Arab Citizens and Shared Society Issues at Major American Jewish Conferences | March 2023

In March 2023, Inter-Agency Task Force on Israeli-Arab Issues (IATF) was proud to be part of bringing Arab citizens and shared society issues to two major American Jewish conferences: iCon, iCenter’s biennial convening for the Israel education field, and Jewish Funders Network (JFN) annual conference. IATF’s participation at iCon and JFN built on our longstanding partnerships with both organizations growing the space and capacities for impactful and representative learning about Arab citizens in these professional contexts.

At iCon, IATF Field Representative and Content Expert Shahira Shalaby and IATF Educational Programs Manager Erica Shaps planned and facilitated two “train the trainer” workshops, bringing insights and modeling best practices for working with Arab citizen issues: “The 21%: An Intro To Arab Citizens of Israel for Educators” and “Can I Ask That?: Bringing Arab Citizens into American Jewish Educational Programs.”

IATF’s participation at iCon built on our existing partnership to ensure issues facing Arab citizens of Israel and Jewish-Arab relations are part of American Jewish communities’ engagement with Israel. Past activities include the release of an infographic resource titled “Exploring the Topics of Arab Citizens and Jewish-Arab Relations in Israel” and IATF’s contributions to iCon’s Experiential Education Certificate program.

“The 21%: An Intro To Arab Citizens of Israel for Educators” (Left) and “Can I Ask That?: Bringing Arab Citizens into American Jewish Educational Programs” (Right)

Days later at JFN, Shahira was one of the growing number of Arab participants, speakers and issues joining the conference annually. As a content provider for both JFN and the Social Venture Fund for Jewish-Arab Equality and Shared Society (housed within JFN), IATF helped develop and identify speakers for two workshops, two breakfasts, and a roundtable discussion. These included:

• “Israel’s Jewish and Arab Citizens: Paths Toward Shared Society” with Rana Fahoum, Director, Shalom Hartman Institute Center for Shared Society and Daniel Roth, Director of Mosaica – Religion, Society and State, and Shahira Shalaby, IATF. Sarah Silver, Executive Director, Alan B. Slifka Foundation, moderated.
• “Higher Education & Employment as Key Elements for Social Mobility in Israel” with Commissioner Mariam Kabaha, National Commissioner of the Equal Employment Opportunities Commission at the Ministry of Economy and Industry.
• “Commissioner Mariam Kabaha: Reflections from Israel’s Top Arab Official” with Commissioner Mariam Kabaha.
• A Roundtable Discussion on Jewish-Arab Relations with a group of funders, Jewish and Arab conference participants.

Both conferences indicated the growing interest and urgency to include Arab citizens in American Jewish organization’s discussions and engagement with Israel.

Mariam Kabaha (Left) and “Israel’s Jewish and Arab Citizens: Paths Toward Shared Society” (Right)