Two years ago, about 100 Muslim and Christian Arab campers, members of the "Atidna" movement, marched in the March of the Living in Auschwitz-Birkenau. They marched shoulder to shoulder in a historic and uplifting display of unity with Jewish communities from all over the world, a spectacle that was branded into the national consciousness and brought a new horizon to Arab-Jewish relations in Israel.
The Israeli public was astonished by the event, which was based on a coalition of Arab and Jewish educators who decided to establish Atidna six years ago.
Atidna is a social organization that dares to respond to one of the greatest challenges in Israeli society and works to create a deep partnership between the Arab minority and Israeli society as a whole, based on education toward values, excellence, and taking responsibility for building Israel as a Jewish and democratic state. Atidna's groundbreaking vision is intended to bring about a historic revolution in Jewish-Arab relations in Israel.
"We are very proud of our identity as Arabs, our religion, language, tradition, culture, and everything that characterizes Arab society throughout history. But all these can exist without canceling our status as citizens of the State of Israel, on the contrary. Atidna is designed to help young Arabs consolidate and strengthen their Arab-Israeli identity and enable the Arab citizen to integrate into Israeli society and contribute to its prosperity," said Suleiman Suleiman, JointCEO of the organization, known among young people from Arab society for his meteoric leadership.
Suleiman took office last year following the tragic death of Dr. Dalia Padilla, who managed the organization from its inception and was awarded the Presidential Medal by President Isaac Herzog for the revolution she led. Suleiman said: "Just as the State of Israel has a courageous and longstanding partnership with the Druze and other minorities, we believe that such a partnership is also possible with the Arab public, a significant part of which is loyal to the State and wants its best interests. This is what Atidna strives for, and at the same time it fights anyone who calls for separatism and alienation."
"Atidna is the most important message in Arab-Jewish relations today," adds Amit Deri, Joint-CEO of Atidna, one of the founders of the Tavor Preparatory School and the social organizations Sharaka and Reservists at the Front. Amit Deri understood that Atidna's strategic challenge was the most significant in his life, both within Israel and in connecting to the Arab world that seeks peace with Israel.
"At the basis of Atidna's vision is agreement on the national identity of Israel as a Jewish and democratic state. This is great news, completely different from the position of the Arab political leadership, which for decades has been leading a separatist and nationalist line. Under this agreement, we are working together to achieve equal duties and rights between Arabs and Jews in Israel," Deri adds.
Erez Eshel, one of the Atidna founders and a member of management, relates to the added value of the organization, which is gaining momentum at a dizzying pace.
"From its inception, Atidna aspired to pave the way for a significant percentage of Israeli Arabs who wish to ally themselves with the Jewish people. Six years after we began our journey, the members of the organization understand the extent to which the State of Israel, acting in the spirit of the Declaration of Independence, is the deepest expression of human morality. They understand that it's not enough just to criticize but it is necessary to work together and create change."
Speaking through actions
To realize its vision, Atidna is working on a series of unique leadership programs. They all have in common the building of a strong Arab-Israeli community, with shared values and a language that integrates optimally into Israeli society.
Atidna's flagship program is its youth organization, which has over 5,000 students in grades 1-12, in many Arab localities and nationwide. The Atidna Youth Organization, recognized by the Ministry of Education, works to encourage integration and social involvement, strengthen Arab-Israeli identity, eradicate violence, and promote a sense of responsibility and excellence.
"The equation of partnership in Atidna is based on the essential understanding of the good of the country," declares Tony Nasser, chairman of the Atidna Youth Organization, a 73-year-old educator who is considered the "elder of the tribe" in the movement. "The trust placed in us by the parents who send their children to us is very exciting. The parents are our full partners and with their help, we manage to finance a significant part of the activities for the children. This partnership requires us, the leadership of Atidna, to educate the younger generation and to bring up a respectful and courageous Arab leadership capable of leading the society toward achieving equal duties and rights, at the same time being part of the decision makers in the State of Israel as a Jewish and democratic state."
Every year, Atidna awards about 100 scholarships to Arab undergraduate students. The scholars volunteer in the branches of the movement, and they are socially active in Arab localities. Another program launched by Atidna is the Midrasha for Leadership, a continuation program for graduates of the youth organization, after the 12th grade, whose purpose is to build an Arab-Israeli leadership that will implement the language and values of Atidna and serve as a role model for the younger generation.
Yet another project is responsible for a training and placement program in high-tech for Arab students, in cooperation with the Israel Innovation Authority and Elevation, Ltd, based on the vision of viewing high-tech as the Israeli story of success. To date, hundreds of Atidna graduates have succeeded in integrating into the high-tech market, and many more are on their way.
Suleiman: "To date, 367 graduates have been integrated into high-tech with an average salary of NIS 16,000 a month. By 2028, on the 80th anniversary of the state, we intend to integrate about 1,000 Israeli Arabs into high-tech, in the belief that the time has come to end the sense of victimhood that has existed in Arab society for years and lead to real change."
"The order of the day: To stand with our Jewish brothers until Israel's victory"
Already on the evening of October 7, Atidna convened for an emergency meeting, at the end of which they came out with a plan that included a series of activities. Thousands of members of the organization joined the national effort, demonstrating an inspiring initiative and mutual responsibility, which Suleiman described in strong terms. "All members of Atidna adopted a clear moral line for Israeli society, a voice that was also expressed in actions, for us it was the order of the day to stand with our Jewish brothers until the victory of Israel."
Indeed, the organization responded to the challenge with a series of projects that were a clear expression of its extraordinary vision and power.
At first, members of Atidna opened a civilian war room in its offices in Haifa, where they began preparing food packages and clothing that were sent to Jewish and Arab residents of the area surrounding the Gaza Strip. At the same time, they launched a campaign to donate blood in the Arab communities where the movement is active, alongside the preparation of hundreds of shelters in Haifa and the North, volunteering in agriculture, and erecting a billboard with a daring message along the Ayalon Highway calling to fight terrorism and the evil it spreads.
About two weeks ago, Atidna activists sent an information delegation of about 20 volunteers and counselors to Germany, personally funded by the participants. The delegation held meetings with key communities set up by local organizations, with the assistance of the Israeli Embassy, to tell about October 7th from the perspective of Israeli Arabs who strongly oppose the extremist terrorist currents and murderous ideology of Hamas and its partners. Now more than ever, when the International Court of Justice in The Hague is conducting an absurd hearing against Israel, it is important to echo the voice of minorities living in Israel, who speak out against baseless accusations of apartheid and genocide.
To what extent does the current period affect the long-term aspirations of the organization?
Suleiman: "We constantly encourage our graduates to become socially involved and volunteer. Some choose national service, some enlist in the IDF, and some go on to academia and employment. Recent surveys show that our guiding principles for the future are shared by many in the Arab-Israeli public. More than half of the Arab public (56%) say that the October 7 Hamas attack does not reflect Arab society in Israel, and about two-thirds (65%) of Arab society feel they belong to the State of Israel. This trend must be strengthened, to advance true partnership with the majority population and exemplary citizenship in the State of Israel, to continue consolidating its status as the strongest country in the Middle East, with its loyal Arab citizens being an essential part of its existence."
And what about the "day after" the war?
"At this time, we see a significant increase in the scope of Atidna's involvement and social action on all levels, and we are confident that the message of integration and the power that the organization projects will only intensify. "Jewish society has an important objective at this time to strengthen and nurture those who call for integration and condemn the separatists. We must embrace anyone who places himself on the side of the State of Israel and wants its good, anyone who wants to take part and be a citizen with equal duties and rights, and a partner in the revolution inspired by the organization," Deri concludes.
In association with Atidna
