Number of Israeli-Arab national service volunteers doubles - Haaretz

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Mon., December 24, 2007 Tevet 15, 5768

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Last update - 22:46 20/12/2007

Number of Israeli-Arab national service volunteers doubles

By Yuval Azoulay

Tags: Shlomit Foundation

The number of Arab youths who volunteered for national service this year was double that of last year, despite the opposition voiced by Israeli-Arab leaders. This according to data collected by the National-Civilian Service Administration, the government authority in charge of national civilian service.

Figures provided by the authority, which will officially begin operating in about two weeks, show that at the end of October, some 600 Arab had volunteered for national service, compared with around half that number in all of 2006. There are currently a total of some 12,000 volunteers in the national service, most of whom are women.

Every Israeli citizen who is not obligated to serve in the Israel Defense Forces can volunteer for national service, which is also called "civic service," and involves assisting staff at schools, hospitals and other institutions. Recently the government decided to set up one central administration to coordinate the efforts of all the volunteer associations. The state is interested in increasing the number of young men volunteering from sectors that do not serve in the army, such as non-Jews and the ultra-Orthodox.

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Shlomit Foundation, one of the prominent national service groups, has reported a significant increase in Arab volunteers. According to Shlomit figures, last year 140 Arabs volunteered through the association, while this year there were more than 220. Haya Shmuel, director general of Shlomit, says that another 180 young Arab men and women have registered with the association, but volunteer assignments have not yet been found for them, due to a lack of authorized positions.

Still, many Israeli Arabs oppose such volunteering, calling it an attempt by the Jewish establishment to blur the Arab-Palestinian identity of the younger generation and "Israelize" them. Another claim is that the state is using the national service to indirectly recruit Arab youth for a kind of military service.

Iman Ouda, the Israeli-Arab Monitoring Committee's coordinator of activities against national service, says that the main reason for the objection to national service is that it has a direct connection to serving in the IDF.

"The connection between the two has existed since the establishment of the state," said Ouda Tuesday, stressing that supporting the IDF or the defense establishment was out of the question for most Israeli Arabs.

Dr. Reuven Gal, who heads the team that is setting up the National-Civilian Service Administration, says this is a demagogic mistake.

"If the state wanted to recruit them, this would not be done indirectly," says Gal, who believes the real reason for the Monitoring Committee's opposition is the fear that the volunteers will integrate into Israeli society.

Gal further noted that the Monitoring Committee did not respond to his invitation to participate in the increased volunteering initiative by Israeli Arabs and that the committee's representatives raised "groundless claims," such as a connection between the administration and the defense establishment.

Prof. Sami Smooha, a sociologist at the University of Haifa, said Tuesday that a study he conducted found that some 70 percent of Arab youth were interested in volunteering for national service.

"Against the background of the opposition to this program, and the lack of cooperation from the sector's leadership and the Monitoring Committee, these figures cannot be taken for granted," said a source at the Prime Minister's Office, who asked to remain anonymous, regarding the increase in the number of Arab youth who are volunteering.

"In exchange for volunteering, they achieve a status on par with Jewish Israelis who have completed their army service, and [the Arab youths] understand that this will be to their benefit in the future," said Smooha, explaining his study's findings concerning the desire of many Arab youths to volunteer for national service.

Smooha pointed out that for some Arabs, national service offers a kind of "escape hatch" from the Arab villages, enabling them to form ties with society in general, and helps young Arab women to achieve gender equality.

The interest shown by Arab youth in national service, said Smooha, indicates the gaps between the positions of the sector leaders and those of the "man on the street." Beyond the fact that this is a government project, Smooha said, the leadership is afraid that the volunteerism could see national service becoming compulsory in the future.

Samer Haskia, 19, of Acre, who volunteered in the national service as a computer instructor at a school in his city, says his friends convinced him to sign up.

"I realized the importance of serving, despite the connotations it arouses in the [Arab] sector," said Haskia, adding that in Acre, which is a mixed city, he felt only a slight negative attitude toward volunteering.

Amna Gazawi, 19, of Kfar Maher, near Acre, volunteered for national service three months ago and is now a youth counselor in a high school.

"Our leaders are not happy about this and neither is my family," she said. "They say it is like doing army service, and I explain that I am just helping children. This is our only choice, because after high school there is nothing for us to do. Thanks to the my service, I will receive benefits and will be in a better place in the future."

The Shlomit Foundation has also received applications from the children of former South Lebanon Army officers, for the first time since they arrived in Israel in 2000. This year seven daughters of SLA soldiers volunteered for national service through Shlomit.

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1.	Good luck to them	23:48	\|	Natallie Durson	20/12/07

2.	Good Luke	23:51	\|	Joseph E .	20/12/07

3.	Good for them!	00:15	\|	Arab	21/12/07

4.	SLA soldiers and their families, true guardians of Israel	00:26	\|	Jake	21/12/07

5.	Image of Ayatollah Khomeini atop captured SLA tank	00:44	\|	Jake	21/12/07

6.	thats the way	02:06	\|	fer	21/12/07

7.	Israeli Arabs	02:26	\|	Naim S. Mahlab	21/12/07

8.	DURSON.If Israeli Arabs are forced why aren`t they ALL there	02:43	\|	PETER SM	21/12/07

9.	A few have chosen a better future for themselves	04:13	\|	Efox	21/12/07

10.	Natallie Durson: smearing Israel is her purpose on earth	04:16	\|	Nechama	21/12/07

11.	POOR NATALLIE	05:50	\|	Judith	21/12/07

12.	NATALIE please explain.Don`t just hit&hide	06:29	\|	PETER SM	21/12/07

13.	Good for Everybody	08:36	\|	Slibovitz	21/12/07

14.	kol hakavod!	09:54	\|	don	21/12/07

15.	Great story!	10:06	\|	Gina	21/12/07

16.	Israeli Arabs SHOULDN`T DO National Service! They Should ABSTAIN.	10:16	\|	Proud Pal Defender	21/12/07

17.	Proud Pal -- Against Helping Children?	11:09	\|	Gina	21/12/07

18.	"NO" to collaboration	11:32	\|	Ella Is`haq	21/12/07

19.	#1 - Response to Natllie Durson	13:43	\|	JES	21/12/07

20.	#19 - Response to JES	15:04	\|	Ella Is`haq	21/12/07

21.	good luck to all the volunteers.. now its up to the government...	15:40	\|	Rami	21/12/07

22.	to # 16: It is more honerable to do national service than	15:41	\|	Rami	21/12/07

23.	to # 18: As Israeli-Arabs, Israel is our country	15:47	\|	Rami	21/12/07

24.	Pal Defender - Sowing discontent in another country?	19:31	\|	Steve	21/12/07

25.	Ella#18 - Collaboration or self-responsibility?	18:06	\|	William	22/12/07

26.	Equal responsibilities	21:45	\|	Motic	22/12/07

27.	Response to Rami	02:19	\|	Sam	23/12/07

28.	Response to Rami	02:27	\|	Sam	23/12/07

29.	National Service - Israeli Arabs	08:22	\|	Sammy	23/12/07

30.	This is the most positive thing for Israel and The Arabs!!	15:06	\|	GR	23/12/07

31.	#20 - Congratulations Ella Is`haq	19:29	\|	JES	23/12/07

32.	Rami ya Rami	20:49	\|	Goldenberg	23/12/07

33.	#1, Natalie, Its is Israel defending against Arab Nazis	02:09	\|	David	24/12/07

34.	What about National Service for ALL, and optional army?	10:26	\|	Alain	24/12/07

35.	Ridiculous: they oppose volunteering in their own communities!!	10:28	\|	Alain	24/12/07

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