Right Wing Israeli Polity: Implications for the Arab Minority

Where
The Palestine Center
2425 Virginia Ave, NW

Washington, DC 20037
202.338.1290

Map
click here

When
Apr 4, 2011 12:30 pm - 2:00 pm

"Right-Wing Israeli Polity: Implications for the Arab Minority"

with

Mr. Jafar Farah
Director, Mossawa Center

and

Ms. Amal Elsana AlHjooj
Co-Executive Director, Negev Institute for Strategies of Peace and Development (NISPED)

Monday, 4 April 2011
12:30 - 2:00 p.m.
The Palestine Center

In the past week alone, the Israeli government has taken several steps to further target the Palestinian minority in Israel. You can read more about discriminatory legislation that bans the commemoration of the Nakba, allows communities to forbid Arabs from living among them and targets political activists here. Also, new polling indicates that the Israeli polity is moving only further to the right, which means Palestinian citizens of Israel will be increasingly under pressure.

We are fortunate to have two members of the Palestinian community in Israel and experts on these issues speaking at a panel here at the Palestine Center to address these timely issues.

Jafar Farah, director of the Mossawa Center, the Advocacy Center for Arab Citizens in Israel, is a long time advocate and activist for the rights for the Arab community. He currently serves on the Public Council for the Governmental Equal Opportunities Commission, and was formerly the head of the National Union of Arab students and the President of the Committee for Arab Students at Haifa University. Mr. Farah also founded CEGAS - the Center for Educational Guidance for Arab Students and several other Arab NGOs. Prior to founding the Mossawa Center in 1997, Mr. Farah worked as a journalist for many years in the Arabic and Hebrew media.

Amal ElSana AlHjooj, Co-Executive Director of the Negev Institute for Strategies of Peace and Development (NISPED) and the founding director of AJEEC – NISPED's Arab Jewish Center for Equality, also founded the Lakiya Women’s Association and serves on the Steering Committee of Women Lawyers for Human Rights. Ms. ElSana AlHjooj began her career as a community organizer at 14, and at 17 established the first Arab Bedouin women's organization. In 2003 she won the Lady Globes “Career Women of the Year” award and in 2005 she was a candidate for the Nobel Peace Prize within the framework of the "One Thousand Women" submission.