President Reuven Rivlin on Tuesday 21 Shevat visited the Tel Aviv offices of Google, to mark international ‘Safer Internet Day’. The president met with senior management of the company in Israel, including Meir Brand, Chairman of Google Israel, and Prof. Yossi Matias, Vice President, Engineering, at Google and the Managing Director of Google’s R&D Center in Israel.

During his visit, the president met with around 150 youths, participating in the ‘Screen Savers’ project in partnership with Google Israel, and ORT, aimed at promoting a safer online environment for young people. This year around 800 youth, from more than 30 ORT schools took part in the project. The students presented the president with three campaigns they had prepared with their schools in Beit Shean, Dalyiat el-Carmel, and Tiveria. The president said he was greatly encouraged by the project and moved by the personal stories told to him by Bar Ochana from Beit Shean, Eden Abu and Eden Hasson from Daliyat el-Carmel, and Kelly Titanko from Tiveria. He said to them, “I am not sure who is the teacher and who is the student when I am speaking to you.”

The young participants – rather excitedly – presented the president with their work. Bar spoke to Mr. Rivlin about promoting the discussion on safer internet with her peers, and their activities to increase awareness among the youth about what is and is not allowed online. Eden and Eden explained to the president how they had begun to fight to raise awareness about the online distribution of pictures without permission, the fight against identity theft on Facebook, and about the tools available to Facebook users. They told the president how after they experienced attempts to steel their identity on Facebook. They explained they felt lost until they sought professional help and were able to trace the imposter, and then became involved in the project. Eden Abu told Mr. Rivlin, “We, a group of young Druse, decided to make an independent video against the transfer of images without permission. For the second year running, the project is running in our town, and instills in me the desire to contribute and help my friends and peers.”

Kelly explained to the president that, “In third grade I was bullied by a classmate, which was most damaging for me. I knew no different so I endured this for three years as I studied. In seventh grade, I moved to a different school and met new children and all of a sudden, I was pleased to be going to school. When I heard of the ‘Screen Savers’ project, I decided to get involved and discovered that I had returned to the scariest of places, to the world of bullying – but this time, I would succeed, and get closure.”

In addition, Google employees showed the president a film, created in honor of his visit, based on his address at the opening of the winter session of the Knesset, in which the president spoke about the threats and abuse directed toward him on the Internet.

Rivlin thanked the young participants and the Google staff and said, “I want to confess to you, quietly, and say that I am a ‘non-tech president’, I am an analogue president, in a digital world. Just like your grandparents, I prefer to write, by pen, and preferable a fountain pen. If I need to look something up, I don’t rush to Google, first, I look in an encyclopedia, and now and again, I will ask someone to find me something online. Most of the time I simply call my grandson, who brings me whatever information I need nice and quickly – from Google of course. So I am not an ‘online being’ but despite this, I am up to date with what is going on.

“I saw with you now this special and moving film, you prepared for our meeting. It is moving and painful. I heard myself repeat some of the responses written about and against me. Responses which were venomous, poisoned arrows. Whose aim, as I said at the time, was to silence debate, and to deny discussion. When I read for the first time these responses, I was shocked. I will make another confession, when I had to say them out loud, and I heard myself, my voice trembled. As one who worked for many years in the parliamentary and political arena, I was present at many severe debates; I was involved in difficult and painful disputes, during which harsh words spoken, but I never came across, such violent, rude, and repulsive bullying as those online talkbacks. Such language, I am afraid, not only pollutes the Internet, but also stains our public debate.

“The offensive phrases you heard, are just examples of what was written about me. But I am not alone. In this matter, as I said, we are all equal. Nobody is immune. The President of the State, or the schoolchild in the playground. The youth in the classroom, and the star on television. The teacher or the journalist. We are all exposed to this aggressive and demeaning discourse. A conversation, which you, young men and women, are exposed to every day in the virtual space, and I think, unfortunately, also in the real world at school.

“I have come here today to say to you, we cannot allow violence and bullying to win out. We cannot let them dictate our paths. We find ourselves here today, together, because we share a common vision and hope. Because we have decided that the responsibility is in our hands, that the responsibility falls to us, to stand up and act. To regain for ourselves the ability to speak to one another, with respect and to listen. Be it with one who is different to you, religious, chareidi, Arab, secular, Ethiopian, with a different accent, regardless of height or weight – the Screen Savers project, in which you are playing a role, is designed for this purpose. You are returning the ‘network’ to our hands.”

“Let’s together find a way to communicate, and not only over social media. You, my friends, whether you are coming from Jerusalem or Akko, from the Galilee, from Ariel, from Ashdod, Isfiya, or Arad, all of you, are citizens of the wider world. The whole world lies before you, vivid and alive, on the screen of a computer. You can go wherever you want, anytime, at the touch of a button. You have an open passport, which knows no borders. You meet with people from across the world each and every day. But, it seems to me that often it is easier for us to speak with those living thousands of kilometers away, and to ignore our nearest neighbor. Remember, the need to listen at home, only increases and grows stronger. Israeli society – throughout all its communities, Jews, Arabs, ultra-orthodox, secular – is always managing difficult disagreements over its character and future. Nevertheless, we must not surrender the culture of debate, we must not give up on our shared language and our shared values.”

The President invited the young participants in the project to be hosted at the President’s Residence – to meet, discuss, and moreover to listen to each other. At the conclusion of his speech, the president announced the winner of the competition held between the participating schools, to create a ‘hand gesture’ to signify online bullying. The winner, Yuval Saar from Gan Yavne, taught the president the sign, and took the opportunity to join the participants in a groups ‘selfie’ with the president.

(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)