ABOUT us
Heart to Heart is a joint program of Givat Haviva in Israel and Hashomer Hatzair – Camp Shomria in Canada. Our mission is to support a new generation of young Jewish and Palestinian citizens of Israel to become leaders who recognize the importance of building a shared society, and possess the relationships and skills to make it a reality.
Our core program is the Heart to Heart summer program. Each year, a group of 20 youth aged 14-15, half Palestinian citizens of Israel and half Jewish citizens of Israel, are selected to participate in an immersive three-and-a-half-week camp-based program which runs in Canada at Camp Shomria in Perth, Ontario. During camp, the group lives together and participates in relationship building activities and facilitated dialogue about the narratives, politics, and power dynamics that shape their daily lives back home. The group also participates in camp activities such as sports, swimming, arts and crafts, games, hiking and canoeing trips, and a visit to Parliament Hill in Ottawa. Each summer the participants spend four days living with Canadian host families while touring Toronto and the GTA following camp.
The summer program is complemented by programming in Israel prior to the summer and once the group has returned. Throughout the year following the summer program, the group works together to implement their “taking it home” project conceived during camp with the goal of taking leadership within their communities to build shared society. A conference for all Heart to Heart alumni is held annually at Givat Haviva.
Our core program is the Heart to Heart summer program. Each year, a group of 20 youth aged 14-15, half Palestinian citizens of Israel and half Jewish citizens of Israel, are selected to participate in an immersive three-and-a-half-week camp-based program which runs in Canada at Camp Shomria in Perth, Ontario. During camp, the group lives together and participates in relationship building activities and facilitated dialogue about the narratives, politics, and power dynamics that shape their daily lives back home. The group also participates in camp activities such as sports, swimming, arts and crafts, games, hiking and canoeing trips, and a visit to Parliament Hill in Ottawa. Each summer the participants spend four days living with Canadian host families while touring Toronto and the GTA following camp.
The summer program is complemented by programming in Israel prior to the summer and once the group has returned. Throughout the year following the summer program, the group works together to implement their “taking it home” project conceived during camp with the goal of taking leadership within their communities to build shared society. A conference for all Heart to Heart alumni is held annually at Givat Haviva.
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Heart to Heart was founded as a response to the structural inequity and racism in Israeli society. We do not believe that peer-education among Jewish and Palestinian Israeli youth is the entire solution to creating an equitable, shared society. However, we do believe that it is an important part of the solution. Since 2011, Heart to Heart has equipped 140 program alumni with newfound perspectives and skills and the motivation they need to determine for themselves what a solution may look like, as well as how they can continue contributing to it.
At Heart to Heart, we are building a generation of leaders who will both recognize the importance of creating a truly shared society, and possess the skills they need to make it a reality. We hope you will join us in continuing to make this incredible journey a reality for the next generation of Palestinian and Jewish leaders of Israel.
At Heart to Heart, we are building a generation of leaders who will both recognize the importance of creating a truly shared society, and possess the skills they need to make it a reality. We hope you will join us in continuing to make this incredible journey a reality for the next generation of Palestinian and Jewish leaders of Israel.
"I learned to listen to each other." |
"This is an experience I will not forget for the rest of my life." |