13th war update with the IEA and Abraham Initiatives

The Abraham Initiatives (TAI)

Since 1989 TAI has worked on creating a more collaborative and equal shared society between Israel’s Arab and Jewish citizens. In so doing, TAI fulfils the vision of the Declaration of the State of Israel which envisioned Israel as a homeland for the Jewish people and a Democratic State for all its citizens.  TAI operates programmes in several focus areas, including ‘Education for a Shared Society’ , ‘Building Safe Communities’, ‘Media in a Shared Space’  and ‘Leadership for a Shared Society’ .  

The Abraham Initiatives at the Knesset
The Abraham Initiatives hit the ground running in 2024 with meetings at the Knesset. Last week, we took part in the discussion initiated by MK Yoav Segalovich (Yesh Atid) on the issue of private citizen militias, an issue we have been involved with from the beginning. Our co-Director of Public Affairs, Moran Maimoni (pictured below) spoke about the heavy burden being placed on police and communities by the militias.

The Abraham Initiatives is deeply worried about the activities of these unregulated and often armed groups operating on the fault-line between Jewish and Arab communities, especially during a time of war. It is important that the state takes responsibility for the protection of all citizens of Israel.

Despite our strong differences with the current government, we continue to seek opportunities to advance shared society within relevant ministries. Co-CEO Dr. Thabet Abu Rass recently participated in a meeting with Minister of the Interior Moshe Arbel, along with several other officials. At the meeting, the minister stated his desire to cooperate with The Abraham Initiatives and promote positive Jewish-Arab relations in Israel during this tense period.

New Policy Reports Issued
Since the current government took office last year, The Abraham Initiatives has invested additional staff time and resources into policy work—to both combat extremist proposals and promote recommendations that will advance shared society.

In the weeks since October 7th, Arab medical professionals have faced unwarranted suspicion and incitement. In response, we issued a detailed policy report to the Ministry of Health and Hospital authorities to ensure that Arab staff can work in an environment free of racism and harassment.

We also issued our final report on crime and violence in Arab communities in 2023. Last year saw the murder rate for Palestinian citizens of Israel more than doubling.

Anti-Racism Education in Pre-Army Academies
The Abraham Initiatives’ anti-racism education work in pre-army academies is more important than ever—and we are pleased that we have been able to continue exposing students to the complex and shared reality of Israeli society. Angham Hussiem, our Director of High School Initiatives, recently led a series of meetings with the Lachish Academy in Jerusalem.

Angham, a Palestinian citizen of Israel, is an experienced educator who has forged remarkable connections with pre-army academy students, most of whom are drawn from very different backgrounds. One former student even reached out to Angham after October 7th to check in. She wrote, “For this whole difficult period, what has kept me going is the feeling of the lessons, the thoughts and knowledge that you instilled in me. And mainly the understanding that I have always known—that war is the last option and peace is the ideal.

Training Organizational Consultants
Many critical facets of the Israeli economy and society rely on cooperation within diverse working environments, which have come under strain in recent weeks.  Hospitals, universities, municipal governments, and a host of private companies are being confronted with problems that existed before October 7th but have since been exacerbated.

At the end of last year, we developed a training program for management consultants whose clients include organizations with diverse staffs. Our training aims to inculcate expertise in dealing with conflicts or issues in shared work spaces. The model was developed by The Abraham Initiatives’ Shahira Shalabi and Dr. Shany Payes, emphasizing flexibility in dealing with a wide range of potential problems.

The Abraham Initiatives in our directory,  has their own website and joined us for our first live event after Covid in June 2023. There are details of how you can donate to help support their work on this page of their website.  The policy report is available here and the crime and violence report is here.

Interfaith Encounter Association (IEA)

The Interfaith Encounter Association uses interactive interfaith dialogue as its vehicle to promote genuine coexistence and sustainable peace . The apolitical and all-inclusive approach of the organization and its activities enable the successful participation of a wide range of participants.

During 2023 IEA oversaw 479 encounters. The growing commitment was reflected in our group roster boasting 123 groups in that year.  It is estimated that over four thousand people participated in these encounters.  To see our year-to-year growth, please refer to the graphs at the bottom of the page.
 
Groups listed from North to South (w/ # of 2023 encounters):

• Haifa Women’s Interfaith Encounter (3)
• Galilee Religious Leaders (11)
• Haifa University YIE (12)
• Northern Jordan Valley WIE (5)
• Nablus Area (8)
• Rabbis & Sheikhs Lower Galilee (4)
• IDC students YIE (3)
• With 929 (2)
• Bar Ilan U. YIE (9)
• Jaffa (10)
• Tel Aviv-Hebron (1)
• Model UN YIE (102)
• Binyamin-Ramallah (1)
• IEA Reut-Sadaqa (2)
• Jerusalem YIE (7)
• My Heart in East WIE (1)
• Fananin YIE (9)
• Jerusalem & Area (11)
• Beit Midrash (16)
• Music group Wast E-Tariq (32)
• Praying together in Jerusalem (20)
• Tower of David Religious Leaders (4)
• Language Exchange WIE (5)
• Jewish-Christian Study Luke (12)
• SynaYoga (35)
• Hadassah Ein Karen (17)
• LIFE (7)
• Circle of Light & Hope (3)
• Midwives of Peace (4)
• Jerusalem-Hebron (11)
• Jerusalem-Sair (4)
• Jerusalem-Yata (3)
• Otniel-Nablus YIE (2)
• Hashfela (6)
• Hebron (2)
• Ashkelon (2)
• Bearer of Peace (55)
• Arad-Tel Arad WIE (13)
• Yeruham-Rahme WIE (2)

Below are charts that reflect growth in IEA from Year-to-year:  

The Interfaith Encounter Association is in our directory, has their own website and joined us for a webinar in October 2020.  There are details on this page of their website which show how you can donate to help support their work.