The German-Israeli Youth Forum is the youth organization of the German-Israeli Friendship Society and was founded in the middle of the 1980s. We define ourselves as a forum for young people between the ages of sixteen and thirty-five who have a genuine interest in Israel, its people, history, and culture.
Our work is based upon a warm friendship and personal attachment to our sister organization, the Israeli-German youth forum and other partners. We believe the convention of young people from both countries is the basis for a good relationship between Germany and Israel nowadays and for the future.
Our members and friends participate in different ways. Initiated through school exchanges, studies, traveling, other points of interest, we all share the wish to discuss subjects related to Israel continuously. The political, social, economical and cultural development in Israel and the region of the Middle East are main subjects of our work as well as progress and history of the relationship between Germany and Israel.
We are aware of the special character of the German-Israeli relationship. It is our opinion that a discussion about actual issues of this relationship is only possible bearing in mind the knowledge of the Shoah -- of the general massacre of millions of Jewish people through Germans. This Holocaust committed and witnessed by our grandparents and parents is also part of our history. That's why we stand up against the discrimination of minorities, xenophobia and antisemitism. Moreover, we feel responsible for the preservation of a democratic way of thinking and acting in Germany.
Similar to the German-Israeli Friendship Society, we are not linked to a single political party or organization. The variety of our members' opinions and ideas concerning actual developments in Germany and Israel is very important for us and the base of our work. In this way we advocate an open and tolerant exchange of ideas, opinions, experiences.
At seminars, lectures, informational meetings we discuss questions and problems of the German and Israeli history and presence. If possible, we publish these issues and answer questions of public interest. We organize seminars in cooperation with different educational and political organizations and give assistance to the planning of German-Israeli youth exchanges. We offer a pool of information about Israel, Israeli-German relationship, Jewish religion and culture and history, and act as intermediary contacts to these subjects.
Based on our relationship to Israel and its people, we support the efforts for peace and understanding between Israel and the states and people in its neighborhood. We are aware of the difficulty of German positioning in the strained relations of interest fields in the Middle East. We try to support projects and ideas for peace and understanding. That's why we also work together with Arabic and/or Palestinian organizations, which without qualification acknowledge the right of existence of the state Israel.
The youth forum is operating on a regional level through different groups in many German cities and with an executive board on federal level. Most work is done by the regional groups in the forms of seminars, presentations, lectures, and meetings. Whereas the executive board coordinates the teamwork between the regional groups and the financial tasks, it organizes seminars and exchange programs with Israeli partners. Above these, the executive board of the youth forum takes care of the cooperation with the executive board of the German-Israeli Friendship Society (founded in 1965) and with other organizations.
Cold Spring Harbor Students in Berlin
Our Israeli sister organization is the Israeli-German Youth Forum located in Tel Aviv. Founded by young Israelis whose parents came mostly from German-speaking countries in Europe, the members of the forum are by now young people without any direct family contact to Germany. Long-fostered friendships between the members of both organizations are the basis of the contacts and the work of both forums. At yearly conferences, alternatively taking place either in Israel or Germany, the existing contacts are extended between the members of the guest delegation and the host groups. These conferences consist of seminars, lectures, discussions, and are accompanied by trips, parties, and fun.
Besides the direct cooperation between both forums, the diversity of contacts and relations of our members, our organizations offer a pool of information and approaches to the different countries. These resources include cultural and business contacts, as well as political and social relations to representatives of the different organizations and parties.
Jugendforum der Deutsch-Israelischen Gesellschaft Ms. Christine Mähler (Head of the Federal Board) Kaiserplatz 15 D-53113 Bonn Germany * * * Phone: +49-228-223001 Facsimile: +49-228-261350 E-Mail: dig-jufo@rzaix340.rz.uni-leipzig.de