Monthly Educational Briefings via Conference Call

The Task Force hosts monthly educational conference calls. These calls are an opportunity to learn about current events in Israel from Israeli Jewish and Arab experts; to keep abreast of emerging trends and to ask questions. All conference calls are scheduled for 12pm EST. Past educational conference call briefings are posted on our 2007 and 2008 audio pages.

Call-in information:

• To dial in from the US or Canada, call 866-838-2054.
• From outside the US and Canada, call 904-596-2360.
• Directions: After dialing in, an operator will ask you which conference call you are participating in. Tell the operator that you would like to join the Inter-Agency Task Force on Israeli Arab Issues call, and they will transfer you. You will not need a pin number.
• To RSVP, email info@iataskforce.org or call 646.871.3204.

Schedule and list of participants:

• July 14
  
  Speaker: Mike Prashker - Founder / Director, MERCHAVIM - The Institute for the Advancement of Shared Citizenship in Israel
  Subject: Challenges and Strategies for Effective Shared Citizenship Education for Israeli Students, Jewish and Arab, in the context of Separate School Streams
  
  Click here to reference background information for Mr. Prashker's briefing.
  
  Mike Prashker is the founder and director of MERCHAVIM, The Institute for the Advancement of Shared Citizenship in Israel. Mr Prashker was born in London and moved to Israel in 1978. After serving in the IDF he studied and subsequently taught political science at Tel Aviv University. He then worked for ten years at Melitz - The Center for Jewish-Zionist Education, where he graduated from project coordinator to become responsible for the development of educational initiatives. Following this he went on to found MERCHAVIM in 1998. In his current role as MERCHAVIM director he oversees the educational management team, the ongoing development of the "shared citizenship" approach and applications, and leading MERCHAVIM's strategic partnership with Israel's Ministry of Education, driving new initiatives, and overseeing fund-raising. Mike lives in Kiryat Ono with his wife Nina and three children; Noa, Eitan and Ella.
  
  

• September 8
  
  Speakers: Haneen Elias and David Netzer – Educators, Center for Humanistic Education at Beit Lohamei Haghetaot (Ghetto Fighters Museum)
  Subject: The Role of the Past in the Present: Jewish-Arab Dialogue at the Center for Humanistic Education
  
  Haneen Elias has been an educator at the Center for Humanistic Education since 2003. Haneen lives in Kfar Yasif and also teaches media and communication in junior high-school. Haneen majored in media, journalism and Hebrew language and literature, combined with a teaching diploma, and previously worked at Betzelem.
  
  David Netzer has been an educator at the Center for Humanistic Education since 2002. David also recently published his PhD on "The Work and Impact of the Center for Humanistic Education." He majored in history and education. David currently lives in Misgav and also teaches at Oranim College for Education.
  
  

• October 7
  
  Speaker: Ambassador Reda Mansour – Counsel General to the Southeastern United States
  Subject: Druze Integration: Individual Success and Community’s Struggle - What is Really Happening Underneath the Beautiful Villages on the Mountaintops of the Carmel and the Galilee?
  
  Ambassador Reda Mansour was appointed in August, 2006 to serve as the Consul General of Israel to the Southeastern United States. Prior to this post he served as the Ambassador of Israel to Ecuador, Deputy Ambassador in the Israeli Embassy to Portugal, and Deputy Consul General of Israel to the U.S Pacific Northwest based in San Francisco. Ambassador Mansour holds a masters degree from Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government and is a PH.D candidate in Haifa University’s Middle Eastern History department, with his research focusing on Syria. Prior to his diplomatic career, Ambassador Mansour served in the Israeli Defense Forces Corps of Engineers in the Northern Command Demolition Unit. In addition to his position as a diplomat, Ambassador Mansour is an accomplished author. He has published three books of poetry, as well as a number of short stories and poems published in literary articles and poetry reviews. Ambassador Mansour is a long time activist in the promotion of dialogue between Arabs and Jews in Israel.