The events of May 2021 were a low point in Jewish-Palestinian relations in Israel. The violence that erupted, especially in the ‘mixed Jewish-Arab cities,’ increased intercommunal tensions nation-wide and threatened to undermine the possibility of a shared society based on the values of partnership, equality, and justice. Many Jewish and Palestinian citizens were injured. Places of worship, stores, cars, and other private property were vandalised. The police’s response was “Operation Law and Order,” in which more than 2,000 people—90% of them Palestinian were arrested.Our response to the unrest and deterioration in Jewish-Arab relations, was rapid and multi-faceted. To ease tensions, rebuild trust, and further strengthen our work toward a more equitable and just Israel we:

1. Distributed over $100,000 in rapid response grants to bolster existing and new shared society, human rights, and Palestinian society partners.

2. Provided an essential crisis response: coordinating efforts of diverse organisations and groups to call for an end to the violence, expose and curb police and mob violence, express Jewish-Arab solidarity, and offer an alternative voice and vision to the inflammatory statements widely expressed by the media and country’s leadership through Shatil (our action arm).

3. Our global community raised over $300,000 (with UK and Israeli donors being the biggest contributors) to Bridge the Divide, encouraging tolerance and cooperation between Jewish and Palestinian citizens of Israel through new initiatives and our wider response.

4. Increased support for core grantees to whose workload increased as a result of the situation, including pro-bono legal support to individuals. This was all thanks to the generosity of supporters such as yourself.You can read the full report here: Bridge-the-Divide-Anniversary-Report-July-2022.pdf

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