Israel, Arab Minister Frej: “They are proof that coexistence is possible”

Issawi Frej knows that he is “a symbol”. To be proof that peaceful coexistence between Arabs and Jews in Israel is practicable. And he also knows that the birth of two states, for two peoples, will not be possible immediately, but it remains an objective in which to continue “to firmly believe”, because only in this way can it be a reality in the future. Issawi Frej is Arab, Muslim, and is Minister of Regional Cooperation in the new coalition government led by Prime Minister Naftali Bennett. He is the second Arab minister of an Israeli government after Labor Raleb Majadele, in office from 2007 to 2009 as Minister of Science, Culture and Sport. Deputy of the left-wing Zionist party Meretz, in an exclusive interview with Adnkronos Frej, explains that he has decided to enter the government with “a mission”. Which is to ” work to promote coexistence within Israel and in the region. This is my mission in the Israeli government ” and ” this is how I see myself. ” Born in 1963 in Kafr Qasim, about twenty kilometers east of Tel Aviv, Frej lives here with his wife and seven children. His grandfather was among the 48 people killed in the ‘Kafr Qasim massacre’ conducted by the Israeli border police on October 29, 1956, when the village was on the Green Line. In 2007, Israeli President Shimon Peres apologized for that massacre and today Frej starts from here, remembers that ” 20 percent of Israel’s population is made up of Arabs ” and urges: ” we must work to improve trust between Arabs and Jews, between Israelis and Palestinians. ” Graduated in Economics from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and a member of the NGO ‘Peace Now’, Frej explains that ” since I decided to become part of Israeli public life and politics , my ambition was to be part of the government. This is not a decision made today, but a goal that has always guided my political activity. ” First running for the Knesset in 2003, Frej eventually made it and joined the executive. “My very presence in the government is above all symbolic,” he declares. And from here he starts with what he defines as ” a challenge ”, that is ” to implement policies that promote equality and integration. Produce a fairer distribution of budgets so that equality can be promoted in all areas of life in Israeli society ”. Also because ” most of us in Israel, Arabs and Jews, are opposed to violence ” and on this ” we must not remain silent ”. ” The goal for the next government is to start a series of processes in various fields, in society and in the economy, as well as restoring trust with the Palestinians, ” says Frej. Because ” I strongly believe in a two-state solution and we must strive to achieve it ”. The minister, who participated in the ‘Geneva Initiative’ aimed at ending the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, is aware that the creation of two states ” will not happen during the current government mandate, but I hope it will happen in the next. We will work to create better trust between us and the Palestinians. ” The Palestinians are those of the West Bank and those of the Gaza Strip. “Gaza and the surrounding area deserve peace”, says Frej, who also stresses the need to “contribute to the reconstruction of Gaza and its rehabilitation”. This is because “its inhabitants begin to have hope”. A process, that in Gaza, which “we must conduct together with the international community, including Italy”. (by Melissa Bertolotti)