6th Israel Report: Can Co-existence Flourish in Israel Still?
Israel Trip Report #6 – Can Coexistence Flourish in Israel?
It was pouring rain today in Haifa, mirroring much of the mood in the country. This morning we visited Beit haGefen, an important center where Jewish and Arab citizens in Haifa have long worked together on respect, understanding and mutual cooperation, and it was a valuable and positive experience but with a challenging note at the conclusion.
There was a lot of news this morning: yesterday 11 rockets were fired at Tel Aviv from Gaza. 7 were intercepted by the Iron Dome and 4 fell in open areas. The alarm sirens are localized to the extent that they know what Tel Aviv neighborhoods are targeted by the trajectory. We heard the siren but the best thing for where we were in the bus of full of rabbis was to keep driving.
Negotiating continues on the release of the Israeli hostages in exchange for 1000s of terrorists and a cease fire. In Jenin in the West Bank three terrorists were killed by Shabak and Yamam (the Israeli security agencies who work in the territories) in a hospital the terrorists were using to plan a terror attack. No one else was injured in a daring and effective operation. In Haifa an Arab car and axe attack was foiled by soldiers who killed the terrorist. One soldier was seriously wounded. The terrorist was from the Israeli Galilee, a citizen of Israel.
Beit HaGefen is an Arab-Jewish institution was founded in 1963, supported by the Municipality of Haifa. It is the only officially supported such organization focused on living together.
There was an honest discussion of interfaith interactions in Haifa, which has long had the reputation of being the city in Israel with the best relations between Arabs and Jews. Beit haGefen is focused on culture and art programs that aid the positive understanding and experience of human relationships among Jews and Arabs. We heard from a Reform rabbi of Moroccan Iranian Orthodox background, Gaby Dagan, who first received orthodox smicha (ordination), attended yeshiva, and worked as an army chaplain for a combat unit for 20 years, then later went to Hebrew Union College for Reform ordination. His colleague, Naama Dafni Kelen, is his co-rabbi at their Haifa congregation. She comes from a secular Haifa background. They explained their own work in Haifa, and the nature of the city.
We had a fascinating meeting with an Arab Israeli Druze young woman. She noted that as a Druze woman she is a minority within a minority. The Geffen Center is called a Third Space— a place of meeting that is not the home of either but a safe and open place for both Jews and Arabs. Haifa is known for its diversity. But is diversity just variety or is it interaction and cooperation and sharing?
The young Druze woman used the metaphor of being an iceberg, lots of different and unrevealed aspects of her identity. “Ever since October 7 things are awful. Beyond conception how bad the terror attack was, the people from the south who are now homeless. But also everything in Gaza now is horrible. It came out of the blue and changed everything… people are being displaced in the north, the south. There has been and continues to be Irresponsible leadership on both sides.” Lots of Arabs feel like they have to shrink themselves in Israeli society now. She is 33 years old.
Asaf, a cultural educator, sees the third space as an opportunity to connect between art and education. How to open conversation about identity and conflict. Involvement and engagement is critical. Must be proactive. There is an interesting large mural in the courtyard at Beit HaGefen created by Haifa muralists called “broken fingaz” illustrating different ways of thinking about Haifa, and life, which encourages interpretation. Their education department has people write different stories to the same pictures. Pluralism, to him, is the opposite of a standard museum that tells you what everything means and what you should see. Here, you interpret and bring yourself to the experience. In general, he said, it’s easy to find difference; it takes effort and energy to find commonality.
We also spoke with Rabbi Amnon Ribak, who composed a wonderful poem I have used for several years on Passover. He has been in rabbis for human rights and until 10/7 drove Palestinians to Israeli hospitals for care. Feeling very conflicted now. Loss of trust not only with Israeli authorities and army, who failed so badly on October 7th, but also a profound loss of trust in the goodwill of Palestinians.
The staff shared their tools for coexistence cards: by changing perspective you see others better, reflect and learn and gain respect.
This place so dedicated to cooperation for so many years and so creative and beautiful in its work now is facing a restart of its work, as one Progressive rabbi says. It’s a tough situation indeed…
Rabbi Amnon Ribak added “I will speak about hope. Exhibition of two artists one Arab one Jew and holding a circle of listening. The hope holds us, but we must hold onto hope too. Tikvah includes kav, line, a thread, a rope to grasp and reweave the cord of relations. Like Mikvah, the waters that gather together…”
We later met with the rabbis of and a number of members and volunteers at the Leo Baeck Center in Haifa. Much gratitude expressed by everyone we have seen for our presence during this challenging time.
The Leo Baeck school has some 2500 students, a Reform Jewish center of education and activity, but diverse population of students and families. It’s K-12. The students and families are active in school but also at Shabbat and Jewish festivals, as well as for bar and bat mitzvah. The vision is to plant the seeds from preschool through high school. 3000 alumni now. Building community for progressive Judaism in Israel.
Rabbi Ariela of the congregation. Lots of community activities. Hani, Christian Arab Haifa resident and coordinator of programs, spoke about the joint Jewish Arab programs including the community garden (we were supposed to work in it today but it’s pouring out) and described the joint holiday programs they hold on all festivals of all 3 major religions in Israel, Judaism, Christianity and Islam. Visitors from all over Israel visit to see the model of cooperation. International groups also visit and volunteer.
They celebrated 13 years of the community garden last fall, bar mitzvah of the Gan. Their Building Shared Communities program is one that communities all over Israel imitate.
“You reap what you sow” is their slogan. They are very proud and invested in what they have created here.
We heard from a Muslim Arab woman, mother of 3 children who are grown now. One a doctor, one works for Microsoft, the youngest a computer engineer. Works for shared communities, always wanted to work for that. Worked various places around the country shared Jews and Arabs. Jews, Christians, Muslims.
Nir: has 2 daughters in elementary school here. Was 40 and had never been to an Arab village. Wanted to know the other people in his society. Need to meet each other on a friendship basis.
Grief for October 7 but prayers for peace. Arab woman speaking of her heartbreak over the terrible events.
Moran: 3 kids. Raised them on friendship, we are all the same. Sends her kids to Jewish-Arab summer camp. Get to know one another at the personal level.
17 communities have come to them so far to learn from and model on their community garden.
“It’s made what we are doing here even more important.” The conversations always go on, just more intense since October 7. They have something special here.
Rabbi Oshrat Morag spoke about what a special community they have. It seems to be true, here. And October 7 has only intensified their feeling that what they have created is extremely valuable.
Later we met with Rabbi Miriam Klimova, reform rabbi from Ukraine. She brought chocolate her mother sent from Ukraine by way of Poland, the only way to send it to Israel. Ordained last November. Her family couldn’t come from Ukraine for her ceremony. Her friends here in Israel came and from her congregation and have become her family. She grew up at reform congregation in western Ukraine. At 18 she went to Moscow to study in Judaic program. Moved to Poland got her BA and MA there, became a service leader in Warsaw and Gdańsk. In 2018 made Aliyah. When in 2020 she started at her Haifa congregation 2 people came to Kabbalat Shabbat. Now 34 people. 20 for classes. Community now includes new Olim from Byelorussia, Ukraine, Russia. Nearing 2 years of war in Ukraine now. Many members now from Odessa.
They are connected to immigration integration center, she works there and gets referrals for potential congregants.
Community members wished to do something for people in Ukraine. 30% of Israelis in Haifa speak Russian. Many are from Ukraine… there are some carefully managed tensions in the congregation between Russian Jews and Ukrainian Jews.
We also heard from a lay leader of her community; he himself moved to Israel from Ukraine in 1991. He’s a major in the reserves. Fixes tech systems on Israeli tanks. On October 7 he woke up at 9am, saw the news, headed to his military unit. He started back in the military on 10/7, has been in ever since. His young kids have been worried about him, but his wife didn’t tell him that so as not to worry him during his service. Later his family went to Greece for 3 weeks. He got leave after 4 weeks, washed his clothes, congregation sent dinner, bought him stuff he needed, day and a half leave; went back to his unit. In the south it’s been rough, a little more controllable in the north but he has been out of his civilian job for four months, very tough for his wife and three kids.
October 6, they did a community shachrit at a park 4 hours, 60 people. It was all lovely, peaceful. Little did anyone know…
Satellite Beit Daniel congregation, young rabbi. Rabbi Benni Minnich. He is now in his 4th year at Kehillat Daniel in Jaffa. Served in Haifa before that. When he started it was COVID. Only 7 active people when he started. He’s from Crimea originally. Meir Azari said do what you want to do in building community. Took 2 months to figure out that the fact he was Russian speaking brought in Russian speakers even if that wasn’t the goal. In 6 months Tri-lingual congregation: Hebrew, English, Russian. Feb 2022 traumatic, Russian invasion of Ukraine. He got flak for being too pro-Ukrainian. Multi-lingual with Ukrainian—then French Jews came. Complex community. Now 30 households. Berit for 2nd baby, 2 more coming. Getting younger. Wanted more than a place for Jews; that’s easy in Israel. They have Parshat Hashavuah class in English, plus one in Russian. LGBTQ group joining from Russia by Zoom. Complicated rabbinate!