German-Israeli Relations

September 24, 2013 - The German Election Campaign 2013 was focused on the alternative between the continuation of the conservative-liberal coalition of CDU and FDP or a renewed Red-Green alliance striving to bring the Green Party and the Social Democrats back into power. Both alternatives vanished into thin air on Sunday night. The Liberals did not meet the parliamentarian threshold of 5 % and the Greens and Social Democrats were high below the overwhelming victory of Merkel’s conservative party alliance.

 

 

 

Moshe Zimmermann more»

 

 

Thirty Years of Bundestag Presence: A Tally of the Greens’ Impact on the Federal Republic of Germany’s Political Life and Public Culture

- January 11, 2013 -  In the run-up to the 2013 German federal elections, this publication considers three decades of a changing political landscape with the emergence of the Green Party.  The authors discuss how the Green Party built its “brand” and, in so doing, ushered in a fundamental change in German politics and society. Andrei Markovits and Joseph Klaver more»

 

 

Green-Red in Baden-Württemberg: How Much Change Should There Be?

- May 12, 2011 - A strong wind of change is blowing throughout the entire state of Baden-Württemberg in Germany. What do the people expect of their new government? How much change should there be? And in what areas?
Thorsten Faas more»

 

August 21, 2012 - This year’s award winner is Yfaat Weiss, historian at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Yfaat Weiss, so claimed the jury, points out the unusual course of Israeli history as well as the potential of civil society in her country: “Through her research, Yfaat Weiss opens our eyes to new thinking about the coexistence of ethnic groups and minorities in Israel.” The prize will be presented on December 7th 2012 in the City Hall of Bremen. more»

 

 

The Heinrich Böll Foundation Israel is pleased to announce the release of the Hebrew edition of Ulrich Beck's "Cosmopolitanism: A Critical Theory for the 21st Century" in cooperation with Hakibbutz Hameuchad publishing house.

Please click to see the book cover

Click here to download the intoduction in Hebrew

 

 

 

A Forgotten and Oppressed Story

- May 17, 2012 -
On May 11th, 2012 the Heinrich Böll Foundation and Mossawa Center organized a seminar, public discussion based on the release of the book, "Haifa Before and After1948:Narratives of aMixed City,” published by the Institute for Historical Justice and Reconciliation. Here is the report on the event. 

Marianne Zepp more»

 

 

Transnational Migration and Multiculturalism. The Case of Israel, Germany and Europe.

- January 17, 2012 - The Conference on Transnational Migration and Multiculturalism (The Case of Israel, Germany and Europe) Transnational Migration and Multiculturalism, which took place on the 28th and 29th of November 2011, was conducted in cooperation with the Van Leer Institute in Jerusalem and the Heinrich Böll Foundation in Israel and dealt with the interrelations between nation state, immigration and the perception of multiculturalism in both countries. Marianne Zepp more»

 

 

Hans Fallada in Israel: The Convoluted Politics of Reconciliation

- July 3, 2011 -

The post-war novel by Hans Fallada Alone in Berlin (Jeder stirbt fuer sich allein, published in 1947 in East Berlin) became a major success in Israel during the past year. Yossi Yonah, professor of philosophy at the Jerusalem-based Van Leer Institute, is looking into the Israeli perception of the novel. He comes up with two surprising aspects: that the Israelis are geared to have a more nuanced picture of Nazi Germany and that they are drawing conclusions for the democratic future of their own country.  
Originally written for the Heinrich Boell Foundation in Israel, the article was published in the German weekly  “Der Freitag” with the assistance of the Tel Aviv Office.

Read the text by Yossi Yonah»

 

 

Hanan Elstein and Adina Stern on the publication of the book "The Clearance of Pain: Selected Writings by Heinrich Böll, 1940-1985"

- January 8, 2011 - The editors of the recently published anthology of non-fiction writings by the post-war German writer Heinrich Böll, in Hebrew, share thoughts and comments about the celebrated author and Nobel Prize laureate. Adina Stern and Hanan Elstein also reflect on the process of their work, and explain why they believe that Böll’s work is highly relevant to contemporary Israeli society. The book,  The Clearance of Pain: Selected Writings by Heinrich Böll, 1940-1985 is a result of a cooperation between the Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung Israel office, and the “Kav Adom” series of HaKibutz Hameuchad publishing house. more»

 

March 2, 2011 - The dictator may have been overthrown, but we are still far from putting paid to the military regime. At the moment it appears quite likely that the Egyptian generals will keep their promise and pave the way to free and fair elections. The Arab world is enthusiastic about this prospect, as is the West. Only in Israel has scepticism prevailed so far. Dr. Franziska Brantner more»

 

April 8, 2012 - Over 400 people came to find out more about German-Israeli relations. The Heinrich Boell Foundation hosted a conference dealing with the idea of the nation state, the approach towards military violence and multiculturalism in both countries. German and Israeli experts were exploring what unites and what divides the two countries and how the relations will develop in the future. Marianne Zepp more»

 

 

Tel Aviv - Berlin: Living and Writing in the Cities

- The Heinrich Boell Foundation and the Goethe Institute Tel Aviv organized the third German-Israeli Literature Days on October 27 – 31, 2009 with the motto Tel Aviv – Berlin: Living and Writing in the Cities. The events took place on the background of the 100th birthday of Tel Aviv and the 20th anniversary of the fall of the wall in Berlin. Participating authors were Orly Castel-Bloom, Alon Hilu, Dror Burstein, Shimon Adaf, Marc Buhl, Iris Hanika, Judith Kuckart and Hatice Akün. The opening evening was a panel discussion with politicians (Dov Khenin, Franziska Eichstädt-Bohlig) and intellectuals (Joshua Simon, Jochen Visscher) from both cities, moderated by Nir Baram. read more and see a video featuring the events»

 

 

How is Volker?

- On the occasion of the 60th anniversary of the establishment of the Federal Republic of Germany and the 20th anniversary of the Fall of the Wall, the Heinrich Böll Stiftung together with the Interdisciplinary Center (IDC) Herzliya held a German-Israeli conference entitled 60 Years of a Different Germany – An Assessment 20 Years After the Fall of the Wall. On June 28th 2009, some 130 people gathered in the auditorium of the Marc Rich Library at the IDC in Herzliya to participate in the event. more»

 

January 2010 was not just the 60th anniversary of the founding of the East German secret police, but also the 20th anniversary of the takeover of its offices in various East German cities by citizen’s initiatives. On this background, the Israel office of the Heinrich Boell Stiftung invited Marianne Birthler, the Federal Commissioner for the Records of the State Security Service of the former GDR in Berlin for three events, in Tel Aviv, Jerusalem and Sderot which took place in February 2010. Antje Aiger more»

 

 

Kerstin Mueller visits Israel and the Palestinian Territories: March 29 - April 4, 2009

- Kerstin Mueller has been a Member of Parliament (Bundestag) since 1994 and at present she is the spokesperson of the Green Parliamentary Group for foreign policy. On a visit to Israel and the Palestinian Territories at the end of March 2009, she visited Hebron, Ramallah, Gaza, Sderot, Jerusalem and Tel Aviv and met with politicians, NGO representatives, academics and journalists. Read more about the visit »

 

 

Cem Özdemir in Israel

- Cem Özdemir, Chairman of the German Green Party (Bündnis 90/Die Grünen) visited Israel and the Palestinian territories from June 28 until July 3, 2009. During his visit to Israel, he met with various key officials in the government, academia, civil society representatives as well as with journalists.  Read more about Cem Özdemir's political exchanges»

 

On the occasion of the 60th anniversary of the establishment of the State of Israel, the Heinrich Boell Stiftung together with Action Reconciliation Service for Peace invited Shoah survivors and the general public to discuss their current situation in Israel and to reflect on the future of memorializing the Shoah. On June 18th 2008, some 100 people gathered at Beit Sokolov in Tel Aviv to take part in the event. more»

 

Regional and Security Policy

972 Magazine: : For the third year, we are cooperating with "+972 – Advancement of Citizen Journalism", a registered Israeli non-profit organization dedicated at creating a platform for independent journalism, debates and reports on current events for the Israeli and international public. With our grant, we help maintain the platform. www.972mag.com presents critical debates with a diversity of opinions. 972mag.com is committed to human rights, freedom of information and ending the occupation.

Israel Council on Foreign Relations: Jointly with the Israel Council on Foreign Relations, we co-host monthly, independent policy talks within the framework of the Israeli-European Young Diplomats Forum. The aim is to give a platform to young diplomats from Europe and Israel to discuss current themes and challenges of European-Israeli relations, covering aspects such as the Israel-European agends for 2014, the role of religion in the nation state or the ecological and social transformation of Israeli and

Institute for National Security Studies: For more than three years, the Heinrich Böll Foundation has cooperated with INSS on the question of international security guarantees as a contribution to a permanent agreement for a two-states solution. The results have been presented in Germany, to the European Union, the United States and to NATO in 2013 and in Israel through joint roundtable discussion with INSS in June 2013. It is a collaborative effort of continuous deliberations to assess future roles of third parties in resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

 

German-Israeli Relations