Conference Call: Local Elections in Israel's Arab Society | ...

Among Arab citizens, local elections are widely regarded as more consequential for daily life than national elections. They attract larger voter turnout and often revolve around internal dynamics and priorities not seen on the national stage.

Read the Task Force report on preliminary results in Arab society

What did the October 30 elections reveal, for example, about the influence of traditional family structure versus efforts to modernize local leadership? What did the record number of women candidates indicate about the changing role of women and persistence of glass ceilings in Arab society? How did recent tensions around the Nation-State Law influence local discourse, if at all?

Join us for a conference call on Monday, November 19, with former mayor and former MK, Dr. Hanna Swaid, and Ola Najami Yousef, Director of Leadership Initiatives of the Abraham Fund. They will share insights into the campaigns, outcomes and reactions in Arab society, and the possible implications for ongoing social and economic trends in Israel's Arab society.

Conference Call Details:
Monday, November 19, 2018 - 12 pm ET
Dial-in information provided upon RSVP

Please RSVP to [email protected]

About the Speakers

Hanna Swaid
Hanna Swaid, former MK (Hadash), and former Mayor of Eilaboun, is the founder and current chairperson of the Arab Center for Alternative Planning (ACAP). Dr. Hanna Swaid represented the Hadash party in the Knesset for three terms, 2006-2015. He was Mayor of his hometown of Eilaboun from 1993-2003. Dr. Swaid established and currently chairs the Arab Center for Alternative Planning (ACAP), the leading and only government-recognized Arab NGO working on land, planning and development issues for Israel’s Arab society. Dr. Swaid served on several Knesset committees, including Economics Affairs, State Control, Internal Affairs and Environmental Protection, and Ethics. He also served as the Chairperson of the Green Energy Committee and co-chaired with MK Rabbi Michael Melchior the Parliamentary Lobby for Jewish-Arab coexistence. Dr. Swaid represented the Arab municipalities in Israel in the National Council for Planning and Building, and was a leading member of the Forum of Arab Mayors in Israel. He has three degrees in civil engineering and planning from the Technion, and taught there as well as at Reading University in the U.K.

Ola Najami Yousef
Ola Najami Yousef is Director of Leadership Development Initiatives at the Abraham Initiatives. Prior to this position, she worked for eight years at the Women Against Violence Association, coordinating the initiative to increase the number of women in high-level positions across Israeli society. She holds a B.A. in Psychology and Education from Bir-Zeit University, and an additional degree from the Technion. Najami also completed a training course from Oranim College in Facilitation and Community Projects Managing, and a community leadership course for employees of local authorities and Arab organizations.