The Goal: Building Bridges

Craftspeople and apprentices are rarely part of German Israeli exchange programs. With the project Building Bridges for the Future, we want to give young craftspeople from both countries the opportunity to participate in a German Israeli exchange program and, in doing so, add an important aspect in the relationship between our countries.

You can follow the progress of the project on the Building Bridges website.

The Program: Building Bridges Together

On the initiative of our board members Elke Büdenbender, judge and wife of German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier, and former Federal Minister Brigitte Zypries, the Future Forum launched Building Bridges for the Future. We are conducting the project together with the Leo Baeck Institute (LBI) in Jerusalem, the Central Association of the Skilled Crafts, and the Chambers of the Skilled Crafts in Berlin, Dresden, and Cologne. The project is funded by the German Federal Foreign Office.

The participants of Building Bridges will attend workshops, collaborate on projects, and exchange professional knowledge from Israel and Germany.

Additionally, as part of the project, the Leo Baeck Institute in Jerusalem will be renovated to make the premises more accessible and climate neutral.

The long-term goal of Building Bridges is to establish sustainable structures for exchange in the fields of craftsmanship and construction, support skilled trades as an essential pillar of both societies, and expand German Israeli relations to include a previously underrepresented sector.

Building Bridges in 2025

The Program in May

In May 2025, together with the Leo Baeck Institute Jerusalem and the Central German Association of the Skilled Crafts, as well as the Chambers of the Skilled Crafts in Dresden, Cologne, and Berlin, we brought together a group of 40 young craftspeople—20 from Germany and 20 from Israel—to realize the vision of Building Bridges.

Participants travelled together to Cologne, Berlin, and Dresden, engaged in discussions, and took part in various workshops. These included knowledge-based workshops on the bilateral relations between Germany and Israel, as well as hands-on workshops organized by the respective Chambers of the Skilled Crafts, where participants worked together and learned from one another. 

Trip to Israel in December

In November and December 2025, the participants continued the Building Bridges program in Israel, meeting again after the first part of the exchange in Germany and resuming their collaboration in a new setting. Building on the connections established earlier in the year, the group engaged in joint workshops, collaborative projects, and shared learning experiences together with local partners.

Together with our partners at the Leo Baeck Institute Jerusalem, participants worked on a series of hands-on projects that combined craftsmanship with community-oriented outcomes. A central component was a series of woodworking workshops in Jerusalem at Muslala, a community-based workshop that brings together art, craftsmanship, and sustainable urban practices. Over several days, the group designed and built wooden furniture for the garden of the Leo Baeck Institute, including benches, tables, planters, and a wooden deck. In addition, participants spent a day at Molet, where they built wooden playground elements that were later donated to Kibbutz Ma’ayan Baruch. The participants also jointly renovated the garden of the Leo Baeck Institute, improving accessibility and adapting the outdoor space for climate-conscious use.

Alongside the workshops and project work, the program included shared excursions across Israel, offering further opportunities for exchange in different contexts. These included visits to Jerusalem’s Old City and Ein Kerem, Yad Vashem, Masada, and the Dead Sea, as well as a closing dinner in Tel Aviv. The Israel part of the program concluded with closing events in Jerusalem, attended by the initiators of the project and board members, Elke Büdenbender, judge and wife of German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier and former Federal Minister Brigitte Zypries, and representatives of the German Chambers of Skilled Crafts.