Samenwerkingprojecten tussen Israel en de Palestijnse Authoriteit

 

Je zou het niet zeggen want er wordt totaal geen aandacht aan besteed in de media, maar Israel heeft een aantal hulp- en samenwerkingsprogramma's opgezet in samenwerking met de Palestijnse Autoriteit, Palestijnse NGO's en andere landen. Het zou mooi zijn als meer geld van de EU naar dit soort projecten zou gaan in plaats van naar Israelische en Palestijnse NGO's die campagne voeren tegen Israel.

 

RP

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Israel and the Palestinian Authority:

Towards Peace and Prosperity

 

 

Introduction

Israel's National Agency for International Cooperation (MASHAV) in Israel's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, views cooperation with the Palestinian Authority as a crucial component towards the advancement of the peace process. MASHAV's activities in the region reflect both Israel's Ministry of Foreign Affairs goals vis-à-vis the Palestinian Authority as well as the development strategies of the Palestinians.

 

Emphasis is placed on the following subject-matter:

 

• Economic development
• Creating jobs to reduce unemployment, especially for women and young people (small and medium enterprises)
• Strengthening ties between the Palestinian Authority and Israeli business sectors
• Food security and agriculture
• Empowerment of women through entrepreneurship
• Developing a dialogue between the civil society in the Palestinian Authority and the civil society in Israel
• Medicine and public health
• Reconciliation in the educational system

 

Cooperation on development-oriented programs is instrumental in creating an atmosphere of trust, mutual respect and tolerance between the Palestinian and Israeli peoples, as well as serving to strengthen the peace process.

 

Background

Activity in cooperation with the Palestinian Authority was renewed in the second half of 2004, and programs were carried out in cooperation with ministries and NGOs in the Palestinian Authority. The number of participants in MASHAV courses in recent years is as follows:

2004 – 69

2005 – 76

2006 – 49

2007 – 160

2008 – 146

 

 

Following is a Summary of MASHAV Activities and Cooperation with the Palestinian Authority in 2007 and 2008; and Programs in 2009

 

 

1. Program on the "Establishment and Management of Small Enterprises"

 

As part of MASHAV's goal to work together with the Palestinian Authority to improve the standard of living as well as empowering women in society, a joint program is being conducted in collaboration with the Polish Humanitarian Organization (PHO) and a Palestinian NGO. The program consists of training Palestinian women from the village of Azariah in the raising of goats and the production of milk. The training includes concepts in business management, basic learning of agriculture and goat breeding (including the production of milk, butter and cheeses; workshops in food security and animal hygiene; and bookkeeping).

The goal is to provide women with tools for improving the household economy by earning and additional income, thereby also strengthening their independence.

 

In July 2007, an agreement was signed in Jerusalem by the three partners to the program, as a model for future activities during 2008. The program has been expanded to include other villages during 2009.

 

 

2. "Chain Supply Workshop" in Cooperation with the Palestinian Shippers' Council and the Peres Center for Peace

 

As Palestinian goods are exported and imported through Israeli ports and are dependent upon Israeli customs, this program brought Israeli and Palestinians businesspeople together to better understand the rules of international trade.

MASHAV, in cooperation with the Peres Center for Peace, seeks to continue these workshops in 2009.

 

3. Program for Effective Agricultural Business Management

 

The program was held both in Israel and in the Palestinian Authority, with the participation of leaders from agricultural cooperatives. The goals of the course included strengthening the norms of cooperatives, and a survey of the international cooperative reality.

 

Additional goals included strengthening business administration skills and a presentation of new technologies in Israeli agriculture (development of greenhouses, organic agriculture, etc.) relevant to the agricultural reality in the Palestinian Authority.

 

 

4. Empowerment of Women and Young People in the Palestinian Authority

 

a) Program for "Small Business for Young Palestinians – A Tool for Job Creation"

Since the end of 2005, three courses have been conducted on the subject. The program focuses on providing tools for the establishment and management of small businesses. Participants comprise Palestinian small-business owners and representatives of the civil society.

 

b) Seminar for Palestinian and Israeli Women:  "Women Building a New Reality"

 

Since the end of 2005, seven seminars have been held in Israel. The aim of the program is to develop a dialogue between Palestinian and Israeli women representing a varied cross-section of their societies.

 

c) Workshop on "Women Leadership, Strengthening Civil Society and Small Businesses"

 

The women who participated in this program are engaged in volunteer work, as well as in public work and education. During the last two years, the Golda Meir Mount Carmel International Training Center (MCTC) hosted over 400 participants who came from a broad spectrum of Israeli and Palestinian society: students and university graduates, social workers, teachers, doctors, lawyers, businesswomen, directors of social NGOs, volunteers and religious groups.

 

The goal of the seminar is to become acquainted with life's reality in both Israel and the Palestinian authority to create a shared way of thinking and a common language. The women identify possible areas of activity by which they can influence their community to pave the way – psychologically and emotionally – for coexistence and educating for peace. As a result of these seminars, personal as well as professional ties were developed, as well as direct contacts which enable an on-going and diversified dialogue. The seminars brought about changes in attitudes and a better perception of "the other."

 

 

5. Trilateral Program between Israel-Poland-Palestinian Authority on "Establishing Educational Syllabus on Conflict Resolution in Primary and High Schools"

 

The program deals with the topic of "reconciliation" and has received the support of Israel's Ministry of Education and the Office of the President of the Palestinian Authority. This is the first time that MASHAV is carrying out a joint program with the Palestinian authority in the field of education.

 

Considering Poland's experience in the area of reconciliation, it was decided to learn from the experience of the formal and informal Polish educational system. A meeting was held in Poland with Israeli and Palestinian teachers, its goal being to create a joint educational syllabus to be incorporated as a "pilot project" in a number of Israeli and Palestinian schools.

 

6. Israeli-Palestinian Cooperation in the Rehabilitation of Handicapped Children

 

A program has been designed between the Bethlehem Arab Rehabilitation Society (BASR) and the Alyn Hospital in Jerusalem to work with doctors, nurses and technicians at BASR, in creating a medical program for handicapped Palestinian children who are undergoing treatment at Alyn before continuing longer-term rehabilitation at BASR.

 

 

7. Training Programs for Health Professionals at Hadassah Hospital in Cooperation with the Palestinian Ministry of Health

 

During 2008, six Palestinian healthcare personnel cooperated with their Israeli colleagues in diverse specialties at Hadassah Hospital, Jerusalem. MASHAV is seeking to continue, and possibly expand this program in 2009.

 

 

8. The Regional Agricultural Program Israel-Jordan-Palestinian Authority (RAP)

 

This unique program is being carried out under the sponsorship of the Danish International Development Agency (DANIDA). The program encompasses a number of topics in the field of agriculture: small ruminants, desert agriculture, water resources management, marketing and women in agriculture.  The program was established in 2000, and has been successfully carried out even during times of regional tensions. It includes on-site as well as training programs, meeting between experts, and participation in international conferences.

 

The program was initially carried out as a trilateral project between DANIDA-MASHAV and Egypt's Ministry of Agriculture.

 

9. Corridor of Peace and Prosperity in Jericho

 

Under the umbrella of the Government of Japan, and in cooperation with the Ministries of Agriculture of Israel, Jordan and the Palestinian Authority, all the parties are currently working together to organize a series of professional training and capacity building programs to complement the Japanese initiative of building an agro-business park in Jericho. MASHAV has expressed its interest to implement the programs jointly in Israel, as well as in the neighboring regions.

 

 

 

Compiled by Noa Shapira, MASHAV, January 2009