Reflections on the Task Force Study Trip

JDC Executive Report
June 27, 2006
By STEVE SCHWAGER

Dear Board Member,

I write this week's column not from an airplane, but sitting in the lobby of the King David Hotel in Jerusalem. (Blackberrys make such things possible.) There is no better way to feel and understand the dichotomy of Israel's amazing achievements against its enormous unmet needs than to be here in the country and, as Ellen and I repeatedly say, see things with your own eyes.

Prime Minister Olmert leads a coalition government with many items on the agenda ranging from the disengagement, the restoration of social benefits that were cut by the last government, the Felas Mora, the situation of Israeli Arabs, the critical need to improve the education system, and on and on. We Americans often become impatient with Israel's methods of dealing with specific issues without our putting those methods in the context of the workings of a coalition government. We should remember that Israel is only 58 years old in a world where most of the advanced countries are at least several hundred years old.

Despite its "young" status, Israel has many achievements of which to be proud. However other issues, like the absorption of Ethiopian Jews or the situation of Israeli Arabs, need far more attention.

I have just spent four days as a member of the Inter-Agency Task Force on Israeli Arab Issues with forty lay and professional leaders, including JDC Board members Stuart Brown and Alan Jaffe, visiting with Bedouin and Palestinian Israelis (just as the blacks in North America now identify themselves as African Americans, so, too, do the Israeli Arabs now want to be called Palestinian Israelis) and meeting with Arab and Jewish members of the Knesset and the academic world.

Israeli Arabs (Palestinians, Druze and Bedouin) now comprise over one million citizens of Israel — about twenty percent of the population. Many of the Bedouin in the south of Israel lack basic necessities such as electricity, schools, health clinics, or even running water. In the north, the living situation for these populations is somewhat better, but certainly not equal to that of the Jewish citizens of Israel. As I have written before, the critical needs revolve around employment, education, and advocacy.

American Jews will not be able to change the situation by themselves, but we can find — in fact, we must find — Israeli Jews and Arabs to lead this effort. During this trip, we found many dedicated activists on both sides; more are needed. With the American Jewish community's support, some level of equality can be reached while maintaining the Jewish character of Israel.

For insight into this issue, all one needs to do is look to the Bible and read the story of Moses and our people in Egypt. We were the minority and we were treated poorly by the majority of the Egyptian nation. We must not repeat such behavior now that we are the majority in our own land. Each of the individual organizations in the Task Force is resolved to bring its expertise to bear so that collectively we will help move this need higher on Israel's agenda.

Here is one positive example: The 35th Zionist Congress, which just ended, passed a resolution to obligate our partner, the Jewish Agency for Israel (JAFI), to include Israel's Arab communities in its development plans for Israel. The resolution sets a precedent not only because JAFI has never before been active in Israel's Arab communities, but also because this resolution was achieved through collaboration between the reform and orthodox Jewish groups.

Now American Jews and all Israelis must work together to ensure that Israel is a light unto the nations and a country devoted to all of its citizens.