Responding to Sunday’s arson at the Arab Bedouin Volunteer Center in Be’er Sheva, NIF CEO Daniel Sokatch made the following statement:

“The torching of the Center — twice in the course of three days — is quite simply an outrage.

“The Arab Bedouin Volunteer Center is an innovative social initiative, which engages hundreds of volunteers — Jews and Arab alike — in diverse educational programs. The Center has earned numerous prestigious awards for its activities. It is a project of one of our grantees, Negev Institute for Strategies of Peace and Development.

“In recent years, NIF has placed a priority on programs promoting a shared society and has worked to promote equal rights in housing, infrastructure and planning in order to advance social justice.  Tackling these societal divides are imperative to the health of Israeli democracy.

“NIF is proud to be participating in the rehabilitation of the Center. We will not allow incitement to stop our efforts to build a better society. Indeed, incidents such as these only prove the importance of projects building Arab-Jewish understanding.

“At a time when Israel is increasingly polarized, when minority rights in the Negev are being disparaged, and when incitement to violence grows more prevalent, it is vital that acts of violence like this are broadly condemned and that the perpetrators are brought to justice.”