Join us for an interactive in-person and virtual discussion with the Arab and Jewish Co-Executive Directors of NIF grantee Sikkuy-Aufoq. Amjad Shbita and Ofer Dagan, in conversation with NIF’s Vice President for Public Engagement (and Philadelphia native) Libby Lenkinski, will share details of their work to create an inclusive Israel. Their goal is to foster a society in which Palestinian Arab citizens are incorporated fully in government, private sector, academia, and daily life without compromising their cultural identity and belonging. They will also highlight their successful advocacy to secure unprecedented funding from the Israeli government to advance integration of Arab citizens into the Israeli economy, their work to restitch the fabric of Jewish-Arab relations that was torn during the intercommunal violence of May 2021, and their work to ensure that Palestinian Arab culture and identity are recognized within the Israeli public sphere.
NIF’s grant to Sikkuy-Aufoq is for a specific program to achieve fair media coverage of Arab society and to acquaint Hebrew speakers with Arab experts and public figures. The goal is to normalize the presence of Palestinians on television and in electronic media as one way to increase their acceptance by Jewish citizens.
ABOUT AMJAD SHBITA:
Amjad Shbita is a political and social activist, appointed Co-Executive Director of Sikkuy-Aufoq in March 2019, after working with the organization for seven years. He originally joined Sikkuy-Aufoq in 2010 as co-director of the Equality Policy Department, a position he held for two years. In 2014, he rejoined Sikkuy-Aufoq as head of the organization’s public activities in the Arab society and as comanager of the Representation Index Project, which monitors the representation of Arab society in Israel’s Hebrew media. Amjad is a social activist working for the advancement of peace, equality and the defense of democracy. He regularly publishes op-eds in both Hebrew and Arabic on the struggles of Arab society and of the Arab-Jewish partnership in Israel. Amjad holds an M.A. in Political Science from the Hebrew University (2012) and a B.A. in Communication and Management from the College of Management (2001). He resides in Tira with his wife and daughters.
ABOUT OFER DAGAN:
Ofer Dagan was appointed Sikkuy-Aufoq’s Co-Executive Director in 2019, after working in the organization for four years, including two years as Equality Policy Department Co-Director. Ofer first joined Sikkuy-Aufoq to coordinate Sikkuy-Aufoq’s work to advance services and infrastructure for the unrecognized villages in the Negev, and to advance the successful implementation of the government’s 922 plan, designed to equalize allocations for Arab citizens in the state budget. Ofer completed a B.A. in social science and an M.A. in organizational sociology at Ben-Gurion University. Ofer has worked and volunteered at leading local NGOs and social initiatives in the Negev. During his time at Sikkuy-Aufoq, Ofer developed the organization’s expertise in advancing equality policies for Arab citizens and Arab local authorities and led significant processes in this area. Among others, Ofer led the expansion of Sikkuy-Aufoq’s interventions in the Negev region, and the expansion of the Equality Policy Department, including developing a model for in-depth interventions with Arab local authorities.
ABOUT SIKKUY-AUFOQ:
Sikkuy-Aufoq is a shared Jewish and Arab nonprofit organization that works to advance equality and partnership between the Arab-Palestinian citizens of Israel – descendants of those who remained within the Israeli borders after the founding of the state in 1948 – and the country’s Jewish citizens. Since its founding in 1991, Sikkuy-Aufoq has sought to bring an end to the longstanding discrimination and ongoing inequality between these two groups and lay the foundation for a truly shared society. Learn more about Sikkuy–Aufoq on their website at www.sikkuy–aufoq.org.il/en.
ABOUT NIF:
The New Israel Fund is the leading organization advancing and defending democracy in Israel. Widely credited with building Israeli progressive civil society, we have provided over $300 million to more than 900 organizations since our inception in 1979. Learn more about NIF on our website at www.nif.org.
If you have questions please Contact Us.
