Web Posted: 11/20/2005 12:00 AM CST

Anton Caputo
Express-News Staff Writer

Shuli Dichter and Ali Haider are something of an abnormality in their native Israel: A Jew and an Arab working on equal footing for a common goal.

Their very existence is an illustration of that goal. The two men, co-directors of the Israeli nonprofit organization Sikkuy, seek equality for Arabs within the state of Israel.

The issue is overshadowed on the international level by the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. But it resonated with Jews half a world away Saturday at San Antonio's First Unitarian Universalist Church.

"These people are working on a problem that is hidden from the Jewish population," said Aaron Konstam, 69, a member of Congregation Beth Am. "What Sikkuy is doing is so important and so hidden from the average Jewish person."

Arabs make up nearly one-fifth of the Israeli population, but Sikkuy has documented inequality on all levels.

For example, an Arab family in Israel is more than three times as likely to live in poverty than a Jewish family, and Arab children are more than twice as likely to die in infancy.

At the same time, Arabs have significantly less access to health care, education of all levels and government jobs, as well as little or no input on the political process.

In a country with a history of ethnic violence, Dichter sees the inequality as a threat to democracy.

He urged American citizens to earmark a portion of any private contributions to Israel for the country's Arab population. He wants the U.S. government to do the same.

This includes the $2.25 billion in U.S. aid designated for Israel's Gaza disengagement plan. Israel will spend much of that money to prepare the Galilee and Negev regions for new Jewish residents.

The majority of the country's Arab population also lives in those regions, but Dichter is worried that little or none of the money will find its way to those neighborhoods.

"From the Jewish interest, I don't want further development until I'm evened out with my neighbor, both as a moral standard and a security issue," Dichter said. "I don't want this. This gap is an element of dispute every day."

Dichter and Haider visited San Antonio as part of a U.S. tour that included stops in Houston and New York. The two are raising money for a $1 million-a-year public awareness campaign in Israel.

"Public opinion is what counts in Israel," Dichter said. "The Israeli government does listen to the public pulse."

An anonymous donor in San Antonio has pledged to match local donations over the next three months up to $10,000. For more information on Sikkuy go online to www.sikkuy.org.il. To donate, contact Rachel Walsh at (210) 363-7738.

Those who attended the informal discussion Saturday were most interested in how the fight for Arab equality in Israel fit into the larger issue of terrorism. Both men were quick to point out that Sikkuy is not a political organization and does not address terrorism. But they agreed that equality and violence are related.

"At the moment there are no gaps and people's children and others can't feel that they are excluded or discriminated (against), I think then there will not be hatred or violence," said Haider, an Israeli Palestinian. "It is very easy to move to violence. It is very easy when there are two groups and there are a lot of stereotypes."