From Margins to Mainstream is a two-and-a-half year long program funded by the European Union and implemented by Sadaka-Reut, Mahapch-Taghir and Oxfam GB. The project was initiated by Sadaka-Reut which also serves as the director of the program.

The project’s main objectives:

1)   To foster partnership practices through education, empowerment and communication in Jewish and Palestinian marginalized communities inIsrael, skeptical towards the peace process.

2)      To contribute to a more equitable and just society inIsraeland promote peace building between Israelis and Palestinians through partnership as a conflict transformation best practice.

Israeli society is approximately 80 percent Jewish and 20 percent Palestinian, with the Palestinian population of Israel composed of Bedouins, Christians, Muslims and Druze. The Jewish population is also divided mainly by ethnicity, European and Russian Jews, Ethiopian Jews and Jews of Middle Eastern extraction and by the number of generations in the country.

Over the past 60 years of ongoing conflict,Israel’s cultural pluralism has failed to evolve into multicultural awareness.Israel’s ethno-based structure, together with unripe conditions for a negotiated solution, has created social cleavages leading to racism, hatred and institutionalized discrimination. With the exception of a few mixed cities, Palestinians and Jews do not live together, in the mixed cities the two nationalities are segregated de facto. This reality exacerbates the atmosphere and creates skepticism towards the peace process.

While Palestinian and Jewish citizens ofIsraelshould have equal rights by law, this is not the case in practice. In nearly every sphere of Israeli society, both Palestinian and Jewish marginalized citizens are systematically denied equality and the lack of equity is highly visible. This is most apparent in education, job opportunities and municipal development. Due to the oppression they experience, their individual and communal capacity to transform their weakened situation is limited. It is therefore natural that they do not have the empowering tools for conflict transformation.

We firmly believe that the only way to confront and overcome this problem is by promoting and implementing Palestinian-Jewish partnership as a conflict transformation best practice. That’s what we’re here to do.

 Sadaka–Reut and its partners – Mahapach-Taghir and Oxfam GB, have identified the need to foster Jewish Palestinian partnership practices within Israeli society, from the bottom up. The direct target group consists of approximately 350 participants of Sadaka-Reut’s and Mahapach-Taghir’s programs participants comprised of local residents and volunteers in marginalized communities.

From Margins to Mainstream will promote Palestinians-Jewish partnership practices that will lead to increased communication and cooperation within and between Palestinian and Jewish marginalized communities. They will work together to create a more equitable Israeli society that will contribute to a just and lasting peace in theMiddle East.

 This project is funded by the European Union

The contents of this publication are the sole responsibility of Sadaka Reut and can in no way be taken to reflect the views of the European Union.

POSTS:

[catlist name=margin_to_mainstream excerpt=yes]