President Shimon Peres, has been awarded the Walther-Rathenau-Prize. He received the prize in an award-ceremony by the Walther Rathenau Institute, held in Berlin on January, 28th..

The day before, Peres had given the key-note speech at a special session of the German Bundestag, commemorating the International Holocaust Remembrance Day.

German Foreign Minister and Chairman of the Free Democrats, the German Liberal party, Guido Westerwelle, acknowledged Peres as being one of the defining figures in 20th Century foreign politics. Regarding the conflict in the Middle East, Westerwelle stressed, that he agrees with Peres in many respects. He also stated, that in the personality of President Mahmud Abbas, “Israel has a reliable partner on the Palestinian side. Now it is vital to seize the chances this constellation has to offer. Time is running and a stagnation of the peace-process is not an option.”

In his acceptance speech, Peres declared that, while being in the German capital, he does not only feel reminded of the Shoa, but he has a feeling of great friendship as well.

He commemorated Walther Rathenau as an important statesman and a German Foreign Minister during Weimar Republic. He remarked that Rathenau did not want any personal physical protection, despite threats against him as a Jewish German. Rathenau, who had become a symbol of German democracy and active foreign policy, was assassinated by German right-wing radicals on June, 24th, 1922. Peres cited Rathenau`s contemporary Albert Einstein: He declared after Rathenau’s death, that “it would have been acceptable and understandable if Rathenau had decided to stay out of politics. But he was a fighter and wanted to fulfil his duty for Germany.”

This text is also available in Hebrew and German

The translated version of the German Foundation’s Naumann-Brochure is now available in Hebrew. It includes several contributions, such as of Prof. Dr. Lord Ralf Dahrendorf (1929-2009) and Prof. Dr. Horst Köhler, President of the Federal Republic of Germany. In addition to that, an academic article written by Prof. Dr. Moshe Zimmermann from The Hebrew University in Jerusalem, was added:  “A Road not Taken: Friedrich Naumann’s Attempt at a Modern German Nationalism”. The brochure also contains a chronicle of activities of the “Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Liberty” from 1958 to 2009.

Please click here to view the publication in Hebrew.

To view the publication, please click here.

(The report is available in English only)

Date : 29 November – 11 December 2009

Participant : Ms. Watan Sabbah , Coordinator – Freedom Forum Palestine (FFP)-Ramallah

To view the report please click here

This text is also available in German language.

The new publication of the participants’ contributions of a round table meeting in October 2009 is now available in Hebrew for reading on our website.

The meeting was held by the S. Daniel Abraham Center for Strategic Dialogue in partnership with the Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Liberty and dealt with essential questions never before dealt within an academic forum:”How will the establishment of a Palestinian state alongside Israel affect the two central majority and minority national groups – Jews and Arabs – in Israel?”.

To view the publication, please click here.

In the month of January 2010, the Foundation held the annual meeting with its Israeli ex-scholarship holders (liberal minded Israelis, who received a scholarship in the past by the foundation to complete their studies in Germany) in the Port of Caesaria.

The purpose of the meeting was to stay in contact, to exchange views, and keep the Foundation informed on their current work and career. Dr. Fleck updated our ex-scholars about the Foundation’s work and future plans in Israel and the region. Further subjects were the current political situation in the region and prospects of Liberalism in Israel.

This text is available in English and Arabic

More than one hundred delegates representing NGOs, political parties, labour unions, international human rights organizations and the European Union joined the Conference on “Freedom of Association. A Roadmap for the Future” organized by the Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Liberty (FNF) from February 10 to 12, 2010. The three-day event marked the formal ending of a three-years regional project aimed at promoting the freedom of association in the Arab world. This project has been supported by the European Union and was – in the initial phase – focused on Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Palestine and Syria. In a later stage project activities were also conducted in Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia

For more information on the conference please click on the following links:

http://www.fnst-egypt.org/eindex.html

http://www.arab-laws-reform.net

February 22, 2010 at Beit Mayersdorf, Mount Scopus, Hebrew University Jerusalem (The program will be published soon on this website)

This is the title of a symposium, which will be organized by the Foundation’s office in Jerusalem in cooperation with the „Richard Koebner Minerva Center for German History“ and which will be held in the premises of the Hebrew University Jerusalem on February 22nd 2010.

The foundation conducts the event on the occasion of the 150th birthday of its patron, Friedrich Naumann. Within the framework of the conference we commemorate the 150th birthday anniversary of another significant liberal personality and Jewish contemporary of Friedrich Naumann: Hugo Preuss, who also carries the title “the father of the German constitution of the Weimar Republic”.

The Foundation’s office in Jerusalem takes this „double-birthday” as an opportunity, to illuminate the life and work of both of these liberal politicians and thinkers.

At the same time the conference will address the German-Jewish tradition of liberalism and its continuation its historical consequences in the time before and after the foundation of the State of Israel.

On the occasion of this anniversary year the Friedrich Naumann Foundation-Jerusalem will also translate the Foundation’s publication about the life and work of Friedrich Naumann into Hebrew. In the framework of the conference the Hebrew-edition of the Foundation’s publication about Naumann, which has been extended by an article written by Prof. Moshe Zimmermann dealing with Naumann’s relation towards the Jews, will be presented to the public for the first time.

(The report is available in English only)

Date : 29th Nov – 11th Dec, 2009 – Gummersbach, Germany

Participant: Ran Cohen,  Head of Migrants and Undocumented People Department,Physicians for Human Rights–Israel

Prior preparation – Arrangements and information prior to the seminar were extremely important and had been valuable for the preparation before traveling. Starting from flight arrangements, tips and general information and up to the list of participants and “country report” assignment, all were informative and important for the success of the seminar.

Facilities and hospitality – Facilities, both at the academy and during the excursion, were nothing less than excellent. Food was very good and it is clear that the staff members were working very hard to make our staying as pleasant as possible. I would especially like to emphasize the warm and welcoming hospitality from each and every IAF staff members in the Theudor Heuss Academy and to thank again for each and every one of them for their wonderful work.

Seminar -In general, I feel that taking part in the seminar had been a great experience, and contributed much to me as a person and as a Human Rights activist. I came back equipped with quite a lot of new ideas, insights and general “food for thought” and feel that I have a lot of work to do – Not only from the ideological aspect and position shaping, but also in relation to ground work to be done and issues to tackle in Israel.

Seminar topics and sessions – Since I arrived with some background in Human Rights work, I felt that the first couple of days, which were oriented towards general Human Rights discourse and terminology, were too basic and familiar for me. As the seminar continued, discussions and related topics became much more relevant and challenging.

I believe that I have earned and learned the most when issues got deeper into liberal theory. I find that the liberal perspective discussed in relation to Human Rights served as a key element for my interest – liberal concepts such as individual freedoms, secularism, economical aspects of liberalism and relationship between democracy and development were in many cases new to me and intrigued me to study and research more . All along the seminar time, both in formal sessions and in non- formal meetings, I got familiar with different aspects and approaches of liberal thinking which enriched my mind and led me to test and reconsider different ideas and beliefs I hold.

Debates regarding more controversial issues such as dilemmas in reproductive health, Human Rights and war against terror, assisted suicide, blasphemy vs. freedom of speech etc., were much successful and enjoyable. The wide range of different and important opinions made a clear impact on the participants and opened the door for a more principal discussion between group members. I have learned and gained a lot from these debates.

Another great benefit for me were the discussions held from regional perspectives, which helped me to understand issues on a wider scale, and meet different Human Rights dilemma’s through their cultural and Geo-Political connection.

Methodology –I would first like to emphasize that both moderators were extremely professional. Not only during formal sessions, but also in non-formal meetings, both moderators were always there and served as wonderful tutors and resource people. The success of the seminar owes great deal to the good cooperation between the moderators and their excellent abilities to share knowledge and to allow participants to share from their own.

Topics discussed in plenary sessions were well chosen and covered a wide range of relevant issues, though in many cases I felt that discussions did not reach into deeper details and did not evolve into passionate discussions between group members. I believe that part of it was due to technical constraints and the constant need for translation. I recommend considering the option of allowing longer and deeper sessions on specific issues, even if the cost will be giving up few topics. Fortunately, part of the discussions and idea exchange were accomplished during evenings and occasional free time.

Group work and group presentations were very good and contributed a lot to my understanding of different political issues in different parts of the world. In addition, I felt that planned debates and “hot seat’ sessions were the most challenging ones for me, as they forced me to confront with other stands and beliefs and encouraged me think of different Human Rights issues in different perspectives.

Participants – Getting to know so many different individuals who all share common goals, gave me quite a lot of hope and power to continue with my work. I enjoyed meeting, listening and learning from each and every one of the group members. I believe that the friendships and professional network and connections I created during the seminar are extremely important, and I am convinced that all these new contacts will serve me and other participants in our future endeavors.

The importance of this unique meeting was also in the sense of solidarity it produced, and the strong common understanding that similar problems and struggles take place in different parts of the world. I got a lot of ideas and insights from different group members and I definitely have the intentions to use this valuable network in order to promote Human Rights issues through out the world.

In regard to the group line up, there is one thing in which I believe a change is needed: Majority of participants came from the southern part of the world. In a way, it created a south-south dialogue which, for my perception, not the correct format for these unique political seminars. I recommend considering the engagement of participants from what is often called the “developed world”, in order to achieve a more balanced and comprehensive discussion and in order to bring into debate issues such as the responsibility and impact the global north has in relation to human rights.

Excursion – Traveling to Dresden was a great experience. The facilities and hosting during the excursion were way above my expectations. No doubt that the visit to East Germany helped me with understanding the process that Germany had gone through the last two decades. It was an inspiring experience for me.

I do feel that large part of the excursion was too touristic, and that there is a need to involve more political and Human Rights discussions during the visit, especially ones concerning with living under constant Human Rights violations, the challenges that come with the unification of the two Germany’s and the processes that brought the fall of the iron curtain. The visit to the Stazi archive was excellent. The visits to the army academy and the police did not relate to the core of the seminar topics and for my opinion were not necessary. I would also like to recommend considering occasional group sessions during the excursion, in order to jointly discuss issues that came up during the day.

To summarize – I’m afraid that it will take me much more time to understand and process the amount of new knowledge, ideas and thoughts I came back with. I am grateful for the opportunity I was given and would like to extend my gratitude to each and every one of the involved parties. I am certain that the tools I got during the seminar will serve me in my future work and hope that I could find more support and collaboration among the Friedrich Naumann foundation resources.

I would like to end with offering my future involvement and help in any way needed in order to support the important and valuable work done by the foundation.