Welcome to the August issue, the Eighth issue of “Shared Citizenship”, MERCHAVIM's online magazine!
This timing of this issue also allows every one at Merchavim to wish all our staff, partners and stake-holders "Ramadan Kareem" and "Chag Sameach" - as our holidays symbolically fall in close proximity this year!
Contents
Editorial:
The distinct Jewish and religious challenges of building shared citizenship in Israel. Read more...
Articles:
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Editorial
The distinct Jewish and religious challenges of building shared citizenship in Israel
By Mike Prashker, Founder and Director of MERCHAVIM
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From the outset, Merchavim’s goal has been to shape a civic language that is ideologically and culturally comfortable and accessible for the great majority of Israel’s 7.5 million citizens. Such a language had to be grounded in our shared values, respectful of our distinct cultures and accommodate our deep differences.
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| Mike Prashker |
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For obvious reasons, this language cannot make impossible demands on any of us, such as an abandonment of key aspects of our diverse identities.
One of the recurring faults of many such initiatives to shape inclusive civic languages is a secular bias that makes impossible demands on faith-based communities for whom the Creator and not elected government is by definition the primary source of authority. This demand is actually un-democratic, because it forces secular values on faith-based communities and demands the acceptance of democracy as a primary (virtually religious) value.
Rather than impose democracy as a primary value, it makes far greater sense – and is far more democratic! – to understand that democracy can also be understood as the best available mechanism for managing disagreements between diverse groups of citizens for whom the imposition of sweeping agreements will certainly spell disaster.
In many deep conversations with Rabbi Efrati and other orthodox thinkers, it is clear that seen this way, democracy is appreciated as a valuable mechanism to serve their deepest Jewish values and one without which the State of Israel and all it represents for the Jewish People is placed in real danger.
Through these conversations I have also understood – as an ideological democrat, a Jewish-Zionist and Israeli citizen - just how broad Rabbi Efrati’s and my agreements are on issues of social justice and basic human respect for our fellow citizens – and indeed all humanity. Of course this should come as no surprise as the democratic traditions emerged from Jewish teachings of “Bein Adam LeHavero”.
In this regard, it is important to appreciate that the civic language Mercahvim has developed does not presume to allow Rabbi Efrati and I – or indeed our Muslim, Christian and Druze colleagues within Merchavim - to agree on everything. It rather allows us the opportunity to understand and respect these deep disagreements as we learn to live together as Israeli citizens, understanding – from our very different perspectives – that the price of civic conflict for all of us is too awful to consider.
Furthermore, we understand that our vision will never appeal to all Israel’s 7.5 million citizens. Some, sadly, are so certain of their absolute truth, so fearful and so filled with disdain and even hate for “others” – no matter they are made in the Creator's image – to consider let alone accept that modesty, fairness and restraint – demanded in all our traditions - are best for everyone.
Shared citizenship in the State of Israel – from a religious-Zionist perspective
By Rabbi Baruch Efrati Head of Jewish-Religious School Stream at MERCHAVIM
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According to my philosophy as a religious-Zionist rabbi, the State of Israel is the realization of the vision of the prophets of Israel, who envisioned a moral and faithful Israeli society living in the Land of Israel. The State of Israel is a nation-state, with a divine destiny, not just a civil arrangement.
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| Baruch Efrati |
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The late Rabbi Avraham Kook explained that the State of Israel plays a major role in Tikkun Olam [repairing and perfecting the world], in the return of the Jewish people to live a national, moral-divine life, after two thousand years in exile. That is why the entire perspective of religious Zionism on the concept of “shared citizenship” comes from within the values of the Torah and the words of our sages, and is based on a religious national approach. We have the fortune to have our own state after two thousands years. But it is not easy to change the lifestyle and way of thinking that we became accustomed to in the Diaspora – from a focus on the community to a focus on the entire nation and state.
Jews lived in the Diaspora of Europe, Asia and Africa for thousands of years in homogeneous communities. We became accustomed to living with people who look just like us, think just like us, and we viewed any deviation from the accepted path as a threat to the integrity of the community. But the building of a state requires a change in philosophy. A state has citizens, and citizens often differ from one another, and in this its value and strength lie.
The spiritual interest of the Torah today is to strengthen shared citizenship in Israel, because in order for the state to be run properly and more Jewishly, it must appeal to all its citizens and deal fairly with all aspects of citizenship in it.
Let me give you an example. Six months ago, my wife and I were blessed with a son. When visiting my wife in the hospital after the birth, while in the elevator, I noticed a large sign containing details of everything that was on each floor and how to reach each location. I also noted that everything was written in two languages – Hebrew and English, despite the fact that this Jerusalem hospital serves a very large Arabic-speaking population too. True, the door of the special elevator to the operating rooms did have a sign in Arabic too – “Do not enter; entrance for surgery only.”
This situation, in which language and medical accessibility is obstructed for citizens with a distinct identity in the hospital, a situation in which a citizen who does not speak Hebrew has no way of knowing on what floor the oncology department is located is one that is unfair, immoral, does not conform to the Torah and is certainly not Jewish.
The fact that the only place where Arabic appeared alongside the Hebrew was a place to which entry is forbidden further increases this sense of lack of inclusion, as if to say to the Arab citizen – “We are interested only in where you are forbidden access, and not to where you are permitted entry.” This is unacceptable from both a Torah and Zionist point of view.
As a citizen of the state who values shared citizenship, I approached both the administration of the hospital as well as the hospital rabbi about this subject. This is not merely a procedural matter, but rather one that is related to Jewish values that are not being upheld in this situation – “to do righteousness and justice” (Gen. 18:19). It has absolutely nothing to do with political issues or the matter of "conquering the land", which I of course support. This is a personal, focused matter of ignoring the needs of an ill individual - a citizen - coming to the hospital to receive the service it provides.
An enlightened and precious state such as ours, one that espouses the morality of the Torah, must ensure shared citizenship, fairness and decency towards all its law-abiding citizens whatever various identities they may have, and strengthen accessibility to all places for all identities.
This is not only universal morality, it is a divine injunction, and lies at the foundation of the State of Israel as a fair and Jewish state.
I am part of the Merchavim Institute because I identify in it a great desire and capability to change things in Israeli society, to make things fairer as we strengthen our shared citizenship and to bolster weakened identities in an atmosphere that is accepting of the different perspectives of my colleagues and I. Merchavim is a good thing for the State of Israel, a good thing for religious Zionism and good for Tikkun Olam – to perfect the world in the Kingdom of the Almighty.
And with G-d's help, we will succeed.
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Current Activities...
KULANANA FOR A BETTER SHARED FUTURE
KULANANA will allow Israel’s 7.5 million citizens to re-imagine and shape a better shared future. Unprecedented in scope and ambition KULANANA will help Israelis frame an inclusive civic identity; a new, hopeful and inclusive win-win sense of “us”. KULANANA is first and foremost a broad cooperation of committed society-builders, expressing the realization of all the partners that only by working together - all pulling in the same direction - can we realize our cohesive and just vision for Israeli society. We hope you will join us and become part of KULANANA.
GOAL
KULANANA’s goal is to measurably and permanently improve inter-group relations across all the major divides currently straining the fabric of Israeli society and threatening the future of the State of Israel.
BRAND & KEY THEMES
The name KULANANA is an optimistic amalgamation of the Hebrew and Arabic words for “all of us”. The initiative will be built around and promote three inter-locking key themes:
CITIZENSHIP DIVERSITY FAIRNESS
The name KULANANA, our approach, our key themes and measurement tools were developed on the basis of international research, public opinion surveys & focus groups.
RANGE OF ACTIVITIES and PARTNERS
KULANANA will deliver a synergistic mix of activities implemented through the collaborative efforts of numerous partners, including NGO’s, businesses and government. Activities are organized into 3 Tiers:
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Tier I: Community Projects addressing Israel’s five major internal rifts: Jewish-Jewish, Jewish-Arab, Arab-Arab, Immigrant-veteran, socio-economic.
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Tier II: Core Projects in media-training, education, volunteerism and government relations
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Tier III: A supportive multi-platform media campaign
Year 1 ACTION HIGHLIGHTS
KULANANA provides an innovative “open-platform for change” that will be used to advance our common vision in many ways – some still unimagined - and with a growing number of partners, some still to step forward. But our Year I activities serving strategic Three-Year Objectives will certainly include:
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Activation of an unprecedented NGO, government, business and philanthropic cooperation – backed by a media campaign.Catalyzing the launch of dozens of semi-autonomous KULANANA activities within and between NGO’s working on the major rifts threatening Israeli society.
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Sensitizing 35 up-and-coming young Israeli journalists of all backgrounds to the diversity of Israeli society and gain their backing for KULANANA
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Recruiting, training and activating 1000 young KULANANA volunteers to further the initiatives goals on-line and through community projects
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Introducing KULANANA programming in schools and preparing to pilot the KULANANA “Shared Youth Futures” summer program
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Introducing KULANANA to hundreds of policy-makers and opinion-formers
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Making 30% of all Israelis between ages 16-29 aware of KULANANA through a multi-platform media campaign to support our full range of activities
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Measuring and reporting tangible progress in all these areas.
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The KULANANA BUS - Once we're "up and running" the Kulanana bus will help our diverse network of volunteers with their projects, bringing them to schools and events, where they’ll represent and promote our core values: bringing together students in cooperative communal activities, performing and story telling. Kulanana "Shared Youth Futures" groups will learn about Israeli society together, touring Israel in buses proudly bearing the "Kulanana - Shared Youth Futures" logo.
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WHAT MAKES KULANANA DIFFERENT?
KULANANA is unique in scope, ambition and approach. Here are some of the key differences between KULANANA and other projects:
Collaborative Effort & Multi-level Approach. KULANANA addresses the five major rifts in Israeli society as distinct but inter-related aspects of the overall challenges of shaping citizenship and dignifying diversity. For the first time: (a) leading NGO’s addressing each social rift will be working together and in partnership with Government and business; (b) the separate efforts of these different NGO’s will be built around the same key themes; and (c) these different efforts will be directly supported by a national media campaign and by big and sustainable core projects “on the ground”.
Three examples illustrate this approach:
- Media training to sensitize upcoming professionals to the issues of citizenship, diversity and fairness will produce better press coverage of all elements of KULANANA and also each individual project in the field.
- The joint energy and activity of thousands of young volunteers of all backgrounds will help drive the media campaign as well as diverse cooperative activities across the major rifts “on the ground”.
- The “good news” stories generated by Tier 1 and Tier 2 activities will provide authentic fresh material for the media campaign.
National Media Campaign as a Supporting Platform. The national media campaign provides a platform for all other aspects of KULANANA. The campaign will be managed by one of Israel’s leading professional advertising and public relations groups. While none of the individual projects or partners could hope to sustain such a campaign on its own, all of them jointly share in the benefits of the KULANANA brand and campaign.
Based on Research and Guided by Measurable Outcomes. The KULANANA brand and core themes were selected on the basis of a disciplined and professional research process. This process included careful review of existing studies and comparable international initiatives. In addition, KULANANA commissioned its own statistical and market research by some of Israel’s leading professionals. KULANANA has established concrete, measurable outcomes and will be evaluated against these benchmarks.
Open Partnership Business-Model. A win-win business model will take full advantage of the expertise and networks of all the KULANANA partners. Each partner NGO will be encouraged to develop support from investors with specific interest in their area of focus (whether that be a specific internal division or a core project area such as volunteerism). Finally, KULANANA is structured with an open invitation to participation by new partners who embrace the core KULANANA values of
Citizenship – Diversity – Fairness.
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Kulanana’s Suggestion Boxes for Fair Citizenship - on every street corner and "in-box"
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NGO partners
Partner NGO's will operate and act in advisory capacities in their respective fields of expertise and represent, promote and connect the common Kulanana-related concerns and visions of Israel's diverse communities. These already include: Agenda, Ma'ase, The Citizens Accord Forum, Arab-Jewish Community Center in Jaffa, Melitz, Sawa, Yedid, The Israel Association for Ethiopian Jews, Gesher Hinuchi, The Izi Shapira House, Bema'agalei Zedek, Gesher Educational Organization, Hoshen, Yesodot, NISPED the Negev Institute for Strategies of Peace and Development, Sikkui, Olim Beyachad, Kav Mashve and Shatil.
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MERCHAVIM Perspectives
Interviewing Mr. Kamal Agabriye, Senior Coordinator and Facilitator at MERCHAVIM.
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Please Tell us about yourself and what brought you to Merchavim.
When I was a child my father decided to send me to study in a Jewish school, my sister to a private Christian school and the rest of my siblings to a state Arab school where most students were Muslim.
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Looking back, I recall the many difficulties which resulted from the fact that I was the only Arab student in that Jewish school. There were issues with language, with adaptation to the school environment, and with social differences as they are expressed in celebrating different holidays etc. I divide this experience to two parts: The period in which they would call my father to tell him: "Come to school and take your son because he got beaten up by other kids", and the latter period in which they would call him to say "come, take your kid because he has beaten up other kids".
Issues of majority and minority were a tangible experience since I was very young.
My integration in school became easier over time as more Arab students arrived and others started relating to me not so much because of what I was but rather who I was. Whenever there were terror attacks, for example, they would say "Death to all terrorists" rather than "Death to all Arabs" because there were both Jewish and Arab students in our school.
As a child who grew up in a mixed school, I always believed in cooperation resulting from coexistence, and saw it as essential and natural in places where Jews and Arabs live side by side.
During high school I ran for chairperson of the Tel Aviv Jaffa municipal student council representing some 40,000 students. During the campaign I placed the emphasis on two points: I am worthy of representing all students "despite being an Arab", and the need to shatter the sectorial divisions.
Ultimately, I was elected and was the first and, regretfully, the last Arab student in that position. Voting for me meant much more than participating in an election. It was a statement saying that an Arab from the Ajami neighborhood in Jaffa is capable of representing all students in a respectful and relevant manner regardless of socio-economic status of the neighborhood the live in.
The elections attracted a vast media interest and many public officials denounced it by saying that "a non-Zionist student cannot possibly represent the Tel Aviv Jaffa students as a whole". Fortunately enough students begged to differ.
My next position was chairperson of the national secretariat of Youth Against Drugs (the only Arab in this capacity to date) after which I became a YAD (Youth Against Drugs) instructor of leadership groups in Jaffa.
When the October 2001 riots broke out I was requested by the Tel Aviv Jaffa municipality to establish a young Jewish-Arab leaderships group. I felt that the traditional groups in which only the hot issues are discussed would not bear fruits and so suggested that the group would be task oriented and will engage in community activity. The group managed to initiate inter-school meetings in Jaffa and Tel Aviv and to build a bilingual post-curricular club, which quickly became a model emulated by other mixed groups.
I joined the Merchavim Institute because of my deep faith in community activity, civil involvement and its model of Shared Citizenship.
What is your main focus at Merchavim?
I started working in Merchavim as a group facilitator and was then offered to coordinate 'Let's Talk" and "Teaching Across School Streams" programs, which focus on teaching Arabic and the integration of Arab teachers in Jewish schools in the central school district of Israel.
In this capacity I am in charge of the recruitment and screening of candidate teachers at the end of which only those most suitable for the program are chosen. In the training program we simulate situations that students and teachers are likely to encounter. My teacher training is accompanied by observations in lessons and discussions during the school year with the aim of improving class discussion management in line with Merchavim concepts of Shared Citizenship. Added to this is my responsibility to support the teachers and school staff in dealing with events that come up in Israeli society in general, and school in particular. For example, dealing with situation of a security guard who refused to let an Arab teacher into the school!
How does the activity of Merchavim relate to the shared citizenship challenges faced by the Arab community and Israeli society?
Arab society is diverse but has in large parts internalized its repression and no longer seeks change.
This society is multifaceted and it has its own "other" and various difficulties to deal with. Contending with Arab inter-communal issues is of great importance, in my opinion, if we are to change this reality. When I facilitated a Merchavim training program of Arab teachers (female and male) the trainees were wondering what they could do "where there are no Jewish counterparts". During the program the participants have developed their introspection skills – they realized there is so much work to be done in the Arab community which does not necessitate any confrontation with external elements. The group was exposed to issues pertaining to the multiplicity of identities within the Arab society; the status of women; and the dire situation of Arabs in the Israeli establishment
The state of internalized repression and the lack of attempts to introduce change or to influence it is of great concern. An example can be found in a recent demonstration against the evacuation of houses and their demolition in Jaffa attended by 150 demonstrators, 100 of whom were Jewish and the rest were Arab activists who were not accompanied by those whose houses are about to be demolished. In this sense I see the concept of active citizenship, advanced by Merchavim, as one which can shift people from passivity into active involvement.
In addition to your work in Merchavim you also serve as chairperson of the Ajami neighborhood committee and as advisor to the mayor of Tel Aviv Jaffa. Please tell us what your main focus is and how it relates to your work in Merchavim.
As chairperson of the neighborhood committee I feel I have the responsibility of a mayor but not the necessary means that would allow me to resolve the issues I'm faced with. The committee sees to every problem arising in the neighborhood, such as housing, sewage etc. and serves as a mediator between the municipality and the residents. One of the central courses of action adopted by the committee is to provide alternatives to municipality plans rather than suffice with the submission of recurrent objections to them.
My role as advisor to the mayor is to convey, in the most direct manner, the plight and difficulties experienced by the Arab residents of Jaffa.
I should also mention that Jaffa's objective problems (like value of land, for example) receive national Arab-Jewish meaning. Proposing possible solutions, as an Arab resident of Jaffa living in the Tel Aviv scene, is one of my duties.
Jaffa to me is a microcosm of Israeli society. Cultures in Jaffa are like light beams with many complimenting colors. The uniqueness of every culture is important. We needn't change anyone's identity for the sake of the collective but rather encourage cooperation in order to experience mutual success. In this sense, implementing Merchavim's concept of Shared Citizenship in a city such as Jaffa can turn it from a mixed city to a shared city which maintains a rich intercultural fabric.
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More Current Activities...
Arabic Teaching for Shared Citizenship – In-Service Encounter and Training for Jewish and Arab teachers of Arabic.
A 30 hour in-service training for teachers of Arabic in Jewish and Arab schools of the Central and Tel Aviv school districts was conducted February – April 2010.
The training was conducted by the Ministry of Education's branch of civic education and coexistence, the Arabic Teaching Inspectorate of the Tel Aviv district and Merchavim, and is part of a broader strategy to deepen engagement in "shared citizenship" across the curriculum. (Merchavim has also developed "Access" an English shared citizenship curriculum with the cooperation of the English Studies Dept. at the Ministry of Education and the support of the Public Affairs Office, Tel Aviv Embassy of the United States of America).
Underlying the training is the idea that teaching Arabic offers a way to contend with issues of identity and provides a space in which teachers of different backgrounds meet and discover commonalities and differences through the study of texts and exposure to different narratives.
Guest speakers from different fields participated in the meetings and offered experiential workshops that allowed for the theoretical as well as hands on understanding of the subject.
Subject matters included:
Personal and cultural acquaintance through the concept of identity – Libi Levin, Abir Halabi of Merchavim
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Humanistic values in Arabic culture – Dr. Farouq Muassi
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History of narratives and dialogue between them: parts of the play The Return to Haifa by Asan Kanfani accompanied by a lecture of play director Sinai Peter.
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Humanistic theory in Jewish scriptures – Rabbi Saar Shaked
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Language as a meeting place with the "other" – Dr. Sami Hamdan.
Subject matters were prepared together with the instructors of education for coexistence and Merchavim staff while placing an emphasis on concepts of identity, fairness and the narrative of the "other". This conceptualization made it possible for participants to express their personal stories and to feel comfortable with the personal stories of others.
Merchavim Shared Citizenship instructors Abir Halabi and Libi Levin facilitated the training.
In the program's concluding session which took place at the Teacher training Center in Ramat Gan the participants mentioned the importance of meetings of Jewish and Arab teachers both professionally and personally as well as the structure of the training which allowed for the processing of the lectures through the engagement in a professional workshop.
Hilal: I emerged with professional knowledge. I also received answers to many questions I asked myself like what does a Jewish teacher of Arabic feel… The facilitators made us all feel comfortable and allowed us to get to know one another. I spoke freely, there was openness among the trainees…"
Claire: "… After decades of mediocre in-service trainings at long last I attended a workshop I have been long wishing for. The structure was good: the lecture- workshop model. The atmosphere was accommodating. We could talk freely, and the very meeting with Arab teachers contributed an added relevant value to the entire workshop…".
Bilal: "I loved the identity discussions. I think this was a unique training content wise. I acquired tools I can now use in class…".
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