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aChord during the Coronavirus crisis | aChord Center

aChord during the Coronavirus crisis

Dear friends and supporters,

These are difficult times, as our whole world confronts two massive crises: a global health emergency and its economic fallout. With that sober frame, I am writing my first update to you since joining aChord as CEO in October 2019. I’d like to tell you briefly about myself, why I chose to join aChord, what my approach to my aChord role is and, of course, how our team is addressing the Corona crisis.

I began my professional career in high tech. After completing my BSc in mathematics and computer sciences at Hebrew University, I worked in Israel and in Silicon Valley as a software and algorithms team leader. A few years later, I changed direction and began working full-time for social change in Israel. I made this switch from a conviction that many aspects of Israeli society are in need of deep change, and I hoped to contribute to making that change happen. 

I next earned an MA in public policy at the Hebrew University and, in 2009, was named Co-Executive Director of Sikkuy, a joint Jewish-Arab organization working to advance equality and a shared society for Jewish and Arab citizens. I take great pride in what was accomplished by Sikkuy during the more than ten years I spent co-leading it. Together with my Arab colleagues who served terms as co-Directors during those years, and alongside a highly dedicated and professional Arab and Jewish staff, I saw our efforts yield crucial changes in government policy toward Arab citizens and in the relations between Arab and Jewish citizens. 

As I began my new role at aChord, the main insight I brought with me from my work thus far is that the field of action for social change in Israel is replete with opportunities to create meaningful change. Despite the complicated public and political circumstances that are the background for our efforts, there are many opportunities that too frequently are underutilized. I came to aChord with the conviction, based on my own experience, that it is absolutely possible to reshape our reality. Sustained hard work, professionally conducted, sometimes allows us to change the reality and reap tremendous success. For more on what I learned from my work before coming to aChord, please see an interview I did with Haaretz (English) and an article of mine (Hebrew).

My heartfelt thanks go to Prof. Eran Halperin, founder and co-Chair of aChord, and Roni Rubenstein, co-Chair, for having faith in me and choosing me to lead aChord. Thanks also to Dr. Danielle Shani, who preceded me in this job and bequeathed us the sound organizational infrastructure that will greatly benefit the continuing work of aChord.

The power of social psychology to make change
I joined aChord because I believe in the power of social psychology to make change. The social psychology perspective, and its understanding of inter-group relations, are crucial for anyone wishing to create far-reaching change in the relations between the different groups in Israel or between Israeli society and its neighbors. I believe wholeheartedly that we must leverage what social psychology has learned about changing mindsets and infuse that academic knowledge into the work of organizations and others involved in the field of inter-group relations. That is how we can fulfill the vision of aChord and promote more equal, tolerant, and respectful relations among the various social and ethnic groups in Israeli society. Moreover, in so doing, we will foster awareness and action to achieve an agreement ending the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and bringing the long-sought peace. 

I was very glad to find a group of professionals at aChord that has succeeded in developing outstanding models and tools consonant with the organization’s vision. They have implemented it in practice with broad, meaningful interventions focused on education for shared society and on diverse and inclusive employment – the cornerstones of an equitable, tolerant, and respectful society. The success of these interventions to date has validated the effectiveness of the aChord approach. As CEO, I intend to work to broaden and deepen the influence of aChord in these areas and extend its reach into other fields. aChord should be the main address for anyone seeking to change mindsets in the context of the relations between the various groups in Israel and the quest for Israeli-Palestinian peace – thereby enabling us to help advance the profound evolution in our reality that is so urgently required. 

Addressing the Coronavirus pandemic
Diversity & Inclusion in Employment
Right now, we are preparing to address the Coronavirus pandemic and its implications for society and for the fields in which aChord is active. Efforts already in progress toward a more equitable and diverse employment sector are suddenly confronting a dramatic contextual shift. A nationwide economy with nearly full employment, affording a relatively comfortable environment for advancing workforce diversity, has suddenly been transformed by massive and almost instantaneous unemployment, which makes advancing employment diversity much more difficult.

Inevitably, this shift will greatly complicate the path to greater diversity. Our focus now must be to develop tools and interventions designed to preserve employers’ commitment to diversity and inclusion – even during this period of shrinking activity and a smaller workforce. We are also planning for the aftermath, when employers will begin bringing back the employees they let go, to make sure that their re-absorption will also be equitable.

Education for Shared Society
As the current pandemic gained momentum, aChord’s education team pivoted to the new digital reality, developing lesson plans that offer teachers and educators high-quality materials suitably adapted to the challenges of distance learning. These lesson plans address issues in inter-group relations in the context of actual current events: For example, how stereotypes about Haredi society are now being reinforced in the media, or how Arab society is being depicted negatively despite the major role played by Arab medical professionals dealing with the pandemic. This content is designed to enable an innovative reassessment of the relations between groups through the lens of social psychology. We are proud to have developed such valuable Corona-era lesson plans at lightning speed, and they are already being used by many teachers (available in Hebrew and Arabic).

Research
Our most recent research aims to summarize the analysis of two groundbreaking studies relating to the last round of Israeli elections, one addressing voting by Arab citizens and the other on Jewish-Arab political partnership. We are also examining how best to align our research efforts to address the emergent challenges in education for shared society and in employment.  

Learning and Knowledge Development
This team is guiding our transition at aChord from frontal to digital platforms in all fields. Their work also guides the formulation of aChord’s public statements about the pandemic and its impact from a social psychology and inter-group relations perspective. On the connection between the Coronavirus crisis and inter-group relations, we have already published a report on Five Points for Thought and Action

More crucial than ever 
I believe that the aChord has been very ably addressing – both in normal times and during this emergency – one of the most complicated and important challenges facing Israeli society. At this point, after three rounds of elections that have only amplified the tensions and the polarization among Israelis, and at the peak of a health emergency and an economic crisis, the mission of aChord has become much more difficult and complicated but also more crucial than ever. I am glad to have joined the aChord team of 25 professionals, all of whom are dedicated to and well prepared for this task. We will continue to strive for significant breakthroughs toward a more equal, tolerant, and respectful society. I promise to update you on the important accomplishments we anticipate down the road.

As we confront the evolving challenges ahead, steadfast optimism and resilient teamwork will help us stay the course together. I send you our best wishes for a Chag Pesach Sameach, a happy Easter, and Ramadan Karim to all who will be celebrating. And, for all of us – our deepest wish that this spring will bring relief from the pandemic, good health, and faith in the shared power of the citizenry in Israel and worldwide to work together for a better future.

Yours in hope,
Ron
Ron Gerlitz, Executive Director
aChord: Social Psychology for Social Change