Violence Averted

23 October 2014

This October marked one of the rare times when Yom Kippur and the sacred Muslim Feast of the Sacrifice (Eid Al Adha) occurred on the same day. In the wake of the summer’s war and the subsequent breakdown of Jewish/Arab relations in Israel, the potential for clashes between the two communities on these contrasting religious days, a Jewish fast and Muslim feast, was a real possibility. However, thanks in great part to the work of groups promoting shared living and tolerance, October 4th was a quiet day. And it didn’t happen by accident.

Six month ago, the Haifa Dialogue and Conflict Transformation Center began to prepare for the joint holiday – a once in every 33 years event.

“We were worried about possible clashes because of the different use of the shared space during the two holidays,” said Rolly Rosen, coordinator of SHATIL’s Haifa Shared City Program and a founding member of the Center.

Set up as a collaboration between Beit HaGefen, the Jewish–Arab Cultural Center, the Haifa Municipality’s Department of Community Work, Ma’arag, the Association for the Promotion of Multiculturalism, and SHATIL’s Haifa Shared City Program, the Center was created specifically to deal with this kind of potential inter-community conflict. The establishment of the Center was one of the recommendations of the Haifa as Shared City book, published by SHATIL in 2012.

“We analyzed the different traditions of the two holidays and designed an intervention plan,” said Center Coordinator Yaron Levin. While both holidays include a reference to Abraham’s willingness to sacrifice his son to God and the divine intervention stopping the horrific act, Eid al Adha is a feast celebrated with family, while Yom Kippur is a solemn day of fasting and reflection. In Israel, even most secular Jews don’t drive on the holiday and the streets are virtually empty.

Increased tensions between Israeli Jews and Arabs during the Gaza war heightened fears of possible violent clashes. The 2008 Yom Kippur riots in nearby Akko also raised concerns of similar violence this year. Days-long clashes between Jews and Arabs erupted that year with houses and businesses of both communities burned and a number of people wounded. Determined to avoid recurring violence, the Center presented its plan to Pini Wagman, the municipality’s Welfare and Education Department Director, who immediately accepted most suggestions and directed his staff to implement them. Interventions included classroom lessons; articles in the press; a meeting between the mayor and local religious leaders calling on both sides to be considerate of the other’s needs; and working with police to identify possible clash points and ensure that they would be ready to intervene.

Community workers in mixed Jewish-Arab neighborhoods distributed flyers asking for calm and understanding. And the city issued a press release about the convergence of the two holidays that was taken up by the local media—with perhaps too much enthusiasm. A headline in Haifa’s main local paper on September 19 blared, “Powder Keg? The Municipality is Shaking with Fear.” On the eve of Yom Kippur, the paper followed up with the headline “Praying for Quiet,” and claimed that its coverage of the issue had led city leaders to act.


An NIF-sponsored ad advocated shared society and a message of non-violence ahead of the contrasting religious days.

After the day passed quietly, the Israeli government took note of the Center’s effective work. Avi Sender, director of community work at the Ministry of Welfare and Social Services, wrote to the Center:

“Congratulations on the fact that several months ago, you became aware that Yom Kippur and Eid al Adha were to take place on the same day and called the attention of other mixed cities and mediation programs to the situation. Congratulations on the comprehensive and systematic preparations you carried out in recent weeks involving community leadership, professionals, religious figures, and decision-makers. Congratulations to Israeli society in all its diversity that displayed maturity and an ability to deal with a wide range of cultures.”