September - December Newsletter

Supreme Court Orders Jewish Village to Allocate Land to Arab Couple

Israel’s Supreme Court has ordered the village of Rakefet, located in Northern Israel, to allocate land for housing to a young Arab couple, Fatina and Ahmed Zubeidat. The ruling comes ahead of a final verdict by the Supreme Court challenging the existence of regional selection committees, which determine whether applicants are “suitable residents” for the country’s rural Jewish villages.

The petition to the Supreme Court was submitted on behalf of the Zubeidats by attorneys from Adalah: Legal Center for Arab Minority Rights in Israel. Other members of the NIF family joining the petition are: Arab Center for Alternative Planning; Bimkom: Planners for Planning Rights; Jerusalem Open House for Pride and Tolerance; Another Voice in the Galilee; and Mizrachi Democratic Rainbow (Hakeshet).

While in this instance the victims of discrimination were an Arab couple, the petitioners claim that the selection committees filter applications from a range of other minority groups, including Mizrachi Jews, single parents and the lesbian and gay community.

The Zubeidats are a young couple from the Israeli Arab town of Sakhnin. Both graduated with distinction from the School of Architecture at Bezalel Academy of Arts and Design in Jerusalem. After marrying in the summer of 2006, they returned to the North after Fatina was awarded a scholarship to take her M.Sc. in Architecture and Urban Planning at the Technion in Haifa. In choosing the middle-class rural village Rakefet, they sought a high quality of life where they could build their dream home and start a family.

But the Zubeidats felt humiliated after they failed an acceptance test and were branded “socially unsuitable.” Fatina was told that she was “too individualistic,” while Ahmed was said to “lack personal sophistication.”

This latest court order comes in the wake of the successful petition to the Supreme Court in the 1990’s by flagship NIF grantee Association for Civil Rights in Israel (ACRI) on behalf Adel Ka’adan, an Israeli Arab who was refused a home in the Jewish village of Katzir explicitly because he was an Arab. Consequently, minority applicants are now labeled “socially unsuitable” in order to disguise racial discrimination.

The current petition seeks to dissolve the selection committees, which operate in over 700 Jewish villages throughout Israel. This petition, together with another case before the Supreme Court demanding that the Jewish National Fund end its practice of selling land to “Jews only” is part of a major campaign by the NIF family to end discrimination in the country’s residential real estate sector.

 

Bedouin Women and Men Break a Taboo

Mariam El Hazael began working for Yedid eight years ago, when her husband remarried, leaving her alone with their 10 children. She still is criticized for working outside the home, but her job enables her to survive and to provide her children with a higher education.

“If we keep tradition and go according to our leaders,” said Hazael, “we will never advance.”

El Hazael spoke at a ground-breaking symposium last week entitled Men and Women’s Round Tables Project: Modern Means of Discussing Social Issues. SHATIL and Ma’an, the Forum of Bedouin Women’s Organizations in the Negev sponsored the symposium. The Round Tables project, which is the first of its kind, brought Bedouin men and women together to discuss the changing status of Bedouin women.

In her welcoming remarks, Yarona Ben Shalom, co-director of SHATIL’s Beer Sheva office, said: “This isn’t a Bedouin project, it’s a universal project. Everywhere in the world now, there are issues about the roles of women and of men. In a round table, everyone is equal and dialogue and discussion happen on an equal footing. You are pioneers. It is an honor to be even a small part of your breakthrough.”

Safa Shehada, director of Ma’an, said, “There was a lot of fear about this project on the part of the men. Polygamy was a burning issue.” Despite the fear and the disagreements, the atmosphere at the symposium was lively and respectful.

Participants noted that this was the first time Bedouin men and women were able to discuss the issue of polygamy, which is considered taboo.

Although there were sharp disagreements between the sexes, “the important thing is that people are starting to talk about the issue,” said Shechde Al Jebor, a social worker and Round Tables participant.

Naamah El Sana, a mother of four, member of the Association for the Advancement of Women in Lakiya and a project participant, said: “I never expected academic men to have heads like our grandfathers’. I thought they would be more modern. I thought the negotiations with them would be easier. They weren’t. They still believe men have to rule, to make all the decisions.

“The first meeting with the men was hard,” El Sana said. “One man said, ‘I have three wives. They’re happy with me. I’m happy with them. You want to turn the world upside down!”

Hanan El Sana, an activist with Sidreh, a Bedouin women’s economic empowerment NGO, accused men of using religion to justify polygamy. “The Prophet said you could marry more than one woman, but we exploit that. The Koran says if you marry more than one woman, you treat them equally, but that’s not what happens. Both men and women are hurt by a second marriage. It goes against tradition to abolish it, but we have to examine it, to look at the problems it causes, to look at the women, to see the advantages of abolishing it.”

Abir Fana, a community worker, said 80 percent of the families that come to the welfare offices and are in dire socio-economic straits, are polygamous. She added that many honor killings could be prevented through dialogue such as that promoted by the Round Tables.

“We have to find a balance between tradition and progress,” she said.

Kaid Abu Freih, the symposium co-moderator and an engineer and activist who participated in the Round Table, said it was an important process and helped men to understand women’s problems and to “see the other side.”

Ma’an’s Safa Shehada concluded: “There is agreement that this discussion is necessary and has to be broadened. Everyone must experience it.”

Israeli Government Sets Up Unit to Prevent Sexual Harassment

Israel's Ministry of Industry, Trade and Labor has set up a new unit to expose sexual harassment in Israel's workplaces. In the coming weeks, the Ministry will launch "Operation Harassment" in which dozens of trained inspectors will visit Israeli factories, offices, stores and hotels to talk with female employees and uncover instances of sexual harassment.

In 1998, Israel enacted progressive legislation that defined sexual harassment, using a tough standard. Furthermore, the law required workplaces with more than 25 employees to appoint a representative responsible for handling sexual harassment issues. While the public sector has implemented the law, private enterprise has largely ignored the legislation.

Tal Kremer-Vadai, Executive Director of NIF grantee Association of Rape Crisis Centers in Israel (ARCCI), which together with veteran NIF grantee Israel Women's Network helped to formulate the law, says that many women have nobody to turn to at their place of employment and are reluctant to go to the police. "They have no faith in the system," she says. "The police often do not believe them and they have heard stories of other cases handled negligently by the police. The case of President Katzav and the allegations against him have encouraged a lot of women to come to us, but the plea bargain currently being considered by the Supreme Court has again aroused their suspicions about the legal system."

The Story of D: D, a married woman in her mid-30's, is typical of those who have contacted ARCCI about sexual harassment, but who have ultimately refused to take the matter to the police. "I worked for a large company," she says, "where the manager of my department started sending me e-mails about how attractive I was. I ignored them. He then started making all sorts of suggestions. I spoke to my immediate superior, a woman, who told me that such behavior was normal. When it became clear to my manager that I was not interested, he started being difficult, paying me for less hours than I worked and talking in an unpleasant way. Eventually I left."

The new government unit will train inspectors to visit workplaces and talk to women who feel they have been sexually harassed. "We understand that women will not be eager to talk about harassment," explained Marit Danon, Head of the Authority for the Status of Women in the Prime Minister's Office, who initiated the new unit. "Therefore we are training our inspectors to behave in a discrete and sensitive way."

Arab Jewish Dialogue in Haifa – A Source of Optimism

Participants at the Arab Jewish Dialogue

Yael Maizel, NIF Social Justice Fellow, remarked that her participation in SHATIL's Jewish-Arab Dialogue Group was one of the best experiences of her yearlong fellowship. "The most powerful part was hearing people's stories. Dialogue is the best way to find common ground. I began to understand the issues on a human level. When you hear how the conflict touched people's lives personally, it is hard not to identify with them."

The group was part of the Haifa as a Model City for Joint Living Project, which aims to create a model that will establish the principles for joint living and recommend practical steps for implementing changes. The project concept is to transform Haifa into a city for joint living based on partnerships in which national identities and needs are respected, and a mutual sense of ownership of life in Haifa is achieved. Getting representatives of organizations and activists involved in the project was the impetus for the dialogue group.

Participants at the Arab Jewish Dialogue
The Jewish-Arab Dialogue Group is comprised of a diverse spectrum of social change activists who work in the areas of environment, education reform, advancing the status of women and using theatre as a tool for social change. They are Israeli and foreign-born Jews, Muslims, Christians and Druze Arabs from all socio-economic spectrums and from all over the city of Haifa. From guest lecturers, the group learned how language is an integral part of a person's identity, about the Arab community in Haifa before 1948 and how out of 70,000 Arab residents of Haifa, only 10% remained after the War of Independence.

Mostly, however, the group concentrated on telling and listening to each other's stories, learning to respect each other's differences and even finding ways to joke about the problems. Over the 12 weeks of meetings, a close-knit group emerged that are now ready to take on activities that will help create public discourse around issues of joint living in Haifa. The first activity will be a community meeting that will include a photography exhibit of Haifa, facilitated meetings of Arabs and Jews from the Hadar neighborhood and some musical interludes. "The group is a work in progress," says Michael Bavly, a lawyer who specializes in human rights and is participating in the group. "It has managed to survive the frictions originating in the conflict and has been a source of optimism in my life".

 

Israel Joins Hands with Europe to Protest Racism in Soccer

Last week, NIF organized anti-racism protests before the Premiere League soccer matches in Israel. The events were part of the Football Against Racism in Europe (FARE) Action Week, which included anti-racism activities in 38 countries across Europe. Guest of honor at the FARE events in Israel was Patrick Gasser, Director of Social Responsibility for UEFA (the European Soccer Federation), who came to the country at the invitation of NIF.

"I think everyone involved has to be commended for their efforts," Gasser told the London Jewish News. "The New Israel Fund is a good practice, who took advice and expertise from the English FA and adapted their program and activities to the specific situation and needs in Israel, while managing to get the Israeli football family, the government and the media all on board."

Maccabi Tel Aviv and Betar Jerusalem players stand united
wearing NIF/Kick Racism Out shirts.

Maccabi Tel Aviv and Betar Jerusalem players stand united
wearing NIF/Kick Racism Out shirts.

At the central anti-racism event before Betar Jerusalem's match with Maccabi Tel Aviv, which was televised live, children and players from both teams came onto field wearing NIF-Kick It Out shirts and balloons were released into the air carrying anti-racism slogans.

Patrick Gasser (third from left) together with Sports Minister Ghaleb Majadle (fourth from left) and NIF Executive Director Eliezer Yaari (far right) as well as former Liverpool star Avi Cohen (second from left).

Patrick Gasser (third from left) together with Sports Minister Ghaleb Majadle (fourth from left), NIF Executive Director Eliezer Yaari (far right), and former Liverpool star Avi Cohen (second from left).

"Racism is a problem in society and we at UEFA want to fight it through football," said Gasser. "We have a strategic partnership with FARE, and through them, NGOs such as the NIF, to help fight racism on the local level."

 

Message From Ellen Goldberg, New Israel Fund Executive Director

The articles in this newsletter show a broad variety of work carried out by New Israel Fund, our grantees, and Shatil – NIF’s Empowerment and Training Centre, in every part of life in Israel. Around the countryside we’re pressing for people to be free to choose where to live without discriminatory “acceptance committees”; In the Negev we’re working with Bedouin to build understanding between men and women about tradition and modernity; On the job we’re ensuring that there are options for victims who suffer sexual harassment; In the city, we’re building Jewish-Arab relations to help residents build their lives together; At the sport pitches, we’re protecting against racism to make sport more accessible to all, and without fear of violence or incitement.

These are achievements that we are proud of, and we hope that you, our supporters, are also proud of them. As we approach the end of 2007, we want to encourage you to consider another gift to New Israel Fund to help us achieve more, and more often. And please make sure you tell your friends about NIF and have them send in their email addresses, so they, too, can receive these updates together with invitations to our events. Introduce them to NIF - they’ll be glad you did (and so will you)!