A delegation of Israeli Arabs from the NGO Atidna spent eleven days in December in Germany raising awareness about Hamas as a terrorist movement and the values of a multi-religious democratic Jewish state.
Atidna—a word that combines Arabic and Hebrew to mean “our future"—is an innovative grassroots organization that seeks to build a “partnership with Arabs and Jews” who view themselves as citizens of a “democratic and Jewish state,” Amit Deri, the CEO Partner of Atidna, told the Jerusalem Post.
The twenty-person delegation, organized their annual trip to Germany before the October 7 war and decided not to cancel it due to the pressing need to explain the nature of the Hamas terrorist movement.
Speaking with the Post from Germany on Thursday, Etaf Shtewe, the Israeli-Arab project and community manager for Atidna, said Atidna members were “wearing shirts of the organization with Hebrew and the Israeli flag” in public.
She said “people were really interested and asking questions.” One question was: “What is your position on the war?”
Shtewe said the group told Germans “About Hamas as a terrorist” organization.
The delegation, Shetwe stressed, told the Germans they met that “They are Arabs and proud of who they are and to be part of Israel.”
There was resistance from German Arabs in Berlin, Shetwe said. Many German Arabs rejected Atidna’s mission and are “against the existence of the State of Israel.”
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In response to attempts by some German Arabs to reduce Israeli Arabs to Palestinians, the Atidna delegation rejected the one-dimensional approach and “insisted on their position” as “citizens of Israel who are very proud of it.”
Atidna met with Israeli diplomats at the embassy and German politicians and educators. Suleiman Suleiman, the second CEO Partner of Atidna, told the Post, “We had a demonstration in front of the Brandenburg Gate and told them we are against Hamas and terror. We are not just saying things but want people to know.We stand behind Israel. We have Arab-Christians with us. We are proud to be Israelis.”
He said people on the street had mixed reactions to their views. Some anti-Israel Germans said “There is no country in the word called Israel. I had to explain there are Arabs in Israel. If you don’t want to accept Israel, that is your problem.”
Suleiman continued to spar against the anti-Israel hate from some Germans, stating “How can you support Hamas , I asked. They asked how can we support Israel.”
He termed the experience as “Small aggressive reactions, but, on the other hand, found people who did not know there were Arabs in Israel.”
Suleiman said the delegation met with a school teacher in the largely German Muslim district of Neukölln, where some of the most intense pro-Hamas demonstrations unfolded. “Suleiman said the group spoke with an " Iraqi-born teacher who was in Israel and is pro-Israel” and teaches at a school at Neukölln.
The delegation was also exposed to Germany’s history. “We do education youth exchanges every year. German partners host us and we are learning about the Holocaust and the history of Berlin and Germany. Our German partners come to Israel every year and live with families.”
Ali Nujidat told the Post “I went to the delegation straight from the reserves. People were interested” in Atidna. He said he explained to Germans that Atidna works to “integrate Arabs into Israeli society.”
“A lot of people asked us questions on the street. The most interesting community was the Arab community. An Iraqi studied in the US and was the first to sign the petition against the actions of Hamas.”
The Iraqi is the teacher in the Neukölln district of Berlin.
Deri established Atidna with the late Dr. Dalia Fadila five years ago. He said Atidna works with more than 30 municipalities across Israel and has more than 5,000 Israeli-Arab youths enrolled in the NGO’s program.
He noted that Atidna has a “Leadership academy to prepare them be citizens in life of Israel” and a works in Israel’s storied high-tech sector to find “workplace for Israel-Arabs to integrate them into high-tech jobs. " Atidna partners with the ministry of science.
