Category Archives: Israeli Society

The Zionist Federation’s Israel Trip

By Simon McIlwaine, Co-director of Anglican Friends of Israel

Zionist Federation Trip to IsraelThe tour focussed on the rich diversity that is Israel today, with an emphasis on the educational and cultural richness. For me, a highlight was the visit to Bar-Ilan, where both a commitment to traditional religious values and cutting edge work in the medical and life sciences are fostered to the benefit of all, regardless of race or creed.

We felt very strongly that our philanthropic impulses were reenergised in Israel, and I was particularly impressed with the Community Mental Health Clinic run at Bar Ilan which caters for those sectors of Israeli society, both Jewish and Arab, which would struggle to pay for psychiatric services. We met Tel Aviv Mayor (Ron Huldai) and had briefings by Gil Hoffman from the Jerusalem Post and with David Horowitz. We visited Mount Herzl in Jerusalem and the graves of Theodore Herzl, Golda Meir, Yitzhak Rabin and (Belfast born) Chaim Herzog. On a visit to Bakery 29 in Tel Aviv-the profits from which help care for lone soldiers of the IDF- we met founder Netta Korin, in Jaffa met with Israeli artist Frank Meisler and had a tour and briefing at the Knesset with MK Otniel Schneller of Kadima.

Continue reading The Zionist Federation’s Israel Trip

The Days of Awe… Al Chait Shechatanu

by Gerald A. Honigman

Jews began the “Ten Days of Awe” this year on Wednesday evening, September 28th (days are counted Biblically, a la the evening and the morning were the first day). Due to the lunar nature of the Hebrew calendar, the dates fall out differently each year on the Western calendar.

The High Holy Days start with Rosh Hashanah and end with Yom Kippur each new year, with a confession of sins (Al Chait Shechatanu) committed in the eyes of G_d. Additionally, it is required that transgressions committed against fellow human beings be addressed separately as well. Without a true turning of the heart in attempts to rectify both (t’shuvah), the confessions and fasts associated with the High Holy Days remain meaningless.

In terms of Arab-Israeli politics, Jews have been accused of countless sins by much of the rest of the world. As is noted in terms of yet another Jewish holiday–Passover–Jews consider it regrettable that any hardship has to be suffered by anyone–even enemies sworn to their destruction.
Continue reading The Days of Awe… Al Chait Shechatanu

Ten top Israeli business ventures that inspire peace in the Middle East

By Karin Kloosterman

Peace in the Middle East may seem elusive, but Jews and Arabs across Israel are working hard to create bridges though business. ISRAEL21c brings you a list of Israel’s top ten coexistence business ventures.

Making peace in the Middle East will never be an easy task, but what many people don’t realize is that even in the midst of conflict, there are thousands upon thousands of Israeli people working dedicatedly for coexistence and the promise of a better life.

Some of the most effective of these peace projects are those based on business. Peace through prosperity is not a new concept, but as Yoav Stern, director of the Business and Economics Department at the Peres Center for Peace, admits, projects like these help building confidence.

It’s a “win-win-win game,” says Stern, who helped ISRAEL21c compile this top 10 list. “I think that what’s unique in these kind of businesses is the fact that the interests are clear for all sides. In order to have a sound business project you must identify the interests of all sides, not just the Israelis not just Palestinians.

“They are very good ideas when you want to build confidence measures,” he adds. “The business community is a very good engine for the peace train and without its commitment and involvement peace will not come,” he asserts.

Continue reading →

Sleepless in Sderot

by Judy Lash Balint

In the early 1990s I spent quite a bit of time in Sderot, one of Israel’s southern development towns that sits just at the northeastern tip of the Gaza Strip. At that time, I was coordinator of the Operation Exodus campaign of the Jewish Federation of Greater Seattle and Sderot was our twin community.

The idea was that a portion of the money raised in Seattle for Soviet emigration would be channeled directly to Sderot to help them absorb an additional 11,000 immigrants. The entire population of Sderot back then was only 12,000, so the town was expected to almost double its size over a period of just a few years.

I remember sitting in the sweltering conference room of the bare-bones municipality building in 1990, as city officials explained where the new neighborhood of pre-fab houses would be built, not far from the burgeoning industrial zone. There was optimism in the air, despite the obvious challenges of integrating such large numbers of people who had little in common with the largely North African Sderot old-timers. The newcomers would revitalize the town and stimulate the economy, we were told, and Sderot would become an attractive regional center. A safe community, secure in its uncontroversial status inside the Green Line.

These memories came flooding back yesterday as I sat in that same conference room listening to Eli Moyal, the ashen-faced, exhausted and exasperated Likud mayor of Sderot.
Continue reading Sleepless in Sderot