In the shadow of the war in the Gaza Strip, and at a time when relations between Jews and Arabs in Israel are at a sensitive point, the NGO Co-Impact, which promotes employment for Arab Israelis, held a meeting with President Isaac Herzog that was attended by thirty senior Israeli businesspeople.
The meeting was part of Co-Impact’s program of promoting joint workspaces of Jews and Arabs. Among the issues that arose at the meeting were the importance of discourse based on mutual trust, and the need to create safe and inclusive environments at workplaces and to dispel tensions between workers.
"Employers have a very important task on the Israeli home front, economically and socially," President Herzog said. "They have to continue to maintain the Israeli economy and to strengthen it, and at the same time to strengthen the social fabric and co-existence between all groups."
"Zero tolerance for incitement"
Co-Impact CEO Nawa Jahshan Batshon said, "The organization is aware of the threat to the delicate fabric of personal and organizational life in Israel, built with hard work and on the bass of shared values.
"Business leaders have a more important role than ever in promoting a unifying discourse at this time, and it is the responsibility of all of us to institute a policy of zero tolerance for incitement, violence, and racism, while bolstering shared workplaces. The path to the construction of a strong civil society at times of crisis, in the face of the many threats to it, goes via equality, diversity, inclusion, and organizational resilience in employment."
Among the participants in the event were Strauss Group chairperson Ofra Strauss; Co-Impact joint chairperson and former CEO of Bank Hapoalim Zvi Ziv; Michal Braverman-Blumenstyk, managing director of Microsoft’s Israel R&D Center; Aiman Saif, a partner in the Portland Trust Israel; Meta VP and Israel general manager Adi Soffer-Teeni; Tnuva CEO Gadi Cunia; Hassan Tawafra, director of the Authority for Economic Development of Arab Society in the Ministry of Social Equality; Imad Telhami, co-founder and chairperson of Babcom Centers; Tidhar Group CEO Uri Levin; Neopharm Group chairperson and CEO David Fuhrer; Netafim president and CEO Gabriel Miodownik; Osem Nestle CEO Avi Ben Assayag; and Rasha Khawaly, CEO of Mediplast Israel, of the Novolog group.
Published by Globes, Israel business news - en.globes.co.il - on November 21, 2023.
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