By Daniel Sokatch
NEW YORK — Chanukah reminds me of our power to create more light in the world. Even in dark times, we can make change by joining together for freedom, equality, and pluralism.
You and I know that Israel could use more light, and that too many politicians are busy driving wedges between different people in Israel. One quick example from last week: the city of Afula announced that their urban park would only be open to the residents of the city — a transparent ploy to keep out Arab residents of the surrounding towns.
But there is an answer to this darkness. It can be found in the Israeli civil rights litigators who have already warned the city of Afula that their new policy is illegal. And this is only one scene of Israelis who are doing everything they can to insist that Israel function as one inclusive society. On Chanukah, I ask you to stand with the Israelis who champion equality.
The people lighting the Chanukah candles to the right are Rabbi Tamar Applebaum, founder of the Kehilat Zion community in Jerusalem, and Ibtisam Mahameed, an Islamic religious leader of Fureidis, an Arab-Israeli town near Haifa. They were brought together by Tag Meir (or “Light Tag” in English), a coalition of Israelis that responds to hate crimes with acts of solidarity.
New Israel Fund (NIF) grantees like Tag Meir are creating a brighter, more inclusive Israel. Gatherings like this one are a powerful show of solidarity. In a time when Jews and Arabs are too often pitted against each other, NIF empowers Israelis of all backgrounds build an inclusive Israeli society. Images like this one — of Tamar and Ibtisam — are a small glimpse of that shared future.
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Sokatch is CEO of the New Israel Fund