The Abraham Fund
The recent outbreak of cross-border violence has put serious new strains on Jewish-Arab relations within the State of Israel. Lack of adequate planning for the public safety and emergency services needs of Arab towns and villages during wartime, in the context of Israel's complicated social-political reality, is pushing a community that already feels out of the mainstream further to the margins of Israeli society.
In an effort to preserve the delicate fabric of Jewish-Arab relations in Israel, The Abraham Fund Initiatives has launched a series of important measures designed to
Help government improve civil defense and trauma services for the Arab sector Provide rapid response to the unmet needs of Arab towns and institutions in the North Mobilize the coexistence field to support Jewish-Arab cooperation and mutual aid, and Use the media to counter the voices of alienation and separatism within both communities.
There is little doubt that the current wave of violence will come to a halt, likely influenced by international intervention. But it is equally clear that the deep strains on relations between Israel's Jewish and Arab citizens, and between the Arab community and the State, will not end automatically, with the cessation of fighting.
These days will severely test the resilience of Israeli society, and of Jewish-Arab relations in particular. It is only through active and immediate intervention that The Abraham Fund and its partners can hope to keep alive the vision of a shared future for all Israelis.
Preserving the Delicate Balance
Since the outbreak of the recent conflict, The Abraham Fund has been closely monitoring the impact of the cross-border crisis on Jewish-Arab relations in Israel, identifying our special responsibilities during these trying days and working to protect and sustain the critical gains of recent years in the field of Jewish-Arab coexistence and equality.
In addition to continuing our intensive advocacy work with government agencies, the Israel Police, the Ministry of Education and the Knesset- promoting sound coexistence policies and equal opportunity for the Arab community - we are working hard to maintain the gains of our major regional cooperation initiative in the Galilee, through the dozens of joint program and planning activities in which we are engaged.
The widening civilian casualty rate in Lebanon and Gaza is giving rise to growing anti-war sentiments within the Arab community, a situation further exacerbated by public rhetoric from people of influence in both the Jewish and Arab sector who are using fear and anger to advance an agenda of alienation and separation.
The Abraham Fund is playing a significant leadership role, both in the immediate term and for the long term, in preserving the delicate balance of life between Israeli Jews and Arabs - a balance that has been dangerously disrupted during the current outbreak of violence.
Rockets Do Not Differentiate Between Jewish and Arab Towns
More than one-third of Israel's population has been living under the daily threat of Hezbollah rocket attacks from the North, alongside Hamas attacks from Gaza targeting the Western Negev. While Arab citizens constitute roughly 20% of the total population of the country, nearly 70% of all Israeli Arabs, Bedouins and Druze live in the Galilee and the North, the area that has seen the most intense shelling during the recent attacks. Rockets have caused significant loss of life, serious injuries and extensive property damage within both the Jewish and Arab communities of these impacted regions.
Many are living in shelters and safe rooms with their families. Those with access and resources have moved their families to safer ground, in the center of the country. But, for most of the Arab citizens of the North, the options are limited. Israel's civil defense planners never anticipated that Arab towns and villages would be threatened by war, and shelter facilities within the Arab sector are grossly inadequate. Further, the outpouring of voluntary assistance and hospitality to residents of the North has been largely directed toward Jewish Israelis.
As a result, a growing proportion of Israeli Arabs feel exposed, unprotected and uncared for - by both the security establishment and by the Jewish majority. Understood in the context of a community that already feels marginalized and out of the mainstream of Israeli society, we are witnessing a resurgence of intense and growing strains between Israel's Jewish and Arab communities.
Providing Leadership During These Critical Days
Because of its unique professional capacities, and strong credibility with government and within both the Arab and Jewish non-profit community, The Abraham Fund has been playing a central crisis management role from the very first days of the conflict. Under the leadership of its fully integrated Jewish and Arab staff and volunteers, The Abraham Fund has been monitoring service gaps and unmet needs, advocating for proper government responses, providing guidance and support to the coexistence field, assessing public and media attitudes, and serving as a source for reliable and timely information to our coexistence partners in Israel and around the world.
Monitoring Public Services - Helping Civil Defense Reach the Arab Communities
During the early days of the violence, it became clear that "hasbara" services (public information, in this case regarding safety and welfare) were not being adequately provided to the Arab community. Accordingly, The Abraham Fund initiated contact with the Homefront Command (Israel's civil defense authority) and offered our assistance in translating public safety
notices and materials for the Arabic-speaking public. Our offer was quickly accepted, and we began our work immediately. We also reached out to the psychological service authorities and here, too, were enlisted to translate various crisis guidance materials regarding treatment of trauma victims, materials that have been widely distributed within the Arab community.
Mobilizing the Coexistence Movement - Summit Meeting of Coexistence Organizations
As in every crisis that impacts Jewish-Arab relations in Israel (e.g. the post-Intifada violence of October 2000), there is a "slow-down" tendency within the coexistence movement, perhaps caused by a sense of futility or by inter-cultural barriers in reaction to the crisis. In response to this phenomenon - and its danger - The Abraham Fund convened on August 1st - in co-sponsorship with Shatil/New Israel Fund - an urgent half-day Summit Meeting of Israel's leading Jewish-Arab coexistence organizations. The Summit, which took place on the campus of Givat Haviva, included 37 executive directors and senior staff from 13 major organizations, and was convened in order to assess the impact of the current crisis on Jewish-Arab relations in Israel, and to frame a coordinated response strategy. All invited organizations attended the Summit, on very short notice. All acknowledged the critical need for this gathering, as well as The Abraham Fund's natural leadership role as convener, mobilizer and expert resource.
The Summit Meeting concluded with the establishment of a series of Working Groups, which began work immediately to monitor service needs and gaps in the Arab sector during the crisis; to serve an "ombudsman" function to assure public sector and civil society "rapid response" to these needs; to prepare and disseminate media statements, OpEds and positive coexistence stories during the crisis; to advocate for extension of special crisis services to the Arab population (shelter, temporary housing, social and psychological services, children's needs, etc.); and to identify, meet the special needs and coordinate the response of coexistence organizations during the crisis.
A Source For Reliable Information
Transmitting reliable and accurate information to our program and funding partners around the world is an important part of The Abraham Fund's crisis response. On July 25th, we hosted a detailed telephone briefing for participants from the United States and Europe on the subject of the crisis and its implications on Jewish-Arab relations in Israel. The briefing was provided by Professor Eyal Zisser from Tel Aviv University, Mohammad Darawshe from The Abraham Fund, and Dr. Elie Rekhess, a senior Abraham Fund consultant, researcher and lecturer at the Dayan Center of Tel Aviv University.
The message of the briefing was very clear: in spite of the heavy, shared price - in lives and property - that is being paid by Jews and Arabs together, the current violence puts Jewish-Arab cooperation in Israel at significant risk; cooperation which has been painstakingly built over recent years. We are witnessing a wave of mutual blaming and accusations, and expressions of deep alienation between Jews and Arabs coming from both sides of the ethnic divide.
As the violence continues, the voices of frustration and anger are becoming louder, and are having a polarizing effect on Jewish-Arab relations. Expressions of growing anger toward the government from within the Arab sector and charges of conflicting loyalties leveled by some Jewish leaders are capturing an increasing share of media attention. Within this highly charged and emotional environment, information management and crisis management become extremely important tools in preserving the fragile social fabric of Jewish-Arab relations.
Keeping Hope Alive
There is little doubt that the current wave of violence will come to a halt, likely influenced by international intervention. But it is equally clear that the deep strains on relations between Israel's Jewish and Arab citizens, and between the Arab community and the State, will not end automatically, with the cessation of fighting.
Even as The Abraham Fund and its coexistence partners endeavor to cope with the immediate crisis and its impacts, we are already asking hard questions about "the morning after". How much damage will have been done to Jewish-Arab relations? What measures will be needed to restore trust and confidence in the vision of an Israel that is a welcoming home to all its citizens?
But out of crisis can also come opportunity. On the morning after and beyond, all Israelis - Jews and Arabs - may better understand the fragility of Jewish-Arab relations, and the risk to Israel of continued neglect and alienation. The Government of Israel - with the encouragement and help of The Abraham Fund and its partners - will have a unique opportunity to send an important message to Israel's Arab citizens, and to all Israelis: a message of inclusion, equality and interdependence.
But to send a meaningful message, government will need to back up words with action - with public policies and practices that repair damaged towns and lives, Jewish and Arab alike; with greater investments in social, economic and political inclusion; with a renewed commitment to a safe, secure and just Israel for the benefit of all her citizens."
