While I am back in the
U.S., I do still have a few more posts I want to write about Israel and one
about my trip to Silver City. Having just celebrated Rosh Hashanah, a
traditional time for Jewish giving, I figured this post about Israeli social
change organizations might be timely.
With constant media coverage of the Israeli-Palestinian
conflict and violence, it’s easy to reduce Israel to a single topic issue. Without
“engaging with Israel in all its complexity,” to steal a frequently-used Yahel
phrase, it’s easy to reduce your position on Israel to either pro-Israel or
pro-Palestine, pro-orthodox or pro-secular, without exploring a space to be
pro-both, and pro-greater equality and justice for all. One of the great things
about the learning component of Yahel was the emphasis on exposing us to the
diverse populations and narratives of Israeli society. There’s not just one
“Jewish” narrative and one “Palestinian” narrative. There are as many perspectives as there are
people, and Jews and Palestinians aren’t the only groups inhabiting the land of
Israel. While I often found myself frustrated by inequality, racism, religious
conflict, and what I considered unjust government actions, I also was often
inspired by the incredible number of social justice advocates from all walks of
life working hard toward a stronger, more just and equal Israeli society. I had
the privilege to meet some of them this year.
Through our weekly learning sessions and program seminars
around the country, we met with leaders of diverse Jewish, Palestinian-Israeli,
West Bank Palestinian, Druze, Bedouin, Sudanese and Eritrean refugee, and other
communities. I learned about more incredible organizations doing powerful
social justice and community development work than I could possibly write about
here. This year I gained a more nuanced understanding of the complexity of
Israeli society and the multitude of narratives held by diverse communities
across Israel. I began to conceptualize my vision for a more just and equal
future for Israel and Jewish society. Below are brief descriptions for a
handful of organizations that most stood out to me.
Feel free to read these descriptions purely on an
informational basis. However, if you
want to make a gift to Israel, but find that the traditional donation streams
don’t resonate with your vision for Israel or want to expand your scope of giving,
I’d recommend you help create a more socially just Israeli society by
contributing to one or more of the below organizations.
Yahel Israel Service
Learning (http://www.yahelisrael.com)
I volunteered in Israel through Yahel, as a member of the
Yahel Social Change Program (YSCP) 2014-15. One of the reasons I chose Yahel is their
approach to partnering with local community organizations and community leaders
in the communities in which they place volunteers. They look to community members to identify the
community needs and projects in which volunteers can be most helpful and they
support the leadership of members of marginalized communities. They also encourage leadership from members
of the YSCP group, and provide broad learning opportunities about social
justice, Israeli society, community, and Jewish identity. Among Israel
service-learning programs for non-Israeli volunteers, I think they are very
unique.
Ethiopian Community
Tebeka (http://www.tebeka.org.il/en/)
Tebeka was my primary volunteer placement, in which I worked
on grant writing and fundraising. Tebeka
is a legal aid organization specializing in cases of discrimination against the
Ethiopian-Israeli community. In addition
to handling nearly 1,000 legal aid cases annually, they advocate for national
policy changes that promote equity and end discrimination. Since the Ethiopian-led protests this spring,
they have been actively working with the national Chief of Police, President,
and Prime Minister to implement policy changes that prevent police violence and
promote better integration of the Ethiopian community in Israeli society. They
also offer leadership and professional development programs to
Ethiopian-Israeli high school and university students and young
Ethiopian-Israeli professionals.
Garin Ehud
Garin Ehud
is a community of ~15 Ethiopian families working to strengthen the Ethiopian
community in Ramat Eliyahu, the neighborhood where I lived and worked this
year. Their neighborhood patrol helps keeps kids away from alcohol and violence
on weekend and summer evenings. Their
Homework at Home program, with which I volunteered, emphasizes the creation of
a home learning environment and aims to engage Ethiopian parents, who are
traditionally excluded from the Israeli education system, in their children’s
learning. This was one of the best volunteer experiences I’ve ever had.
Additionally they organize community education events and leadership
development opportunities for Garin members. I worked with one of their leaders
on basic budget building and resource development. They don’t have a mechanism
for on-line giving, but if you’d like to make a contribution to this incredible
community group, I’d be happy to help you arrange it.
Palestinian Community
Breaking the Silence
(http://www.breakingthesilence.org.il/)
I went on a tour of Israeli-occupied Hebron with Breaking
the Silence. It is an organization of
Israeli Defense Forces veterans who served in the occupied territories. They collect testimonies about the abuses
against residents of the occupied territories, and also lead tours for both
Israelis and foreigners to see firsthand the consequences of the
occupation. This was an incredibly
eye-opening experience.
Holy Land Trust (http://www.holylandtrust.org/)
A Palestinian-led organization based in the West Bank
seeking peace, healing, empowerment, an end to oppression and inequality, and
positive youth and community development.
They have a variety of programs, from rebuilding demolished homes to organizing nonviolent resistance campaigns
against the separation wall and land confiscation, addressing intergenerational
trauma, and youth music and summer programs. The values underlying all
their programs include non-violence, equality, justice and respect. As part of a Yahel seminar I had the
opportunity to tour part of the West Bank with two of their talented activists.
Mahapach Taghir (http://mahapach-taghir.org/)
A grass-roots, Jewish-Arab feminist organization which
operates in eight marginalized communities across Israel. Each Mahapach Taghir
community is centered on a Learning Community, composed of local parents and
residents as well as university students who tutor children in the community
while learning about the community’s social needs. They also focus on the empowerment and
leadership development of women. During
a Yahel seminar to northern Israel, we met with a couple of the Palestinian-Israeli
activities from the Yaffat el-Nassera Mahapach Taghir community who spoke about
their local youth education activities as well as their women’s leadership
initiatives. The latter included a
successful campaign to expand public transportation to their village and a
social banking system that has enabled several of their members to begin small
businesses making and selling traditional crafts.
Bedouin
Negev Coexistence
Forum for Civic Equality (http://www.dukium.org/)
A Jewish-Arab joint organizations seeking full civil rights
and equality for those living in the Negev, with a particular focus on the
Bedouin community. The forum advocates for basic community services in “unrecognized”
Bedouin villages, files legal petitions against discriminatory practices, and
collects data to publish numerous reports on the status of services in and
discrimination against Bedouin communities in Israel in order to shape public
policy.
Pluralism, Gender Equality, and Coexistence
Israel Religious
Action Center - IRAC (http://www.irac.org/)
A civil and human rights organization founded as the public
and legal advocacy arm for the Israel Movement for Progressive Judaism. They
advocate for a more democratic and equal Israeli society and fight for equal
recognition, funding, and status for Conservative and Reform rabbis in Israel;
oppose forced gender segregation in public spaces (such as buses), protect the
rights of converts, oppose racism and religious extremism; and freedom of
choice in marriage (by religion, sexual identity, etc) and equal rights in
divorce. We met with the Executive Director, Anat Hoffman, an absolute firecracker
who is also the Board Chair of Women of the Wall, another incredible
organization.
Rabbi Melchior (http://www.rabbimichaelmelchior.org/#!action/c6yf)
While I can no longer remember everything we discussed with Rabbi
Melchior, I remember leaving the room in awe of his approach to social change
and coexistence work, believing that if we could all be more like him, peace
and equality would be guaranteed. A former Knesset member, he is the founder
and chair of several organizations (web links available through the webpage
listed above) working to build peace across religions, through work with both
religious leaders and coexistence efforts among individuals, and foster Jewish pluralistic
education and communities. He is both an
orthodox and relatively socially progressive rabbi – yes, they do exist!
