We want to exploit our potentials as a travel agency to make this world to some small degree a better place. Out of numerous worthy initiatives we support two organizations that have especially impressed us because of their unique impact on their respective societies: “Lifegate-Rehabilitation” in Beit Jala, Bethlehem and “SOS-Violence / Center for Violence Reduction in Israel”.
Lifegate Rehabilitation
Handicapped people in Arab-Palestinian society encounter indifference or even negative attitudes towards them. At Lifegate Rehabilitation, children and young adults receive a holistic treatment through kindergarten, schooling and professional training frameworks. Education, medical and therapeutic treatment and intensive cooperation with parents and family are essential to the Lifegate rehabilitation concept. As a “Gate to Life”, Lifegate Rehabilitation encourages and supports the often severely handicapped to live an independent life and to sustain themselves through small businesses, therewith changing the negative perception of handicapped people in Palestinian society. The organization does not receive any financial support through the local authorities. 50 % of its annual budget is covered through services of the handicapped to the local community. By working in close cooperation with Israeli medical institutions, through Jewish-Palestinian summer-camps, wheel-chair basket-ball games and joined professional trainings, Lifegate builds bridges for encounter and promotes actively peace and reconciliation between Israelis and Palestinians. Lifegate Rehabilitation Beit Jala, Israel – West Bank +972–2‑2741373 reha@lgate.org / lifegate@netvision.net.il / www.lifegate-reha.de
SOS-Violence/Center for Violence Reduction in Israel (heb. „Matzmichim“)
Established in 2004, winner of the Knesset Chairman's Award 2016 for its contribution to the betterment of Israeli society, SOS-Violence's mission is to reduce alienation and violence and transform Israeli classrooms into safe and nurturing environments that support student resilience by empowering the ‘peer pressure’ for pro-social behavior. SOS-Violence is considered today the most influential body for violence reduction among youth in Israel. It provides workshop-training seminars for annually more than 40 000 Jewish and Arab youth. In the last ten years only, more than 35 000 educators in Israel and abroad have been exposed to the SOS-Violence techniques in academic frameworks, educational institutions and teacher’s seminaries. With its educational material in Hebrew and Arabic, conferences, regular appearances in radio and TV the organization is most visible in the Israeli public sphere. Independent evaluations demonstrate beyond expectation the effectiveness of the SOS-Violence methods and intervention approach. Since 2012 the organization holds the „Midot-certificate” for financial transparency. With its own Academy, SOS-Violence offers training and educational materials on issues of violence and authority to educators from kindergarten to high-school. The method is rooted in international collaboration and research from several fields (among others the AVP-Anti Violence Project, IIRP- Restorative Practices, SEL- Social Emotional Learning practices). In 2023, the Matzmichim ‘hands on’ method for bullying and cyberbullying reduction received international recognition at the UN Human Rights Council. SOS-Violence was titled a Social Start-Up by the Israel Venture Network for its innovative and evidence-based effective interventions. Georg Roessler from the SK Team supports the work of SOS-Violence as a voluntary co-director. Matzmichim: The Israeli Violence Reduction Organization 24 Imber Street, Petach Tikwa 4951158, Israel, +972-3-6460286 assistant@soscenter.org.il / www.matzmichim.org.il
