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Mosaic Communities: Defying Institutionalized Racism

Friday, July 18, 2003

Report from a Palestine Center briefing by Fred Schlomka

When people lose hope, they lose the will to survive and become self-destructive. The violence engulfing Palestinians and Israelis are symptoms of this loss of hope. Fred Schlomka, executive director of the provisional Mosaic Communities organization, wants Palestinians and Israelis to regain hope in the future and bolster their will to survive. He plans to do this by building "Mosaic Communities" that will fight institutionalized racism in Israel.

Mosaic Communities will become operational in October 2003. Although Zionism has "changed the course of history in the Middle East" through its chauvinistic nature, Schlomka envisions that by "bring[ing] together a constituency of Jews and Arabs" a "new civil society" may be possible to forge.

Speaking at a 16 July 2003 Palestine Center briefing, Schlomka argued that "[d]emocracy in Israel today has to be defined, at best, as a tyranny of the majority [Jews]." The institutionalized segregation of Palestinian Arabs from Israeli Jews in Israel helps to reinforce the circle of violence and racism. Mosaic Communities plans to overcome this bind by "bring[ing] people together in a de-segregated environment."

Because most mainstream Palestinians and Israelis have little faith in the future and political plans such as the road map do not provide answers to the problems, Schlomka believes that Mosaic Communities will be part of the solution. An "alternative society" based on mixed communities where "equality and social justice are paramount concerns" can bring the two people closer to a solution. No ethnic-religious biased criteria should be allowed to dominate in these communities.

Schlomka stressed the need for normalcy to be defined by "ordinary people" doing "ordinary activities together." Such inclusive activities include but are not limited to kindergartens, after school programs, and adult education activities. Most importantly, the goal is to build communities where everyone feels welcomed.

Mosaic Communities intends to pursue a vigorous program of land acquisition from the Jewish private sector. Schlomka argued that although the Jewish private sector only owns about 3 percent of all Israeli real estate, it must provide the main avenue of land acquisition due to the Jews-only policy of the Jewish National Fund. They also plan to submit development tenders for new communities on public land that was not confiscated. Anticipating opposition to the project, Schlomka said if difficulties arise, they will take the matter before a court.

In conjunction with the Israeli Lands Authority, The Jewish National Fund proactively works to ensure that Palestinian Arabs will not be able to lease any of the land it holds. Schlomka argued that even though 93 percent of all land is owned by the Israeli government, this land can not be sold and when it is leased it is "almost never to Arabs, and even then under limited leases for short periods of time and for agricultural purposes only."

Perhaps the complete segregation of the minority Palestinian Arabs from the majority Jewish Israelis is the most insidious aspect of discriminatory policies in Israel today. Referring to the enclaves in geographical Palestine where Palestinians have high population densities, Schlomka stated that: "these ghettoes'are reminiscent of the Native American reservations, or so-called Black homelands of Apartheid South Africa."

The "the modern, Western lifestyles of many Israelis'remain tantalizingly out of Palestinian reach" even as "provisional borders are being unilaterally created by the Israeli Army" through the construction of the Apartheid or Separation Wall. The formation of Bantustans and Ghettoes, explained Schlomka, will only increase the inequity between Israelis and Palestinians.

"[O]ut of this morass, a new idea was born," Schlomka said. He argued that when 20 percent of Israeli citizens-referring to the Palestinian citizens of Israel-are confined to less than 3 percent of the land, things must change. Thus, Mosaic Communities needs to "facilitate the emergence of an alternate civil society." This will be achieved through by private citizens exercising their "human and civil rights through organizing new facts on the ground."

For Schlomka, "[t]he time will come when the ever present discrimination in Israeli economic, social, and educational institutions will no longer be tolerable for the majority of Israelis, and political action on a large scale will become possible." By creating mixed communities as "new facts on the ground," Schlomka foresees the possibility of producing the right conditions for the formation of a "constituency of Jews and [Palestinian] Arabs seeking a better life."

Of course, it will take time to foster an environment where these two groups will be able to make-up for years of racism and violence. As Schlomka asserted: "[t]he national, cultural, linguistic, and religious differences between Israeli residents will have to be bridged."

With the new austerity measures being imposed by Israeli Finance Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Schlomka sees the possibility of solidarity. There is a chance that "the recent draconian economic program" in Israel will cause bonds to emerge between all underprivileged people in Israel.

Schlomka believes that a constituency for Mosaic Communities is already present in the Palestinian Arab sector. He suggests that the imposed state of chronic poverty caused by systematic underemployment, an institutionalized shortage of housing, and perpetual violence all have pushed the "Arab sector" towards a solution. Schlomka believes that Mosaic Communities also has a constituency in the "Jewish sector" for "mostly ideological reasons."

Finally, Mosaic Communities will use the scheming methods of the Israeli state against it. Schlomka stated that Mosaic Communities will establish "a fund to subsidize home prices and mortgages" providing an economic incentive for families to experience de-segregated and anti-racist living. This is the same methods used to lure and prod Israeli Jews to "move to the settlements" in the Occupied Palestinian Territories. "If it works for the settlements then it will also work for Mosaic Communities," said Schlomka.

The above text is based on remarks delivered on 16 July 2003 by Fred Schlomka. The speaker's views do not necessarily reflect those of the Palestine Center (Palestine Center) or The Jerusalem Fund. This 'For the Record' may be used without permission but with proper attribution to Palestine Center.