This month, Dr. Nasreen Haddad Haj-Yahya, a vice president of the board of the New Israel Fund took the stage at NIF’s yearly conference in Haifa in conjunction with the Haaretz newspaper. Below is a translated and edited version of Nasreen’s remarks:
“I want to speak from the place we all come from—not from the headlines, but from everyday reality. The everyday is one in which an 8-year-old boy is murdered in broad daylight. It is one in which crime is rampant, murders have become routine, and the feeling [that Palestinian citizens have] is abandonment. This is not fate—it is the result of ongoing neglect, of institutional exclusion, of a state that has given up on its citizens. We are hostages in a reality we are trapped in. A reality of alienation. Of a lack of belonging. And when there is no belonging—there is no trust, no hope, and no willingness to take part.
“But the condition of Arab society in Israel cannot be disconnected from the broader reality. The war in Gaza, the destruction, the hostages who have still not returned—these are not just headlines, but an open wound. I have 500 family members in Gaza. People who have lost their homes. Who are struggling to survive. And at the same time, I am also part of a society in Israel that has experienced immense trauma.
“It is important to say out loud: within Arab society itself, and also in partnerships between Jews and Arabs, powerful, professional, visionary forces have emerged in recent years—some of which have grown thanks to the support of the New Israel Fund and philanthropy in general.
“Now is the time to unite these forces, to jointly demand from the leaders of both communities to stop fearing partnership—and instead to act together, to build effective campaigns to promote shared living, increase voter turnout, and influence policy with courage. And in the public sphere—we can no longer blur a clear truth: the only way to save our precious homeland is through a strong political partnership between the democratic camp and the Arab parties. Without that, no government will rise here that truly serves the public good. No real democracy will be established.
“And this is something the leaders of the center and the left must stop being afraid to say out loud. Because democracy is measured first and foremost by how it treats its minorities. And the Jewish people know this more than any other nation in history. No more hiding behind vague phrasing. No more acting like watered-down versions of Netanyahu. The original version is enough. We need courageous leadership, with a clear truth: without Arabs—there is no democracy.”
The original Hebrew transcript of her speech can be read in Haaretz here.