German-Israeli Relations - Heinrich Böll Stiftung

German-Israeli and EU-Israeli Relations

Salon Berlin, Tel Aviv. Photo by Maud Meinel

Introduction

In the context of German-Jewish and German-Israeli relations as well as the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the Heinrich Boell Stiftung supports a wide range of activities in the field of political education. These include conferences, public meetings of writers as well as exploring new ways of education to learn about and commemorate the prosecution and murder of the European Jews. It supports efforts to make the discourses in the respective countries understandable in other countries and to strengthen a pluralistic and critical debate.

Culture and Politics

Conference Report

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»

Editors' comments

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»

Developments in Germany

article

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»

Israel in the new Middle East

Opinion

In case of doubt, freedom shall prevail

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»

International Events

From left: Hatice Akyün, Gisela Dachs and Shimon Adaf in Cafe Yafa. Photo by Maud Meinel

Literature Days

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»

Conference

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»

Visitors to Israel

Visit and events

The Stasi and its Aftermath: Reflections on the Legacy of the East German Secret Police

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»

Holocaust Survivors

Event

Living After Surviving - Shoah Survivors in Israel

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»

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2011 Project Partners

Fischer presenting Das Amt, a book on the German Foreign Ministry during the Nazi Period On March 3rd, the Heinrich Boell Foundation hosted the former Foreign Minister of Germany, Mr. Joschka Fischer. He gave a lecture about his initiative to bring the Nazi past of the Foreign Ministry to light. In the packed hall of the Tel Aviv Museum, Fischer spoke about the findings of the research committee looking into the involvement of German diplomats in the holocaust.

German Israeli Literature Days 2011: Parallel Worlds. Parallel Worlds is the title of this year’s literature days organized by the Heinrich Boell Foundation in Tel Aviv together with the Goethe Institute, taking place at various locations in the city from October 24th to 29th, 2011. Five authors from Israel will meet during a period of 5 days with their German and Swiss counterparts. They will read from their most recess books and discuss with the public the subject of parallel worlds. The week starts with the panel discussion including Israeli, Swiss and German intellectuals on the challenges the modern world is confronted with and how human rights and multiculturalism are dealt with in the three societies respectively.

Transnational Migration and Multiculturalism A seminar will be held in November In cooperation with the Jerusalem-based Van Leer Institute, to discuss the impact of mass migration in Europe, Germany and Israel. It will address the changing national self-perception, the re-nationalization of the state in Europe and immigration politics in both countries.

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