In a meeting today in the JDC

In a meeting today in the JDC (one of our partners in Israel), 5 Jewish Israeli persons (all female) participated and one Arab Israeli person (male) who is the coordinator of a mapping project on quality in Arab Israeli preschools that we support.

The coordinator said at one moment…”you are known as the people of the book, but we are known as the people of construction…”.

As I did not understand, I asked him what he meant, and he explained:

The Jews here are studying the book (Torah, Talmud – a reference to the orthodox Haredi population, but also to the high level of education of the Israeli Jews), while we, the Arab Muslim population are builders, constructors. If you ask an Arab Israeli person what he does for a living, he will say that he is in construction, as was his father and grandfather before him, and as his children (the boys) will also be in the future.

Then came his comment to the Jewish participants in the meeting….”you design the country, we build it for you”.
Marc (Monday, 16 April in Jerusalem)