Delegation of the Inter-Agency Task Force on Israeli Arab Issues Visits Givat Haviva
By Lydia Aisenberg
May 24, 2010
Givat Haviva recently welcomed the opportunity to host a delegation from the Inter-Agency Task Force on Israeli Arab Issues during the Task Force Annual Study Trip to Israel (May 2-6).
A coalition of North American Jewish organizations, foundations, private philanthropists and international affiliates, the Inter-Agency Task Force delegation also included members of the recently launched British sister organization, the UK Task Force. The overseas guests were joined by representatives of Israeli organizations, members of the Inter-Agency Task Force (as is Givat Haviva) committed to working for civic equality for all citizens of Israel.
In the name of Givat Haviva, former member of Knesset Abu Vilan, a co-founder of Peace Now and chairman of the Havazelet Fund of the Educational and Cultural Institutions of Hashomer Hatzair, extended a warm welcome to the Task Force delegation. Vilan highly praised the efforts of all those involved – both abroad and in Israel – striving to influence positive change in Israeli society, particularly for the Arab citizens and other minority groups.
The Task Force lunched with some of the youth and adult participants of Givat Haviva projects such as Through Others' Eyes, Face to Face Encounters as well as ladies from projects of the Noa/Nuha Center for Women and for Gender Studies. Givat Haviva departmental heads, project facilitators and other members of staff were also on hand to engage in informative conversations around the lunch tables before moving on to the Sarah and Yaacov Eshel Peace Library for a number of panel discussions, one of which was chaired by Myriam Degan-Brenner, director of Givat Haviva's Noa/Nuha Center for Women and for Gender Studies.
For a large number of the Task Force attendees from overseas the visit was their first to the Givat Haviva campus in Wadi Ara but for others, one of many to date. Jessica Balaban, Executive Director of the Inter-Agency Task Force since its founding (and leading the group participating in the Annual Study Trip to Israel) previously worked for the UJA Federation of New York where among other areas of responsibility she managed grant and program portfolios for vulnerable and new immigrant communities in Israel. During her UJA days, Jessica led a number of missions to Israel with a visit to Givat Haviva included in their tight schedules. Jessica has always been held in high regard by Givat Haviva staff over the years and all delighted to once more see her again on campus.
Chris Silver, Program Associate of the Inter-Agency Task Force, remembered attending a seminar at Givat Haviva ten years ago when on a student study tour to Israel, and Rabbi Sidney Shaw – who in 1988 founded PANIM, The Institute for Jewish Leadership and Values, a respected author and former executive director of the Jewish Community Council of Greater Washington, DC – had visited Givat Haviva a number of times in the past leading study tour groups to Israel and said he was glad to have the opportunity to once more visit and catch up on Givat Haviva activities.
The first panel to commence the afternoon's talks and discussions comprised Ilan Sadeh, head of the Menashe Regional Council, Mustafa Mahajneh, deputy-major of Umm al-Fahm, Ron Gerlitz and Ali Haider, co-executive directors of Sikkuy, the Association for the Advancement of Equal Opportunity who distributed copies of an in-depth and impressive report entitled The Equality Index of Jewish and Arab Citizens in Israel edited by Haider and published two years ago.
Ilan Sadeh spoke of the co-operation that had been fostered between the local councils in Wadi Ara and of their moving forward on joint projects in the field of education, environment, sewage treatment plant and two industrial parks, one in the Menashe area and the other near the village of Salem neighboring Umm al-Fahm. Sadeh also mentioned recent events in the region where Jewish and Arab municipalities banded together to lobby the government on issues directly affecting the region such as the extension of Harish, a Jewish community in the area, the government were planning to further develop and settle there 150,000 haredim (ultra-orthodox Jews).
"In Wadi Ara there are 120,000 Arab citizens of Israel and 15,000 Jews. We went together to the appropriate government offices to impress upon them how taking land from Arabs and Jews in this region to develop Harish unacceptable and how such a plan would threaten the delicate relations between the Jews and Arabs in the area," explained Sadeh, a member of Kibbutz Ma'anit next door to the Givat Haviva campus. "By the way, we also went together to demand improvement of infrastructure in the Arab villages in this area – and much more, but we still have a long way to go." Sadeh had warm words to say about the past and continuing work of Givat Haviva and on a personal note, spoke of his own participation in Givat Haviva projects when he was a youngster growing up on kibbutz in the area.
The deputy-mayor of Umm al-Fahm Mustafa Mahajneh confirmed Sadeh's words in connection with the on-going co-operation between the Jewish and Arab municipalities in the Wadi Ara region. He also spoke of his teenage days participating in Jewish-Arab encounters on campus at Givat Haviva and how important those experiences had been to him then – and even more so in present times – and encouraged the new initiatives undertaken by Givat Haviva recently in the area.
"Umm al-Fahm was recently honored with a visit from Minister for Social Affairs, Yitzhak Herzog. When he asked what the population of the city was I told him 25,000 during the day, 45,000 at night. Because of government discrimination there are little means of employment in the city itself and so people have to leave each day to work elsewhere and so quite obvious the importance we attach to a joint industrial park in our area," Mahajneh commented. "We, the Arabs and Jews in this area, need to continue to work side by side to develop the area. We are here together on this small piece of land, no choice but to live together – I need to be able to look in to the eyes of Jewish Israelis and see their pain, and they need to be able to look in to my eyes and see mine."
As the Task Force visit and presentations drew to an end, cards exchanged between the locals and the visitors, there seemed high hopes of continued support and co-operation between the various bodies from abroad and Israel and some folks expressed their determination in together facing the enormous challenges ahead in the shared quest of being the agents of elimination of inequality and discrimination in Israel, particularly regarding the Arab sector.