Greeting address by the National Youth Council of Israel (CYMI) to the 98th General Assembly

This year we are celebrating 70 years of youth exchange between the states of Israel and Germany.

We need to pause for a moment on this number of 70 years, because if you examine history, you will discover that official bilateral relations with Israel have existed for a total of 60 years.

70 years ago, groups of young people decided that they had to build the bridges and connections between two nations that shared together the blackest and most terrible historical chapter that humanity could have produced.

These were the people, from below, who understood that the repair and the change and the rebuilding depended on them, and that there was no point in waiting for major political decisions and that they would have to lay the foundations required to build trust and the connection between the two nations.

It was the simple act of encounter and dialogue.

The act of conversation, of the direct experience together of Israelis and Germans.

An act that sought to deal with the pain, shame, and reality of the peoples together and separately.

It was an act of education. That built the system of social ties between people and nations, a bond that has stood the test of time. In more beautiful and complex days. And above all, it was an act that reminded the world once again, to what extent education has the power to shape and create reality, and consciousness.

The educational act is a very elusive matter. It has existed since the dawn of history, but for some reason its importance is often underestimated. Its power.

Our inclination is to always speak in praise of the "educational act" but we must remember that education is found everywhere in the world. The question is what are we educating for? What are the values ​​and perceptions that we seek to establish and instill in children and youth.

These days and today's reality are confusing, chaotic.

You will surely understand if I, personally and nationally, define them as historic days (and not necessarily out of catharsis, but mainly out of anxiety and concern about what is to come)

And although here in Germany you are not subject to immediate existential danger like us, like us and like other democratic countries, we are in a serious ideological crisis, which endangers the democratic and liberal values ​​that we share. Values ​​of justice, equality and humanity that were born from the common lesson. And now these values ​​are blurred and confused in an era where there is no truth and everything is permitted.

And thus our common mission – as educators, and as members of youth movements – sharpens and rises: to educate!

To educate and seriously deal with the phenomenon of superficiality and lack of depth that leads to the rise of political populism, and returns those simple answers to complex social problems and challenges to the agenda of politics and society.

To educate and insist that there is truth and there is falsehood. Even in a world where knowledge is at your fingertips, it is necessary to examine it in depth, to cross-examine it, to establish it.

Absolute truth and goodness do not produce uniform opinions – that is not the goal. After all, one of the most important forces in democracy is pluralism and the great ideas that meet each other and through which human society progresses in every dimension.

But truth and goodness are an absolute and necessary condition for the existence of a society that desires life, is interested in prosperity, and strives for peace.

This is our mission at this time.

And what is more special, and true and qualitative, than our educational activity?

We who lead informal education, who rely on the unique pedagogy that was invented here in Germany nearly 130 years ago. A pedagogy of direct encounter, of an educational act built from many layers, whose charm and great power are sometimes difficult to explain in words.

And if you think I am perhaps imagining and naive, I would like to remind you of those young men and women who decided for themselves that they must lead the process, and build the connection and bridge between two nations, who no one would have believed 90 years ago, who were capable of standing face to face, with respect and love – they are my inspiration and belief.

Towards the end of my speech, I would also like to address the last two years that have passed us by. It is still too early to understand their meaning. The pain is still present, the wounds are open and we need time.

But I am happy that I am standing here before you this time, when cracks of light and hope have recently filled our days.

The return of all the living hostages was almost a miraculous moment for all of us. It is difficult to explain it in words. But our mission is not complete, and will not be relented until the 13 dead hostages arrive for burial in Israel.

I am full of hope that the ceasefire that has been in place for a week and a half will be the beginning of the end of the terrible cycle of violence that we are in. And that our suffering and that of our innocent neighbors everywhere around us will end.

And that wherever education has played a role of destructive hatred, new forces will arrive, bringing the other new gospel.

In Israel, even in an era of war, in the playlist and culture and especially in religious prayer, the longing for peace never ceases for a moment. And we want peace.

But we as members of the youth movements cannot be satisfied with just hoping and aspiring for peace – we must act to achieve it.

Therefore, I will conclude with a quote from a very well-known Israeli song called A Song for Peace, a song written in 1969, and which has become almost a national anthem, and which calls on us to act and do, not to wait

“Don't say a day will come – bring the day.”

I wish you a fruitful and meaningful meeting, and continued cooperation between us and you