OneVoice Blog, Empowering Israeli and Palestinian Citizens toward a Two State Solution

OneVoice Movement on Facebook

OneVoice Israel speaks to the extremes of Israeli society

By Tal Harris

On January 22, OneVoice Israel brought 15 of its members from Tel Aviv to meet with 30 settlers in the illegal settlement of Negohot, situated in the hills south of Hebron. Organizations in Israel seeking an end to the conflict tend to operate in the Tel Aviv area alone, but the OneVoice Movement prides itself on going to the hardest to reach communities and discussing with them the toughest issues.

The idea was conceived on November 7, 2009, at the Memorial Day Rally in Rabin Square in Tel Aviv, held to commemorate the murder of Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin. I was handing out OneVoice Israel leaflets when I was approached by a young girl named Hodaya, who asked me to stop. She told me that I and other nongovernmental organizations and political parties carrying out similar activities were politicizing the event, alienating large segments of Israeli society.

Hodaya came from Susya settlement in the southern part of Mount Hebron, an area holding some of the most remote and isolated settlements.

I asked Hodaya where she thought it would be legitimate to discuss politics if not during Rabin's Memorial Day event. She told me anywhere else would be better than here, to which I replied that my job was to conduct political discussions addressing all core issues of the conflict, and that I didn't consider any Israeli – settler or not – to be exempt from the responsibility of finding a solution to the conflict. She surprised me by agreeing with me, and offered to connect me to people in her settlement.

It is one thing, I thought, to conduct a town hall meeting in Ariel in the midst of the moratorium on settlement construction and expansion. Ariel and similar settlement blocks may well remain intact in exchange for similar lands in any future agreement with the Palestinians (at least, that’s what most Israelis assume). It’s a completely different challenge, and a far more difficult one, to address settlers who’ve built a life in a disputed area and tell them that being a Zionist and a patriot gives them no choice but to leave this place.

I ended up finalizing details with Rabbi Nehemiah from the neighboring Negohot settlement. The rabbi believed that the truth must come out through pluralism and open debate, and welcomed OneVoice Israel. I was surprised by his openness, and accepted his offer after making sure he understood what he was getting his settlement into.

Fifteen OneVoice Israel student activists with a wide range of political views joined us from Tel Aviv.

The rabbi gave us a historical tour of the settlement before we settled into a nearly three-hour long political discussion.

Negohot is a beautiful place with an amazing view that, on a good day, encompasses the industrial chimneys of Hadera to the north and the outskirts of Be’er Sheba to the south. The closest town to Negohot is the Arab village of Beit Awa. In peaceful times, the settlers paid the Arabs to harvest their fields for them.

The Oslo Accords stipulated that Negohot should be evacuated, but the rabbi takes pride in the fact that the settlers prevented this measure from being implemented and thus forced the Israeli Defense Forces to continue monitoring the entire area. Negohot is situated on an old Roman road and life in the settlement used to be vibrant because of its location on the road to Jerusalem. There are about 20 soldiers guarding 42 families who make their living mostly from agriculture and even high-tech industries.

“[Negohot residents are] extremely rooted to the ground and have a profound connection to it,” explained Rabbi Nehemiah.

The settlers there distinguish their settlement from the “illegal outposts” because they say they’ve gone through a (partial) political process of authorization. Since the Sason Report, Negohot has not received direct government funding. A 120 square meter house in Negohot costs 700,000 NIS ($187,000), but due to the current moratorium on settlement construction and expansion, any purchase made today would be frozen.

The main focus of our visit to Negohot was to find out what can be done about the four million Palestinians living in what some refer to as Greater Israel. This demographic fact is threatening to destroy the Jewish character of Israel unless there is a division of the land and the creation of two sovereign states.

Our conversation with 30 of Negohot’s settlers set history aside and focused on the politics of the situation. Any future agreement with the Palestinians would certainly demand the dismantlement of their homes. It should be noted that all Negohot settlers identify themselves as Zionists.

The first person to speak started by challenging how Israel could remain a democratic and Jewish state if it controlled all the territories occupied in 1967. In order to do both, Israel would have to grant millions of Palestinians voting rights, which would end the Jewish majority in the state of Israel. Another took the opposite stance, arguing that the transfer of the Arab population should be the only option.

Maor, a settler from Negohot, agreed and stated that since he was banished from the Gaza Strip (Gush Katif settlement), he believed anyone can be banished and now it was just a matter of who had a right to this land and who didn't.

The settlers presented a wide variety of opinions and possible solutions. Zurit asserted that she had no problem living side by side with Palestinians. She'd even done so in the Gaza Strip, which implied that co-existence was possible. Her fellow settler, Efram, claimed that any extreme solution like banishing people on a large scale should be excluded from the discourse.

Nehemiah objected to the OneVoice theme of a moderate majority that wishes to live in peace and quiet. “That means we can all just move to Europe or some other quiet place,” he said. “Having a Jewish state means being in Israel.”

He suggested solutions other than a transfer, such as encouraging more Jews to make Aliyah (immigration of Jews into Israel) and promoting more births in Israel.

I explained to the participants that politics was all about compromising. A Jewish state cannot be something total and extreme; otherwise, it won't be democratic anymore. It had to be somewhat Jewish, and it must ensure that we, as Jews, were safe, independent and can carry our tradition on a national level, even if the land was smaller.

Ethan from Tel Aviv added his opinion that, “the pragmatic consideration of OneVoice means that the value of life in a fairly democratic and Jewish state is favored instead of any venture that tries to create the impossible, and keep it democratic, Jewish and without clearly defined borders.”

After three hours of discussion, it was time to wrap up the debate.

I’d been surprised by the diverse range of opinions of a group of settlers who live in one of the most remote and controversial outposts in the West Bank. It showed me that even amongst the settler movement there were those who were open to debate and pragmatic arguments.

Our event in Negohot proved an important forum for people to be engaged in the real challenges of what a two state solution means and the compromises that it may involve.

Tal Harris started as a youth leader with the OneVoice Movement and became the coordinator of its town hall meetings in Israel.

  

A Walk through Reality - Askar Refugee Camp

By Dalia Labadi

Walking down the street of a refugee camp is a trip that can rupture your heart. Each house holds a story within, a story that is carried through generations, a story that tells of an old life that our ancestors lived and a new life that the younger generation is fighting to achieve.

I was sitting in the car with my colleagues when we reached an area with ugly buildings, dirty streets due to sewage and broken water pipes, and narrow passages only the width of one car. Welcome to Askar refugee camp!

The camp, established in 1950, lies outside the West Bank city of Nablus and houses 15,887 refugees in a tightly packed area, according to UNRWA. More than 44 percent live in poverty.

I’d been to refugee camps before to visit family friends, but never in my role as town hall meeting coordinator for OneVoice Palestine. It was a vastly different experience entering as an outsider giving a talk about the hard issues of the conflict, many of which are considered taboo in Palestinian society and especially among refugees.

People were waiting for us at the front door of the hall where we were holding out event to help us carry equipment. Everyone was welcoming. Despite this positive energy from the crowd, I couldn’t help but feel disturbed and filled with burning emotions, as I witnessed the miserable conditions residents of Askar were living under.

Sitting aside and watching one of OneVoice Palestine’s youth leaders conduct a session on border issues, I carefully observed the audience. At that moment, I felt that I was able to see through their eyes their stories, misery, questions, and skepticism.

The residents of Askar refugee camp know that the only way to end the occupation and achieve a permanent peace with Israel is by adopting the two-state solution. But, they find it hard to accept because they’d have to abandon their ideals and retire the image of the map of Palestine they knew their whole lives.

The session was very difficult to conduct, but its rewards greater than our other events. The audience was honest and expressed themselves clearly. Our team felt comfortable sharing ideas and thoughts about the future of Palestine.

In such an open forum for dialogue, we were able to sense the confusion the refugees live in. They don’t know how to get out of their quagmire while preserving the needs and wants. They are full of hope and expectation, but it’s a constant struggle in the face of their daily lives.

Discussing taboo topics with them yields complicated response and conflicting ideas. You can sense the internal battle each is going through in trying to balance the need for pragmatism with holding on to cherished ideals. Despite this, I can say with confidence that I walked away that day convinced of their will to end the conflict through non-violent actions.

At the end of a long two-hour discussion, I stood by the entrance, wondering how can a nation that has been under occupation for more than four decades, facing incursions, assassinations, arrests, and curfews have such a big heart and willingness to change the current situation.

It challenging, intellectually and emotionally, to persevere in the work we do. It’s easy sometimes to feel like I’m running on empty, but meeting people like the Askar refugees gives me all the fuel I need to deal head-on with the different kinds of obstacles we face daily.

Every meeting and activity we organize in such places as Askar refugee camp renews my commitment to end the occupation and the conflict in order to establish a sustainable Palestinian state for the people of Palestine.

Dalia Labadi is the Program Coordinator of OneVoice Palestine's Town Hall Meetings.

  

OneVoice Palestine starts the New Year engaging refugees

As the New Year begins, OneVoice Palestine has picked up where it left off- saying what needs to be said in places where ordinary people’s voices are often unheard.

OVP visited Asskar Al jdeed refugee camp in Nablus to speak to people about the most difficult taboo issues surrounding the final status topic of borders. OVP partnered with Al-Safeer and attracted young adults to come and speak about an issue that lies at the heart of Palestinian dreams and aspirations.

The event was led by Mohammed Asseda, one of OneVoice Palestine’s Nablus-based Youth Leaders, who was initially confronted with a disillusioned and suspicious audience. Most participants walked into the room feeling that there was no partner for peace on the other side, and questioned whether a two state solution really was a viable option.

Mohammed took his time and walked through the practical realties of the situation, answering each of the member’s questions in turn, and giving them a full chance to air their worries and fears. Over the course of two hours the mood in the room moved from pessimistic apathy to realistic urgency, and an understanding developed of the need to move towards a two state solution immediately- as every day the conflict persists, the Palestinians suffer further under the hardships of occupation.

Every person in attendance signed up for more information about OneVoice, and they were eager to have more town hall meeting opportunities, so they could hear more about the other taboo issues, have their say, and build consensus around a common approach.

This is just one of the town hall meetings that OVP have been running up and down Palestine, engaging the grassroots who are living under occupation and continuing to build momentum for the establishment of a sovereign and independent Palestinian state, living in peace alongside Israel.

OneVoice Palestinian Takes On The Competition

Over the past few months OVP has faced many tough crowds and challenges while saying what needs to be said and building up the grassroots. But Ayyoub Suwwan youth council member of OneVoice Palestine decided to step up the challenge and enter OVP into the national Volleyball competition held in Qalqilia in December.

While OVP trains its Youth Leaders to talk the talk, they also excelled at set, smash and serve finishing in the top five teams out of forty with teams from around Palestine.

Emblazoned with OneVoice Palestine Logo’s the team competed with hundreds of youth watching the tournament. Congratulations to the OVP volleyball team!

 

Keith Ferrazzi talks to Israeli and Palestinian youth leaders

The Jerusalem Post covered Keith Ferrazzi’s recent visit with Israeli and Palestinian youth leaders of the OneVoice Movement.

Link to video

Tzipi Livni: World will not accept 'economic peace' alone

Former Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni addressed Tel Aviv University students on the importance of the two-state solution and spoke critically of the Netanyahu government at an event organized by OneVoice Israel and the Tel Aviv University Student Union on Tuesday.

Livni, head of the opposition party Kadima, said the current Israeli leadership had fallen behind in making difficult decisions.

"Those politicians who thought that the world would accept an 'economic peace', but not the real thing are finding out that no such thing exists," said Livni.

Livni stressed the importance and urgency of ending the conflict through a comprehensive peace deal. She told students that those working toward a final settlement of the conflict were the true defenders of the Zionist dream.

“When Israel only says 'no' and does not present its formula to ending the conflict, then the world will not stand by its side," she said. "There is no party that is more or less committed to security – this is not a political matter.”

Livni went on to rebuke the Netanyahu government's approach in handling the conflict.

“Any attempt to create solutions that are not leading to the end of the conflict is a historical mistake on behalf of Israel," said Livni. "Any postponement or an idea about a [Palestinian] state in temporary borders would leave the conflict standing and lead to further weakening of Israel's positions.”

Commenting on the issue of borders, Livni said it was dangerous to treat all Jewish settlements across the Green Line that divides Israel from the West Bank as equal.

"If we don't distinguish between the main settlement blocs and peripheral settlements and outposts, the rest of the world will not make this distinction either, and will continue to speak out against all Israeli settlements," Livni said.

The event was part of the OneVoice Movement's ongoing Town Hall Meetings initiative.

On December 22, OneVoice Israel held a meeting at Ariel settlement, during which former Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz addressed Ariel College students on his peace plan.

OneVoice Israel presented the poll commissioned by the OneVoice Movement in collaboration with Dr. Colin Irwin of the Institute of Irish Studies at the University of Liverpool at both events.

The main results showed that 74% of Palestinians and 78% of Israelis were willing to accept a two-state solution (an option rated on a range from ‘tolerable’ to ‘essential’). According to the data, 77% of Israelis and 71% of Palestinians considered a negotiated peace ‘essential’ or ‘desirable’.

"The youth leadership of OneVoice Israel is encouraged by the strong support it received from top Israeli politicians in Tel Aviv as well as in Ariel," said Tal Harris, coordinator of OneVoice Israel's town hall meetings. "We urge our leaders to take steps toward ending this conflict without delay."

Israeli and Palestinian town hall meetings are part of the OneVoice Movement’s ongoing Saying What Needs to Be Said initiative, whereby open discussions are held in the respective communities on the substantive issues of the conflict.

The OneVoice Movement has independent Israeli and Palestinian chapters working in parallel to appeal to the national self interests of their own societies with credentials enabling them to unite people within each society across the religious and political spectrum.

The OneVoice Movement is an international mainstream grassroots movement that aims to amplify the voice of Israeli and Palestinian moderates, empowering them to seize back the agenda for conflict resolution and demand that their leaders achieve a two-state solution.

###

For more information:
Shir Harel: +972-54-245-7683

Impressions from Sderot

By Tal Harris

The name Sderot is synonymous with children’s schools under rocket attacks, deafening warning alarms and the adrenaline-fuelled run for your life that follows.

Sderot is Israeli solidarity, bringing people from all over the small country to support the city’s economy by shopping and its morale by cheering up traumatized children and other residents.

Trauma must be an understatement, I thought to myself while driving to the southern town, about a mile from the Gaza border. I’d experienced my own little trauma during the 1991 Gulf War when the Iraqi regime under Saddam Hussein launched rocket attacks on Israel. Remembering the anxiety I felt just from simply hearing a motorcycle engine revving in the street. But the attacks lasted for several weeks while in Sderot it’s been seven years. I wondered if the town’s residents would ever recover from their years of trauma.

OneVoice Israel's youth leaders are also personally confronted with the trauma the conflict leaves on children and innocent civilians in the Palestinian occupied territories. Moderate Israelis regret that this is the reality we are dragged into and have a strong yearning for a normal, secure, and humane existence. The will to live on both sides of the border is generally stronger than any trauma. Between the cracks that war leaves on people’s lives, some light manages to seep in too.

OneVoice Israel organized a town hall meeting in Sderot to discuss the Israeli-Palestinian conflict with the residents. We came to talk about it all, from Israel’s security needs to the mutual compromises needed on the settlements, Jerusalem and the Palestinian refugees. The conflict is a messy cocktail; shaken, not stirred.

The deputy mayor gave us a tour of the town. He’d seen it all and yet had his eyes wide open hoping for change. He said he’d host Hamas, or any other organization, in his home in Sderot if they sought true reconciliation. He passionately spoke about the destruction brought upon the town’s 20,000 residents of old and new immigrants, noting that people’s lives fell into the routine of war. It was important speaking to someone who could explain life in Sderot beyond the headlines and show the human cost of failed politics.

Later that evening, we held our town hall meeting at Cinematheque Sderot, with roughly 100 people in attendance, including local politicians and students from the nearby Sapir College.

At the reception preceding the discussion itself, OneVoice Israel youth leaders mingled with the attendees, sharing their personal experiences and making new contacts for the movement.

I moderated the discussion and presented the results of the poll commissioned by the OneVoice Movement, showing room for compromise on all issues. While Israelis opposed the existence of a Palestinian army, both Israelis and Palestinians were surprisingly accepting of an international force that would replace the Israeli army for security purposes after signing a final status agreement.

I expected the discussion to be very emotionally charged given the town had suffered from more than 7,000 rockets, but the audience balanced their feelings with equal measures of intelligence.

The audience wanted to know if they could ever trust the Palestinians with guns, especially since they felt violations of past agreements led to a hostile Palestinian police force. The audience also protested against the failure of the elected leaders, Israeli and Palestinian, at reaching a final agreement and for having settled with a mutually violated interim agreement. Obviously, this failure led to a chronic state of distrust between Israelis and Palestinians alike. Despite reservations, the audience became convinced that the majority of Palestinians were moderates seeking a normal life and that Israel would have to make far-reaching compromises for peace.

Our guest speaker, Yoram Binur, former correspondent on Arab affairs for Israel’s Channel 2, energized the crowd. His charismatic straight talk against the ignorance that Israelis (and Palestinians) often adopt when considering the substantive issues penetrated the audience.

Speaking about Palestinian political prisoners, Binur said, “Most of them are not a security hazard and simply age and study in the Open University when in Israeli prisons”. Commenting on Jerusalem and the need to divide the city, he asked the audience, “Who wants to have 300,000 Palestinians in 26 villages that surround the Israeli capital”.

Binur’s humor and extensive experience reporting in the West Bank and Gaza lent him credibility with the audience, allowing him to engage, rather than antagonize, them.

The Sderot town hall meeting shows that while there are still significant gaps between Israelis and Palestinians on the various core issues of the conflict, there is a greater desire to live and prosper on both sides. This makes it possible to discuss everything. One simply needs to challenge the people to talk about it all, rather than leaving it solely in the hands of the elected leadership. Because we dare to do so, I’m proud to be part of OneVoice Israel.

Please help us to continue challenging Israelis and Palestinians on the conflict’s toughest issues by considering a substantial year-end gift to the OneVoice Movement.

Tal Harris started as a youth leader with the OneVoice Movement and became the coordinator of its town hall meetings in Israel. He will moderate two high-profile town hall meetings in December, one with Shaul Mofaz, former defense minister, and another with Tzipi Livni, leader of the Kadima party.

Jason Alexander and Our Youth Leaders Visit Washington, DC

By Rachel Steinberg

I was thrilled to assist in coordinating a visit to Washington, DC for OneVoice Entertainment Council Member Jason Alexander and two of our most senior youth leaders, Arwa AbdelRahman and Guy Lupo.

Youth Leaders Guy Lupo (left) and Arwa AbdelRahman, and Jason Alexander

Our goal was to bring the voices of Israeli and Palestinian civil society to US policymakers and decision makers – demonstrating firsthand the importance of civic engagement in the peace process.

The day began with meetings on Capitol Hill. We met with Senator Richard Lugar, the ranking member on the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations. In May, the senator cited the movement’s poll during a Senate hearing on the Middle East, saying, “There is substantial support within Israeli and Palestinian societies for a resolution to the conflict.”

The youth leaders wasted no time in highlighting the impact of our Town Hall Meetings on ordinary Israeli and Palestinian citizens, who largely accept a two-state solution. We were inspired by Senator Lugar’s commitment to ending the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Our second meeting was a briefing for staff in the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations. Hearing the voices and opinions of our youth leaders -- in person, during an engaging conversation -- served as a stark contrast to reading about the conflict, or watching it play out on the evening news. In 2010, we will continue to bridge the information gap by presenting the growing popular support for the two-state solution and the strong consensus on both sides for US involvement.

At the House of Representatives, we met with staff in the Committees on Appropriations and Foreign Affairs. They heard Arwa’s frustrations over spending hours at Israeli checkpoints on her way to university and how the OneVoice Movement provided her with a positive way of expressing these feelings. Guy shared how he felt out of touch from the conflict until he did his military service and realized the impact it had on the daily lives of both Israelis and Palestinians. Since then, he has felt a need to work tirelessly to end the conflict.

Our final engagement was with existing and new supporters and friends from the OneVoice Washington Leadership Committee. As Jason spoke about trying to imagine his children having no future, as so many parents living through this conflict feel, he moved the room to tears.

Our two youth leaders left the audience energized when they shared how the OneVoice Movement’s 2006-2007 campaign -- “What Are You Willing to Do to End the Conflict?” -- compelled and drove them to act and to take personal responsibility to build peace.

During our celebratory dinner, I sat back and looked around the table at all of the faces: young and older, familiar and new, all excited and motivated by what they had just heard. I felt encouraged that the OneVoice Movement could reach out to so many people from so many different walks of life, all united in their desire to see peace in the Middle East.

In the end, there was nothing to worry about: All of the advance planning paid off -- with special thanks to all of our Host Committee members (especially our hosts Karen and Fred Schaufeld), and Arwa, Guy, and Jason.

Please help us to continue the work of OneVoice Washington by considering a substantial year-end gift to the OneVoice Movement.

Rachel Steinberg is completing her master’s degree in conflict resolution at Georgetown University. She joined the OneVoice Movement as government relations fellow in June 2009.

OneVoice Europe Engages Top European Leaders

By Joel Braunold

OneVoice Europe have been meeting with key decision makers and opinion formers in both Westminster and Brussels and recently put on an event for the UK Parliament.

On December 2, in the Palace of Westminster, OneVoice Europe brought two members of the OneVoice Movement to speak to a captivated crowd, in conjunction with the pressure group Progress. Nisreen Abdallah, our former Youth Leadership Program director in OneVoice Palestine, and Eran Schafferman, a senior youth leader from OneVoice Israel, spoke about their involvement in the movement, and explained what the OneVoice Movement is doing on the ground to end the conflict.

John Lyndon (left) of OneVoice Europe, Eran Schafferman, Muhammad Sarwar MP, and Nisreen Abdallah

The event was hosted by John Mann MP, chair of All-Party Parliamentary Group Against Anti-Semitism, and Muhammad Sarwar MP, chair of Muslim Friends of Labour.

Mann stated that the OneVoice Movement has the support of his entire committee, and that the work the movement does is of critical importance in the region. Sarwar spoke of the OneVoice Movement’s “noble” work, and explained how it was one of the very few organizations that people from all political parties in Westminster are behind - a remarkable feat considering how toxic and divisive the conflict can often be.

The event brought together over sixty people from both houses of Parliament -from all the main political parties- as well as members of the diplomatic and nongovernmental community. Most of those in attendance were well used to discussing the conflict, but many remarked about how refreshing it was to have the voice of the grassroots present, encouraging moderation and pragmatism and instilling hope.

John Lyndon, executive director of OneVoice Europe, chaired and introduced the event, before Nisreen and Eran spoke in-depth about the work that OneVoice Palestine and OneVoice Israel are engaged in; from training the next generation of leaders, to engaging with communities across both their societies, building consensus and breaking taboos.

John Mann and Muhammad Sarwar both spoke before and after questions and answers, endorsing the movement and stressing how important it was to listen to the majority of voices calling for an end to the conflict, rather than the vocal minority seeking to escalate it. John Mann urged the OneVoice Movement to be “the makers of history”.

Outside of formal events, OneVoice Europe has been traveling to Brussels and briefing all three branches of the European Union: the Council, Commission, and Parliament.

In the Council, OneVoice Europe met with the staff of Javier Solana, the European Union’s High Representative for Common Foreign and Security Policy.

In the Commission, which forms the executive branch of the European Union, , OneVoice Europe met with the Vice-President of the European Commission Günter Verheugen, who is now looking for ways in which he can help the movement in its mission to end the conflict.

Joel Braunold (left), Vice President of the European Commission Günter Verheugen, and John Lyndon

In the Parliament, we have met with representatives of the major political parties, as well as with the office of the President.

As the largest external economic player to both Israeli and Palestinian societies, the European Union can play a major role in bringing an end to the conflict. OneVoice Europe is building a platform for the silent majority to be heard in every part of the European Union, strengthening the consensus behind two states, and showing solidarity with our staff and volunteers in the region.

Please help us to continue engaging top world leaders by considering a substantial year-end gift to the OneVoice Movement.

Joel Braunold is the political and media outreach coordinator at OneVoice Europe.

Our Brave Future Leaders

I’m proud that during these turbulent times, our youth leaders believe more strongly than ever in the OneVoice Movement’s mission. Negative feelings of despair and fear continue to turn into positive power and action.

I’m proud that during these turbulent times, our youth leaders believe more strongly than ever in the OneVoice Movement’s mission. Negative feelings of despair and fear continue to turn into positive power and action.

The brilliant and creative initiatives and activities implemented by the movement’s volunteers is a testament to the dedication our future leaders have toward achieving the goal of ending the conflict. This goal is not shared by the movement and its members alone; it is the desire of the people on the Palestinian street.

Our youth leaders are ready not only to support their political leaders, but also to pressure them to reach an agreement that will help us, as Palestinians, live in prosperity and bring the Israelis the security they seek.

The number of Palestinian youth leaders joining the movement is on the rise. This gives me hope that we will have a better future where they will lead the change and play their true role in building an open, modern and developed Palestinian society.

Please help us to continue developing future Palestinian and Israeli youth leaders by considering a substantial year-end gift to the OneVoice Movement.

Samer Makhlouf is the executive director of OneVoice Palestine.