November 6, 2007
Israel Office
Message From Larry Garber
This past week, the Israeli High Court issued a far-reaching injunction in response to a petition filed by the Zubeidat family. The Zubeidats are Arab citizens of Israel, who are seeking a plot of land in the community town of Rakefet in Northern Israel. Their request was denied by a state-controlled selection committee on the ground of "social unsuitability." The Court decision obliges Rakefet to set aside a plot of land for the Zubeidats, pending the issuance of a final decision. [The case is discussed in more detail below.]
The Zubeidats case was handled by Adalah: The Legal Center for Arab Minority Rights in Israel. As readers of NIF News are aware, Adalah is a long-standing grantee of NIF and a major force for the promotion of equal rights in Israel. Acting alone or in tandem with other human rights organizations, Adalah's petitions have transformed the legal landscape in Israel through effective legal advocacy, often before the Israeli High Court of Justice.
Adalah's founder and director Hassan Jabareen is a former NIF Civil Liberties Law Fellow, who was recently recognized by the Israeli newspaper Kol Ha'ir as one of the 50 most influential people in Israel in the field of education. The citation noted that "[i]n recent years, the judicial system has made a very significant impact on what is happening in schools and on educational policy. Numerous important rulings handed down in recent years by the courts, and particularly by the Supreme Court, have decided issues of principle in educational policy that had for years been the focus of public and professional debates." The citation listed the important contribution that Jabareen, through the petitions brought by Adalah, has had on "tackling the right to equality in education for the Arab and Arab Bedouin populations in Israel."
I am proud of NIF's long-standing support for Adalah, despite the criticism directed toward NIF from right-wing circles. This does not mean that we always agree with the positions that Adalah takes on specific issues, but we are convinced that Adalah's voice, and legal-oriented approach to achieving social change, are much needed in Israel today. NIF, for example, has problems with several of the provisions included in the organization's proposed Israeli constitution. Nonetheless, we appreciate the importance of Adalah developing and presenting such a document for public deliberation. And while it is easy to accuse groups like Adalah of acting contrary to the interests of the state, we must appreciate the sensitive position confronting individuals who represent an often discriminated against national minority, which is still searching for its proper place in a self-defined Jewish state.
We have seen a historic evolution in recent years among supporters of Israel in the Diaspora regarding the importance of ensuring equal treatment for all Israelis, Jews and Arabs. The formation of the Inter-Agency Task Force on Israeli Arabs is the most notable expression of this sentiment. However, we must be willing to hear the sometimes dissonant Arab voices in Israel as they struggle not only for legal equality, but for a defined political and social status in the Jewish state.
Another good example of the mainstreaming of issues pertaining to Arab citizens of Israel is the Other Israel Film Festival, which NIF supporter Carole Zabar is organizing November 8-15 in New York, www.otherisrael.org. This film festival will illuminate through their own eyes the lives of Arab Moslems, Christians and Druze who reside in Israel.
In addition to providing more details on the Zubeidat case, this week's NIF News features a report on anti-racism events organized by NIF before last week's Premiere League soccer matches as part of a pan-European demonstration against racism in 38 countries. SHATIL reports on a ground-breaking symposium in which Bedouin men and women came together to confront pressing social issues that were previously considered taboo. Additionally, SHATIL highlights the premiere of its new Movies in the Green series.
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