The Conference Highlights

Michal Sella, CEO of Givat Haviva

In the opening address of the conference, the Givat Haviva’s CEO emphasized the inevitable covenant Jews and Arabs in Israel are destined to share. “October 7 created a fateful alliance between us, Jews and Arabs in Israel, an alliance of survivors.”

She compared the attempt by senior officials in the government to stir up unrest with the responsibility shown by the local and national Arab leadership in maintaining peace. She added, "At this conference, we are sending a clear and sharp message to the racists and the fomenters of trouble, those sitting in the cabinet who wish for a civil war: You will not get a civil war. Your policy of dividing us has failed."  

Mohammad Darawshe, Givat Haviva’s Director of Strategy

In his speech, Mohammad Darawshe stressed the importance of civic cooperation, noting the civic and business leadership as even more of a central key to significant social change than the political leadership. He added the immediate need for steps to reduce tension, such as amnesty for Arab students and returning of Arab workers to their workplaces.  

German Ambassador to Israel Mr. Steffen Riediger Seibert

In his remarks opening the conference, the ambassador noted his visit to Givat Haviva two months ago and testified to the hope it awakened in him for the existence of a shared society in Israel. He noted his visit to the city of Rahat and other shared society initiatives that came to his attention. Summing up, he said that every such initiative is a point of light for the future of the State of Israel. The full speech

Minister Benny Gantz, Head of the National Unity Party

Cabinet member Benny Gantz emphasized the Israeli “togetherness;” spoke of the importance of shared society, shared language, and shared studies for strengthening Israel; and about the need to work to create true equality. “Togetherness isn’t just a matter of words, we have to fill it with practical content: equal employment, a shared education system, Arabic and Hebrew language studies, a common war on crime and violence.” He summarized this by saying that “Togetherness means recognizing equality as a value enshrined in law.”

Minister of the Interior Moshe Arbel

In an interview with journalist Tal Schneider, MK Arbel stressed the humanist values that inform his views on shared society in Israel, “When you talk about it equality, it’s not only in regard to application of force, it’s also a matter of the service citizens receive, being seen as equal, as a fellow human.”

“My vision for the Jewish State sees all people equally. A Jewish state based on love for humanity. Despite populist attitudes, most Israeli people look for what unites rather than what divides. We can’t let the extremists have too much weight.”  

MK Mansour Abbas, Head of the Ra’am party

In an interview with journalist Lior Kenan, MK Abbas said, "We discovered that the fabric of relations between Jews and Arabs is much stronger than we expected," and that "the terrorist attack of October 7 did not harm the fabric of civil life between Jews and Arabs despite the attempts to present the fabric of relations in a negative light ". Considering what will happen after the war, we heard MK Abbas speak of his readiness to be part of a broad government that will work for all the citizens of Israel. He said, "The State of Israel needs a government that will work for the benefit of all citizens. A coalition as broad as possible that can work together to rehabilitate the state."

Prof. Mona Khoury, Vice President of the Hebrew University for Strategy and Diversity

In an interview with the journalist Zuhair Bahloul, Prof. Khoury addressed the issue of restricting freedom of expression in universities, saying that "Academia must protect freedom of expression. Rectors and presidents who acted on the spur of the moment to dismiss faculty members and students need to think again about their decisions."

Dr. Nasreen Haddad Haj-Yahya, partner in the Portland  Foundation, and founding partner in the NAS company

In her response, Dr. Haj-Yahya began by saying "I remind all of us that behind the numbers there are people, there is a context, and there are two peoples. If the numbers that were presented testify to anything, they testify to how the majority society perceives us: After 75 years we are still seen as guests in our homeland." She spoke about issues of national identity versus civic identity, economic implications of the data on Arab society, and the crisis of political partnership with Jewish society.

Prof. Yuli Tamir, President of Beit Berl Academic College and former Minister of Education

Prof. Tamir commented on the results of the survey, saying that "No one is leaving here, and everyone wants to keep their identity, but in order for us to live together - we all need to be able to listen more to each other's pain."