שתיל - שירותי תמיכה וייעוץ לקידום שינוי חברתי

In addition to offering its classic consulting services, SHATIL's Be'er Sheva office has opened its doors and made its office equipment available to grass roots groups that have come together in time of war in order to project a different voice not usually heard in the mainstream during times of crisis. Staff is also working to network between these groups, with an emphasis on organizations trying to help the Bedouin population in the unrecognized villages, where people have no warning system and only flimsy shelter against rocket attacks.

Early Sunday morning, two rockets hit Be'er Sheva. Sultan Abu Abed, co-director of SHATIL Be'er Sheva was still at home in Laqia. Like many Negev Bedouin, his house has no safe room and only an asbestos roof for protection. He and his seven family members "simply come together in the living room, sit close to the eastern wall and hope it won't hit," he said.

Orit Nahamias, a SHATIL Be'er Sheva resource development consultant, lives in Netiv Ha'asara, the last moshav before the border with Gaza. Her two young children were born into a situation of falling Qassams. Still, she says, "My heart is with the civilian population in Gaza. I understand from people who talk to them that they are also feeling betrayed by Hamas. They want this war to stop as much as we do." Today, she sent around an email from Hillel in Sapir College in Sderot, which is collecting blankets for children in Gaza.

In a sign of hope, many co-existence efforts are being launched throughout the country, including at SHATIL, where dialogue among our Arab and Jewish staff members is especially important in times of war. In the Haifa office's monthly voluntary "Let's Talk" session, in which the entire staff is invited to speak about anything they want, one Israeli Arab staff member was able to admit he didn't dare turn to Jewish colleagues for a fundraising effort on behalf of Gaza's children. As he and other staff members communicated their feelings, understanding deepened and tensions lessened. Afterward, nearly every staff member contributed to the fundraising effort. Fathi Marshood, director of SHATIL's Haifa branch, admitted he had been worried about the encounter because of the office's charged atmosphere since the war began. "The meeting was difficult and excellent," he said. Tensions eased. It strengthened us.