Ambassador Richard Jones speaks with ACCESS micro-scholarship students at the American Corner Karmiel:
On July 5, twenty five ACCESS micro-scholarship English language students from Hilmi Shafi, Akko; and Wadi Salame packed the American Corner Karmiel to meet with Ambassador Jones. The Ambassador welcomed the students and congratulated them for completing the first year of the scholarship program. He underlined the importance of studying the English language which would enable them to become more competitive and give them the opportunity to exchange information allowing other societies and cultures to learn from the Arab culture and vice versa. The group enthusiastically showered the Ambassador with questions, beginning with a keen interest in his personal and professional life, leading to topics such as state and religion, democracy, the war in Iraq, the Middle-east peace process, and the rights and opportunities for Israeli Arabs. . The Ambassador emphasized that a very effective way for Israeli Arabs to gain equality in Israel is to become educated (for example, through such programs as ACCESS), and to seek their rights through the democratic system which is in place in Israel.
