First UK Task Force trip to Israel
February 2, 2011
Study trip focuses on issues facing Arab citizens of Israel
Fifty representatives from the Jewish community in the UK took part in the first UK Task Force study trip focused on Arab citizens of Israel. The group toured Arab communities in the north of Israel, visited civil society projects and participated in panel discussions with leading interlocutors within the Arab community, the private sector and political sphere.
Led by Co-Chairs of the Task Force, Douglas Krikler and Trevor Pears, participants on the trip included rabbis from United Synagogue, Reform, Liberal and Masorti movements, as well as members of the House of Lords and the UK Task Force Executive Committee: Board of Deputies of British Jews, New Israel Fund UK, Pears Foundation, UJIA, UK Friends of the Abraham Fund Initiatives. Also joining the group were representatives from BICOM, British Friends of Neve Shalom~Wahat al-Salam, British-Israel Chamber of Commerce, Jewish Community Centre, The Jewish Leadership Council, Liberal Judaism, Movement for Reform Judaism, The Portland Trust, The Samuel Sebba Charitable Trust, Trade Union Friends of Israel and Union of Jewish Students.
Trevor Pears, Pears Foundation’s Executive Chair and Co-Chair of the Task Force, said: “The level of participation from across the British Jewish Community demonstrates the growing interest in issues affecting Israel’s Arab minority. I hope this will be the first of many such trips designed to deepen understanding of the issues and build links for the benefit of all.”
Participants were provided with an on-the-ground learning experience, introducing them to some of the key issues affecting the Arab minority in Israel. The programme, which included visits to Nazareth, Wadi Ara, Haifa, Acre and Tel Aviv, was structured according to four different themes: public resource allocation in Arab areas, Arab access to mainstream Israeli society, Jewish-Arab relations and future British engagement. Notable events included a British Council dinner with young Arab leaders and representatives from The Nazareth Academic Institute; a briefing with former Minister of Social Affairs and Services, Isaac Herzog MK, and a farewell lunch with UK Ambassador to Israel, Matthew Gould.
An important aspect of the trip was to look at potential for increasing British links with the Arab private sector in Israel. The group participated in a business roundtable with Arab and Jewish business leaders, the British-Israel Chamber of Commerce and Task Force business delegates, looking at possible opportunities for engagement. The group visited Tsofen, an NGO working to integrate the Arab community into the high-tech industry and into other advanced industries and New Generation Technologies, a technology start-up incubator in Nazareth.
The aim of the trip was to inspire participants to work with each other and with Israeli partners to continue to increase engagement with issues facing Arab citizens on their return and, judging from the response of participants, the Task Force is hopeful that this will happen.
A follow-up event will be held on 24 March at the Jewish Museum, Camden, during which participants will share their experiences of the trip with a wider communal audience.
Jewish Chronicle article
UK Task Force website