The German-Israeli youth exchange of the YMCA Bad Belzig region is based on a long-standing partnership with the WIZO Hadassim College. The group leader Anat Alon plays a key role on the Israeli side and enjoys a high level of trust and recognition among the young people and adults from both countries.

After conversations with former and future exchange participants made it clear how much propaganda and misinformation they have been exposed to since the attack of Hamas on October 7, the idea was born to invite Anat Alon personally to Germany to tell her story and present her point of view.

Anat Alon came to Bad Belzig from February 15 to 19 as part of a project week. Meetings in the afternoons, seminars and lectures were planned. These and similar formats can be funded by ConAct – Coordination Center German-Israeli Youth Exchange as small-scale activities with up to 1,000 Euro.

Anat Alon has been visiting various schools these days to talk to pupils of different ages about the impact of October 7. And even though the youth exchange with students from Pritzwalk High School cannot take place at the moment, the mayor of Bad Belzig, Robert Pulz, emphasized his positive attitude towards the continuation of the exchange with the partners in Even Yehuda. A highlight of the visit was the meeting on Saturday with the veterans of the exchange and their parents. Numerous participants came to find out first-hand how their friends fared in Israel. And despite these traumatic experiences, Anat Alon emphasized full of hope:

We will not let life be ruined; we will get up again and continue with the German-Israeli youth exchange.