September 18, 2007
Israel Office
SHATIL
Message From Larry Garber
The term “narrative” has entered the Israeli vocabulary in recent years. We talk of Israeli and Palestinian narratives, Israeli Arab and Israeli Jewish narratives, Mizrachi and native Israeli narratives, religious and secular narratives and the emerging Israeli and Jewish Diaspora narratives. These conflicting narratives influence and inform contemporary Israeli politics to a degree that often surprise the outside observer.
In addition to these competing narratives, the Israeli scene also generates widely varying impressions of a seemingly monochromatic landscape. My friend Manny Thorne and I projected this reality as we offered observations from our respective recent visits to the Negev in southern Israel during our Havurah’s discussion of this week’s Torah portion.
Manny, citing Ben Gurion’s vision of the Negev as forming Israel’s destiny, described the impressive development in the harsh desert environment: more than 750,000 residents who now call the Negev home; Beersheva’s emergence as a modern city; Ben Gurion University’s recognition as a leading center of research and learning; and the potential for even more significant growth. Without disputing Manny’s observations, I remarked on the on-going conflict with the Bedouin over land and other issues, the continuing environmental degradation and the poverty, which is the dominant feature of many of the development towns that look so impressive as you pass along the region’s highways.
Indeed, as my tenure with the New Israel Fund has reinforced, Israel is a society of wealth and good quality of life for many, and growing income gaps and increasing levels of poverty for others. Israel is a world-leading technological innovator, but struggles to maintain its own ecological balance.
Given this schizophrenic environment, Israel’s robust civil society must continue to advocate on behalf of the poor, marginalized minorities, and those who seek refuge from contemporary tyrannies. Without a doubt, these concerns will continue to drive NIF’s programs and activities.
In the Jewish tradition, these are days of reflection and repentance. Perhaps we should take advantage of this opportunity to consider how best to reconcile the competing narratives and conflicting impressions that we have of the societies that we care about deeply, whether they be the United States, Israel or other places around the world. Each of our individual reconciliation efforts may seem negligible in the context of the enormity of the challenges, but as they build upon each other they contribute to our improving the condition of the world that we inhabit.
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In this week’s NIF News, in keeping with the Jewish tradition of asking forgiveness during the days leading up to Yom Kippur, we ask three religious leaders in the NIF family in Israel to reflect on the nation’s sins over the past year and explain how tikkun olam can be most effectively brought about. SHATIL highlights its recently published report criticizing the government for its inaction after a poisonous explosion in Ramat Hovav. In addition, SHATIL reports on the successful end of the school strike in the Negev town of Kseife, and a recent workshop with Johan Galtung, a world-renowned conflict expert.
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