From OneVoice Youth Leaders, Saed Bilbeisi and Elad Dunayevsky

Dear International Friends of OneVoice,

There are rockets flying into Israel’s Northern towns as far down as Haifa as we write this, while the people of Gaza are in fear for their homes and lives, without electricity and running water. People are suffering, people are dying and people are afraid. It’s a crisis. We are writing to tell you though not to give up on us, or to give up on hope for an end to the conflict.

The situation today makes it very difficult to talk about conflict resolution - to see an end to the conflict. Sometimes it is easy to see the light at the end of the tunnel, at the moment the tunnel is dark. But this crisis and this conflict will end, and we say that with sobriety and rationality. As much as we feel helpless today, as rational people we must see any crisis as an opportunity to rise up and overcome the reasons that brought that crisis.

The situation will come to an end, when we do not know. In the meantime both people suffer so badly. Believe us that no-one is happy with this life. We want everyone around the world to know that we, and many friends and colleagues like us at OneVoice, are working to change this situation. We are ready. We are ready to do anything necessary to help end this situation. We have done so many activities and introduced so many people to OneVoice and it always gives them hope and energy. We can not and will not lose all of this however hard it is at this moment. We will strive to improve this life.

A resolution to the conflict may seem like a dream, but let us dream it and keep helping us do whatever we have to do to make it a reality. The day will never come when Israelis and Palestinians are prepared to accept living with this situation. How far we are from the day when we have a situation we will accept is hard to say, but we will work for it, even as the fighter jets and rockets go overhead, we will work for it.

Thank you,

Saed and Elad

Saed has been involved with OneVoice for around a year. He visits the OneVoice office to meet with other youth leaders and staff at least once a week and has even pioneered his own workshops on OneVoice in Ramallah, which have recruited many new volunteers. He spoke about OneVoice in Synagogues, community centers and campuses during OneVoice’s International Education Program tour to Canada.

Elad has also been volunteering for around a year. He uses his Arabic and Hebrew language skills to speak with both Arabs and Jews about the work of OneVoice and has served to educate and recruit activists in the Region and also in the US, where he spoke at over 10 venues on behalf of OneVoice during their International Education Program tour to New York.

OneVoice is a grassroots, non-partisan Israeli-Palestinian group working to empower moderates to stand up against extremism and seize back the agenda for conflict resolution. At a time when extremists are once again dominating the agenda, its need to exist and to deliver could not be more crucial.

Comments

[sumayya]

Thank you for your message. We need you, and people like you, to remain steadfast during times like these. Thank you for all that you do. I will be praying for the people of Palestine, Israel, and Lebanon.

[nora]

please let me know how i can help. i just graduated from stanford and am based, for the time being, in cambridge, massachusetts.
best,
n

[Bella]

Thank you for your words of hope and vision-
Standing with and behind you 100%

[Alice D. Kisch]

Dear Saed and Elad,
The work you are doing is so critical and so very valuable; I send my congratulations to you and to all who share your dream and who join you in your efforts. There are many of us here in the United States who are with you and who support you. You are right: Gradually, Arabs, Jews, Muslims and Christians will learn to talk with each other and listen to one another, and they/we will understand that our common humanity is all that matters. Mother Teresa said, "If we have no peace, it is because we have forgotten that we belong to each other." Your commitment and your dedication to peace is bringing us all closer to the vision you describe in your beautiful statement. Thank you so very much.

[EB]

Saed and Elad I hope your words catch on like wild fire throughout the middle east. The chances are slim but always worth a try. We will post this letter on OJ.
Thank you.

[snowqueen]

Your email was like a ray of hope piercing through my feelings of powerlessness this morning. Thank you for keeping hope alive.

[Sayyeda]

Dear Saed and Elad,
Reading your letter has been an incredible ray of hope in an otherwise depressing few weeks. Thank you for your tremendous courage and bravery. You bring the light back to the end of the tunnel, and illuminate the way towards it.

[Jake Hayman]

I just got a note from Elad saying how touched he is by your comments and by the support from so many people outside the Region. Your perspective and support is priceless, as is Saed and Elad's commitment to action to change this situation.

Thank you,

Jake

Jake Hayman
International Coordinator, OneVoice Movement

[Jake Hayman]

Nora, we are currently trying to plan tours to bring leaders such as Elad and Saed to both Boston and Northern California for a week each to speak about our work. If you were in a position to help with either that would be amazing.

Let me know,

Jake

P.S. We are also planning tours to London, NYC, Washington DC, Southern Cal, Germany, Eastern Canada and Michigan.

[amy]

Saed and Elad, you are both an inspiration to me. Please continue to be peace warriors. You are rays of light in these dark days.
Jake, I am in NorCal and would be happy to help you organize some events in the area.

[JOHN]

The problem with the middle east is an underlying reason. The problem is IGNORANCE AND DISHONESTY. Let me start with the Jews, God does not give land to anyone period. God does not favor anyone period. The Jews are still waiting for there Messiah for 6000 years. Keep waiting. The moslims claim the middle east is their land because a military commander named Mohammed said that he had communication with God through angel Gabriel in a cave. Lie, Lie, Lie. If you as a human do not have common sense and logic then you are not even close to communicating with God, if he does exist. God created the human brain to THINK,and not to just accept things blindly. For both moslims and jews in the world, make sure God is REALLY SPEAKING TO YOU BEFORE YOU ACT because once you die and meet God, you will realize that you never talked to Him or recieved messages from him. God does not play favors, I don't need God to tell me that. It is common sense. If God favors anyone over someone else, then he is not a good God. The Jews must understand that God loves the leader of Hizbullah as much as their president. God loves a prostitute and a serial killer as much as anyone else. So think really deeply before you act because even if Isreal or the Muslims win the war and take over the Middle East, you will ALL DIE one day, and then you will be naked with no land, money, or military in the face of God. You want to lie to yourself and just pretend that you are having faith in the Torah, Koran or the Bible, keep it up. Faith is not just ACCEPTING BLINDLY. Use your brains. Every single true prophet in history claimed direct communication with God, through miracles. And if they were lying, then there is no God, period. Next time you pray, sit there and ask yourself if the invisible air around you is really talking back. When you pray and say something to God, pause and wait for him to REALLY SPEAK BACK TO YOU. Physical communication, not some bullcrap communication through feelings, emotions, or the heart. Wait for REAL communication, just as he did with the prophets. So before you say to yourself that you are free of sin, and that God favors you, make sure that you are really communicating with God, and not just filling your head with lies. Question EVERYTHING. Question, the bible, the koran, evolution, torah. EVERYTHING. Do not just accept something blindly, that is not faith, it is STUPIDITY.

[Jake Hayman]

Thanks Amy - i'll drop you an email now, it would be great to have you involved.

I think John, that people will have a variety of opinions on your piece, but the point of our organization is to find ways out of the situation we are in, not simply to discuss how or why we got here. Its about practical answers and pragmatic means of implementation.

We all have our fingers crossed that the situation that is raging in the Middle East will calm down. As and when it does, OneVoice will be launching a mass campaign to engage all citizens in a process to support leaders to find a way out of this conflict - for the first time Isreali and Palestinian moderates will be asked to take the initiative and start to show the level of commitment to conflict resolution that the outnumbered extremist use to maintain and expand the conflict. So watch this space for more updates.

[Eyal Oron]

I would like to add to the comments by Saed and Elad that the situation today is a great expamle for what happens when we do not chose the non-military option. this situation is not one where there is no choice - the israeli gov't chose to take military actions knowing the harsh consequences and not considering a non-military option. such an option was, for instance, going into negotiations with Syrian president Assad a few months ago when he suggested that. such an option, also, could have been, after the first hizabullah attack two weeks ago, to announce an ultimatum for release of the prisoners (while working diplomatic back-channels) before taking military actions - instead of taking military action within an hour of the attack. This does not go to say that the fault is just with the Israeli gov't and that the hizbullah is just, or that the israeli gov't does not have a right to take such an action - all of this is obviously untrue - the hizbullah is a terror organization and these actions are not and cannot be justified. Also, the israeli gov't has a right to protect itself and retaliate when it is attacked. However, that does not mean that the action taken is the best possible action, even while justified.

This is the same with the current situation in Gaza - the Israeli gov't could have had the kidnapped israeli soldier, Gilad Shalit, returned through diplomatic channels (and we know this today to be probable) but the Israeli gov't has not attempted this option full-heartedly. Israel has kept the Gaza strip, after the so-called disengagement, as a huge prison - israel controls who comes and goes, and also controls many civil services in effect. Israel was not attacked by the qassams before it in itself started aerial assassinations of hamas activists. The military actions in Gaza (as in Lebanon) have nothing to do with the kidnapped soldiers and everything to do with the Israeli pride. this has taken a toll, so far, of hundreds of Palestinians dead in Gaza (most non-militants), hundreds of Lebanese civilians dead, and dozens of Israelis dead. It is possilbe that Israel has moral justification to take action (though that remains to be debated), and of course it is not just israel that is at fault, but Israel also has it within it's power to stop the military actions (effectively for both sides) - and so we must call it to stop it's actions as early as possible before more are dead in all sides.

[Haytham WAHIDI]

the initiative contains good signs to work for but in other hand I think that the problem should be will addressed more and more, as I suggest to mention that Palestinian Territories is being occupied because its the core of the problem its not the mater of just Gaza or Haifa, the problem is the occupation of the Palestinian and Lebanese lands, and the prisoners are freedom fighter, Gaza, Nablus, Jenien and Jerusalem are suffering and the whole west bank and Gaza strip is under occupation, so the core problem is the occupation, for that I do suggest to address the problem in such statement and to have a one voice appeal which is freedom for occupied lands, and lets talk about good neighborhood.

[Nishit H. Charadva]

Dear Saed & Elad,

Peace greetings to you and your counterparts.

I am very much inspired by your energy and motivation to make a difference in your community and inculcate the seeds of peace, love and tranquility.

What has happened in the past, cannot be changed, what is happening right now, is somehow difficult to change, given the fact that, young leaders like you dont get opportunities to expose and be an inspirational to somebody.

However, what we can change is the future. We are the leaders of tommorrow, and if we change the mindset of our children, there shall be a significant improvement and they will be able to make better decisions and lead by example. In order for this to happen we need leaders like you to think creatively and act rationally.

Our prayers are with you all. May Peace Prevail on Middle East. There shall be a peaceful sunrise over the middle east and throughout the world.

Peace to you and your family.

Nishit H. Charadva
International Institute for Peace through Tourism (IIPT) - Youth Coordinator

[Jake Hayman]

Thank you for your comments Nishit - we salute all partners working to try to find a way out of conflict.

Haytham, I appreciate your support for OneVoice. There are many who would agree and many who would disagree with your assesment of the 'core' of the problem. One of the powerful things about OneVoice is that it does not necessitate that everyone agrees on everything.

It attracts a broad spectrum of Israelis and Palestinians, from right to left and religious to secular who realise that there is the possibility of finding a resolution to this conflict that both Israelis and Palestinians can agree on that will guarantee security, independence and viability for both peoples. This is what both people ultimately want, more than anything else, because it is the ONLY way to permanently resolve this conflict and help their children grow up without terror and occupation. We focus on the future, not the past and we focus on finding practical ways to mobilize societies to help leaders find ways to end this conflict.

The battle we fight is not Israelis against Palestinians, but moderates who want peace and are prepared to compromise for it against extremists - a minority on each side who want to use violence to stop this process.

We thank you all for your support and opinions.

[Joseph]

I thing that the basis in all this conflict between Jeus and Muslems is FAITH.The local problems in aur region will solve if you, the yung leaders, will try to convince people to separate the faith from politics.
The world history is ful of wars on the name of God!