Task Force is Together on Israeli Arab Issues

Forward
May 12, 2006
By JESSICA BALABAN [LETTER TO THE EDITOR]

An April 29 article may have given readers a mistaken impression of the study day conducted by the newly formed Inter-Agency Task Force on Israeli Arab Issues ("Jewish Groups Join in Bid To Aid Arabs, But Spar Over Olmert Tie to Rightist ").

The all-day educational forum, held April 26, was a gathering of more than 200 North American Jewish leaders who came together in an unprecedented wall-to-wall initiative to better understand and raise awareness of inequality issues among Israel’s Arab citizenry from perspectives ranging from educational achievement to Halacha.

There was no spar, as the headline to the article states, over Prime Minister Ehud Olmert’s ties to Yisrael Beiteinu leader Avigdor Lieberman. It was an informative and thought-provoking day of education, focused on the history of majority/minority relations in Israel and on the critical issues facing Israel’s citizens today.

Jessica Balaban
Director
Inter-Agency Task Force On Israeli Arab Issues
New York, N.Y.