- Dr. Reuven Gal, Director, Carmel Institute for Social Studies, Israel
In outlining proposals for establishing a regional and inter-state civic youth service in the Middle East, Dr. Reuven Gal described the current changes taking place in the Middle East - changes which may bode well for the possibility of a regional civic youth service; the overall benefits of such a service and the benefits each individual nation would derive from it; and the goals and possible structure of this service.
The Israeli-Arab protracted conflict has led to many adverse psychological transformations, notably negative mutual national images, distrust and `zero-sum' orientation. Moreover, the extended period of violent struggles between Israel, the Palestinians and the Arab states, has consumed enormous economic resources on both sides of the conflict, neglecting many burning social and environmental problems.
However, recent years have seen rapid changes from conflict to peace (via the formal peace agreements in the political arena). These changes need to be accompanied by a reshaping of the nations' institutions and civil organizations to adapt to the new era. There are two common characteristics to this change in all the nations in this region: a reduction in the military use of manpower and economic resources, and the conversion of national and regional resources to development and prosperity (this second dimension made urgent by the differential in available resources and the level of development in each country).
Reframing Jewish-Arab relationships and promoting regional collaboration appear especially vital among youth, the future leaders in the region, who will be implementing the outcomes of the current peace process. The proposed project is designed to establish a regional - Middle Eastern - civic youth service, which will address both the issues of (a) stabilizing comprehensive peace and (b) promoting the solution of social development problems in this geographical area. Though, at the present, the idea of this service is still fantasy, so, a few years ago, was the idea of peace in this region. The success of the project depends, first of all, on a successful implementation of the idea within each country, and second, on the regional co-operation of the interested countries. These need to act on the local and regional level simultaneously. The co-operation is essential for developing a programme that will emphasize values of a civil society shared by the nations of the region as their ultimate goal in this programme. We believe that the following countries have an interest in the project: Israel, Egypt, Jordan, and the Palestinian Authority. Each of these countries has a need for a civic youth service:
Israel - the political, social and cultural changes taking place in Israel, particularly as a result of the peace agreements and reduction in military forces, are creating an excess of manpower and a need for a civic service to replace military service for those who wish to do so. It is important to have a transitional structure that will change the civil mobility credentials from military to civic norms - this structure is the civic youth service. Civic youth service should also reduce intra-religious disputes by creating equity of participation in national efforts and mobilization of youth towards a civic society (helping alleviate current problems such as the secular Jews' argument that there is a discrepancy between Orthodox Jews' share in duties - the majority have not served in the army - and their benefits - they have received a large share of national resources). A civic service would also help the Palestinians in Israel (20% of Israeli society) - marginalized in Israel, with education systems, towns, occupational opportunities etc underdeveloped compared to those of the Jewish citizens. As the Palestinians in Israel are exempt from military service, Jews in Israel have argued that as they do not serve in the army, the Government should not treat them equally as Jewish citizens. In addition, the regional conflict did not encourage the Jews or Palestinians to include Arab citizens in the Israeli military. Civic service is therefore important for the Palestinians in Israel for two reasons: (a) taking part in the development of their local communities and (b) creating an equal basis for Palestinians and Jews as citizens of Israel.
The Palestinians under the Palestinian Authority - youth civic service is needed for several reasons: it will create labour that can be mobilized for development projects to help improve education, infrastructure and healthcare and help alleviate the poverty to which many Palestinians are subject; and it will also improve the skills of participants vis-à-vis the labour market and future careers. Engagement of youth in civic rather than military service will also enhance the trend of moving towards a civil society where civic and democratic institutions take on the influential role long held by military institutions. More than 50% of the Palestinian community is under the age of 17 - this generation needs to be part of regional, developed, civil society based on the values of democracy and tolerance.
Jordan - Many demographic features of the Palestinians are also true for Jordan. In addition, the Jordanian Government is the largest employer in Jordan - more than 52% of employees are government wage-earners. Yet, the government services are lagging behind rising demands for services. Youth civic service will first expand the services net, and second, it can be engaged in creating new jobs by investing their labour power in development projects.
Egypt - the situation here is somewhat different - in this large country the differences between the South and the Nile Delta are larger than any regional differences in the region as a whole. Youth civic service will help in the allocation of services to remote areas, and it will create the basis for development by building some infrastructure needed for development. Egypt's southern and western areas are in urgent need of youth services that will improve education and health services in these places.
At the inter-state, regional level the possible goals for a regional civic youth service are many:
(i) Promotion of peace relations between the neighbouring countries, removal of former barriers of suspicion and hate between the respective societies, elimination of old stereotypes between former adversaries, and reduction and relief of potential tensions still occurring between the parties;
(ii) Achieving a better and more effective use of the common natural resources: water, rivers, beaches, deserts, forests etc;
(iii) Development and maintenance of `lynchpin' elements, such as: connecting roads and bridges between countries, regional radio stations, hiking trails crossing through the states etc;
(iv) Inter-cultural exchange: exchanging cultural, ideological, sociological and normative knowledge among the respective societies.
- So, creating a new generation of leaders, amongst the relevant states, who will have a common language and a better mutual understanding for future co-operation and prosperity.
While the regional service is a long way from implementation, some practical ideas as to its functioning are already in place: it is proposed that all activities be carried out by eight-member teams - two individuals (preferably male and female) from each of the four participating nations. The leadership role within each team will be rotated periodically, to include all parties. It is also proposed that there will be two official languages mandatory in all teams - Hebrew and Arabic (this form of structure and function is somewhat similar to that of Katimavik, the Canadian civic youth programme that operated from 1977 to 1986 - Katimavik teams were comprised of twelve members, balanced by gender, provinces, and French or English background).
Perhaps the 5th Global Conference on National Youth Service in Israel in the year 2000 might be organized by a regional team and be an early example of inter-regional co-operation.
To sum up: the Middle East region has a long history of conflicts, war and antagonism. However, at the present there are signs of a beginning of a change toward a more peaceful and collaborative future. Perhaps better than any other channel - political, economic, or diplomatic - it is our belief that it is through the involvement of the youth of the respective nations, that this new-born and fragile peace will flourish. A regional youth service will enable both the `being together', as well as the `building together' of youth from all neighbouring countries in the Middle East. While the first will draw the people together, the latter function will build and develop the region.
4th
Global conference on national youth service (1998) 
