points of view EDITORIAL BOARD: Publisher: Arthur M. Horwitz Chief Operating Officer: F. Kevin Browett Interim Editor: Alan Hitsky Contributing Editor: Robert Sklar Contributing Editor Editorial •:7;00' - 12C1 V)0 1137:3. TIPL3nD 7.09 j fjf rivirare-e nrun.-rin The Currents Of Citizenship 033 j1,44414.4 I CJAED hosts an annual business forum for Jewish and Arab policymakers, academics and business people in''Israel. Jewish-Arab Bridge Building I srael's future as an economic dynamo within safe, secure borders hinges in large part on mutual trust developing between Israeli Jews and Israeli Arabs — a common ground that has been elusive. It's a trust that can't come soon enough if the Jewish state is to realize equality, pluralism and coexistence — and truly flourish. Enter the Herzliya-based Center for Jewish-Arab Economic Development (CJAED). It seeks to integrate the Arab community into partnership with the Jewish community through economic empowerment and cooperation. Its mis- sion is daunting: To cultivate fertile ground for peace, understand- ing and economic sta- bility not only within Israel, but also the beleaguered region. Arabs constitute 20 percent of Israel's 7.4-million citizens yet remain largely dis- enfranchised with limited access to business credit, skills training and marketing opportunities. They comprise just 4 percent of the high-tech workforce. More than 45 percent of Israeli Arab families fall below the poverty line in contrast to only 15 percent of Israeli Jewish families. Of the 47 municipalities in Israel with a higher-than average jobless rate, 46 consist of Arabs. In a state and a region awash with political and cultural tur- moil, CJAED is strictly nonpo- litical. Jewish and Arab business leaders came together to create the nonprofit in 1988, a partial success story despite legitimate Jewish distrust of many Israeli Arabs who enjoy Israeli freedom but who also despise Jewish con- trol. A Brighter Future "For American Jews commit- ted to Zionism and interested in the well-being of Israel, but disenchanted by extremism, we offer a positive message for the future — one of a vibrant and flourishing shared society," says Israeli Arab Helmi Kittani, executive director of CJAED. He visited Metro Detroit from March 30 to April 1 to build sup- port for the belief that an economic vitality, fostered by startup enterprises as well as women's empower- ment, high-tech recalibration and business cooperation, can help derive a peaceful coexistence in the culturally embattled Middle East. At the behest of Israel's consul general in Chicago, Kittani toured the Midwest to tell his important story. Kittani isn't pitching pipe- dreams, however difficult his pur- suit is. He's right: Israel's primary resource is its people. Its strength lies in its diversity and democ- racy. Time will determine how visionary CJAED is. But the orga- nization isn't dawdling. It boasts active operations throughout the country, especially in areas where Jews and Arabs live and work in close proximity. High-Tech Hurdles Why Israel's high-tech revolution never really took off in the Israeli Arab community isn't a secret, Kittani told the IN. For starters, Arabs are concentrated in the periphery; Jews are concentrated mainly in central Israel. Also, the absence of social ties between Arabs and Jewish high-tech workers limits Arab exposure to higher-potential job options. In addition, Israeli Arabs — exempt from military service — rarely take part in military technology units that are proven incubators for building high-tech social relationships. Further, employers tend to hire their own kind. Arab applicants often face other obstacles: The social skills to get through job interviews, language barriers and the feeling that opportunities are limited to begin with. "And finally, despite legislative efforts," Kittani related, "residual discrimination remains at many workplaces." Diaspora Jews aren't privy to that kind of reverse Israeli Jewish bias. Still, I wonder how many Arabs feel they would be dimin- ished working for Jews despite the potential to have a much higher standard of living in Israel than in neighboring Arab lands. Bridge Building on page 27 26 April 28 - 2011 sraeli citizenship is neither a privilege nor a prize, but rather a protected right. It provides the flow meter for Israeli democracy. When it is denied, other rights and liberties become threatened. That's why Knesset approval of an amendment to allow citi- zenship and residency status to be revoked for any- one convicted of terrorism, espionage and treason is troublesome. The amendment, passed on March 28, isn't intended to reinforce national security. Even Israel's security chiefs state that the national penalty code already provides enough punch for that. We fear the amend- ment, the brainchild of Israel Beitenu, the right-wing nationalist party, is meant to discriminate against, if not humiliate, Israel's Arab citizens by implying that citizenship is conditioned. The amendment to the Citizenship Law of 1952 authorizes citizenship and residency status to be revoked as part of the court's sentencing of people convicted of terror and espionage, or, alternatively, by the decision of the Interior Ministry. Israeli law already allows the Interior Ministry to revoke citizenship on grounds of "breach of trust," though sets this revoca- tion as a separate and unusual administrative option. The Shin Bet, Israel's highly respected General Security Services, announced opposition to the amend- ment because existing laws provide sufficient deter- rence and punishment and because the wording is too wide and lacks checks and balance, reports Oded Feller, attorney for the Association for Civil Rights in Israel. Clearly, the Jewish state is continuously in the sight lines of Palestinian and other Islamist terror- ists. It should be more concerned with preventing terror, securing its borders and tracking intelligence than imposing a symbolic and arguably racist law that rejects citizenship for evil doers. Robert Rockaway is a professor emeritus in the Department of Jewish History at Tel-Aviv University. In an essay of his shared with the JN, the for- mer Detroiter puts the amendment and other new Israeli laws curtailing civil liberties in perspective: "Historically speaking, Jews have flourished and achieved success under liberal democratic regimes. Israel's founders knew this and wanted their state to reflect liberal and democratic values. They enshrined their views in the country's 1948 Proclamation of Independence." The proclamation declares that the state "... will be based on the precepts of liberty, justice and peace taught by the Hebrew Prophets; will uphold the full social and political equality of all its citizens, without the distinction of race, creed or sex; will guarantee full freedom of conscience, worship, education and cul- ture; ... and will dedicate itself to the principles of the Charter of the United Nations." A safe Israel requires a secure, but also democrati- cally strong Israel. So when America's closest ally in the Middle East, the only real democracy in that trou- bled region, starts chipping away at democratic values, we get nervous.