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Dear Sikkuy Friends,
September was a busy month for Sikkuy with an emphasis on important public events that have garnered major media attention in Israel and abroad.
On Tuesday, September 6, Sikkuy's "Or Watch" project held its second annual public conference to advance implementation of the Or Commission's recommendations (adopted by the government of Israel) to implement full equality between Jewish and Arab citizens of Israel (see the article to the right that was published in the Jerusalem Post and on its website).
Then Sikkuy made headlines when it brought a group of American political leaders visiting Israel under the auspices of the American Jewish Committee to Umm el-Fahm to meet with two mayors (one Jewish, one Arab) who are key participants in Sikkuy's Jewish-Arab Mayors' Forum (funded by UJA Federation New York, the Meyerhoff Funds and the Fohs Foundation).
A few days later we took a group of Christian leaders brought to Israel by the JCPA (Jewish Council for Public Affairs) on a similar visit.
We believe these visits are having a positive impact on the way American Jews and non-Jews "process" the issues facing Israel today and contribute to a better understanding of the imperative of implementing civic equality between the Jewish and Arab citizens of Israel.
We send our best wishes to all our friends and supporters for the upcoming Jewish and Muslim holidays.
Sincerely,
Ali Haider and Shuli Dichter
Co-executive Directors
Sikkuy
Carl Perkal
Director of Resource Development
Sikkuy
Members of the JCPA-sponsored delegation of American Christian leaders listen to Naief Abu Sharkeia (right), the project head of the Sikkuy Jewish-Arab Mayors' Forum as he explains the gaps between infrastructure development in Jewish and Arab communities in Israel.
(left to right) Mayor of Umm el-Fahm, Sheikh Hashem Abd al Rahman; head of Menashe regional council, Ilan Sade; co-executive director of Sikkuy, Ali Haider; Assemblyman Sam Hoyt of Buffalo, NY at the Sikkuy meeting with the AJC delegation.
American political leaders brought by the American Jewish Committee hear from Sikkuy co-executive director, Ali Haider (right).
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SIKKUY IN THE USA
Sikkuy's co-executive directors, Ali Haider and Shuli Dichter will be in Chicago, New York, San Antonio and Los Angeles beginning on November 10. Please let us know if you'd like to attend their presentations or if you would like to meet with them.
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Top left: Full house at Or Watch Conference.
Top right: Participants arrive at Or Watch Conference.
Left: (left to right) Shuli Dichter, co-executive director of Sikkuy; author Amos Oz; playwright Salman Natour; Ali Haider, co-executive director of Sikkuy at the Or Watch conference.
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September 8, 2005
Paz-Pines: More funds needed for Arabs in Negev, Galilee
by Sheera Claire Frenkel
Terming Israel's policy towards its Arab citizens "institutionalized discrimination," Interior Minister Ophir Paz-Pines has called for a new plan of "affirmative action."
He was speaking at a conference held by civil-society advocacy group Sikkuy, which focused on the allocation of resources to the Arab populations in the Negev and Galilee as the Israeli government embarks on its plan for development in those regions.
"It has been expressed across the board, in all ministries, that development in these areas is a top priority in the government," said Paz-Pines. "There is clear discrimination towards the Arab populations."
The United States promised over $2 billion in funding to Israel as part of its disengagement support. Nearly $1b. of that money was reportedly slated for development in the Negev and Galilee, leaving many Arab advocacy groups in those areas wondering how much of those resources would reach their communities.
"There is an opportunity here for the government to make a statement that it will finally absorb its Arab citizens," said Roy Folkman, Co-Director of Sikkuy's Or Watch project, which tracks the implementation of the Or Commission's proposals for improving civil equality in Israel.
Over 250 people attended the conference in the Negev town of Rahat, including writer Amos Oz, who was recently awarded the Goethe prize for literature, Israeli-Arab playwright Salman Natour, Israeli-Arab actor Muhammad Bakri and Arab Monitoring Committee head Shawki Khatib. Many other attendees were mayors of Beduin communities in the Negev who came to voice their grievances with the Interior Ministry.
"We have already made a decision to grant NIS 380 million over five years for the development of infrastructure in Beduin villages in the Negev," said Pines. "I doubt there is any Jewish town receiving that much."
Many said they resented the term "unrecognized villages" as a label for Beduin communities in the Negev. "What is that suppose to mean, 'unrecognized village?' It makes me feel like an unrecognized person," said one Beduin community leader. "They need to change these types of terms if they are serious about integrating us."
Oz also spoke of the need for changing terminology to facilitate coexistence. "We cannot divide into sectors," said Oz. "We have to recognize that none of us are individual islands. I am no lonely island and you are no lonely island, we are both connecting to the main continent."
During the conference, attendees were encouraged to sign a petition that would be presented to the government, urging the implementations of the Or Commission recommendations that followed the riots of October 2000, during which 12 Israeli Arabs were killed by security forces.
"To this day we have not seen the implementation of the Or Commission, and no one has been brought to justice for the killing of these citizens," said Shuli Dichter, co-executive director of Sikkuy.
On Tuesday, President Moshe Katsav also called on the Israeli government to adopt the Or Commission recommendations, telling media during a visit to Nazareth that he had "high expectations" for the implementation of the report.
 Left: Sikkuy board member, Aida Touma-Sliman speaks at Or Watch conference. |
