It is now 4 decades that FNF Jerusalem Office has been engaged in liberal dialogue. During these 4 decades it was YOU, our friends and partners, our fellow freedom enthusiasts who became the active living soul of our work. Together with you we debated liberal values and policies, we jointly exchanged best practises and brainstormed for liberal solutions for challenges in society, economy and politics.
Celebrating 40 years of FNF in Israel (next year we want also celebrate 30 years of our work on the Palestinian side…), means celebrating our friendship and our cooperation with you! To put a few of our dear partners and our team into the spotlight please watch this beautiful video we prepared for this anniversary of 40 years of liberal dialogue:
Final Recap: More Than a Simulation 🌍🤝
Beyond geopolitical strategies, negotiations, and crisis scenarios, our war simulation seminar ultimately highlighted something even more valuable: the strength of human connection.
Bringing together our diverse and inspiring alumni community created a space for meaningful exchange, new professional and personal connections, and open dialogue across backgrounds and perspectives 💬✨
With German facilitators and a participant from Germany’s liberal party joining the seminar, the discussions also gained an important cross-border dimension 🇩🇪🇮🇱 enriching our understanding of today’s geopolitical realities.
What stood out most was the atmosphere of openness, mutual respect, intellectual curiosity, and genuine engagement that defined every interaction throughout the seminar 🕊️💡
A heartfelt thank you to our outstanding facilitators, Sven Gerst and Michael Rohschürmacher, for making this unique experience possible 🙏
We are equally grateful to Nike Schneider for joining our Israeli participants in managing world affairs for a weekend, and for sharing valuable insights into the liberal discourse in Germany and Europe 🌐💙
What is the difference between democratic and non-democratic actors in war?
In our Alumni war simulation seminar last week we could observe clearly the difference between democratic and non-democratic power.
Authoritarian actors moved quickly. They tested boundaries, shaped narratives, exploited hesitation, and made decisions without public accountability or internal constraint.
Democracies were slower. They debated. They coordinated. They hesitated. They worried about legitimacy, allies, law, public opinion, and consequences.
At first glance, this looked like weakness.
But the reality was more complex.
Non-democracies can act quickly because they do not need consent. Democracies must build agreement, and that is harder. But when they succeed, their cooperation can be stronger, more legitimate, and more sustainable.
This is why democratic leadership matters.
In the simulation, the United States remained strong and active, but often reactive rather than strategic. Europe, despite its economic weight, struggled to translate principles into influence. When democratic actors failed to coordinate early, others shaped the battlefield. Militarily, diplomatically, and narratively.
The lesson is not that democracies should become less democratic.
The lesson is that democracies must become more strategic. More credible. More willing to act together before a crisis escalates.
Happening now 📍
In times of uncertainty, when tomorrow feels impossible to predict, we create space to understand the world shaping around us.
This weekend, FNF Jerusalem is bringing together its Israel’s Liberal Voice (ILV) Alumni community for our annual seminar — and our first in-person gathering since the outbreak of the war with Iran.
Instead of standing on the sidelines, participants are stepping directly into the arena: taking on the roles of key geopolitical actors, navigating complex crises, making high-stakes decisions, and shaping possible futures in a dynamic war simulation.
Guided by the expertise of our outstanding facilitators from Germany, Sven Gerst and Michael Ruhrsuermann, this seminar challenges participants to think strategically, act decisively, and engage deeply with the realities of global politics.
Because in a world in turmoil, understanding the game might be the first step to changing it.
On Yom HaShoah, we remember the six million Jews murdered in the Holocaust. We remember the evil of the perpetrators, but also the moral failure of those who did too little to confront it before it was too late.
After 1945, Germany built a culture of remembrance around one essential lesson: we must never again become perpetrators. That lesson remains indispensable.
But it is not enough.
Remembrance is incomplete if it teaches only self-restraint and not responsibility. “Never Again” must also mean that we do not stand by when antisemitism rises. It must mean the courage to defend Jewish life and human dignity, to confront hatred before it becomes catastrophe.
A democracy shaped by the memory of the Shoah must do more than condemn evil after the fact. It must be willing to resist it in the present, to actively fight it.
Today, we remember. And we affirm that the promise of “Never Again” is not only about the past. It is a responsibility in the present.
In a time when war has weighed so heavily on daily life, Easter speaks with special power. It reminds us that despair must not have the final word, and that hope is not naïve, it is courageous. 🕊️🌅✨
As a fragile ceasefire opens a narrow window for hope, we pray that this opening will lead to something greater: a chance for people to live in safety, dignity, and peace.
To our Christian friends and partners, we wish you a blessed Easter. 🌿✨
𝗢𝗻 𝗣𝗲𝘀𝗮𝗰𝗵, 𝘄𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗹𝗶𝗯𝗲𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗯𝗲𝗴𝗶𝗻𝘀 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗵𝗼𝗽𝗲. 🌿
The Exodus story is not only about the past. It is about the human refusal to accept pain and fear as permanent. It is about the courage to keep walking toward freedom, even when the road is long.
This Pesach, as war continues to weigh on everyday life, that message is more urgent than ever. We long for the moment when all this destruction will end, when we can live freely, safely, and in peace. 🕊️
Freedom is not abstract. It means being able to live without terror. To raise children without fear. To build a future instead of merely surviving the present.
To our Jewish friends and partners: חג חירות שמח.
May this holiday strengthen our commitment to freedom, deepen our belief in peace, and remind us never to give up hope. ✨
We are proud to share that our partner, Dr. Iyad Ishtaya, President of the Palestinian Youth Forum for Freedom & Democracy (PYFD), participated in the Arab Liberty Forum 2026 in Marrakech. Bringing together leading voices from across the Arab world, the forum serves as a key platform for advancing freedom, good governance, and innovation.
PYFD’s participation highlights the important role of Palestinian youth in regional dialogue and collaboration.
🏆 We are also delighted to congratulate PYFD on receiving the Best Booth Award, recognizing their innovative and impactful presentation of their work and initiatives.
This achievement reflects the dedication of the entire PYFD team and their continued efforts to promote freedom, accountability, and youth empowerment across the region.
We are happy to share with you a small comforting highlight from last week ✨
Due to the outbreak of the war, we moved our planned physical event on the occasion of International Women’s Day online 💻. With our new cooperation partner, Women Champions for Change (WCC) 🤝, we placed inspiring women from across the MENA region 🌍 in the center of our online gathering and discussed how storytelling can serve as a powerful leadership tool in dialogue-building across communities 💬
In a reality which is shaped by conflicts and wars ⚔️, especially the young generation, who did not really experience more peaceful times and cross border interaction, is often lacking the imagination of how things could be different 💭. And imagination is an important prerequisite for making change and for creating a different and better future 🌱✨
In our discussion it became clear: women across the MENA region are making use of their female voices and perspectives 🎙️ and use storytelling - through film 🎬, podcasts 🎧, social media 📱, art 🎨, religion 🕊️, and community initiatives - to challenge stereotypes, build empathy ❤️, and create new possibilities for cooperation across cultural, political, and religious divides 🤝
Women have the unique skill to humanize the “other,” amplify moderate voices often overshadowed by extremism 🔊, and help societies imagine different futures by promoting dialogue and cooperation 🌍✨
Thank you to our wonderful panel speakers and the over 70 participants joining us in this conversation 🙏 You all are the light at the end of the tunnel 🌟
Last week we met in Haifa for our annual staff seminar. 🤝✨ We concluded our work on Thursday. Lucky timing, because since then, war with Iran has resumed. 💔 Now, with many of us back in our shelters, we’re thinking about what we took with us from those days together. 🏠🫂
In moments like this, resilience isn’t a slogan. It’s a set of choices we renew daily: 🌿
1. Keep safe: follow instructions, check on loved ones, and take shelter seriously. 🚨🛡️📱
2. Stay connected: as a team, as people, as citizens who refuse to let fear isolate us. 🤝🧡
3. Look to the future: “after the war” isn’t guaranteed; it has to be created by us, and the work starts now. 🌅🛠️
During our retreat, we practiced the skills that make normal life possible: listening across difference, learning together, and planning for impact. 👂📚📝 That work doesn’t stop in wartime. It mustn’t. If anything, it becomes more urgent. 🕊️⚖️
If you’re reading this from a shelter too: you’re not alone. 🫶 And if you’re wondering whether anything good can come after this, our answer is yes. ✅ But only if we commit to it together. 🌱🤲
FNF Jerusalem is hiring: Project Manager (Maternity Leave Replacement)
We’re looking for a Palestine Project Manager to join our Israeli–Palestinian team in Jerusalem for 6 months (with a possibility of extension), starting March 2026.
If you’re passionate about dialogue, human dignity, and liberal democratic values, and you’re fluent in Arabic and English, we’d love to hear from you.
🗓 Deadline: 5 March 2026
📍 Location: Jerusalem | Full-time
📩 Find more by following the link in our bio.
Ramadan Kareem to all our Muslim friends 🌙✨
May this month bring you peace 🕊️, warm your hearts 💛, and lift your spirits 🤲
May this Ramadan also carry a promise of better days will come 🌅🕊️
