Historical material. Dates, proposals and invitations refer to the time of the original publication.

Is there a Russian-speaking minority in Israel?

Can it become a political actor and influence the adoption and implementation of political decisions at the national and local levels?

Do Israel’s Russian-speaking and Arabic-speaking minorities face common social and economic problems?

Can solidarity in defending minority rights help achieve common goals?

These and other questions were discussed by civic activists, journalists, lawyers, doctors, sociologists and economists from across Israel at the conference “School of Solidarity: Russian Speakers and Arabs in Israel”, held on 3 October 2020.

The discussion was the first event in the programme “School of Solidarity: the theory and practice of the struggle for minority rights”, run by the Mossawa advocacy centre, Dor Moriah NGO and the Association of Graduates of Russian and Soviet Universities.

The meeting also discussed tools for solidarity and minority influence on the adoption and implementation of political decisions. Participants considered lobbying, elections, advocacy and ways for minorities to join forces in using these tools.

Following the meeting, participants proposed developing a detailed plan to introduce solidarity tools both in areas where Arab and Russian-speaking minorities live together and at the national level. https://facebook.com/events/2386691111626816