גוינט ישראל | עט השדה גליון 14

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Foreword

Rami Sulimani, Director General –

JDC-Ashalim

I am pleased to open Issue 14 of Et Hasadeh and to wish all of you

peace and much success in your continued and productive work.

After taking a year’s leave of absence in order to attend the Mabal

National Defense College Course– and following the conclusion of

Operation Protective Edge that lasted almost 50 days – I would like

to share with you some of my experiences and insights as they relate

to efforts on behalf of populations at risk.

This issue deals with a discourse about the connection between

work perceptions held by organizations and professionals, and

program development for JDC-Ashalim’s target population. This is

an interesting connection point for the content of the studies at the

National Defense College and peace. “National security” comprises

four aspects: security, political, economic and social. For obvious

reasons, since the state’s establishment the security aspect has been

preeminent. The national order of priorities was set accordingly. Over

the years, there has been a gradual realization of the importance of the

other aspects for establishing national strength and national security.

From my perspective, the discourse that took place at the College

over the year on social issues was somewhat

I understand

it, there is insufficient recognition of the importance of the social

aspect to the State of Israel’s national security – how social gaps,

inequality and social schisms can constitute a threat to society’s unity

and well-being. Operation Protective Edge, the Second Lebanon war

and other operations have created a new reality of confrontations. In

a sense, our home front has become a battlefield, and our country’s

citizens face a difficult reality in which they are threatened with

physical harm and damage to morale. In the new reality, the nature

of wars has changed. The state’s power is tested not only through

its military force, but also in the people’s ability to stand strong in

the face of situations of crisis, loss and trauma. This power, which