Birthright Meets Peace, Pluralism and Social Justice

January 15, 2008

By Ben Mendelsohn, NIF Staff, New York Office

On January 1, the first Taglit-birthright trip co-sponsored by the New Israel Fund and the Union of Progressive Zionists, “Discover Israel: Peace, Pluralism, and Social Justice,”  landed at Ben-Gurion airport, and I had the fascinating experience of serving as one of the two American counselors. The trip supplemented the standard birthright-israel itinerary with site visits to NIF grantees, conversations with NIF/SHATIL staff, and tours of Beersheva and Jerusalem with leading NGOs.  The participants, most of whom were experiencing Israel for the first time, got an excellent look at some of Israel’s pressing social issues and the efforts of the NIF family to address them.

A major focus of the trip was the status of minorities in Israel, specifically Arab Israeli citizens.  Thabet Abu Ras from the Regional Council for Unrecognized Villages guided the group around the outskirts of Beersheva to see Bedouin villages at various stages of government recognition.  Participants were markedly affected by the contrast of squalid villages with no municipal services and the skyline of an urban metropolis visible in the background. The trip also included a tour of Jerusalem conducted by the Ir Amim organization, highlighting Jerusalem’s intricate demography, the path of the separation barrier, and the underclass status of Arab Jerusalemites.  Participants clearly judged that Israel’s founding principle of equality for all citizens is by no means a current reality.

In the Galil, SHATIL in the North’s director Amiram Golden organized a panel of activists, inspiring participants with news of the burgeoning coexistence efforts in this region.  The panel took place in a classroom at the bilingual Arabic-Hebrew school Yad B’yad (Hand in Hand), where the walls were covered with the innocent scrawlings of schoolchildren in both languages. Chassia Chomsky-Porat, from NIF grantee Sikkuy: The Association for Civic Equality in Israel, passionately outlined her worldview and the state of civil society in Israel, inspiring participants with her conviction that Israel can and must become a truly just society.

Other stops on the trip included a visit to Eretz Carmel, a small scale environmental enterprise run by former NIF/Israel Ventures Network Social Entrepreneurship Fellow Amiad Lapidot.  Participants sat in a burlap tent next to Amiad’s huge compost pile as he described his efforts to promote sustainable living practices and green-architecture.  His house, a structure built from straw that collects 50 liters of dew-water daily, was visible in the background.  Participants also visited NIF grantee BINA’s Secular Yeshiva in South Tel Aviv, catching a glimpse of the movement to connect secular Israelis with the Jewish textual canon in order to inform their social justice efforts.

As is customary for birthright, our group was also joined for most of its stay by several Israeli soldiers, all of whom were familiar with and passionate about Israel’s social issues. In conversations with the soldiers and with each other, the PPSJ travelers thoughtfully debated their own preconceptions of Israel – not always positive ones – and how their glimpse of Israeli civil society affected those perceptions.  The tough questions they posed to our speakers and to each other demonstrated a sophisticated and committed approach to social justice and human rights issues.

While the trip focused on social and political issues in Israeli society, participants gained great insight into the impressive efforts to resolve these issues, while also visiting the important Israeli landmarks from Yad V’Shem to Masada.  The New Israel Fund plans to continue its partnership with Taglit-birthright Israel, introducing Disapora Jews to Israel with a realistic yet progressive vision by offering two additional trips during the spring/summer 2008 season. 

(For more information about joining an NIF-birthright trip, keep an eye on the events section of the NIF website; we will announce dates as soon as they are available.)