Mossawa Delegation in Europe

The Mossawa Delegation will begin next week with its European advocacy program. The delegation will be in Brussels from May 22-29, the Netherlands, Paris, and Berlin.

 

* Previous Mossawa delegation tours in Brussels*

The delegation will discuss the recent political events and focus on the incitement and potential escalation by the current Israeli government against the Palestinian-Arab community, particularly in relation to the upcoming local municipal elections. It is essential to highlight the significance of the Palestinian-Arab community’s role in human rights protection and peace-building efforts, as well as the urgent need for fair and equal representation of marginalized communities in Israel.

The delegation will meet with European MEPs, Members of the MAMA group, EEAS, the European Commission, solidarity groups, and political leaders. Mossawa representatives will meet governmental officials in Holland, Germany, France, and Belgium.  

The Mossawa Center wants to redefine the discourse in the coming years of Netanyahu’s anti-peace administration as a time when multi-ethnic collaboration can grow between different marginalized communities.

The Mossawa Center’s Solidarity program aims to build a multi-ethnic coalition. The largest minority population in Israel is Palestinian-Arab citizens who make up 21% of the population. But they are not the only ethnic minority in the country. They make up one part of what we call the HAMER coalition.  H stands for the Haredi community (ultra-Orthodox Jews) that makeup 10% of the total population; M stands for the Mizrahi community (Jews of Arab descent) that constitutes up to 35% of the total population; E stands for the Ethiopian community, which constitutes 1.5% of the total population; and R stands for the Russian speaking community that makes up 12% of the total population.

 The Mossawa Center has successfully recruited key figures from the HAMER communities to begin facilitating dialogue and solidarity between the groups. These groups are currently split by identity politics and tend to vote along ethnic lines in the national elections. Communities like the Mizrahi Jews of Arab descent and the Palestinian-Arab community have low voter turnout. 

Palestinian Arab citizens live under unique circumstances within the context of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict as they are the only group with access to both the Jewish population in Israel and the Palestinian population in the Occupied Territories as well as the diaspora. They know all societies intimately and have deep insight into the socio-political dynamics impacting each society. They can and must work to build solidarity between marginalized communities together as times get harder for everyone as the current extreme administration looks to control the judicial system and deepen discrimination and occupation.

Today, there are few initiatives in Israel that seek to enable Palestinian-Arab citizens of Israel to outreach to their HAMER counterparts. The Mossawa Center is the only Arab-led organization that aims to promote social, political, and cultural solidarity at the grassroots level as part of the effort to create space for future peace and reconciliation.