The past two years of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict have had a terrible effect on relations between the Jewish majority and Arab minority within Israel. Suffering from the nearly daily occurrence of violence, both Jews and Arabs in Israel live in constant fear and anxiety. Jewish Israelis have projected their anger and distrust onto the Arab minority within Israel, associating them with terrorists and viewing fellow citizens as a potential threat to security. Meanwhile, Arab citizens identify with the Palestinian struggle for independence, and feel increasingly isolated from the policies and actions of the Jewish majority.

Race-related violence has become a serious issue in the past two years. After major suicide bombings, members of the Arab minority often become targets of Jewish anger, resulting in harassment, assaults and beatings, vandalism and arson, and the destruction of Arab homes and property. (Attached, please find an article about the recent assault and beating of an Arab family at a public beach by a mob of Jewish youth. ) Every week, the Arabic press in Israel reports on two or three incidents of race-related violence. However, the Hebrew press in Israel pays little attention to these incidents. Despite an existing law making race-related violence a criminal act, the police do not investigate complaints sufficiently, and the majority of Arab citizens are not even aware that they have rights, and can make a civil complaint.

In addition to violence on the part of citizens, Israeli police and security forces have also increased the level of violence against the Arab minority. In October 2000, thirteen Arab citizens were killed in clashes with security forces during popular demonstrations against the occupation. Since October 2000, another seven Arab citizens have been killed, and hundreds more injured due to mistakes or suspicion of involvement in terrorist activity.

The past two years have also seen a rise in public hate speech, and the extreme character of public rhetoric. The examples are numerous. Last fall, the director of the Authority for Bedouin Education, Moshe Shochat, made racist remarks, justifying the inequalities of Bedouin education by calling Bedouins "bloodthirsty" and claiming that Bedouins "don't know how to make their needs in a bathroom". In April 2002, the new chairman of the National Religious Party, Effie Eitam, made extreme comments, calling the Arab citizens of Israel "a cancer in the state" and "a threat to Israeli democracy". Although these and other racist statements created public protest in the Israeli left, the offenders were merely charged to make public apologies. Again, the existing law against racism was not implemented by the police or by the Ministry of Justice.

Jewish MKs have also taking part in the racist actions by passing three new laws. A change in the Criminal Law states that political leaders making statements that may incite violence can be charged as criminals. A change in the Political Immunity Law states that political leaders will not have political immunity in the case of such statements. A change in the Party Law states that political parties that support resistance against the Israeli occupation can be barred from participation in the Knesset elections. All three laws serve to limit the freedom of Arab political leaders to criticize the Israeli occupation. In particular, the third law threatens to bar the majority of Arab political parties from participation in the next Knesset elections in November 2003.

These and other discriminatory legislative proposals have alarmed the Arab minority, including a discriminatory law cutting child allowances by 24% for children whose parents did not serve in the army. In the past year, legislative proposals have been submitted which would retract and limit minority rights in numerous ways: a bill proposal that would enable state land to be apportioned for Jewish use only , a bill proposal to eject Bedouin squatters off of farmlands that the government claims as state land, a bill proposal that would exclude Arabs from participating in special national referendums, a bill proposal that would deny citizenship to the spouses of Arab citizens, and a bill proposal to legalize the physical transfer of Arabs from Israel to the West Bank or to Gaza.

Of all the new legislative proposals, the proposal to legalize transfer is most disturbing and threatening to the Arab minority. If passed, Arab citizens could be forced to leave their homes and relocate beyond the borders of Israel. The concept of transfer has gained popular support in the Israeli public. According to the Jaffee Center for Strategic Studies annual national security poll, "46% of Israel's Jewish citizens favour transferring Palestinians out of the territories, while 31% favour transferring Israeli Arabs out of the country." The Jewish majority and Arab minority are becoming increasingly separate and isolated from one another. Without intervention to bridge the gaps and increase inter-group understanding, the depth of the divide will increase, making an internal conflict almost inevitable.

The Campaign Against Racism seeks to make a significant change in the relations between the Jewish majority and Arab minority in Israel. Currently, relations have intensified to a point where internal conflict seems almost inevitable. In the face of this urgent need, the Campaign Against Racism seeks to decrease the most extreme expressions of racism such as violence, hate speech and discriminatory legislation, and to work for an atmosphere of improved tolerance and inter-group understanding.

The objectives of the Campaign Against Racism are:

• To defend victims of race-related violence, and to raise awareness about the incidence of such violence throughout Israeli society

• To respond to incidents of racist speech, and to decrease the extreme character of public rhetoric, both against the Arab minority and against the Jewish majority

• To block discriminatory legislation, especially legislation proposing the physical, political, or economic transfer of Arabs outside the borders of Israel

• To promote legislation advancing minority rights, especially the implementation of the existing Law Against Racism

• To build the capacity of Arab minority organisations to advocate and defend minority rights

• To raise awareness with the Jewish majority through a public campaign, using the methods of media, cooperation with Jewish and Arab organisations, and grassroots activism to conduct outreach

• To raise awareness with the Arab minority through a parallel public campaign, disseminating information about minority rights, and communicating with media and community leaders to initiate debate and critique within the Arab community

• To establish links with other minority groups in Israel, and to improve inter-group understanding between the Arab minority and other minorities, including Russians, Ethiopians, Ultra-orthodox and Eastern Jews

• To raise awareness in Israel about essential international instruments, such as the Durban World Conference Action Plan, and the UN Convention on the Rights on the Child

• To raise awareness internationally about minority rights issues in Israel, through cooperation with international organisations against racism, and outreach to Jewish and Arab communities in Europe and the USA.