Past Events

The Hagar School: a Possible Model for the Future

editor — Fri, 17 Dec 2010 10:49:39 -0800

      On Friday, December 3, 2010 Meretz USA hosted an event in Los Angeles for The Hagar School, a bilingual and multicultural school for Jewish and Arab children in Beer Sheva. Those in attendance had the pleasure of hearing about a unique school in the heart of the Negev desert that embraces the shared goals of providing the highest quality education while creating an egalitarian community. The Hagar School, a part of the Hand in Hand education network, fully adopts and attains its bilingual and multicultural goals by having two teachers, one Jewish and one Arab, co-teach in every classroom. Hagar’s pedagogical model employs the acquisition of two languages not just as an end goal but also the means for enhancing cognitive development and integrating multiculturalism into all aspects of education.

    Hagar is still in the early stages of its long-term development plan to be a K – 12 school. This year Hagar added both 2nd and 3rd grades to their preschool, kindergarten, and 1st grade classes. The goal is to continue to add a new grade each school year, making this year’s 3rd grade cohort ultimately becoming the first high school graduating class.   The addition of two grades this school year was driven by local community’s demand for the school to grow faster.

    The municipality and the ministry of education, parent tuition fees, and donations fund Hagar. The latter two sources of funding are critical for the operation of the school. Because Hagar has two teachers per 28 students, instead of just one, they have twice the staffing budget of other schools but still only receive government funding for the first teacher and have to raise the money for the second teacher’s salary.   As the school continues to grow this budgetary challenge will remain.

    Here in the US we learned the hard way that separate is not, and can never be, truly equal. We learned this famous lesson in the arena of our own education system. For a long time the Israeli education system has functioned on separate educational tracks for Jews and Arabs. Hagar is just one school and many in Israel do not want to do away with separate educational tracks, but Hagar’s approach is a powerful reminder to all that full equality may only be possible through integration, and not segregation. Notwithstanding the significant differences between the US and Israel, those of us who strive for an Israel that embraces equality for all of her inhabitants should keep the example of The Hagar School in our minds as a possible model of equality for a country we love.

Human Rights Under Fire a Jewish Call to Action

editor — Wed, 03 Nov 2010 12:42:35 -0700

Start: 12/05/2010 - 8:30am

End: 12/07/2010 - 3:00pm

Rabbis for Human Rights - North America is sponsoring its Third Annual Conference on Judaism and Human Rights and Meretz USA is proud to be one of their cosponsors. Please join us at this wonderful event!

The conference will be held December 5-7 in New York City.

The Power of Perception and the Possibility of Policy Change

editor — Fri, 29 Oct 2010 11:18:48 -0700

One of the biggest existential dangers facing Israel today may be not fully understanding how the country is seen by the world at large. The power of perception is significant. So too is the way we work to shape those perceptions. These ideas were presented by Avshalom “Abu” Vilan, a former Member of Knesset (MK), the Israeli parliament, during a talk last night at the Meretz USA offices.

LA Event- Breakfast with Daniel Sokatch 08/06/2010 at 8:00am

editor — Mon, 26 Jul 2010 11:59:11 -0700

Start: 08/06/2010 - 8:00am

End: 08/06/2010 - 9:30am

Please join Meretz USA and the New Israel Fund for an intimate breakfast to meet with

NIF's CEO

Daniel Sokatch

Friday, August 6th
8:00 - 9:30 am

Jerry's Famous Deli
10925 Weyburn Avenue
Westwood, CA

$12 per person

RSVP to Meretz USA at meretzusa.la@gmail.com

L.A. Event, 8:00am: If you don't know Danny Seidemann, You don't know Jerusalem

editor — Wed, 14 Jul 2010 09:10:20 -0700

Start: 07/16/2010 - 8:00am

End: 07/16/2010 - 10:00am

If you don't know Danny Seidemann,
You don't know Jerusalem

Meretz USA is co-sponsoring a special breakfast event with Americans for Peace Now and Workmen’s Circle (Arbeter Ring).

Friday, July 16, 2010 at 8:00am

Factor's Famous Deli - Outdoor Patio

9420 W. Pico Boulevard, Los Angeles

(just east of S. Beverly Drive)

You are invited to a Breakfast Briefing in Los Angeles on Friday, July 16, to meet and hear from Danny Seidemann, the Israeli who is regarded as the world's leading expert on geopolitical Jerusalem.

Meretz USA VP Leonard Grob speaks on "Anguish and Activism in the Holy Land"

editor — Fri, 23 Apr 2010 11:56:42 -0700

Start: 05/20/2010 - 7:30pm

End: 05/20/2010 - 9:00pm

MAP (Mental health Activists in Partnership) Invites You to

An Evening of Study

From the Ground and From the Heart:

Anguish and Activism in the Holy Land.

A Holocaust scholar and an Israeli activist reflect on obstacles and possibilities in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Thursday evening, May 20th, 7:30 pm

The Church of Saint Paul and Saint Andrew

86th and West End Ave, in the Chapel (entrance 86th St.)

This is an extraordinary opportunity to learn about the possibilities for humanizing this spiraling inferno with:

Leonard Grob, PhD, Vice-President of Meretz USA, coeditor of Anguished Hoped: Holocaust Scholars Confront the Palestinian-Israeli Conflict

and

Sarah Kreimer, long-time Israeli activist, and author of an upcoming memoir: Visions and Divisions in Israel: My Journey Along the Seam

**Additionally, there will be representatives from several, vital NGOs working towards peace to meet before the presentations begin with those interested in getting involved (New Israel Fund, Friends of the Earth Middle East, Abraham’s Vision, Hand-in-Hand, Ir Amim, Meretz/USA, and others)

RSVP: mapstudygroup@gmail.com

Mental Health Activists in Partnership/MAP

Cost: $15

(arrangements can be made for those observing the Jewish holiday)

Meretz USA Gala: An Evening Honoring Jeremy Ben-Ami, Naomi Chazan, and Larry Lerner

editor — Thu, 25 Mar 2010 10:25:57 -0700

Start: 05/17/2010 - 6:30pm

End: 05/17/2010 - 10:00pm

To RSVP please click here to print and send the RSVP form.

Other Israel Film Festival: Sayed Kashua - Forever Scared

editor — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 12:00:30 -0700

Start: 11/15/2009 - 5:00pm

End: 11/15/2009 - 7:30pm

Pease join Meretz USA on Sunday, November 15th at 5:00pm at the JCC Manhattan for the Other Israel Film Festival presentation of Sayed Kashua - Forever Sacred

Israel, 2009, 56 minutes

Director:
Dorit Zimbalist

Despite being one of Israel's leading columnists, novelists and screenwriter, Sayed Kashua feels he doesn't belong. The Jews don't like him because he's an Arab. The Arabs don't like him because he's successful. The Arabs think he's a collaborator. The Jews think he's a drunk. He's always the "other" and he's always scared. This intimate portrait follows Kashua over seven years through the upheavals and events that change his life, wandering from place to place, from nation to nation, belonging neither here nor there.

View Trailer

Venue: Th e JCC Manhattan (Click for directions)

To buy tickets click here

Obama, Cairo and the Middle East: A Discussion with Amb. Philip Wilcox of the Foundation for Middle East Peace

editor — Tue, 26 May 2009 09:52:08 -0700

Start: 06/09/2009 - 6:30pm

End: 06/09/2009 - 8:15pm

Obama, Cairo and the Middle East:
A Discussion with Amb. Philip Wilcox, President of the Foundation for Middle East Peace

Join us on Tuesday, June 9th at 6:30 PM, as Ambassador (ret.) Philip Wilcox, President of the Foundation for Middle East Peace, discusses the Israel-Arab conflict in the wake of Barack Obama's June 4 Cairo address.

An Evening Honoring Aaron Ziegelman and Moshe (Martin) Kagan, Monday, May 4, 2009

editor — Fri, 13 Feb 2009 09:14:46 -0800

Start: 05/04/2009 - 6:30pm

End: 05/04/2009 - 10:00pm

Click here to see pictures from our May 4th Gala!

For the Forward's coverage of the Meretz USA gala, click here (and scroll down).