working to accompany and advise businesses in Arab society through the current crisis. After establishing a pool of consultants and a mentoring process, the forum will focus on additional community and social goals. A process was also formalized to define and solidify the Forum's connection with Givat Haviva.
The Environment Forum continues its efforts to strengthen community collaborations in environmental projects as part of the JNF's comprehensive program and in collaboration with the Wadi Ara and Al Sha'aroui authorities. Despite the covid-19 crisis, contacts are continuing with the Umm Al-Fahm Environmental Protection Unit to promote programs to raise awareness in the field.
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The program of online spoken Arabic courses that commenced during the first covid-19 shutdown are continuing, with the online platform enabling creation of homogenous classes with students from all over the country for fun and effective instruction. Despite the short lead time due to staff furloughs, 70 students registered for and attended the intensive Arabic summer classes on campus, in conformity with Health Ministry regulations. We hope that fall classes can open in person according to the same criteria, while the distance learning will also continue to offer spoken Arabic on a national basis, catering to both professional groups with specialized language and to the general public.
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The current Through Others’ Eyes group for youth continues to meet and engage in content relating to shared society, while planning joint actions led by instructors Tav Sagee and Yara Biadsa (graduate of the program!).
At the final meeting of the adult group, participants received their official certificates for completing the program. We wish them success and invite them to work in the program as graduates and to continue to view the Collaborative Art Center and Givat Haviva as a home base.
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This month we opened two new exhibitions that are now open:
'Connecting,' a group photo exhibition of our latest Through Others’ Eyes graduates, and 'Printers,' a first ever group print exhibition of graduates of the Collaborative Art Center's print course.
Despite the covid crisis, we were able to finish the art year in full with only a two month delay, including three complete art marathons. We are working hard toward the opening of the year at the School of Ceramics and the School of Art after the holidays, with about 180 students. We continue to grow (+30) and hope the corona will not stop us.
Also under our roof, the Givat Haviva International School’s Visual Arts Course opens a new year with new and second-year students. We wish a good, creative, and productive year to all of our artists!
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