The bell tolled eight as Mohammad Darawshe stood up in St. Ethelburga’s on Bishopsgate, London. The setting could not have been more appropriate for the co-executive Director of the issue leader in the field of co-existence, The Abraham Fund Initiatives. St. Ethelburga’s is a medieval church in the heart of the City of London surviving the Fire of London and the Second World War. However, in April 1993 it was devastated by an IRA bomb; 10 years later the reconstructed building exists as a Centre for Reconciliation and Peace.
The title of the talk, ‘Post Gaza and Israel’s Elections: Can there be co-existence in Israel?’ shows the trepidation that is felt concerning the future of coexistence in Israel. Mohammad Darawshe, whilst highlighting the problems Israel still faces, left a lasting ideal of positivism.
50% of the Solution
Mohammad started his talk by stating how on July 10 2008, Ehud Olmert, at that time Israeli Prime Minister, at the first ever conference on Arab Israeli issues, publicly stated that Israel has “institutionally and consciously discriminated against its Arab citizens and that this had to end.”
Mohammad sees this recognition as 50% of the solution. The recognition of Israel’s reality at the highest level is a step from which Israel cannot turn back.
Furthermore, in 1999 after the elections there were systematic changes that included a government decision to increase the representation of Arab citizens of Israel in the civil service from 1.7% to 8% by 2007 – this was very important. In fact they failed to reach 8% and TAFI came back to the government and told them “You only got up to 5.7%”, their response was “OK, we will do 10% but give us an extension until 2012.” This shows a positive commitment to the issue and should be commended.
Discrimination and Equality
Mohammad explained that discrimination needed to be faced to ensure co-existence. Coexistence must stem from full civic equality which includes not just services and opportunity but political equality, including proper representation. Such representation can be created by government – the previous government for the first time appointed an Arab minister, a Muslim minister. It’s a revolution that a non-Jew can become one of Israel’s governors. Israel has reached the realisation that although it is the state of the Jewish people – the Jewish state – a non-Jew can be part of the board of directors. That is a big step. With such action, Israel is beginning to reflect her reality.
War in/on Gaza: tolerance of narratives
The War was supported by 95% of Jewish Israelis and opposed by 95% of Arab Israelis. How can dialogue go forward in the face of this? Mohammad explained that it could go on by a tolerance of narratives, he called it a war on Gaza; this is not what every one he knows, let alone everyone he works with, calls it. The tolerance of narratives in The Abraham Fund Initiatives is what makes it the field leader in its arena and such a good blueprint for a coexisting society: tolerance of others’ points of view.
In fact, the war, for all the horror of that situation, actually promoted a very positive event: 150 000 Arab citizens of Israel) (representing 13% of the Arab population in Israel) demonstrating in Sakhnin against Operation Cast Lead, in a peaceful manner. The Israeli police respected their right to protest and the situation was, thankfully, a far cry from October 2000. This reflected both maturity in the Arab Community but also in the Police who understood, and accepted, the need of the people to protest.
The loyalty oath and the Nakba Bill
In recent weeks Yisrael Beiteinu introduced bills to the Knesset to outlaw Nakba Day and to demand, from all citizens, allegiance to a Jewish state. Thankfully the Loyalty Bill was rejected by the Ministerial Committee for Legislation – a positive sign of a strong a mature democracy.
“We don’t go to court”, says Mohammad, “It’s not the way we do business. But we marked these bills as a red line – if they were passed, we were going to take the government to court”. He was sure that the Israeli Supreme Court would throw out laws like these.
The Nakba Bill has not yet been rejected. Mohammad, and The Abraham Fund Initiatives and Israel, remain hopeful that it will. When asked by Al Jazeera what he thought was the likelihood of the bills passing, Mohammad replied “Israelis are smarter than that”.
It was on this hope that the talk ended. TAFI is an organisation that works with the Government, and whilst there are trepidations about the new Government TAFI is committed to working with the Government, whichever Government, because the steps that have been taken cannot be undone and the only option is to go forward.
Saoirse Cowley
Young TAFI
