Gaps

My colleagues at the Taub Center for Social Policy Studies in Israel have put out their 2014 "Picture of the Nation." It contains some fascinating reports on Israel's progress and challenges.

For example ... achievement in core curriculum subjects has improved in recent years. But the achievements of Israeli children are still at the bottom of the developed world, while educational gaps are the highest.

In Israel's increasingly segmented educational framework, there's a large - and growing - share of children receiving what can only be described as a developing-world education.

There are large gaps between Hebrew-speaking kids and Arabic-speaking kids.
So the fact that Arab-Israeli kids are showing the biggest gains is a big achievement. But the gaps are still large.

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Poor Mermaids

We were in Bat-Yam* the other day learning about issues of poverty. My colleague Jack Habib from Myers-JDC-Brookdale gave a fascinating overview about poverty in Israel.

Bat-Yam has a massively disproportionate level of poverty. So it was an appropriate location to discuss poverty rates and what they mean.

Israel has the highest poverty rate in the West - 25% (1.8m). 36% of all children (860,000) live under the poverty level.

But here's the really fascinating bit: poverty rates differ among different population groups. So 54% of Haredim (Ultra-Orthodox) and 54% of Arab-Israelis are poor. But 39% of Ethiopian-Israelis and 19% of the elderly are classed that way. Among non-Haredi Jews, only 12% are under the poverty line.

So .... the continued growth of Haredim and Arab-Israelis as a percentage of the population, by definition, is going to increase poverty rates in Israel unless we change their employment rates and earnings capacity. It's going to be a national priority. And a Zionist one.

*"Mermaid", or "Daughter of the Sea," or "Daughter of Jerusalem." Depends on which local you believe.

The most fascinating statistic I’ve heard this month

I had a meeting the other week in Israel with Roi Assaf, Head of the Social Department in The Authority for Economic Development of the Minorities Sector, which sits in Prime Minister Netanyahu’s Office.

He gave a fascinating presentation on “Governmental Policy towards Economic Development of the Arab Sector.”

One quote, in particular, really struck me … because, in addition to low standards of living and difficult conditions on individual and community  levels, high rates of poverty mean high costs to the country in state welfare services,  lost productivity, lost tax revenue, and low consumer activity. 

So low employment and high poverty have a macro-level impact, not just on the individuals concerned but on the strength and economic vitality of Israel as a whole. 

And then Roi said:
"Arab citizens, despite constituting more than 20% of the population, contribute only 8% to Israel's GDP, at an estimated loss of over NIS 30 billion each year."

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A national problem

One of the most fascinating meetings I’ve had in a long time took place yesterday.

I was hosting a leadership mission from the Associated (the Baltimore Jewish federation) here at the Joint’s offices in Jerusalem. 

We had a series of panels on fascinating topics – Haredi (Ultra-Orthodox) Israelis and their integration into “mainstream” economic life; European Jewry’s challenges; legal and illegal migration to Israel, and more. But one topic fascinated me because of the array of talent in the panel discussing the issue: economic development in the Israeli-Arab sector.

The panel included four people who, I think, are at the forefront of what we talk about when we talk about change and talent dealing with this subject:

Avivit Hai, the Program Associate in Israel for the Inter Agency Task Force on Israeli Arab Issues and one of the most articulate speakers on Arab-Israeli issues I’ve met;

Roi Assaf, the Head of the Social Development Department, in the Authority for the Economic and social Development of the Arab, Druze and Circassian Sectors, which sits in the Prime Minister's Office;

Dr Sigal Selach, my terrific colleague and Director of the JDC-TEVET Employment Initiative; and

The inspiring and wonderful Safa Garb,  JDC- TEVET Division Director, Arab Society and Infrastructure.

What I found fascinating about the discussion – and there’s more I’ll write about this at some point – was the depth of knowledge and capacity that all four displayed. 

Roi’s words were particularly poignant: “Arab poverty [in Israel] isn’t an Arab problem – it’s a national problem. Twenty per cent of our population contributes only eight per cent of our GDP.” Imagine what we could achieve if they had the capacity and ability to do more.

The Prime Minister’s Office has some really striking statistics: 78% of Jewish men and 76% of Jewish women (ages 18-66) are employed … but only 69% of Arab men and 27% of Arab women are! Just think about the difference between over three-quarters and one-quarter. That’s a massive statement about the challenges we’re facing.

We have a first-world country with some third-world labor patterns. And it’s not sustainable.

This is the first generation

This is a period of massive change and turmoil in Bedouin Israeli society. So many are moving from traditional to modern life.

It’s not an easy transition. There are gaps between age-groups; there are massive cultural and tribal obstacles. Bedouin youth today is very different from their parents, with vastly different exposures to other cultures.

The question in Bedouin society has become, who is the ‘socialization agent,’ on what values do they raise their children.

One of the most fascinating visits I've ever had to an Arab-Israeli program was to Hesegim (‘achievements’) in the Bedouin town of Rahat. It’s a program that provides higher education counseling to young adults in the periphery (geographically or socially speaking).

When you live in the periphery, your access to higher education is going to be very difficult.  And that means your chances at getting a good job are limited too.

So we have Hesegim, which works in 44 locations (hopefully expanding to more) through government and local partnerships.  In each location a single dedicated Higher Education Counselor in the JDC Young Adult Center recruits and counsels young adults to enter higher education, helps them choose a career path, prepare for higher education and secure scholarships and financing to make it possible. 

What I find interesting is that the work impacts not only the young adults themselves, the ones that receive help. It also raises awareness to higher education among their peers, families and younger brothers and sisters. For example, it makes a college degree seem more attainable.

Each year the higher education coordinators from Hesegim reach out to some 20,000 young adults who either weren't planning or weren't preparing for higher education.

So I walked around Rahat … a city with 55,000 residents. 60% are aged under eighteen!

20% of the boys of Rahat go to university; almost 70% of them drop out!

There are 11 tribes and 60 chamulot (extended tribal families) but people have different feelings of belonging. Residents I spoke to said that there are different layers of identity, but very little sense of belonging to the city.

Hesegim, to achieve higher education in Arab society, began with the geographic periphery and then understood that peripheries were also social and demographic. So the coordinator works in various levels: with individuals to provide escort/support, within the community to raise awareness about higher education, and to connect to academic institutions, making sure that expectations are coordinated.

I sat with three volunteers in the program, who explained that the three main obstacles to Bedouin youth are the psychometric exam, financial resources and English. The young people here feel they fall on these issues; many therefore go to Jordan, the West Bank or the US and have a better chance of success there. There are 220 Rahat students studying in Hebron, for example. If you come from a wealthier family, you have means and that makes it easier to make choices.

Nidal, the coordinator, told me that Hesegim has been a success story; but the economic obstacles are still critical. We've been very successful in helping people find and obtain stipends and grants. Sometimes they need a small push from us, a letter, a phone call. Guidance is critical.

Nidal spends his day going into the schools to give guidance and counseling. He identifies and helps with finding loans – there aren't enough resources for these students. If you didn't do the army or national service it’s very difficult to get grants or stipends. He works to prepare students for psychometric courses and English courses. And he’s simultaneously trying to encourage deeper leadership and volunteerism in the community.

“Our society is undergoing a complex process,” he says. “Because this is the first [Bedouin] generation in higher education, and the effect will last for generations.”

Druze excellence

Meeting Yifat was a rare treat.

She is the founder and Director of “IT-Works,” which partners with JDC to help Arabs in Israel find quality hi-tech jobs, especially in the Druze sector. The program is called "Excel HT" (as in: "excel in hi-tech")

Many Druze Israelis who get a university-level education don’t succeed in getting great jobs. 
There are several reasons for this:

(1)   They don’t have the connections to Israeli business networks (networking, etc) and they don’t have a real community leadership that can connect them to these business networks.

(2)   There aren’t enough role-models for them: there are lots of Arab-Israeli teachers, so people assume that this is what you’ll become.

(3)   There's still discrimination (I sat with Amran, who’s in charge of the Leadership Track of this program. She told me a story that I’d heard in various forms in other circumstances – she and a Jewish friend sent their resumes out to various hi-tech firms. Her friend got callbacks. She didn’t).

(4)   So … therefore there’s a vicious cycle. They're not trying, so there’s very little chance of success.

The Excel HT program is a JDC partnership with the Prime Minister’s Office and other generous supporters. We’re helping 150 young Druze and Circassians each year find employment with training. Their first year had 83% placement! 
The Leadership track – an amazing partnership with the Ruderman Foundation, takes ten students each year as role-models, with 100% placement, in leading hi-tech companies.

Five years ago there were only two Druze from the town of Julis in hi-tech careers. Now there are 12.

These new recruits are role models. Excel HT trains them, guides them, supports them. They are ambassadors for change in their own communities.

Israeli-Arabs are 20% of the population but only give us 0.5% of the hi-tech sector. And at a conservative count there must be at least 8,000 open hi-tech positions waiting to be filled.

It’s a missed opportunity for everyone. 

Especially because there are almost no Arab women in hi-tech. Nearly every Arab woman who is working in hi-tech has been placed there by Excel HT ...

Farash Foundation JDC Strategic Partnership Mission to Israel April-May 2013

Etrog-sprays at the Machane Yehuda culinary tour

 Visit to Israel Air Force Base to see the JDC "Blue Dawn" program for Haredi (Orthodox) enlistment
Below: Independence Hall, Tel Aviv

Above: Arab Druze hospitality in Usifiyah
Left: overlooking Jerusalem
Below: explaining Jerusalem's history

 Above: at the Supreme Court, Jerusalem
Left: embarking on a culinary tour of Machane Yehuda
Below left: cheese tasting

Above and left and below: Better Together kindergarten, Kiryat Gat

 Left: preparing a dedication sign for Better Together Kiryat Gat
Below: with the mayor of Kiryat Gat, Aviram Dahari, ribbon cutting

 Above: Kiryat Gat Mayor Dahari fixes the mezuza to the new Better Together Center
Right: networks and webs of connections in Better Together BeerSheva

Above: JDC-Ashalim Nutrition program for Ethiopian-Israeli mothers in Beersheva, Yud-Aleph neighborhood
Right: Israel Air Force/JDC "Blue Dawn" program

Arab-Israeli One Stop Employment Center

JDC's Cityworks program works to help adults in the Arab sector, attain self-sufficiency and restore their economic independence by enabling cities to provide economic opportunities for their constituents. The model's success stems from its ability to place the responsibility for employment assistance firmly in the hands of local authorities by empowering them to fulfill this charge.

Location: Matnas Segev Shalom  “Rian Center”

We start our visit at the Of Oz Chicken Factory. 180 of the 700 workers in the factory came from Rian, The Center works in several locations, Segev, Chora, more to come. There was a culture of not-working here so it wasn’t easy to get started. We invested heavily in local leadership to persuade people to work. You can’t open a factory here if people won’t work and even now there's massive turnover. People leave after a day or two and they don’t return. Why bother. We’re trying to enhance and deepen a sense of commitment to work. That every community will be talking about work. Now we’re seeing people who final understand the value of work.

We opened a women’s chef’s course because men and women cooked separately at weddings and events. They would bring cooks from the territories, so it was important to develop a local initiative.

The Of Oz factory: they have 1300 workers on the list but only 700 actually work there. Some only came for a day, or didn’t even turn up. But those that have been coming in to work regularly feel like they belong. There are 30 year olds (and older) who have never worked, but they love to come in, it opens up a new world for them. Increasing work commitment, increasing sense of protecting and preserving the work equipment.

The connection between the factory (in planning) and the Center began some ten years ago, but the factory only opened last year. They ran recruitment days in the local Matnas and ran interviews.

Note the photo of the main floor (“piruk”) where you have men and women separate, and a separate line of women wearing head-coverings. It was important for everyone to preserve ways to integrate, allow women to find a career path.

Segev Shalom is a Beduin town, 7000 population, of which 60% are aged under 18. Meaning of the word Rian is fertile ground in Arabic. The Center is in the basement of the local Matnas.

BADR is the Rian Center Director. The team chose the name because they felt it was important to emphasize the local roots. There is a clear lack of trust in GOI.

MUHAMAD is the overall Director for the region: when they opened the factory people stopped coming to the Center because they thought it was the same thing. So we had to go out and explain to people. There are huge challenges and also successes. Usually there’s no investment in people here; now we have a chance. People need to go through a process, and that’s not easy. Sometimes five meetings isn’t enough. People have excuses, problems, but we don’t despair. We feel a sense of mission. Our aim is empowerment, changing the culture of work. It’s critical because what was created here left people without the tools to work. Everything changed here. Once, everyone worked. But the urbanization process changed us and we didn’t have the tools to work. People received handouts and they got used to it, and now you have a second generation (and perhaps even third) of unemployed. People developed ‘walls’ – I can’t do it, they won’t accept me. But the work market is open to accepting them.

BADR Segev Shalom has 7500 residents and another 5000 in the outlying areas who receive health and education services. The town was recognized in 1999. 60% are under the age of 18.

3400 are working-age.

1400 are working according to a 2008 survey, now it’s probably closer to 2000. 30% of working-age women actually work.

The program has an advisory committee from the community, they convene, discuss, give and receive updates. There’s a monthly updates page that goes out to 250 managers in the area.

The Center has “easy” and “difficult” participants, defined by the need to invest energy in them, level of Hebrew language, and more. The critical emphasis is on the amount of professional training needed.

RAVICHA (in the purple head-covering) participated in the metaplot course. The Rian Center published a note in the town about courses , I went, it was 8 months long, because I didn’t need to go to Beersheva (like with the other course, two years ago, which I couldn’t do). But the Segev course is ours, it’s real, it’s close. I have five children in my mishpachton, the families pay a symbolic sum to take part.

Ravicha had never worked before. The metaplot course opened a new world for her, and now for other women, because if you can offer arrangements for children then the mothers can find a job. Ravicha smiles. I enjoy my job. I want to send my kids to study in university. My husband wasn’t opposed to my working because I'm bringing home money.

MIRIAM (in the blue-white covering) is the occupational community social worker. You can take people out of the cycle of poverty now because we have a budget and willingness to overcome the negatives in our society. It was obvious that we’re not just talking about numbers but rather about social change. There was a circle of unemployment and helplessness. It’s not an easy process, you need a lot of patience. It’s not just the husbands, it’s also the language, the culture.

There are 40 women from Segev who work in agricultural greenhouses – but even there you need basic Hebrew, so we needed to train them.

Rian has run courses on such subjects as air-conditioning installation, electrician, engineering, car electrics, welding. They needed to work with very different groups: men, women, youth. They set up an Imams Forum, and the Imams were very supportive, they could hand out flyers in the mosques). They worked in the schools on explanation, to try to change how youth think about employment in a three-stage process (first stage already happened):

explaining what is the employment scene, supply and demand of jobs, equipping the youth with basic concepts, how to write a resume.

Meeting with experts

Meeting at the Center

The professionals run home visits, they get neighbors together, explanation materials. They don’t have enough professionals. There are two supplemental classes for people to finish 10th and 12th grades. There are problems with low self-image. In practically every kind of job you have to go through a placement exam with a personnel firm, therefore the placement exam is critical; it’s a huge obstacle so we’re working to promote culturally-sensitive testing.

They have 820 people listed in their database, of whom 417 are working. Half of them are women, 70 are in courses.

In the Sherut Taasuka 7% find employment

With the personnel agencies, 20% find employment

With the Riad Center, 50% find employment. This is a huge achievement.

As you walk out of the Matnas you can see the town. Every house still has a tent next to it; that’s where people sit in the evenings. Not everyone has accepted the concept of urban life.

Rehadiya

TEVET's Employment Program for Arab Women provides a multitude of training and 'soft-skills' workshops for Arab-Israelis with no workforce experience and low education levels. The workshops are followed by personal employment mentoring, job placement and ongoing support. Originally developed to integrate Ethiopian-Israeli women into the workplace for the first time, this model has been successful adapted to assist Arab-Israeli women around the country.

Location: 19 Pierre Mendes Parnas St. Jaffa (top floor)

SAFA YONEZ (blue covering) is a Yafo resident, set up the amuta to connect to Eshet Chayil. Saw the need to help women here integrate into the workforce. She's a social worker, studied business MA .

MICHAL is the Central region Eshet Chayil Coordinator. The program will be transferred eventually to the Matnas and Welfare Department of the Municipality. Set up a group of 30 women, employment workshop, expose them to the work world, most have never worked or only in cleaning, caregiving etc. Learning skills, potential, encouragement, how to manage time, budget, conflict, computers.

The connection with employers is critical. There are elements of racism and discrimination, but there are lots of successes with encouragement and explanation. This is the second year of the program, it’s a three year program, now we have 22 women in. They’re also mentored when they have the job, leverage up their position (upgrade), and the group itself has to create a community project to benefit the community, like a cultural evening, creating a book for women on rights/duties, recipes for the working woman, etc. There's a private meeting once every two weeks with the coordinator for guidance and support.

Rehadiya means “strong woman” (i.e. eshet chayil) but as of now they haven’t been using the Arabic name.

 

AVIVA (white/black shirt) is the Eshet Chayil Coordinator, replaced Fatma on maternity leave. I hesitated on coming but they accept, they're genuine. I'm all the time pushing, not leaving them alone, phone, meetings.

TISAR (in pink; her name means ‘victory’) has three children, one is getting married this month. This project is my destiny. I used to work, but 17 years ago I got sick. Operations, hospital stays. I was a baker/conditor, but with increasing health problems so I had to stop. My daughter knew Fatma and sent me to her. I was scared but I tried. I found that I am a new person. Better. With support and encouragement. I learned, I participated in the computer workshop and more, soon I'm starting the English course. I found a job as the Referalls Coordinator in the Territories for Doctors for Human Rights, it’s fascinating. I used to undergo difficult treatments, hospital stays every two months. But since July I haven’t had a single injection. That’s my victory. Thanks to you. I'm a success story thanks to you.

We grew up thinking “only in Yafo.” But you can look further than here. It’s suffocating here. The program has helped me with  my children, to help them be more independent, prouder, it’s a better model of how we can be. We have more economic independence now.

YASMIN (in the black covering) has three children, worked in the past in cleaning and taking care of elderly. One day my eldest daughter, aged 12, saw a notice about a class in English and computing, and said, mom, whenever I ask for help in English or on the computer, you say that you don’t understand these things, so why don’t you go learn?

So I spoke with Fatma and came in for an interview. And she said, yes there's a course on computers and English, but there's also a women’s empowerment group on employment. I didn’t understand what that was and why I should do it, I really preferred what I already knew – cleaning, etc. – but she persuaded me to lift up my eyes.

The course was fascinating, it gave us tools, how to walk upright with your head held high, I can do these things. How to prepare a resume, how to behave in a job interview, to speak, body language, how to work every day. The most important thing we learned was about time management; if you’re working eight hours a day but you have a home and children.

Today I'm a customer service representative (she's very proud) at “kol yichol” service for mobile phones in Rishon LeZion, I'm a shift supervisor, responsible for 23 other employees in my team.

It can be difficult at first when the wife leaves the house to go work; I got tips on how to prepare my husband and the children. Mom isn’t always going to be at home cleaning and cooking – that’s very difficult for us, so you have to educate so the family is understanding. My husband is very proud of me, he looks after me – he told me this morning, don’t do anything silly in this meeting today (al ta’asi fadichot), make me proud.

NURA (pink covering) is 28, has a son and two daughters. I worked for a year before I had children, making boxes in a bakery, but then I stopped. I sat at home. My son brought me a note home about how if you want to find work, call this number, and that’s how I met Fatma. The empowerment course gave me huge self-confidence. How to get out of the house, how to speak. We talked about things I didn’t even know I could do. Then I participated in the children’s caregivers’ course (metaplot) for two months, it was difficult but now I succeeded and now I'm a fulltime WIZO caregiver in Tel Aviv from 8am to 4pm, I'm very successful. It’s raised my self-confidence. I'm so happy I did this.

There's a discussion that the role of the mother-in-law is critical in this society. It’s also the main obstacle to many of the younger wives leaving the traditional structure. How will his mother react if there isn’t a hot meal ready for the husband and children. But there's an interesting side-effect that living in Yafo means that the husbands want the wives to go work so as to bring more family income.

We work closely with the Municipality and the schools to spread information about the program; there's a lot of interest. Many of the women here don’t think about raising their horizons, they think about cleaning jobs or working with elderly. But we push them to think higher, to strengthen their potential, to leverage.