New Way (Israel)

In parliamentary politics, New Way was a short-lived group formed during the Fifteenth Knesset by members who broke away from the Center Party.[1] In government policy, the name identifies an initiative supporting the integration of Israelis of Ethiopian origin through a systemic, community-based, and culturally responsive approach.[2]

Other uses include an emerging political movement discussed in 2023 and Derech Hadasha Foreign Workers for Construction, a manpower corporation belonging to the Derech Hadasha group.[4][5] A March 2023 commentary identified Ella Issacharoff as the political movement’s founder and described its aims as addressing economic inequality, educational disparities, and social injustice.[4] The cited report did not identify the movement with the earlier parliamentary faction or the government integration program.

Dalia Rabin-Pelossof and two other Center Party members, Amnon Lipkin-Shahak and Uri Savir, established the New Way faction in March 2001.[1][3] The day after its formation, Rabin-Pelossof was appointed Deputy Minister of Defense in Ariel Sharon’s government.[3] By later that month, she was the faction’s sole remaining member.[3]

On May 7, 2001, Rabin-Pelossof joined One Israel, which later became Labor-Meimad.[3] New Way ceased to exist following her move.[1]

The government integration effort emerged in the context of protests following a 2015 incident in Holon, where a video showed two police officers assaulting an IDF soldier.[6] A division responsible for implementing the integration plan was established in the Prime Minister’s Office in November 2016.[6] Headed by Talal Dolev, it consisted of five people, three of whom were Ethiopian Israelis.[6]

The reform assigned responsibility for integration across government rather than treating Ethiopian Israelis solely as immigrants.[6] Dolev summarized the policy shift by saying: “Ethiopian Israelis will not be considered immigrants; responsibility for integration will not be through the Immigration and Absorption Ministry but the government as a whole.”[6]

The government’s New Way program expanded local-authority activities intended to prevent violence and combat drug and alcohol use, adapting them to support the integration of Israelis of Ethiopian origin.[2] The relevant ministry’s programs operated in 55 local authorities with populations of Ethiopian origin and in 24 boarding schools.[2] Activities took place through formal education, informal education, and welfare frameworks, using both homogeneous and mixed groups according to locally identified needs.[2]

Community evenings were held in Amharic and Hebrew to share information about violence, alcohol, and drugs.[2] They encouraged discussion of risk behaviors as social concerns rather than solely individual or family problems.[2] Tailored activities addressed spiritual and social leaders, parents, young adults aged 18–35, teenagers, professionals, and boarding-school students.[2] These included parent workshops, youth prevention activities, professional training, and programs strengthening relationships between parents and students.[2]

In the commercial use of the name, Derech Hadasha Foreign Workers for Construction operates as a manpower corporation with approval from Israel’s Population and Immigration Authority.[5] Rotem David Atary is its chief executive, and the company recruits workers from India, Sri Lanka, and other countries to address construction labor shortages.[7] A sponsored company profile reported approximately 500 foreign workers after two years of activity, with 30–50 additional workers being onboarded each month.[5]

The recruitment arrangements described in that profile include government-to-government recruitment, in which the state screens candidates in their country of origin, and business-to-business recruitment through recruitment firms abroad, including in India and Sri Lanka.[5] In the company’s business-to-business process, contractors can assess candidates in person before they travel and select workers for their projects.[5]

A contractor specifies the number of workers required and their trades, such as formwork, steel fixing, plastering, or tiling.[5] Candidates undergo practical assessments of work quality and speed, followed by personal interviews; checks also cover medical documents, passport validity, and criminal-record information.[5] An example in the company profile describes a request for 20 tilers leading to practical tests for approximately 100 candidates, with about 50 proceeding to interviews.[5]

Arrival support includes meeting workers at Ben Gurion Airport, helping them open bank accounts and obtain Israeli SIM cards, and supplying work clothing, equipment, food, and an advance payment.[5] The service package also includes accommodation, medical insurance, and a transit card.[5] Before beginning work at a construction site, workers receive safety instruction, guidance on preventing sexual harassment, and Home Front Command guidance, with interpreters assisting.[5]

After placement, the employment relationship remains with Derech Hadasha, while the contractor directs the workers’ professional work.[5] Six headquarters staff were described as providing continuing support to workers and contractors, including arranging replacements when workers stop working or become ill and handling accidents, leave, housing problems, and emergencies.[5] The wider group also coordinates construction-related services and supplies, including traffic arrangements and inspectors, signage, building materials and equipment, cranes, engineers, and professional training.[5]

Atary’s proposals in the sponsored profile included developing dedicated hotels for foreign workers in industrial zones.[5] Her estimate of roughly 240,000 foreign workers living in Israel, and her description of crowded worker housing, were company-executive claims presented in that marketing context rather than independently verified figures.[5]

By September 2017, 59 of the government integration plan’s 71 planned projects had been implemented in about 35 municipalities, with the program described as costing NIS 170 million annually.[8] Three additional initiatives had been approved to encourage leadership and excellence: support for higher education, vouchers for children’s extracurricular activities, and interest-free loans intended to increase the number of Ethiopian-owned businesses.[8] Participation by Ethiopian pupils in programs for outstanding students had risen from 449 to 1,187.[8]

A later review presented a less favorable assessment of implementation.[9] Findings reported in July 2024 showed that only 67% of the budgets allocated to the New Way integration plan had been utilized and that its goals had consequently not been met.[9] The State Comptroller called for deep involvement by government, particularly local government, in implementing the plan.[9]

Sources differ on the timing and circumstances of Amnon Lipkin-Shahak and Uri Savir’s departure. Encyclopedia.com says both resigned from the Knesset two days after New Way was formed, while a Jewish Virtual Library biography of Rabin-Pelossof places their departure later in March 2001.[1][3] A separate biography says Lipkin-Shahak ran with New Way, failed to receive the required number of votes, and resigned from the Knesset.[10] The available accounts do not resolve this discrepancy.

The name is also ambiguous. The sources do not establish an organizational connection between the government integration program and the political movement discussed in 2023.[2][4] The commercial company is treated separately, and its detailed operational figures and service descriptions come from sponsored marketing content and should be understood as company-reported information.[5]