CJAED hosts IATF in Nazareth

CJAED Newsletter
Winter-Spring 2007-8

CJAED and nearly 100 of our friends within the Israeli Arab business community hosted a 60-member delegation of the Inter-Agency Task Force on Israeli Arab Issues (IATF) for a "mini-conference" on economic development among Israel’s Arab citizenry, held in Nazareth on January 7, 2008.

IATF delegates came from Jewish organizations and community federations across the US, UK and Canada for a study trip covering a wide range of issues pertaining to Israel’s Arab community.

"The delegation found much to trouble it, but also much to inspire it," summarized IATF delegation member Sir Jeremy Beecham, Board member New Israel Fund UK, and Vice Chairman of the Local Government Association.

At the Nazareth event, following a general discussion on approaches to economic and business development in the Arab sector, the participants divided up into three groups for workshops focusing on (a) Economic Development and Joint Jewish-Arab Employment Zones; (b) Women in Business and the Economy; and (c) Integration of Arab Professionals into Appropriate Employment.

Addressing the plenary session, CJAED Director Helmi Kittani noted that since its establishment in 1988, CJAED has helped foster the integration of the Arab minority in Israel as part and parcel of the country’s society and economic development, through the creation of businesses both within the Arab sector and jointly run Jewish-Arab businesses, fostering employment within the Arab community in both high- and low-tech sectors, and helping to develop business facilities that will both provide greater employment and entrepreneurial opportunities, and provide a source of income for strained Israeli Arab municipalities.

"We’re seeking to bring about equal employment opportunities for all those who can and should be working," he commented, and listed CJAED’s numerous projects and accomplishments towards these goals.

Kittani was followed by Nazareth Municipality representative Bashir Abdalrazek, who stressed that, in particular, the integration of Arab women into employment and economic activity is an important goal in the context of the overall economic wellbeing of Israel's Arab community. On the other hand, the opportunities for economic development within the Arab sector are hampered by the lack of industrial zones, which is also a factor in the low revenue levels among Arab local authorities. In the Galilee, 90% of industrial zones are under the jurisdiction of Jewish local authorities, only 4% are under the jurisdiction of Arab municipalities, and another 6% are under joint Jewish-Arab municipal management. Abdalrazek believes that through economic cooperation, individual wealth will increase and the Arab community in Israel will begin to feel empowered.

Abdalrazek also called the audience's attention to the decline of Nazareth's historic city center and souq, which was a regional commercial focal point until the early 1990s. The souq district has the potential to again constitute an important attraction for Nazareth, and a lever for the city's wider economic growth, he said.

CJAED Chairman of the Board of Directors Eytan Biderman discussed the importance of ensuring that Israeli Arabs are able to participate fully in Israeli society and economic life, in the context of Jewish values, America’s example as a powerhouse of innovation and business built on waves of immigration and multiculturalism, and the chances for peace between Israel and the wider Arab world.

"We live in an Arab area, and eventually for Israel to survive, to do well, it will have to somehow find a way to live in peace together with the Arab world. … It is vital and important for the possibility for Israel to survive in the medium and long term to really treat the Israeli Arabs fairly, in justice, because it’s the Jewish tradition. That’s the way we are. That’s the way a Jewish state should be. But also to enable the possibility for us to be integrated in this region," Biderman said.

He added that from an economic point of view, "If 20% of the population is strongly disenfranchised from the mainstream economy, it is not just them who pay the price, it is the whole economy that pays the price."

Biderman also pointed out that help from Jewish communities abroad has contributed significantly to Israel’s economic strength and standard of living, yet has also helped increase the gap between the country’s Jewish and Arab sectors, "and such development does not make Israel strong. In order to make Israel strong and viable in the medium and long term, we should address the Arab issues – forcefully and right now."

Biderman called on the Task Force members to help advance the issue of Israeli Arab economic development in the Israeli public agenda, and to be actively involved in processes and discussions. "You can contribute a lot to the discussion, to understanding, to devising solutions and sharing your points of view and understandings with us. I think we can move very fast ahead," he told the audience.

"You can do a tremendous job in helping Israel become a more Jewish state, a more viable state, a much stronger state, which reflects your views and values much more than what has been happening in the past few years," Biderman added.

Social investor Patsy Landa, of the Israel-based Landa Family Fund for Equal Opportunity, stressed the importance of investment in education, and commented that in order to ensure systematic and sustainable impact, challenges facing Israel’s Arab minority must be tackled both by Israeli and Western philanthropy at the grassroots level and at the government level. "Israel simply cannot allow its Israeli Arab citizens to be disenfranchised, alienated left behind. We must work together as partners to build a better future. It’s a matter of Israel’s self-interest – of its very survival," Landa said. "No stable, democratic society can relegate one-fifth of its population to the status of second-class citizenship. No minority of Israeli society can be left behind – not economically, not educationally, not socially. Not Ethiopian immigrants, not residents of Israel’s periphery communities, and not Israeli Arabs."

Yet what use is it to have a higher education, if discrimination among employers leaves Arab graduates jobless, Landa asked. "Attitudes can change" and discrimination can become a thing of the past, Landa insisted, recalling her father’s own rejection due to limits on Jewish enrollment in North American universities common back then. "As a Jew who grew up in a non-Jewish environment, I cannot accept that my country – the state which is the homeland for the Jewish people – does not itself cherish and hold dear to those very Jewish values for which it was created to preserve. This is the issue for the future and the present," said Landa.

Businessman Dov Lautman – Chairman of Delta Galil Textiles and Founder of the Lautman Foundation – related how Arabs in his company achieved managerial positions based on merit, praising the overall apolitical atmosphere that allowed Jewish-Arab relations within the company to flourish. Lautman stressed that Arab university graduates need more help finding work in their field and require more support to ensure their success in the workplace.

Prof. Yossi Tamir, Director of the TEVET Employment Initiative, discussed efforts to provide soft-skills to Israeli Arabs to help them become more employable, to overcome deficiencies in language, computer skills and other skills, which he said constituted one of the main barriers to their integration into the economy. Barriers facing Arabs entering the job market include: poor education, bigoted employers and co-workers, cultural barriers, and competition by foreign workers. Israel currently has a robust economy, with a booming stock exchange and a very strong currency, yet "that affluence is not trickling down, not to the Arab sector," Tamir said, noting a low level of work-force participation, very high rates of unemployment and poverty, and inequality in economic distribution that characterizes the Arab community. Soft skills training must focus on job placement, and breaking down barriers for women, while maintaining respect for cultures, is a key goal, Tamir said.

Other participants at the conference included Founding Director of the Prime Minister’s Office Arab-Israeli Economic Development Agency Oren Magnezi; Businessman Dov Lautman; Israeli Geographical Association President Prof. Rasem Khamaisi; Businessman Tamim Yassin; Businessman Ka’id Abu-Ayyash; Yishai Sorek of the Ministry for the Development of the Negev and Galilee; Dr. Miri Lerner of the Tel Aviv-Yafo Academic College School of Management; Businesswoman Rogette Hinawi; MK Nadia Hilou; Businesswoman Galia Albin; HP Indigo HR VP Adi Bildner; Professor Daoud Bshouty of the Technion; Prof. Majd al-Hajj of the University of Haifa; Hi-Tech Entrepreneur Amjad Abu-Ria.

Within each of the three topical workshops, the Task Force delegates and local business representatives and policy professionals discussed the primary factors, trends and paths of action relevant to the issue at hand. Panelists in the workshop on the "Integration of Arab Professionals into Appropriate Employment" noted that more Israeli Arabs are studying in high-tech programs than ever before, and this year represent nearly one in four new students at the Technion. Panelists discussed efforts such as Kav Mashve, Tsofen and CJAED’s Project MaTch that help Arab technology graduates connect with employers, prepare CVs, and provide other types of training to boost the graduates’ chances of finding employment in the field.

Panelists in the workshop on "Economic Development and Joint Employment Zones" emphasized the role of American Jewry in encouraging economic development and the establishment of joint Arab-Jewish employment zones benefiting Arab communities, such as CJAED’s projects at Mevo Carmel and Bar-Lev. Panelists stressed the importance of ensuring that new and local businesses benefit from development in the Periphery, and not just existing big companies from the central coast, discussed ways in which employers in the employment zones could be encouraged to hire Arab workers, and concluded that providing vocational and related training for Arab job candidates would be crucial to the success of the joint industrial zones being developed.

In the third panel, on "Women in Business and the Economy", participants discussed various issues related to the involvement of Israeli Arab women in employment and entrepreneurship. A lack of information on the job market was noted as a significant barrier among Arab women, while other panelists discussed the importance of working within the culture of the Arab community, where family businesses play a significant role in the economy. It was concluded that Israeli Arab women need family management courses, like those run by CJAED’s Women in Business unit, and assistance in navigating the Israeli social service system, which is one of the topics that Jasmine – the new National Association of Businesswomen is addressing.

Participation at the event from the Israeli Arab community was nearly twice that originally planned, as CJAED associates and dozens of Arab business leaders rallied to show their support for this kind of encounter and to distance themselves from calls by some Arab community leaders to boycott events organized in the context of the IATF visit. To read press coverage of the IATF visit and the attempted boycott, click here.

Several IATF delegates published their reflections on the trip to share with their home communities. In the statement published by Sir Jeremy Beecham following the delegation’s visits with Arab citizens of Israel, he called for greater involvement on the part of world Jewry and the international community. "The philanthropic world, especially in the Jewish Diaspora, can contribute to realising the goal of equality between the sectors by direct project financing […], but also by pressing the Government of Israel to live up to its declared objectives. The international community should do likewise."

A memo written by two delegates from Montreal reserved special attention to the situation of Bedouins in the Negev region surrounding Be’er Sheva, the Montreal Jewish community’s sister city. "The Bedouin situation is worst of all. There are about 175,000 living in the Negev. Their poverty rates, unemployment, education levels, land issues all make the Negev situation dramatic and critical. … [T]he Negev as a whole including Jews has not benefited from economic growth as well as the country centre. There are not enough good jobs for the entire region, but the Bedouins lag behind all. … There is a road that we are all on in the Negev. It is leading to violence. Can government and the Jewish world manage a detour? If not Montreal’s investment in Beer Sheva will have little consequence. … Whether one believes it is a Jewish value or a security issue to create change we don’t care. It just must be done."

The co-authors of the memo also noted that, regarding the Negev Bedouins the statement that "Yes, the Arabs lag behind the Jews in quality of life, but are still ahead of Arabs in neighboring countries" is "just not true." They conclude that "An allocation of our Israel dollars must touch on Bedouin issues in the Beer Sheva region. Almost half the population in the area that we are twinned with is living with severe poverty and little hope. For us as a Jewish Federation, to close an eye to the situation for fear of repercussions is counter to the Jewish values we use as a foundation for our existence and raison d’être."

Greensboro North Carolina Jewish Federation Executive Director Marilyn Forman Chandler stressed that concern for equality for Arab citizens in Israel is now "mainstream," listed positive enterprises encountered, and urged IATF members to see progress on Israeli Arab issues as "critical to Israel's survival as a true democracy in the future" and persevere to help make a difference in face of the enormity of the task, quoting Rabbi Tarfon in Pirkei Avot: "You are not required to complete the task, yet you are not free to withdraw from it."

IATF describes itself as a "diverse, broad-based coalition composed of 70 North American Jewish organizations, foundations, federations and private philanthropists, who are committed to the welfare of Israel and support the Jewish state’s right to a secure and peaceful existence. Members of the Task Force are proud of the democratic, sovereign state of the Jewish people and support Israel’s Declaration of Independence, including the article that promises social and political equality for all its inhabitants—Jews and Arabs alike."

IATF's January delegation to Israel constituted an important professional tool for the group. "The trip was planned through the lenses of a grant-maker, and provided insight onhow to fashion grant-making strategies in order to have the greatest impact. We had the rare opportunity to collectively advance our knowledge on Israeli Arab issues; explore areas of funding collaboration, investments and partnerships; and understand what each other's philanthropic dollars are focused on and how to leverage them," the IATF reported.

To read more about the CJAED event in Nazareth and the IATF delegation’s trip as a whole, and to access audio recordings and other original materials, click here.