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Group fights for equal rights for Israeli Arabs
By ANNA MORGAN For the past two years, Israeli grassroots movements have increased their pursuit of equal rights for Arab citizens, says Sikkuy co-director Shalom (Shuli) Dichter. Sikkuy, the Association for the Advancement of Civic Equality, is a non-partisan NGO created in 1991. The members of the Jewish-Arab advocacy organization follow government budgets, resource allocations and land usage policies, and then develop strategies to deal with the system's inequities. Since the creation of the State of Israel, Arab towns and villages have had less access and enjoy a smaller proportion of the state's resources than their Jewish counterparts, Dichter told a small group in Toronto recently. Dichter described small villages without basic water services and said disparities exist within the same cities - Jews of Nazareth, Lod or Ramla benefit from a higher proportion of city budgets than do Palestinian Arab residents. Dichter referred to Israeli Arabs as Palestinian Arabs, saying they refer to themselves that way. Sikkuy hopes to reverse this trend by informing Israelis of the inequities that exist in the system so that no one can hide behind a claim of ignorance. Dichter spoke about the importance of 'mainstreaming' the search 'for civic equality between the Jewish and Arab citizens of Israel' because it is the general Jewish voter who initiates changes in government policies. Public discourse on these issues is having a huge impact in Israel. Heads of municipalities are listening to mainstream Israelis who became disillusioned after October 2000 when 13 Arab citizens were killed by police during a two-week period of demonstrations and riots, he said. The notion of peaceful coexistence has become more urgent, Dichter said, and more Israelis recognize that adults must become involved in the quest for equality. Until now, it was assumed that encounters between Arab and Israeli students and teachers would bring future resolution of these issues. However, we now realize 'it was wrong to make the children the meeting point for Palestinians and Israelis and load them with the responsibility' of creating change, Dichter said. Israelis and Jews are now becoming more active and it's making a difference, he said, pointing to the western Galilean area of Misgav as an example of a 'bottom-up' approach in which Jewish citizens groups have advanced civic equality on the local level. The regional municipality of Misgav includes 10,000 Jews and 5,000 Bedouin Arabs, some of whom live in shacks. Dichter said local Jewish activists work together with Sikkuy to raise awareness and hold public meetings every six weeks, speaking out and distributing flyers. The group then follows up by advocating for change in the allocation of budgets and resources. The work in the area illustrates the positive effects public diplomacy can have in creating connections between regional municipalities and Arab villages and towns, Dichter said. 'One of the group members has been nominated by the Ministry of Industry to establish the joint industrial area of Sachnin and Misgav.' The intent, he said, is for the Bedouin and Palestinian Arabs that live in the region to be empowered and work independently for change in the allocation of funds, assignment of land zoning permits and the designation of infrastructure development. Besides civic action groups, Sikkuy also organizes affirmative action projects for Israel's Palestinian Arab citizens and assists Arab women to achieve leadership positions in local Arab authorities in Israel. While Dichter conceded that the economic inequities between Israel's Palestinian Arabs and Jews is smaller than the disparity that exists between Arab citizens and their counterparts in most European countries, he noted many Israelis feel they must do better. 'With full equality, we would still have a conflict, but it would be one we could live with,' Dichter said, adding that 'when the inequities in material resources are dealt with, the dispute would be similar to the Franco-Anglo conflict here in Canada.' |