Working in an unusual ad hoc coalition of Russian, Ethiopian and Israeli Arab organizations, SHATIL took part in a campaign against racism by distributing prepaid postcards in Hebrew, Arabic, Russian and Amharic, asking people to anonymously write about their encounters with racism. One of the questions: “Tell us your secret: We invite you to share with us racism that you witnessed, initiated or of which you were the victim.” A special Hebrew language Internet site was launched on March 21, the UN’s International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination. 

The first postcard on the site, hosted by the Center for Religious Pluralism, is a powerful anonymous apology. On it is handwritten over and over, “Forgive me” (in all possible Hebrew grammatical voices aimed at a man, a woman, and a group of people) around the larger main message: “I can’t tell you. I’m not able to tell you,” and illustrated with finger prints.

Image of the first postcard

Another admits: “I was quiet in the face of racism. I was a helper in an after-school program in Jaffa that had Jewish and Arab children. I noticed that the teacher helped only the Jewish children with their homework and played only with them…. She was the only teacher who was nice to me and I just couldn’t tell her she was not behaving well. I am ashamed.”

And a third: “I thought I wasn’t racist. After all, I’m socially active and very aware. But one day, I saw her walking, an old woman carrying heavy baskets. Rain was falling and the wind was freezing. I was shocked by the fact that I didn’t take pity on her. If she had been Jewish, I would have felt sorry for her. I learned at that moment that racism beats in my heart.”

The postcards include stronger racist statements that were heard or felt, primarily against Arabs and Ethiopians.

The coalition, which included Tebeka: Advocacy for Equality and Justice for Ethiopian Israelis; Mossawa: The Advocacy Center for Arab Citizens of Israel; the Center for Jewish Pluralism and the Association for the Rights of Mixed Families and SHATIL prepared a detailed report citing racist statements and actions by government agencies and officials and others. Examples include an article describing the exclusion of Arabs from entry to the Western Wall (Yediot Achronot, April 11, 2007;) and a demonstration by Jews against a family who wanted to sell their home to an Arab (Ynet, May 13, 2007.) The document will can be found in Hebrew on our website with links to the articles mentioned above.