Soraya with Samah
To the Arab citizens of Israel,
For a while now, I have been asking: where are the Arab Israelis?
On a recent visit to Israel, I saw something that moved me deeply. Arab women sitting in cafés with Jewish friends. Mothers pushing strollers side by side. Conversations flowing easily in markets and shopping centers. Laughter. Ordinary life. Shared space. Shared humanity.
I wanted to see more.
I wanted to hear more.
Because that reality — the daily coexistence that quietly exists — is not what the world sees.
This week, at a peace conference initiated by Tom Wegner, Founder of the Abrahamic Movement in collaboration with Talking Peace, two organizations deeply committed to promoting Abrahamic Unity, I met an Arab Israeli woman named Samah Sakran. As we sat together with other Jewish, Muslim, and Arab women something powerful happened. We looked into each other’s eyes. We spoke candidly about our past. About our fears. About the grief we carry. About the hopes we are almost afraid to voice. And about a future that, despite everything, we can still build.
It was not naïve. It was not easy.
But it was honest.
And honesty is the beginning of leadership.
Samah spoke candidly about the silence within her community. She lamented how few are willing to step forward publicly.
At one point, I referred to her as Palestinian. She gently but firmly corrected me.
“No,” she said. “I am an Israeli. I love this country.”
There was no hesitation in her voice. No apology. Just clarity.
That moment stayed with me.
“Half the world are women, the other half are our children.”
The Missing Voice
Nearly two million Arab citizens live in Israel — voting, studying, working, raising families under the protection of law. Yet in global conversations, their voices are almost invisible. Instead, the loudest narratives often come from activists abroad or extremists on either side.
Meanwhile, antisemitism has surged globally to levels not seen in generations. Jewish communities in Europe, North America, and beyond are facing threats, intimidation, and isolation.
In this moment, your voice matters.
Not because you must abandon your Palestinian identity or silence legitimate grievances. But because you uniquely embody complexity. You live citizenship. You navigate identity. You know both pain and possibility.
And the world needs to hear from you.
Tell the Whole Truth — Including Our Own Failures
We must also be honest about history.
For decades, much of the Arab world embraced a simplistic “colonizer” narrative — portraying Jews as foreign interlopers rather than acknowledging a persecuted people seeking refuge and self-determination in their ancestral homeland.
The Jewish people were not backed by an empire. They were emerging from statelessness, pogroms, and genocide. They were seeking a place to call home.
Too often, instead of choosing coexistence, the Arab world chose rejection.
If we want credibility, we must acknowledge that.
And if we seek dignity, we must also recognize that dignity is mutual.
Respect, safety, and security must be reciprocal — for Arab and Jew alike.
5 Things That Must Be Done
“Every moment is an organizing opportunity, every person a potential Activist, every minute a chance to change the world.”
1. Clarify your values and vision for the country you live in.
Values tell us who we are. Vision tells us where we are going. This is what you hope the world will become, because you lived on this earth.
What kind of Israel do you want? One defined by permanent fracture — or one defined by shared citizenship and responsibility? How can your personal vision enrich your nations standing in the world!
2. Build power.
Power is not outrage. Power is organized people.. Build strategic alliances — Arab and Jewish — around shared interests: education, economic opportunity, public safety, democratic stability.
3. Shape the narrative.
Your stories matter. Arab doctors in Israeli hospitals. Arab judges in Israeli courts. Arab entrepreneurs building the economy. Arab women building bridges in everyday life. The world needs to hear these truths.
The world needs to hear your personal story. Public narratives are critical to bring change and enable paradigm shifts. Story telling is a persuasive tool for influencing behavior and driving change.
4. Make paradigm shifts.
Move from reactive identity politics to proactive leadership. Shift from defining yourselves solely through opposition to defining yourselves through contribution and vision.
5. Reach out directly to the Jewish people.
Speak openly about Arab, Muslim, and Palestinian interests — but also about shared interests. Security. Prosperity. Stability. The protection of democratic norms. Dialogue does not erase difference; it strengthens resilience.
Our Silence Will Not Save Us
“ While my struggle is not the same as my sisters struggle, I am not free until my sister is free.”- Soraya
The lesson I learned working in Nigeria for a decade is simple: no society is transformed by outsiders. Solutions must come from within. As Nigeria works to battle extremism and violence, we are building a movement comprising Nigerian women. Today NigerianWomenLead is a thriving grassroots organization focused on building Christian-Muslim relationships. The movement comprises of community organizers, activities, interventionist, who work tirelessly round the clock, to prevent and mitigate conflict.
The future of Israel will not be decided in foreign capitals or university campuses abroad. It will be shaped by those who live its daily reality — Jewish and Arab.
When I saw Arab and Jewish mothers walking together, I saw a glimpse of that future.
But glimpses are not enough.
We need voices.
We need courage.
We need leadership.
Our silence will not save us.
But honest, visible, principled leadership just might.
A new beginning- Arab- Israeli Solidarity.
Soraya M Deen is an award winning Muslim feminist lawyer, interfaith advocate, international activist, community organizer and public speaker.
Soraya is also the Co- chair of the Womens Working Group of the International Religious Freedom Roundtable in DC. She is the founder and CEO of the Muslim Women Speakers AND Nigerian Women Lead. The women work in the areas of addressing Religious extremism, #Antisemitism, Hate, Gender Equality & Public Leadership. Soraya is the co- founder of Clarity Coalition & senior member of the Muslim Reform Movement of North America.