Navigating Through the Israel-Palestine Quagmire. Advice to Directors, Leads and Sponsors of Diversity & Inclusion Programmes

I have observed and experienced numerous benefits of Diversity & Inclusion (D&I) which enhances mutual understanding, respect and uncovers very interesting facts about fellow colleagues that we were not previously aware of. D&I was turbo-boosted after the killing of George Floyd with focus on Black Lives Matter and the plight of many folks from Black communities; rightly so. There was clear corporate support in the Western world for Ukraine during its war with Russia, but how do companies respond to the escalation of conflict in Israel/Gaza? The current conflict in Israel-Palestine between the IDF and Hamas/Islamic Jihad and Hezbollah, will present a huge dilemma for D&I leads who may not know how to handle such political conflicts between Israel and Palestine, and how to manage their employees who are Jewish or Arab/Muslim and who may be gravitating towards either side of the conflict. As pictures emerge from both sides, this gravity would be stronger than a black hole where opinions would be firmly embedded with no room for escape. D&I platforms and programmes will be stress-tested to its limits. Although the Linkedin platform is for business and commerce, and companies exist to produce goods and services, serve customers, make profits and reinvest in business expansion; they are not political agents. But political conflicts have spilled over into Linkedin, with a rather disturbing photo of a Linkedin member posting a picture of a paraglider with the caption, ‘Powered by God.’ It is important to create an atmosphere of tolerance and mutual respect for employees who are Jewish and Arab (Muslims and Christians and other faiths). What is important to do is to distinguish between Hamas’s actions and the genuine struggle of Palestinians to achieve a state of their own. Because of the incursions that Hamas made to kill Israeli civilian families and kidnap some of them, where the IDF and security agencies were taken by surprise, any pro-Palestinian demonstration with Palestinian flags would unfortunately now be deemed to be supporting Hamas. The two have been conflated. Extreme organisations of Hamas, Islamic Jihad and Hezbollah will be using pictures of dead children after the Israeli retaliation to garner more support from the Muslim world…which is exactly what the leaders of Hamas wanted. Of course, the Israeli retaliation should also be criticised when they turned off resource supplies to Gaza knowing that a human catastrophe would ensue. During war, there will be propaganda from both sides who share video clips and photos that feed their respected narratives. Whilst politicians do their politicking and we all wait for an end to this bloody war, here is what organisations can do in the meantime:

1. Understand the needs of your Jewish employees. They may feel unsafe as there are extremists who would conflate the actions of the IDF with Jewish beliefs thereby attack Jews as a result. Discuss with your Jewish employees how your organisation can support them.
2. If any of the Jewish employees have felt threatened by colleagues who have expressed explicit support for Hamas, then immediate HR intervention is required with no room for manoeuvre. Hamas and similar groups have been designated as terrorist organisations (freedom fighters do not kill nor kidnap civilians). Robust disciplinary procedures must be followed so that anti-Semitism does not find a home.
3. Understand the needs of your Arab or Muslim employees, who may be Palestinian or otherwise. Their support of a Palestinian state should not be regarded as support for Hamas. Just as most Muslims do not support the actions of Muslim terrorists, most Palestinian campaigners and Palestinians will not support Hamas etc. The reason why you have not seen robust condemnation of Hamas from the general Palestinian populace is because they are afraid of this group which has been in control of Gaza since 2006, when the last and only election occurred. Any public criticism of Hamas by Palestinians etc. is likely to be met with harsh punishments. Steer clear of any mention of Hamas etc., an organisation that deserves no publicity.
4. As more pro-Palestinian solidarity protests take place, many on the far-right White supremacy groups will conflate these protests with support for terrorism. The incidents of Islamophobia is likely to increase as a result. It is important to ensure that Muslim employees, especially women who wear hijab, feel safe and secure. Support should be offered to such employees. A few years ago, there had been incidents of acid attacks on Muslim women wearing hijab by White supremacy groups, such incidents may rise with rising political tensions.
5. Of course, steer clear of political discussions. Whilst D&I programmes have been beneficial to understand the challenges that minority groups face, as well as provide platforms for highlighting positive aspects of various cultures and religions, it is imperative to start (if you haven’t already) D&I sessions and bulletins where different religious groups can share details of their festivals and their beliefs. These would enhance mutual tolerance and understanding as people start to realise that there is more commonality between religions than there are differences.
6. When I have run D&I sessions myself relating to extremism, Islam and Muslim culture, I have always ensured that people felt safe to ask questions or even challenge my religious beliefs or culture in order to clear up ignorance. I never treat any challenging question as offensive nor Islamophobic. However, not everyone will be comfortable in holding such open platforms, and many companies may not go as far as to hold them for fear of offending people and destabilising the workplace. The reason why I mentioned this is because if there are people who are qualified enough to embrace challenging questions, then this platform (pending HR clearance of course!) would benefit other colleagues who would have otherwise been ignorant.

Organisations do NOT exist to resolve political conflicts, but they can minimise potential conflicts between employees through HR support and by supporting more D&I initiatives that provide safe spaces for them to exchange ideas.