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violence that took place within 
Israel’s mixed Jewish-Arab cities 
in May 2021. Understanding 
the reason for this support for 
coexistence and inclusiveness 
during such a devastating war is 
therefore significant.
One factor that may be bring-
ing together Israel’s Jewish and 
Arab citizens is their shared 
sense of grief. Approximately 
50 to 100 of the 1,200 Israelis 
who were killed, and some of 
the people who were kidnapped 
during Hamas’ rampage on Oct. 
7, were Arab citizens of Israel. 
Indeed, Hamas fighters 
made no distinction between 
Jew and Arab during their 
onslaught, and many of those 
bloody instances — and sto-
ries of heroism where some 
Israeli Arabs, such as Awad 
Darawshe and Amer Abu 
Sabila, literally sacrificed them-
selves to save their Jewish coun-
terparts — spread throughout 
Israel via social media.
As Israeli-Arab activist 
Muhammad Zoabi wrote just 
a few weeks after Hamas’ 
attack, “On Oct. 7, it was that 
same exposure that made us 
feel more Israeli than ever — 
when we saw … the footage 
of our mass murder … it trig-
gered a deep sense of solidar-
ity from the Arab community, 
bolstering a shared sense of 
being Israeli.”
A second factor may be the 
robust cooperation between 
Israel’s Jewish and Arab citi-
zens at the civil society level 
during the war. Many of the 
civil society organizations that 
have been assisting the Israeli 
families that were hurt by the 
Oct. 7 attack have focused 
specifically on coexistence 
and cooperation between Jews 
and Arabs in Israel. Perhaps 
the most prominent example 
of such cooperation is the 

Jewish-Arab relief center in 
Rahat, Israel.
A couple of weeks ago, 
I attended an event at 
Hebrew College in Newton, 
Massachusetts, where we met 
Shir Nosatzki and Hanan 
Alsanah, two of the founders 
of the relief center, and they 
spoke about the work they do.
According to Shir and 
Hanan, the Jewish-Arab relief 
center in Rahat is the first of 
its kind, and they are hoping 
to create four more centers in 
northern Israel. Its primary 
purpose is to provide services 
for the basic needs of families 
who were hurt by the attack on 
Oct. 7 and to create a space for 
Israeli Jews and Arabs to see 
the humanity in one another. 
About 1,000 volunteers provide 
services for approximately 

500 families, which is roughly 
evenly split between Jewish and 
Arab families.
Shir further elaborated on 
the ways their services and 
this space for coexistence are 
helping to build a more inclu-
sive Israeli identity:
“Our work helps push this 
new identity into a place of 
partnership with fellow citi-
zens who wish to work toward 
a shared future and who value 
life and safety. We help rede-
fine who’s our partner in this 
aspiration for life and who’s an 
agent of chaos and fear. This is 
the real division. We’re draw-
ing a new line — this is not a 
war between Jews and Arabs, 
it’s a war between extremists 
and moderates, a war between 
agents of fear and those who 
seek life.”

Shir’s comments indicate an 
opportunity in Israel that must 
be salvaged. The events on 
Oct. 7 will inevitably reshape 
Israeli identity for the foresee-
able future, but what that new 
Israeli identity will look like 
may depend on what happens 
now. Will it be a more exclu-
sionary identity where extrem-
ists on both sides continue to 
create division and conflict, or 
will it be a more inclusive civic 
identity where Jews and Arabs 
work together to ensure a 
future with peace and equality 
between them? We must work 
together to make sure it is the 
latter. 

Jonah Naghi is a Boston-based writer 

and the chair of Israel Policy Forum’s 

IPF Atid Steering Committee in the city 

of Boston.

“THIS IS NOT A WAR BETWEEN JEWS AND ARABS, 
IT’S A WAR BETWEEN EXTREMISTS AND MODERATES, 
A WAR BETWEEN AGENTS OF FEAR 
AND THOSE WHO SEEK LIFE.” 

— SHIR NOSATZKI

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NEW HOPE continued from page 4

An Arab woman and a Jewish woman put together 
supplies at the Jewish-Arab relief center in Rahat, Israel

SHIR NOSATZKI, 2023

