Last week I was fortunate enough to be invited on a study tour with the UK Taskforce looking at the issues facing Arab citizens in Israel. This is an op-ed piece about the trip that was published in this weeks Jewish News.
In recent weeks, youth-led protests have been dominating the front pages of newspapers across the globe. In the UK, as well as in the Middle East, students and young people have been instrumental in instigating marches against perceived government failures to adequately address inequalities in education and employment, which they argue will dramatically affect their futures.
Regardless of whether or not you agree with the protesters, it is clear that youth power is something that governments can no longer afford to ignore. This is true in Israel, just as it is in the UK.
Last week, as part of a study tour organised by the UK Task Force, I was fortunate enough to meet several young, up-and-coming Arab citizens of Israel, who are working in different ways to reduce inequalities and improve Jewish-Arab relations in the Galilee region.
According to the Israeli Central Bureau of Statistics, there are proportionately three times more Jews than Arabs in Israel receiving university education. The Arab Center for Law and Policy, Dirasat, has shown that increasing numbers of Arab students are choosing to study in Jordan, owing to language barriers and age restrictions. Given the pressing need for social integration in Israel, it is clear that more needs to be done to help Arab students achieve their full potential within the borders of the country. This is important for them to develop their sense of Israeli identity, as well as ensure their loyalty to the state.
The young Arabs I met last week want to be citizens of Israel. They are not advocating extreme or violent action but are merely asking for the state to do more to realise equal opportunities for Arabs and Jews alike. As Baha Zouabi, a Ph.D. student at Haifa University told us, “We want to share this homeland, but we also want a young Arab in Israel to receive the same life chances as a young Jew.”
At a British Council dinner during the trip, I was pleased to sit next to Dr Shany Payes, who has helped set up the Nazareth Academic Institute, one of the first ever institutes for higher education in an Arab community in Israel. We discussed ways in which their students can link up with students in Britain. Forging such connections has real potential not only to highlight realities of the issues facing Arab citizens of Israel, which are rarely discussed on campus, but also to add context to the sometimes polarised debate on Israel in universities across the UK. Nothing can illustrate the complex and intricate realities of the current situation in Israel and the wider region more than listening to a young Israeli Arab speak about his or her identity.
Another development I was pleased to hear about was the establishment of a new medical school in Sefat, which UJIA is helping to support and will hopefully reduce the need for Arabs in the local area to pursue their studies abroad. Projects such as the Nazareth Academic Institute and the Sefat medical school deserve the support of the Israeli and British governments, as well as the Jewish community in the UK. Failure to provide equal opportunities in the Israeli education system will increasingly lead to the disenfranchisement of young people, which – as recent weeks have shown – is something any government should seek to avoid.
For more information about the UK Taskforce, visit their website.
