Again this week, the UN is spending its time discussing Israel and the Goldstone report. It is ironic and sad that the UN is mandated with the moral authority to adjudicate on matters of international concern, yet an alarming number of its agencies are headed by countries whose human rights records range from questionable to appalling, including Libya, Zimbabwe, Algeria, Sudan, Iran, Saudi Arabia and Burma. The Human Rights Council has studiously avoided condemning the brutalities in Darfur, war in Congo , Chechnya and Sri Lanka, but has directed 26 out of 32 resolutions condemning human rights violations against Israel.
Israel, with a population of 7.4 million, is home to at least 80 human rights organizations, a vibrant free press, a democratically elected government, a judiciary that frequently rules against the government, a politically active academia, multiple political parties and, judging by the amount of news coverage, probably more journalists per capita than any other country in the world — many of whom are there expressly to cover the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Meanwhile, the Arab and Iranian regimes rule over some 350 million people, and most remain brutal, closed and autocratic, permitting little or no internal dissent. The plight of their citizens who would most benefit from the kind of attention a large and well-financed international human rights organization can provide is being ignored as Human Rights Watch’s Middle East division prepares report after report on Israel.
The Palestinians objective of pressuring the UN to bring the matter before the International Criminal Court totally ignores the fact that judicial investigations are being carried out as a matter of normal procedure.
As of 5 November 2009, the status of investigations into allegations arising from the Gaza Operation is as follows:
1. A total of 128 incidents have been/are being examined. These include incidents identified as being of concern by the IDF itself, or brought to its attention by individuals or by human rights reports.
2. Of this total number, 25 incidents were examined in the course of five General Staff command investigations, which were opened following the operation. The results of the examination of these incidents are currently being examined by the Military Advocate General to decide whether additional examination or further proceedings, including military police investigations, are warranted. The decision of the Military Advocate General on these issues will also be presented to Israel's civilian Attorney General for his review and examination. Both the decision of the Military Advocate General and the Attorney General are subject to review by Israel's Supreme Court which can be petitioned by Israeli and Palestinians alike.
3. Of the remaining 103 incidents, in relation to 48, after examination it was found that there was no basis for suspecting any violation of the law and accordingly these cases were closed.
4. Of the remaining 55 incidents, 28 are currently under process of examination.
5. In relation to the remaining 27 incidents, criminal investigations have been opened (14 almost immediately upon the close of the operation - one of which has already led to prosecution and conviction - and 13 opened at a later stage.) In addition to investigating the soldiers and officers involved, these criminal investigations include the taking of evidence from Palestinian complainants and witnesses. To date seventy Palestinian witnesses and complainants have given evidence to the investigating authorities.
Status of specific incidents referred to in the Goldstone Report:
The Goldstone Report states that it examined 36 incidents, however it is hard to determine precisely how this number is arrived at in relation to the events described. Nonetheless, all the incidents cited in the Report have been or are being examined (12 incidents had not been reported to Israel prior to publication of the Report, and upon hearing of them, investigations were initiated by the IDF). According to Israel's best understanding of the breakdown of incidents in the Report, the current status of these incidents is as follows:
5 incidents were addressed in the framework of the General Staff Command investigations and are currently being examined by the Military Attorney General (ref. 2 above).
5 incidents were examined and found not to present any basis for suspecting that laws had been violated (ref. 3 above).
16 incidents are currently under process of examination (ref. 4 above).
10 are the subject of criminal investigations (ref.5 above).
Thursday, November 5, 2009
Monday, November 2, 2009
Good News for the Palestinian Authority
As the security situation improves in Judea and Samaria with better policing by the Palestinian Authority, so the number of checkpoints come down. At this moment in time there are now only 14 permanent checkpoints. Others maybe set up on a temporary basis if there is intelligence information that there are plans to attack the Israeli citizens.
The end result of this improved situation is that according to a Bloomberg report http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601109&sid=aXCfAuLgGPFA#, the GDP of the Palestinian economy in Judea and Samaria will go up by 7% this year, a figure many countries would die to achieve, according to reports from the International Monetary Fund..
Nablus Soap & Detergents Co. says its revenue has grown as much as 20 percent since Israel removed three major roadblocks in his area, making it easier for merchants from other parts of the West Bank to visit.
“We now have the possibility of finding more customers and sales have improved,” said Mojtaba Tubeileh, 41, general manager of Nablus Soap, which had 2008 revenue of about 1 million shekels ($267,000). “We are waiting for more improvement.”
The Israeli government is focusing efforts on boosting the West Bank economy and will continue easing movement restrictions. Palestinian investors say a political process must be launched to bring in the foreign investment needed to turn around an economy that, according to the World Bank, has contracted 13 percent in the eight years between 2000 and 2008.
Senior government spokesmen have stated categorically that Israel is “committed to economic peace and to focus on ways to ease the lives of Palestinians. Palestinian security forces are working better against extremists and this makes it possible to cancel more roadblocks in the future."
Israel has removed 11 checkpoints this year, including the three around Nablus in the past six months. Some 250 roads that had been completely closed have been reopened since 2007, including 100 in the last six weeks, confirmed a military spokesman. This decision to dismantle roadblocks and eliminate “a lot of bureaucratic hurdles to daily life aids economic activity in the Palestinian Authority’s areas,”
The Palestinian Prime Minister said in Ramallah on Oct. 14 that "economic growth has been led by the $1.7 billion in international donor money granted to the Palestinian Authority last year and the $1 billion donated so far this year. "
Unemployment in the area fell to 16 percent in the second quarter from 20 percent in the previous three months
The end result of this improved situation is that according to a Bloomberg report http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601109&sid=aXCfAuLgGPFA#, the GDP of the Palestinian economy in Judea and Samaria will go up by 7% this year, a figure many countries would die to achieve, according to reports from the International Monetary Fund..
Nablus Soap & Detergents Co. says its revenue has grown as much as 20 percent since Israel removed three major roadblocks in his area, making it easier for merchants from other parts of the West Bank to visit.
“We now have the possibility of finding more customers and sales have improved,” said Mojtaba Tubeileh, 41, general manager of Nablus Soap, which had 2008 revenue of about 1 million shekels ($267,000). “We are waiting for more improvement.”
The Israeli government is focusing efforts on boosting the West Bank economy and will continue easing movement restrictions. Palestinian investors say a political process must be launched to bring in the foreign investment needed to turn around an economy that, according to the World Bank, has contracted 13 percent in the eight years between 2000 and 2008.
Senior government spokesmen have stated categorically that Israel is “committed to economic peace and to focus on ways to ease the lives of Palestinians. Palestinian security forces are working better against extremists and this makes it possible to cancel more roadblocks in the future."
Israel has removed 11 checkpoints this year, including the three around Nablus in the past six months. Some 250 roads that had been completely closed have been reopened since 2007, including 100 in the last six weeks, confirmed a military spokesman. This decision to dismantle roadblocks and eliminate “a lot of bureaucratic hurdles to daily life aids economic activity in the Palestinian Authority’s areas,”
The Palestinian Prime Minister said in Ramallah on Oct. 14 that "economic growth has been led by the $1.7 billion in international donor money granted to the Palestinian Authority last year and the $1 billion donated so far this year. "
Unemployment in the area fell to 16 percent in the second quarter from 20 percent in the previous three months
Thursday, October 29, 2009
Concealed Evidence now Available
According to annex III of the Goldstone Report, the Fact-finding Mission (FFM) received 31 submissions from members of the public and NGO's, including a group of fifteen Australian lawyers, Take-a-Pen, Yvonne Green , NGO Monitor, Elihu Richter, Ian Lacey, Maurice Ostroff, Bnai Brith and Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs among others. See these at http://www.goldstonereport.org/procedural-flaws/concealed-evidence
As the Goldstone Report failed to address highly relevant and credible information contained in these memoranda it was feared that in the absence of an opportunity to examine this important evidence it would be impossible for the public as well as the UNHRC to whom the Mission was reporting, to properly evaluate it.
As a result Judge Goldstone was asked as long ago as last August, that all submissions received by the Fact-finding Mission be made available on the Mission's web site for the benefit of the public and more importantly for members of the UNHRC, the SC and the GA,.Although Judge Goldstone firmly agreed to support this request, the secretariat has refused.to carry it out. (The UK parliamentary Select Committees make a practice of archiving for public view, all memoranda received from the public).
The following reply to this request was sent by the secretariat. "In relation to your query as to whether the submissions made to the United Nations Fact Finding Mission on the Gaza Conflict in response to the Mission's call of 8 June 2009 would be posted on the UNFFMGC webpage, after further reviewing the material, we have concluded that it would not be appropriate to post them. The reason is that some of the submissions include names of individuals who are indicated as sources of some of the information provided, without indication of their consent to be named publicly. In doubt, and out of respect for those individuals, it would not be possible to make such information public. In the circumstances, doing otherwise would be contrary to established practice with regard to source protection. Rather than being selective in posting information, we have preferred to adopt one standard and all submissions will be retained in the Mission's archives, together with all other documentation received by the Mission. It goes without saying that it remains the prerogative of the authors of the submissions that do not present such problems to publicize them as they consider most appropriate. We have already indicated so to those submitting organizations who have inquired about the same matter".
The reason given by the secretariat blatantly conflicts with the spirit of the FFM's aforementioned call for submissions which states unambiguously "Unless otherwise indicated by the author, the Mission will assume that submissions can be made public" See http://tinyurl.com/ylsyo5k
So now even the mission's secretariat doesn't agree with Goldstone.
As the Goldstone Report failed to address highly relevant and credible information contained in these memoranda it was feared that in the absence of an opportunity to examine this important evidence it would be impossible for the public as well as the UNHRC to whom the Mission was reporting, to properly evaluate it.
As a result Judge Goldstone was asked as long ago as last August, that all submissions received by the Fact-finding Mission be made available on the Mission's web site for the benefit of the public and more importantly for members of the UNHRC, the SC and the GA,.Although Judge Goldstone firmly agreed to support this request, the secretariat has refused.to carry it out. (The UK parliamentary Select Committees make a practice of archiving for public view, all memoranda received from the public).
The following reply to this request was sent by the secretariat. "In relation to your query as to whether the submissions made to the United Nations Fact Finding Mission on the Gaza Conflict in response to the Mission's call of 8 June 2009 would be posted on the UNFFMGC webpage, after further reviewing the material, we have concluded that it would not be appropriate to post them. The reason is that some of the submissions include names of individuals who are indicated as sources of some of the information provided, without indication of their consent to be named publicly. In doubt, and out of respect for those individuals, it would not be possible to make such information public. In the circumstances, doing otherwise would be contrary to established practice with regard to source protection. Rather than being selective in posting information, we have preferred to adopt one standard and all submissions will be retained in the Mission's archives, together with all other documentation received by the Mission. It goes without saying that it remains the prerogative of the authors of the submissions that do not present such problems to publicize them as they consider most appropriate. We have already indicated so to those submitting organizations who have inquired about the same matter".
The reason given by the secretariat blatantly conflicts with the spirit of the FFM's aforementioned call for submissions which states unambiguously "Unless otherwise indicated by the author, the Mission will assume that submissions can be made public" See http://tinyurl.com/ylsyo5k
So now even the mission's secretariat doesn't agree with Goldstone.
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
What Economic Collapse?
Thankfully, here in Israel many have thrived during the global collapse—thanks to an entrepreneurial culture.
There never seems to be a day go by without reports of new products, new start ups, new investment. Sure the traditional companies have tightened there belts, unemployment is higher than a year ago but even here there are significant signs that the percentage of unemployed is going down.
For all the press coverage of the Middle East, there is one side of Israel that gets scant attention:
a) the country’s economy has the highest concentration of innovation and entrepreneurialism in the world today.
b) multinational technology companies and global investors have been beating a path to Israel. Even in 2008—a year of global economic turmoil—per capita venture investments in Israel were 2.5 times greater than in the United States, more than 30 times greater than in Europe, 80 times greater than in China, and 350 times greater than in India.
c) Israel still boasts the highest density of start-ups in the world (a total of 3,850 start-ups, one for every 1,844 Israelis).
d) more Israeli companies are on NASDAQ than companies from all of Europe, China, India, Korea, and Japan combined.
There never seems to be a day go by without reports of new products, new start ups, new investment. Sure the traditional companies have tightened there belts, unemployment is higher than a year ago but even here there are significant signs that the percentage of unemployed is going down.
For all the press coverage of the Middle East, there is one side of Israel that gets scant attention:
a) the country’s economy has the highest concentration of innovation and entrepreneurialism in the world today.
b) multinational technology companies and global investors have been beating a path to Israel. Even in 2008—a year of global economic turmoil—per capita venture investments in Israel were 2.5 times greater than in the United States, more than 30 times greater than in Europe, 80 times greater than in China, and 350 times greater than in India.
c) Israel still boasts the highest density of start-ups in the world (a total of 3,850 start-ups, one for every 1,844 Israelis).
d) more Israeli companies are on NASDAQ than companies from all of Europe, China, India, Korea, and Japan combined.
For a full report on the economic success, it is worth reading the analysis at http://tinyurl.com/yh8z5f4
Sunday, October 25, 2009
Evidence that Goldstone Ignored
So much evidence has been ignored by the Goldstone mission and that same mission is even refusing to publish such evidence as has been submitted on their web site.
In the next few days all this evidence has been gathered and will be published on a new web site - I will keep you informed.
Meanwhile another letter from the Head Psychologist in Sderot has now been given prominence by the Sderot Media Center which I print below. This side of the story has just simply been ignored by Goldstone.
Judge Goldstone Shalom,
My name is Dr. Adriana Katz and for the past 15 years I have served as the Head Psychiatrist at the Mental Health Center in Sderot, Israel. My name could have been also Buchbut, Davidov, or Amar like the names of tens of thousand of citizens living in Sderot and Western Negev communities.
I would like to thank Sderot Media Center for their unceasing work to show the human story of what has been happening here in Sderot and the Western Negev. For this reason I have asked them to help me in getting my voice out on this UN Report.
What do you know Judge Goldstone of the thousands of Israeli trauma victims whose lives have become hell on earth? They can no longer go to work, every noise, bleep or beep sends them into a panic, where they cry and tremble fearing it’s another siren going off.
It has been almost 9 years now, Judge Goldstone, where thousands of innocent civilians living in these communities have been suffering from daily insecurity and fear. Almost 9 years where this fear has no smell or taste - but it has a color - the color RED.
It has been almost 9 years, Honorable Goldstone, that we, the psychiatrists and the social workers have been busy trying to pick up the pieces and trying to mend the ruined lives, the separated families, and children who are sick from fear and trauma.
For the past 9 years, over 12,000 qassam rockets have been fired upon our communities. Day after day, week after week, month after month, year after year, we don’t know whether we will make it home, or to work or to school, alive or in one piece.
We have raised a generation of qassam children and we will need more time than we have to fix what the rockets have destroyed. Who will help the 4,000 children return to mentally stable ordinary lives, where they will cease to wet their beds at night and no longer fear to leave their homes?
6,500 files have been opened at our Mental Health Center and the numbers are growing every day. There is no post-trauma reality here in Sderot - as the rockets continue to strike everything is still traumatic. There are dozens of years of rehabilitation lying ahead for the population here.
Honorable Goldstone, it is clear to me that blood and ruins have more impact and dramatically photograph better. You cannot photograph a destroyed psyche and broadcast it all over the world.
The reality in Sderot has turned into a game of Russian roulette. Nobody knows who’s next. And here too you can find blood and ruin.
Can you tell me Judge Goldstone who can carry on under such conditions? Who would agree to live in such a reality?
Where has the Honorable Goldstone been all these years when Jewish children have been under constant Palestinian attack? Operation Cast Lead proves the common saying; a constantly beaten dog will eventually turn on his master.
Judge Goldstone, I am against wars. The pictures I have seen have made me cry. The children in Gaza are as precious as the children of Sderot. Yet I don’t see how we can go on like this. Have you seen any action - verbal or actual on the part of world leaders during these long years of suffering on the Israeli side?
Like you, I am not a Zionist. I do what needs to be done as part of my duty of being a doctor. Now I feel that I can no longer be silent in the face of unfair play where you describe the situation according to your view, turning the State of Israel into a criminal country.
Perhaps had I been still living in Europe I would think like you, but from where I live things look very different. I don’t even expect you to understand. And he who does not understand cannot judge. If anything, I have learned one thing - things that cannot be seen from there are not what they are here. If I was an influential personality I would invite you to Sderot and perhaps then you would be able to pass judgment objectively and informatively.
Sincerely, Dr. Adriana Katz
In the next few days all this evidence has been gathered and will be published on a new web site - I will keep you informed.
Meanwhile another letter from the Head Psychologist in Sderot has now been given prominence by the Sderot Media Center which I print below. This side of the story has just simply been ignored by Goldstone.
Judge Goldstone Shalom,
My name is Dr. Adriana Katz and for the past 15 years I have served as the Head Psychiatrist at the Mental Health Center in Sderot, Israel. My name could have been also Buchbut, Davidov, or Amar like the names of tens of thousand of citizens living in Sderot and Western Negev communities.
I would like to thank Sderot Media Center for their unceasing work to show the human story of what has been happening here in Sderot and the Western Negev. For this reason I have asked them to help me in getting my voice out on this UN Report.
What do you know Judge Goldstone of the thousands of Israeli trauma victims whose lives have become hell on earth? They can no longer go to work, every noise, bleep or beep sends them into a panic, where they cry and tremble fearing it’s another siren going off.
It has been almost 9 years now, Judge Goldstone, where thousands of innocent civilians living in these communities have been suffering from daily insecurity and fear. Almost 9 years where this fear has no smell or taste - but it has a color - the color RED.
It has been almost 9 years, Honorable Goldstone, that we, the psychiatrists and the social workers have been busy trying to pick up the pieces and trying to mend the ruined lives, the separated families, and children who are sick from fear and trauma.
For the past 9 years, over 12,000 qassam rockets have been fired upon our communities. Day after day, week after week, month after month, year after year, we don’t know whether we will make it home, or to work or to school, alive or in one piece.
We have raised a generation of qassam children and we will need more time than we have to fix what the rockets have destroyed. Who will help the 4,000 children return to mentally stable ordinary lives, where they will cease to wet their beds at night and no longer fear to leave their homes?
6,500 files have been opened at our Mental Health Center and the numbers are growing every day. There is no post-trauma reality here in Sderot - as the rockets continue to strike everything is still traumatic. There are dozens of years of rehabilitation lying ahead for the population here.
Honorable Goldstone, it is clear to me that blood and ruins have more impact and dramatically photograph better. You cannot photograph a destroyed psyche and broadcast it all over the world.
The reality in Sderot has turned into a game of Russian roulette. Nobody knows who’s next. And here too you can find blood and ruin.
Can you tell me Judge Goldstone who can carry on under such conditions? Who would agree to live in such a reality?
Where has the Honorable Goldstone been all these years when Jewish children have been under constant Palestinian attack? Operation Cast Lead proves the common saying; a constantly beaten dog will eventually turn on his master.
Judge Goldstone, I am against wars. The pictures I have seen have made me cry. The children in Gaza are as precious as the children of Sderot. Yet I don’t see how we can go on like this. Have you seen any action - verbal or actual on the part of world leaders during these long years of suffering on the Israeli side?
Like you, I am not a Zionist. I do what needs to be done as part of my duty of being a doctor. Now I feel that I can no longer be silent in the face of unfair play where you describe the situation according to your view, turning the State of Israel into a criminal country.
Perhaps had I been still living in Europe I would think like you, but from where I live things look very different. I don’t even expect you to understand. And he who does not understand cannot judge. If anything, I have learned one thing - things that cannot be seen from there are not what they are here. If I was an influential personality I would invite you to Sderot and perhaps then you would be able to pass judgment objectively and informatively.
Sincerely, Dr. Adriana Katz
Thursday, October 22, 2009
"Making the Impossible Possible"
A conference this week in Jerusalem is causing some traffic disruption with many heads of governments arriving in the country for the President’s conference, “Making the Impossible Possible”, how to transform a dream into reality, a crisis into an opportunity?
Among the participants are world leaders, scientists, intellectuals and academics, economists and businesspeople, people from the media, artists, security experts and environmentalists.
The simple truth, stated in the opening speech, is that dependence on oil endangers the world. It is a threat to Israel’s security, its economy and the environment.
Why our security? Because dependence on fossil fuels strengthens the dark regimes that encourage instability and fund terror with their petrodollars.
Why the economy?, Because if we don't develop alternative energy sources, the demand for fossil fuels will increase and the supply will decrease. This will lead to an increase in prices, which in turn will adversely affect global economic development in countries that import fossil fuels – which is the majority of countries. This will cause serious economic harm.
Environmentally, because the pollution from fossil fuels poisons the air that we breathe, the water that we drink and the food that we eat. The world’s dependence on oil harms us and the earth every day, and has done so for decades.
To counteract all this, it is essential to set a goal: to free the world from dependence on oil. Whilst this may seem impossible, all it takes is one or two inventions to make a breakthrough and change the world.
Is Israel the country that will discover the breakthrough that will free the world of its dependence on fossil fuels? The feeling is that the answer is “Yes”. Why? Because Israel has two significant resources that provide a good chance of doing so.
• There are the minds and the hearts.
• The capability, the will.
In a speech by Prime Minister Netanyahu, he said, “Israel is very advanced in many technological fields – agro-tech, hi-tech, nanotechnology, solar energy, battery technologies and renewable energies. Thus, we must be amongst the leading candidates to create a global revolution in the clean energy field because of this capacity.
What I propose to do today is to establish a nation commission of scientists, engineers, business and government people to set a goal that within ten years, we'll have a practical, clean, efficient substitute for oil. I think it's possible. I think we can make the impossible possible.”
Let’s hope for the sake of the future of the world, the impossible becomes possible.
Among the participants are world leaders, scientists, intellectuals and academics, economists and businesspeople, people from the media, artists, security experts and environmentalists.
The simple truth, stated in the opening speech, is that dependence on oil endangers the world. It is a threat to Israel’s security, its economy and the environment.
Why our security? Because dependence on fossil fuels strengthens the dark regimes that encourage instability and fund terror with their petrodollars.
Why the economy?, Because if we don't develop alternative energy sources, the demand for fossil fuels will increase and the supply will decrease. This will lead to an increase in prices, which in turn will adversely affect global economic development in countries that import fossil fuels – which is the majority of countries. This will cause serious economic harm.
Environmentally, because the pollution from fossil fuels poisons the air that we breathe, the water that we drink and the food that we eat. The world’s dependence on oil harms us and the earth every day, and has done so for decades.
To counteract all this, it is essential to set a goal: to free the world from dependence on oil. Whilst this may seem impossible, all it takes is one or two inventions to make a breakthrough and change the world.
Is Israel the country that will discover the breakthrough that will free the world of its dependence on fossil fuels? The feeling is that the answer is “Yes”. Why? Because Israel has two significant resources that provide a good chance of doing so.
• There are the minds and the hearts.
• The capability, the will.
In a speech by Prime Minister Netanyahu, he said, “Israel is very advanced in many technological fields – agro-tech, hi-tech, nanotechnology, solar energy, battery technologies and renewable energies. Thus, we must be amongst the leading candidates to create a global revolution in the clean energy field because of this capacity.
What I propose to do today is to establish a nation commission of scientists, engineers, business and government people to set a goal that within ten years, we'll have a practical, clean, efficient substitute for oil. I think it's possible. I think we can make the impossible possible.”
Let’s hope for the sake of the future of the world, the impossible becomes possible.
Thursday, October 15, 2009
German Educators Visit Haifa School
I was privileged to meet a large delegation of German educators who visited the Leo Baeck school, www.leobaeck.org.il/english in Haifa this week.
Leo Baeck is a private school with a high reputation for academic achievement and has a very significant percentage of Arab students in its many programs.
One teacher, a recent immigrant from the USA gave his perspective on the school and its programmes. Questions from the delegation ranged from class size, discipline in class, the training of teachers and the conditions and facilities available to the teaching staff in the school.
We were then joined by 8 pupils of the 11th grade in the school who told the delegation not only what they were studying but also about the considerable extramural activities that they undertook within the framework of personal development.
All mentioned the need to develop themselves in order that they could help others around them. Such social projects involved becoming Scout counselors, visiting the elderly, infirm and holocaust survivors with no family. There are also opportunities running a coffee shop for children at risk, being a medical clown for children in hospital suffering from cancer and sitting on the school’s environmental committee to “green” the school.
Most of the pupils had visited countries overseas such as USA, Germany, Austria, China and others in an outreach programme.
The delegation was also interested why the pupils had chosen Leo Baeck when in many cases it involved much more traveling. All answered that the school had an excellent name for academic achievement.
Following a question from one of the delegation, the pupils gave their views on how the conflict with the Palestinians is dealt with in school.
The pupils then were given their opportunity to ask the delegation questions. Naturally they wanted to know why they had come to their school but also asked pointed questions about how the conflict is dealt with in Germany and also the subject of the holocaust.
At this point the Headmaster joined the discussion and gave his vision of the school. In addition to academic achievement, he stated that it was essential the pupils develop social responsibility and within a formal framework pupils receive a certificate recognizing community service in addition to the academic certificates.
In responding to a question about reaching out to the Arab community, the headmaster stated that there is considerable involvement with the Israeli Arab community, many come to study in the school. In addition there is a Jewish-Arab community center, a center for Arab children at risk and an annual Arab Jewish summer camp.
Whilst the headmaster expressed the hope that there would be more involvement with Palestinian children, the present political climate not only in Israel but also within the Palestinian Authority did not make this possible at this time but hoped that it may be possible in the future.
Leo Baeck is a private school with a high reputation for academic achievement and has a very significant percentage of Arab students in its many programs.
One teacher, a recent immigrant from the USA gave his perspective on the school and its programmes. Questions from the delegation ranged from class size, discipline in class, the training of teachers and the conditions and facilities available to the teaching staff in the school.
We were then joined by 8 pupils of the 11th grade in the school who told the delegation not only what they were studying but also about the considerable extramural activities that they undertook within the framework of personal development.
All mentioned the need to develop themselves in order that they could help others around them. Such social projects involved becoming Scout counselors, visiting the elderly, infirm and holocaust survivors with no family. There are also opportunities running a coffee shop for children at risk, being a medical clown for children in hospital suffering from cancer and sitting on the school’s environmental committee to “green” the school.
Most of the pupils had visited countries overseas such as USA, Germany, Austria, China and others in an outreach programme.
The delegation was also interested why the pupils had chosen Leo Baeck when in many cases it involved much more traveling. All answered that the school had an excellent name for academic achievement.
Following a question from one of the delegation, the pupils gave their views on how the conflict with the Palestinians is dealt with in school.
The pupils then were given their opportunity to ask the delegation questions. Naturally they wanted to know why they had come to their school but also asked pointed questions about how the conflict is dealt with in Germany and also the subject of the holocaust.
At this point the Headmaster joined the discussion and gave his vision of the school. In addition to academic achievement, he stated that it was essential the pupils develop social responsibility and within a formal framework pupils receive a certificate recognizing community service in addition to the academic certificates.
In responding to a question about reaching out to the Arab community, the headmaster stated that there is considerable involvement with the Israeli Arab community, many come to study in the school. In addition there is a Jewish-Arab community center, a center for Arab children at risk and an annual Arab Jewish summer camp.
Whilst the headmaster expressed the hope that there would be more involvement with Palestinian children, the present political climate not only in Israel but also within the Palestinian Authority did not make this possible at this time but hoped that it may be possible in the future.
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