 A Personal Update on ORT Israel in the Midst of Violence |
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Dear Friends, With the riots and uprisings that are going on in Israel today, many members of our ORT family are greatly and genuinely concerned about our welfare and security. Thank you all for your support. It means a lot to us, especially now. As a nonsectarian, nonpolitical, nonprofit organization, we are not involved with internal politics. We are an educational network, trying our best to bring culture and humane, as well as Jewish, values to our students who are Jews, Arabs, Druze, Beduins, recent immigrants from the former Soviet Union, Yemen and other parts of the world. 1. Are ORT schools open? Yes, the schools are open and secure. All riots are in the occupied zones where the Palestinians are either in B Zones (Israeli military responsibility) or in border zones between the Palestinian and Israeli settlements. 2. Are ORT schools open in the Arab, Druze and Christian villages? Yes. Arab ORT schools in Haifa, Nazareth and Naora village are open as usual, and the Arab-Jewish school in Jaffa (Yad Shapiro) is an excellent example. 3. Have the riots caused ill feeling between Jews, Arab, Druze and Christians attending ORT schools? This is a good question, and the truthful answer is yes. Israeli Arabs feel that in a democratic society they are entitled to a bigger share of the power, government and common wealth of the newly prosperous Israeli society. On the other side of the coin, Jews who feel that this is a Jewish state are not ready to accept that Arab citizens will block main roads in Israel, destroy every sign of Israeli rule including post offices, police stations and patrol stations belonging to Jews. This questions their loyalty to the state. Since some 200,000 Jews live in the settlements across teh "green line" (pre-1967 border), we cannot leave them behind as long as there is no political agreement. 4. How is the morale of the students, teachers, staff and parents? In Karmiel, where there was a seige by neighboring Arab villagers who rioted against the police and blocked the highway, our students were among the Jewish counter-rioters who protested and even attacked several Arabic businesses in the vicinity of the schools. This was immediately treated very firmly by our management. Haim Ben-Ami, ORT Israel Director General, issued directions to our faculty and staff, as we are a multinational organization. Peace tents were set up in these schools to promote dialogue among neighboring Arab-Jewish villages. Shalom, Natan Ronen Director Department of Marketing, PR and Foreign Affairs ORT Israel |
