New Jewish-Arab initiative to promote dialogue and cooperation in the north

A celebration was held in Nazareth on November 10th for the launch of a new Jewish-Arab initiative promoting shared society called “Next Door Neighbor.” The initiative draws its name from the Book of Proverbs adage: “Better a neighbor who is near than a brother far away.”

Created by Ghada Zoabi, founder and director of the Arabic news outlet, Bokra.net, and Peretz Gan, a farmer and social activist from the Jezreel Valley, Next Door Neighbor is a coalition of activists and local leaders from Nazareth and the surrounding Jewish and Arab communities with professional support from the Center for a Shared Society at Givat Haviva.

The initiative aims to build shared society in the Nazareth area, home to 100,000 Jewish residents and 200,000 Arabs residents, by bringing together neighboring communities and schools, professionals, and elected officials, to encourage dialogue and promote cooperation on projects of mutual interest. Among their first activities will be Hebrew and Arabic classes for adults in an effort to improve bilingual proficiency. At a later stage, they plan to establish a physical center that will serve as a regional hub for a diverse array of programming.

The launch event brought together 100 Jewish and Arab activists, business professionals, and leaders, including mayors and other elected officials, who spoke at the celebration.  Mayor of Nazareth Illit, Ronen Plot, and Head of the Jezreel Valley Regional Council, Eyal Bezter, expressed their support for the new initiative and emphasized the belief that Jews and Arabs are “meant and destined” to live together rather than “doomed” to do so.  Ronen Plot added to this sentiment by affirming his role as “everybody’s mayor” and formally stated that “every citizen is welcome” in Nazareth Illit, a city whose population of 50,000 is 22% Arab (a reference to past controversies during his predecessor’s tenure as mayor). Ahmad Zoabi, head of the Bustan El Marj local council, spoke about the need to enhance cooperation and mutual awareness in the region.

The co-founders, Ghada and Peretz, reflected on the lack of meaningful interactions between Jewish and Arab residents of Nazareth area. Yaniv Sagee and Mohammed Darawshe of Givat Haviva, who are providing professional support to the initiative, spoke about the need to enhance shared society in Israel and the associated challenges working towards this aim.  They stressed that a regional center—initiated, managed, and supported by local residents—could resolve at least some of these challenges.