Nearing the end...

So Margaret has left and Dan, another good friend from Clark, has arrived. This past week I've been traveling all around the country, serving as Margaret's tour guide, and really taking the opportunity to see Israel from a "Tourist" view point; something that I have not had the chance to really do since I arrived.

While in Jerusalem with Margaret, I met with Mr. Aiman Seif, Head of the Department for Economic Development in the Arab, Druz and Circassian sectors in the Office of the PM. The Meeting went well, and I learned some more on the issue of economic development and the place of the Arab and other minority sectors in Israel. This meeting felt like a good concluding meeting of my summer research, especially after hearing from Mr. Seif that overall "the Arab sector is in a positive growth trend". Coming from a person who himself is an Arab Israeli, this felt like a very comforting statement.

Looking back, I can definitely say that the work I did this summer was a worthwhile experience. I have learned a lot about the topic I came to learn about, but also got reacquainted with Israel and Israeli society and its many facets. I am sure to remember many different little things I came across, saw, and learned throughout my almost two months back home.

On Monday I leave Israel to go back to the US, where, despite spending a good amount of my time continuing to work on my research, I will also have other obligation to fulfill. This will take some getting re-used to, but I am looking forward to another interesting year.

With that, I want to thank again all the people who helped make this summer possible, and especially those who were directly involved in the process, namely; Prof. Sharon Krefetz, Prof. David Bell, Dr. Yousef Jabareen, and of course the Steinbrecher family, who helped make this research idea a reality.

This may be my last entry before leaving on Monday, so thank you all who followed my blog throughout the summer, I definitely enjoyed writing it, and I know that it will help me in looking back at the work I did this summer and reflecting upon it.

I am posting more pictures than usual due to this being the last entry from Israel, and so I want to give a really good picture, literally speaking, of my last couple of weeks here.

So for now, Lehitra'ot!

I am now nearing the end of my time in Israel and my field research for the summer.
I have a friend visiting from Clark as well, and so I am using this opportunity to do some traveling and sight seeing I haven't had a chance to do yet this summer.

I have one more major event related to my research before I leave next Monday, and that is a meeting with Aiman Seif, who is the head of the department for economic development for the Arab, Druz and Ciracassian sectors in the office of the Prime Minister in Jerusalem this Tuesday.

I still have a lot of work to do, but had a very good concluding meeting with Dr. Jabareen on Wednesday and feel that I am in a very good place with my research right now, and know what to do in order to move forward.
I will post a concluding entry next weekend right before I leave.

For now, I will share a situation that my friend, Margaret and I noticed yesterday; as we were walking through a park in Haifa, a city known for its diversity, we saw a group of Arab children on a field trip playing in the park. Right in the same park, a few hundred yards away, was a Orthodox Jewish family. I said to Margaret "Now this is an image for you" and she replied "it would be even more of an image if the Arab and Orthodox Jewish kids were playing together", to which a replied with very pessimistic prospects of that happening.
Just thought I'd share.

Shabbat Shalom.

The Conference for the Promotion of Export Businesses in the Arab Sector

Yesterday I attended a conference in Nazareth on the promotion of export businesses in the Arab sector; a field that is becoming more and more popular in Israel, but still not as strong as it should be in the Arab sector, another consequence of all the issues that I have, and continue to look at in my research.
Among others, at the conference were the Minister of Industry, Trade, and Labor (MITL), Mr. Benjamin (Fuad) Ben-Eliezer; and the Head of the Department for Economic Development for the Arab, Druz and Circassian sectors in the Office of the Prime Minister, Mr. Aiman Seif, with whom I am meeting next Tuesday in Jerusalem.

At the conference were several business owners, economists, and other business people from both the Jewish and Arab sectors. The speakers discussed the above mentioned issues and the economic and political barriers to trade growth among the Arab sector. Some very interesting points were made at the conference. Among them; the MITL made note of the (unfortunate) fact that the problems are deep seated and old, thus changing them is not something that can be done in a day, and requires the support and work of many people and will take time. Mr. Dov Lautman, Chair of the Advising Committee for Investments in the Arab Sector in the Office of the Prime Minister, pointed out that an entrepreneur who isn't optimistic won't get anywhere. Dr. Safya Amin, CEO of Sarab Group, claimed that "if we look back, we will never go forward". These were only some of the notions introduced in the conference, which gave a sense of optimism and hope for business growth in the Arab Sector.

It was also interesting to note that many of the speakers with "success stories" in export had businesses relating to food; a fact that was also referred to at the conference as not being consequential, for the Arab communities are known for being strong in this field.

One of the things that I liked most in this conference, is the fact that there was an almost equal number of Jewish, Arab, male, and female participants, eluding to a real strive for equality in this field.

Something to think about...

So I'm back from the Kinneret (Sea of Galilee), where I had a great time relaxing with family, namely my two adorable nephews, and now its time to get back to business.

One of the things that I have become much more aware of while working with and around Arab citizens of Israel, is the unfortunate fact that, despite being the second official language in Israel after Hebrew, the Arabic language does not receive the same status and usage. This shows in many ways; for one, very few Jewish Israelis (including myself) speak fluent or even partial Arabic. In most public, and some private schools, studying the Arabic language is mandatory between the 7th and 9th grades, however, despite being offered in subsequent years in high-school, very few students choose to pursue it. On the flip side, in order to get by in Israel, the Arab citizens must speak fluent, or at least semi-fluent, Hebrew. This is explained by the fact that Israel is a JEWISH and Democratic state, and Hebrew is the language of the Jewish people.

This reality also translates itself in the higher use of the English language on street and road signs than Arabic. Arabic is only seen on road signs to central destinations on major roads and on road signs to Arab villages, while English can be found even on the smallest street sign in a small town, like Zichron-Ya'akov- my home town.

This is just one of many factors that frustrates the Arab population in Israel and causes for further schism in Israeli society. So, should something be done to change this reality, or, in light of much bigger problems, this should be left to a later time? Just something to think about...

Road sign with three languages

A street sign in Zichron-Ya'akov

Um El-Fahem

A view of Um El-Fahem
Yesterday I went to meet Dr. Jabareen in the Arab village of Um El-Fahem, to hear him and Dr. Ayman Agbaria speak to a group of Political Scientists Specializing in the Middle East and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict from around the world, who have come to Israel through Bar-Ilan University in Tel-Aviv to see first hand the realities of Israel, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, so that they can improve their understanding,

and thus their teaching of these topics.

Dr. Jabareen lecturing

Dr. Jabareen focused on the legal and political status of the Arab-Palestinian citizens of Israel, while Dr. Agbaria discussed the status of the Arab minority specifically in the educational sector, which is his specialty, as a lecturer in the Education Department at Haifa University. The lectures were very interesting, but also very interesting were some of the comments and questions that the audience had; for instance, a question one of the participants had on why the Arab citizens of Israel would prefer to stay in Israel, even if a Palestinian state were to be established, and another question on whether the demands of the Arab citizens of Israel were even realistic in the current state. To both questions Dr. Jabareen replied, suggesting that both situations are very complicated. Lack of time did not allow him to really delve into the questions.

After the event, one of the young women that works at the Art Gallery where the lectures took place was cleaning up in the lecture room. I was waiting for Dr. Jabareen and Dr. Agbaria, and so I asked if she needed help. Her response suggested a sort of shock at the fact that I was offering to assist her, even more so when I began picking things up and putting them away. Her reaction made me think that maybe my offer defied conventional power relations that may be entrenched in her; how is it that a man, and even more so, a Jewish man, is helping me? Sad, but true, reality.

On a more positive note, while talking to Dr. Agbaria I found out that he, too, was a student at Clark, and not only that- he was a student in the International Development & Social Change department; what are the chances? He reminiced a little on his time at Clark in 1998 and we compared past and current happenings.

Later this afternoon I am leaving for the Sea of Galilee in the North for a couple days of vacation with family. I will return on Friday and will be sure to share my adventures.

At the Gallery

Text Message

Here is a text message I received on my Israeli cell phone while on the bus coming back from the Dead Sea to Jerusalem. I'm posting it because I was surprised to receive it and found it kind of "cool", yet strange, and thought others may find it the same.

עקב קרבתך לגבול, מכשירך פועל תחת מפעיל ירדני בתעריפי נדידה. אם הינך בישראל, יש לבחור ידנית ברשת פלאפון. פרטים +972507077860. תרגום לערבית: نظراً لقربك من الحدود ، تم تشغيل جهازك من قبل شبكة أردنية وفقاً لتسعيرة تجوال . إذا كنت في إسرائيل عليك الاختيار يدوياً بشبكة بيليفون. تفاصيل +972507077860

Translation: Due to your closeness to the Border [with Jordan], your device is operating under a Jordanian service provider on roaming rates. If you are in Israel, please manually choose "Pelephone" as your service provider. Information [#]. Translation into Arabic:...


Makes one realize the closeness of these two "distant" countries, doesn't it?

Conference in Jerusalem

A view of Jerusalem from atop
a hill in the old city
Yesterday I returned from a three day conference in Jerusalem and the Dead Sea. The title of the conference, as I mentioned in my last entry, was "Local Government in a Changing World". The conference brought together scholars from all over the world; Israel, the USA, Germany, Switzerland, Poland, Hungary, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Austria, and France; all researches of local politics in its different facets, each specializing in issues pertaining to their respective countries.


Some of the lecture I found most interesting, among them ones which had parts pertaining to my research, included:

• Electoral Politics in Local Government in Israel
• Democratic Transformation and the City
• The US Housing Crisis: Challenges and Opportunities for Local Governments
• Councilors as members of representative body within the "three worlds of democratic action", their understanding of democracy and task perception
• Urban Governance and the Role Perception and Behavior of the City Councilors in Switzerland
• Neoliberalism or Welfare State Interventionism? Governance and Metropolitan Inequality

These were only a few of the lectures at the conference, which totaled 32 participants, most of them lecturers and a few who just came to listen and learn (like myself).

Maiersdorf Faculty Club at the

Mt. Scopus Campus of the HUJ

Besides the great food served all throughout the conference, the fact that the conference included scholars from such different places, made it all the more interesting and enjoyable, both from an academic standpoint, and from a personal learning one. For instance, discussing with one of the Polish participants who lectured on Cooperation of local government in Poznan metropolitan area, the topic of my research, and being given a comparison between the situation in Israel to the one in Eastern Europe, was eye opening; all the more so because it took place in a pool at the Dead Sea hotel.

My learning and personal experience from this conference was unprecedented for all the reasons mentioned above. It also made me think of some different angles I can take with my research as I move along with my work.

And on another note: I happened to be in Jerusalem just as the Gilad Shalit march reached Jerusalem, and settled in front of Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu's house on Azza Street, right up the street from my sister's apartment, where I stayed. I used this opportunity to stand and observe the gathering, which brought together local residents from all sectors of society; young and old, parents, students, religious and secular; and the entering of Shalit's parents to a meeting with the PM, which subsequently, according to news reports, was not very productive. The family and supporters are expected to remain in front of the PM's residence until a deal is struck with Hammas to release the abducted soldier. If and when this happens, we'll just have to wait and see.

People gathering in front of the

PM residence in support of the
Shalit family

I have nothing very interesting to say but to keep to my 2-3 entries a week. Since my last entry on Saturday, I have been mostly at home, catching up on some articles, reports, and books I'm trying to get through that I had piling up; not too exciting, but nevertheless important.
Tomorrow afternoon, however, I leave for Jerusalem (again) where I will spend two days there and one at the Dead Sea attending a conference titled "Local Government in a Changing World". I will be sure to report on my experiences there upon my return.
For now, I will leave you with some very nice planks that I saw lined up at the elementary school that I attended, as I was taking a walk through there. They have nothing to do with my research, but I still enjoyed finding them at a secular Israeli elementary school. I don't think any explanation is necessary, for the planks speak for themselves (if you can read the slightest of Hebrew, that is).

A day in Yerushalayim (Jerusalem)

Givat Ram Campus, HUJ
On Thursday I met at the Hebrew University-Givat Ram campus in Jerusalem with Anna Hazan, former head of the department for local development in the Ministry of Interior (MOI). Ms. Hazan had worked in the MOI for many years before deciding last year to leave her position due to professional disagreements. As one who had worked in the public sector for many years, she knew not only a lot about municipal boundary allocations, property tax, and local council dynamics, as part of her specific position, but also a lot about the Israeli political system in general. Thus, in our hour and a half conversation, I was able to get a very good inside scoop into the political realities of the state of Israel. Ms. Hazan expressed a lot of criticism but also a lot of hope for the Israeli system. She made clear that while Israel does have her problems, we must remember that we live in an area and in a strategic and political reality unlike, perhaps, ANY other country in the world; While striving to maintain a status of a modern democracy, Israel's geographical location and unique traits make life here much harder.

In our discussion of the status of the Arabs in Israel, Ms. Hazan stressed how complex the situation is and how many facets it holds. Her specific opinions on different issues I will not share here, for I will keep those for the actual thesis paper I will write on the topic. All I will say is that Ms. Hazan concluded our conversation on the topic by saying that the complexity of the situation may never lead us to move away from the status quo- whether this is a good or bad thing, again, I will leave for the actual paper.

While in Jerusalem I noticed with more distinction than in other places in the country the presence of two populations in particular; Orthodox Jews (Haredim) and soldiers. This was only a passing observation, but one which Ms. Hazan said was statistically also true, and in any case is interesting to note. The reasons for this many seem obvious, considering that Jerusalem is both the capital city and the "holy city", which would explain the high presence of Orthodox Jews.

On a different note, before leaving Zichron on Wednesday afternoon to Jerusalem, I attended a rally for the abducted soldier of four years, Gilad Shalit. The rally was well attended, indicating wide support for the family who is on a ten day journey by foot to Jerusalem in protest of the unsuccessful attempts in the past four years of bringing Gilad home. The issue of Gilad Shalit has become a big debate in public discourse, because of the divide and conflict between the need to free the abducted soldier at "all costs" and the need to maintain internal security and thus follow regular Israeli policy guidelines; thus not agreeing to "at all costs", a statement that PM Benjamin Netanyahu made clear just two days ago.

Rally for Gilad Shalit