Heinrich Böll Foundation

Heinrich Böll Stiftung Israel

Our new office at 1 Har Sinai St. Tel-Aviv, 2nd floor

The Heinrich Boell Stiftung (HBS) is the German green foundation affiliated with the German Green Party. We are a non-profit organization striving to promote environmental justice and sustainable development, civil society, equality, women's rights and gender democracy internationally. With headquarters in Berlin, Germany, the HBS has 28 offices worldwide and cooperates with over 200 partners in more than 60 countries.

The website of the Israel office is divided into our four program areas as well as publications, information on our project partners and our grant application guidelines along with a spotlight on our news and events. You are invited to visit often for further updates and please feel free to contact us should you have any questions or comments.

Environment and Sustainable Development

Policy Paper

Economics of Tomorrow - A Green New Deal for Israel

December 20, 2012 - The Heinrich Böll Foundation Israel, Life & Environment and the Forum for Economics of Tomorrow proudly present the study "Economics of Tomorrow - Green Policy for Economic Resilience". A comprehensive and holistic program to create a sustainable economy, achieve social justice and combat climate change in Israel. This Hebrew document includes executive summaries in English and Arabic.

WEB RESOURCE

The German Energy Transition

- Germany has drawn a lot of attention for the Energiewende - the aim to switch to a renewable energy economy, phase out nuclear power and leave fossil fuels behind. But what exactly is the German energy transition: How does it work and what challenges lie ahead? A new website seeks to answer these and related questions more>>

DOSSIER

Climate, Energy and Resource Politics in the MENA Region

- In the midst of turbulent times in the Middle East and North Africa, the State of Qatar is hosting the 18th Conference of the Parties (COP 18) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in Doha from November 26 to December 7, 2012. This trilingual webdossier presents analysis and perspectives from a wide range of international and regional experts on how climate change, resource and energy politics relate to political and social change. Read the dossier

Please click here to read the latest edition of Perspectives Middle East: QATAR: ASPIRATIONS & REALITIES

opinion

Climate Change Policy in Israel Must Become a National Priority

- October 15, 2012 - As a relatively new player in the climate change arena, Israel is quickly catching up with many developed countries. However, the road to a comprehensive climate policy is still long.

Maya Milrad-Givon more»

Women's Rights and Gender Democracy

Gender Analysis

Post-Election Gender Roadmap for the Israeli Knesset

February 10, 2013 - The results of the elections to the 19th Knesset hold a potential for a significant change in the gender thinking of Israel’s legislative body. Out of 120 parliamentarians, 27 women will be serving in the Knesset - the largest number of women MKs since the establishment of the state. What are the necessary conditions for bringing this potential to fruition? Anat Saragusti outlines the gender dimension of the Knesset election results. more»

Film Festival

Greeting

- November 5, 2012 - The Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung is pleased to support the annual International Women’s Film Festival in Rehovot, Israel. We are cooperating with the Festival on its 9th anniversary on the program: Women, Film, Environment. The program will include film screenings followed by discussions with representatives from women’s and environmental organizations, many of whom are our project partners A greeting by the director of the Israel office and more information»

Report

Women and Environmental Health

- March 16, 2012 -

We are happy to present a groundbreaking report on Women and Environmental Health in Israel written by our partner Ella Nave of the Coaloition of Public Health (Hebrew, PDF, 88 pages, 2.80 MB)

Publication Series Ecology, Volume 21

The Future We Want - A Feminist Perspective

- March 16, 2012 - The Future We Want – the motto chosen by the UN in the run-up to the June 2012 United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio+20) – is certainly forward-looking. Rio+20 is supposed to define routes towards a safer, fairer, greener, and cleaner world. But the blueprints for a green economy are devoid of gender perspectives. Christa Wichterich’s essay takes a closer look on the relations between feminism and ecology. more»

German-Israeli and EU-Israeli Relations

REPORT

Thirty Years of Bundestag Presence: A Tally of the Greens’ Impact on the Federal Republic of Germany’s Political Life and Public Culture

January 11, 2013 - In the run-up to the 2013 German federal elections, this publication considers three decades of a changing political landscape with the emergence of the Green Party. The authors discuss how the Green Party built its “brand” and, in so doing, ushered in a fundamental change in German politics and society. Andrei Markovits and Joseph Klaver more»

Award

Historian Yfaat Weiss receives 2012 Hannah Arendt Award for Political Thought

- August 21, 2012 - This year’s award winner is Yfaat Weiss, historian at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Yfaat Weiss, so claimed the jury, points out the unusual course of Israeli history as well as the potential of civil society in her country: “Through her research, Yfaat Weiss opens our eyes to new thinking about the coexistence of ethnic groups and minorities in Israel.” The prize will be presented on December 7th 2012 in the City Hall of Bremen. more»

Conference Report

A Forgotten and Oppressed Story

- May 17, 2012 -
On May 11th, 2012 the Heinrich Böll Foundation and Mossawa Center organized a seminar, public discussion based on the release of the book, "Haifa Before and After1948:Narratives of aMixed City,” published by the Institute for Historical Justice and Reconciliation. Here is the report on the event.

Marianne Zepp more»

Conference Report

Estranged Friends? - Israeli and German Perceptions of State, Nation, Force

- April 8, 2012 - Over 400 people came to find out more about German-Israeli relations. The Heinrich Boell Foundation hosted a conference dealing with the idea of the nation state, the approach towards military violence and multiculturalism in both countries. German and Israeli experts were exploring what unites and what divides the two countries and how the relations will develop in the future. Marianne Zepp more»

Civil Society and Democratic Participation

Response letter

November 2, 2012 - The NGO Monitor inquired again about our funding for "+972 - Advancement of Citizen Journalism", which helps managing and editing their site 972mag.com. The NGO monitor accuses the site of pursuing “a highly negative political agenda in the context of political warfare against Israel". We neither share this general assessment nor do we agree with everything that is posted on 972mag.com. Here is our Response:»

overview

From Social Protest to Civic Economic Power

- October 14, 2012 - One of the outcomes of the social protests during the summer 2011 is a blossoming of cooperatives across Israel. Citizens are taking change into their own hands and create new economic models. Yifat Solel provides an overview of these new initiatives and describes further potentials. more»

Dossier

Refugees and Migration - An international perspective

- May 28, 2012 -
In the past weeks, Israel was confronted with events bringing to public attention for the first time the social and political implications of African refugees in Israel. A demonstration that spiraled out of control initiated fierce reactions from the political right and an intensified public debate. For further information see Marianne Zepp: “Israel has a refugee problem – similar to Europe’s?”. A background analysis stressing the special Israeli conditions is provided by Lisa Hücking (intern at the HBF Israel and MA student in Political Science at the FU Berlin): “Nation, State and (illegal) Immigration in Israel”. more»

Policy Paper

International Security Guarantees on the Way to a Permanent Agreement on a Two-State-Solution Israel / Palestine

- March 22, 2012 - From mid-2010 to mid-2011 a working group of Israeli and Palestinian security experts developed concrete proposals and practical steps for international security guarantees in the case of a two state solution between Israel and Palestine. This work was undertaken at the invitation of the Heinrich Böll Stiftung. The group presents their recommendations at several events in Berlin, Brussels and Washington, DC. Core Group more»

Letter

German political foundations write joint letter to Members of Knesset on NGO funding bills

- November 20, 2011 - The political foundations from the Federal Republic of Germany in Israel express concern about a series of legislative initiatives that would fundamentally change civil society involvement overall. more»

Publications

Policy Paper

Angst or Arithmetic? Why Germans are so Skeptical about Nuclear Energy

May 17, 2012 - Is it hysteria or emotional populism that Germany has decided to phase out nuclear energy? On the contrary, a majority of Germans has been unconvinced of its merits since the early 1980s; the source of this anti-atom consensus lies in the persuasive, fact-based arguments of a powerful, grassroots social movement. Paul Hockenos more»

Executive Summary and Publication

Solidarity and strength: The Future of the European Union

- December 13, 2011 - Economic and environmental challenges that threaten to overwhelm the European project. The Heinrich Böll Foundation has set up a commission to examine the future of the EU. This publication puts forward a series of proposals in areas such as foreign and security; agricultural; energy; economics and monetary and enlargement policy. more»

Publication

Severe Housing Distress and Destruction of Arab Homes: Obstacles and Recommendations for Change

- April 9, 2012 - Publication on severe housing distress and destruction of arab homes by Kais Nasser published by Dirasat - Arab Center for Law and Policy and supported by the Heinrich Böll Stiftung Israel. The full version of the Hebrew text (90 pages, PDF-file, 3.20 MB). The English summary is also available (17 paged, PDF-file, 2.44 MB).
Haaretz reports on the paper in English (29.03.2012) and Hebrew (31.03.2012).