Majority-Minority Relations: Knesset Delegation to Germany/Denmark
The Hanns Seidel Foundation and Citizens' Accord Forum arranged for a visit of a Knesset delegation to Germany and Denmark in May, on the topic of majority-minority relations. Minister of Religious Affairs David Azoulay (Shas), who was joined by MK Dr. Yousef Jabareen (Hadash), MK Yifat Shasha Biton (Kulanu) and MK Masud Ghanayim (Ta’al) headed the delegation.
Hosting the delegation was the European Centre for Minority Issues (ECMI), which is a research and advocacy institute, supported by German and Danish government, as well as by the government of the German province of Schleswig-Holstein. The ECMI provides assessments to governments and international organizations on relations between majority and minority relationships. It hereby served as a valuable host for a delegation of the Knesset, consisting of Jewish and Arab members of Knesset to inform about its research and about the minority model established in the Danish-German border region.
The delegation learned about the cultural and educational autonomy of the Danish and German minorities, the long history from enemies to essential regional cooperation, the situation of minority parties in local and regional parliaments and governments, as well as international and European conventions that enshrine minority rights and autonomy. Certainly, the "Danish-German minority model is not an ‘export article’ but a moral example demonstrating that you may be able to reach a long-term solution if all parties involved show their goodwill,” concluded the Danish Consul General in Flensburg, Prof. Becker-Christensen in his address to the delegation.
Furthermore, the delegation was acquainted with issues related to the participation of minorities and minority parties in regional politics, reserved seats in the regional parliament, the role of the minority commissioner, funding and more. The various political meetings the delegation held in Berlin, Kiel, Flensburg, and Denmark, gave an added insight on both the Federal as well as the minorities’ point of view on managing and fostering the relationship between majorities and minorities. The delegation was received, among others, by the Deputy Speaker of the German Bundestag, MP Johannes Singhammer, the president of Hanns Seidel Foundation, Prof. Ursula Männle, and the Chairman of the parliament of Schleswig-Holstein, Klaus Schlie, who concluded: “there are no rapid solutions; it always works step by step”.
The visit of the delegation is part of the project work of Hanns Seidel Foundation and Citizens' Accord Forum, which have engaged in a policy dialogue to revisit majority-minority relations in Israel.