Cancelling Jericho Event

The OneVoice Movement regrets that the Jericho Summit that was to be hosted by OneVoice Palestine on October 18th as part of its One Million Voices campaign is postponed due to security considerations.

This is a serious setback to the 600,000 Palestinian and Israeli signatories to the OneVoice Mandate, and to the millions of moderates in the region and worldwide who recognize the imperative of ending the conflict through a two-state solution.

The global responsibility of amplifying voices of moderates to help them seize back the agenda for conflict resolution is only further highlighted by this development. The OneVoice Summit in Tel Aviv and echo events worldwide will continue as planned, as will the overall campaign, One Million Voices To End The Conflict, across Israel and Palestine.

Comments

[barbara bond]

why is this is security risk? who cancelled it israeli or Palestinian?

[Jill]

Curious if the Israelis forced this cancellation creating "false" security concerns. I have been to Jericho numerous times in the past six months, and I have been to grass-roots peace organizing meetings at the Jericho municipality, and this location is the least insecure area of the West Bank. I have worked with the June 5th Initiative and helped organizae a peace festival in Tulkarem, a city which still has members of Hamas roaming the streets and we had no security issues there. Perhaps next time there will be more on the ground coordination with the people of Jericho because there is really nothing to fear in this city--the Israelis have checkpoints in all directions, so it is rather secure. I would like to hear more details about who relayed the "security" concerns, and why "one voice" is letting fear mongering control them?

[Sojourner]

One Million Voices: Celebrating peace or camouflaging apartheid?
Press Release, PACBI, Oct 4, 2007

On 18 October, One Million Voices, an organization led by Israelis and international figures with the support of some Palestinians, is organizing a public event in Jericho and Tel Aviv, simultaneously. The event will include performances by renowned artists Bryan Adams and Ilham Madfa'i. As stated on the organization's English webpage, the objective of the event is to "mark the first time that massive numbers of Israelis and Palestinians gather simultaneously to unite against violent extremism."

According to the widely accepted boycott criteria advocated by the Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel (PACBI), the event falls under the category of normalization projects and violates the call for boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS), endorsed by over 170 Palestinian civil society organizations, trade unions, political parties, and grassroots movements, for the following reasons:

1. Participants are required to join the One Voice Movement and sign a mandate -- ostensibly based on a "two-state solution," but without any commitment to international parameters -- which assumes equal responsibility of "both sides" for the "conflict," and suspiciously fails to call for Israel's full compliance with its obligations under international law through ending its illegal military occupation, its denial of Palestinian refugee rights (particularly the right of return), and its system of racial discrimination against its own Palestinian citizens.

2. The event is sponsored by Israeli institutions (mostly from the private sector) and endorsed by mainstream Israeli political figures from parties including the Likud, Labour and Shas. These Israeli "partners" are unquestionably complicit in maintaining Israel 's occupation and other forms of oppression.
We believe this event is being organized to promote a "peace" agreement that is devoid of the minimal requirements of justice, and that will leave the Palestinian people as disenfranchised as previous agreements have. The unfortunate and harmful support of Palestinian businessmen, religious and political figures, among others, for this event indicates either ignorance of the hidden agenda inherent in the whole initiative, deceptively camouflaged as a collective call for peace, or willingness to forfeit the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people in return for advancing selfish interests.

We call on the Palestinian public and international supporters of a just peace in Palestine not to take part in this public relations charade that conceals a misleading political program that falls significantly short of international law tenets and the Palestinian national program.

We call on Arab and Palestinian artists, in particular, not to participate in this or any similar event whose real objectives have nothing to do with genuine peace.

We call on Palestinian board members of the One Million Voices to withdraw their support for this movement that only serves to blind the Palestinian public and sidetrack it from struggling, with the solidarity of its international supporters, for its UN-sanctioned rights, for justice, equality and freedom.

This call has been endorsed by tens of cultural and other civil society organizations in Palestine and the Arab World.

Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel

[Sojourner]

It seems that the word "occupation" is missing from all of your publicity material. Why is this, especially considering both Israeli courts and international law recognise what Israel is doing in the West Bank and Gaza is a belligerent occupation.

[David]

The first three posters are perfect examples of why the group is foolish. One Voice is of the opinion that antisemites are reasonable, thinking creatures.

However, the Arab Higher Committee rejected both Israel and a 2nd Palestinian majority nation (Jordan is the first) in '47, declaring war on Israel in '48. The Arab League, Hamas, Fatah, PFLP, Islamic Jihad, et al, are still officially at war to destroy a sovereign nation.

Rather than call for voices to end the war, they'd rather whine that Israel has the gall not to disappear from the face of the earth. They'd rather call an open democratic nation with equality for all its citizens "apartheid" while ignoring that Jordan explicitly exempts Jews from citizenship and the PA has a law making it a death penalty crime to sell land to Jews. Yes, they have a rather backwards view of "apartheid".

Until they're willing to demand the Arabs unconditionally end the war they unconditionally began, there'll never be a single voice leading to peace.

[lirun]

what are the palestinian participants going to do..

this cant be right!

[Yohay]

So sad. These extremists try to ruin things also for a movement like One Peace.

[Danny]

Copy of email from OneVoice Staffer to list who had been targetted by boycotters...

Dear All,

All of you have been targeted by a campaign based on hatred and a commitment to hide issues from the people.

This is the truth: OneVoice does not seek to dictate final status negotiations, it does not have a political agenda. It is an organization whose work in building civil society can add massive value to the conflict resolution process precisely because it is not so arrogant as to dictate answers. You and I sitting together now and defining resolutions doesn’t do any good because we have no power to implement them - it is outside the real political world and symptomatic of political naivety and the fact that we have lost hope of actually changing anything, so we just row theoretically amongst ourselves.

In the November conference next month, the leaders will sit just as powerless because no one is standing up and saying that it is time to raise expectations. It is time for the world to know that the people of the region will accept the deteriorating status quo no longer.

If a million Israelis and Palestinians take to the streets tomorrow and say ‘we want answers found’ then maybe, just maybe, we will change this feeble political dynamic and not lose this opportunity and that provided by the Arab peace initiative.

What has happened is that people with an absolutist agenda, have taken a survey that OneVoice did years ago to gauge public opinion on different issues and changed questions into statements and claimed that it was a policy document for final status negotiations. This is simply a lie. If I had received it with all its lies, I would turn against the organization. But that’s because of the lies that mask the truth about an incredible attempt to galvanise civil society to empower the process to deliver the two-state solution that most people want.

Instead we face the reality that this opportunity will be missed, that Palestinians will be fdismissed as ‘extremists and terrorists’ and that the truth will be lost.

I ask everyone on this list to forward this email so that the Israeli and Palestinian people know both that they have a partner on the other side, and that they have foul sinister enemies who would seek to use the refugees as a pawn in their political game in order to try to con us all out of a chance to end the situation – a chance that the people deserve.

Forward this message, publish this message, relay this message. You have the power between truth and lies now, between progress and regression.

Jake

Jake Hayman
International Program Coordinator
OneVoice Movement
jake@onevoicemovement.org
www.OneMillionVoices.org

The views represented in this email do not necessarily reflect those of the organization, but those of the individual. If you have received this message in error please delete it immediately and notify the sender.

OneVoice Statement – Lies and Threats Savaging Truth, Palestinian Cause and Opportunity for Change

12 days ago a slanderous press release was launched by a fringe group that sparked rumours that OneVoice Palestine exists to negotiate away the rights of refugees and international law. OneVoice’s teams here come together to categorically deny this and expose the fact that some Palestinians have been misled by a sinister campaign of hate, coupled with vicious threats of violence from extremists that have spiraled out of control.

OneVoice is a civil society movement to empower the conflict resolution process from the grassroots. We have no power to affect the content of negotiations, but we do have the power to tell the leaders and international community that we will no longer accept a failure to deliver real progress. The OneVoice Mandate calls on our heads of State to commence immediate negotiations, uninterrupted until the conclusion of a vaiable Two State agreement in order to amplify moderate forces in the November negotiations. That is the power of the grassroots and without a mobilized grassroots constituency we leave our leaders open to attack and without the strength to deliver real answers.

Of course the people have demands, whether they be to end the occupation or to deliver security, OneVoice, however, does not have a political platform other than to endorse negotiations for a Two State solution and stands only to support the leaders and demand that the will of the people serve to energise the process. Its Palestinian offices in Gaza City and Ramallah, run by nationalist Palestinians for nationalist Palestinians, exist to do exactly this.

And so, an organization of around 600,000 Palestinian and Israeli signatories, board members from Palestinian Chief Negotiator Saeb Erekat, Jibril Rajoub, and Islamic Chief Justice Sheikh Taysir al-Tamimi to Arab-American Institute President Dr Jim Zogby and Founder George Salem, is being targeted by absolutists with no intention of ending the conflict, who are defrauding the people out of their right to peace, and into being a part of their battle. They must not be tolerated and we implore all of you who are confused by the lies and seek further clarification to look at the OneVoice track record and materials yourselves.

The opportunity is not lost: 600,000 people have already spoken and will not lose the hope and momentum we are building in the wake of the Arab Peace Initiative and the upcoming November Summit.

We will stand by President Abbas and tell him that he can and must deliver something for the people and that we will support him every step of the way when he does because these enemies of peace will attack him too as they did attack Chairman Arafat’s ‘peace of the braves’ and all other efforts toward a just solution that will bring about Palestinian independence, an end to the occupation and peace with its neighbours including Israel based on the terms that he as the Palestinian head of state agrees upon.

These enemies who use intimidation, fear and manipulation to protract the conflict through absolutist ideologies do not have any actionable proposals that will fulfill the wish of the Palestinian people. They have enchained the people for far too long.

[Marissa]

As far as I know there has never existed a "Palestinian Peace Camp", and OneVoice is attempting to magnify the voices of moderates on both sides, which is a noble if not extremely optimistic endeavor. The sad truth is that the majority of Palestinians will not settle for less than the "right of return" for all Palestinian refugees, which would equal the end of Israel. That is at the heart of the conflict, the belief by most Palestinians that their land has been "stolen" and that they must return to it. This is sad news.

[Marco]

To my friends at One Voice.
Congratulations for your initiative. Even if you had to cancel it, you have been courageous enough to start it and responsible enough to stop it.

Yes, there is a Peace camp on both sides and you reinforce their voices. The signatures you got proved it.

Of course, to achieve longlasting peace there will be concessions because there are a number of unsettled issue (Jerusalem, settlement, borders, army, refugees, etc ...) and the extremists hate concessions as they hate you.

I am definitively on your side, guys.

[Dima]

I saw in the media today that all the other concerts have been canceled as well. However, i couldn't see anything on the website. Where do things stand at the moment? Thanks!

[Miriam]

To OneVoice: don't stop this most important mission, albeit all the boring professional antis wherever they are. By next year we will achieve many more millions of voices, so don't stop!

[ithinktfiam]

First, the post on October 13, 2007 at 09:53 AM was mine, why is someone else attributed?

next, Hayman (just a literary homynym...) tries to ignore all facts, claim there's someone to negotiate with and equates Israelis and Palestinians. We have a strong peace camp, as shown by Meretz, WIB and other extreme organizations, as well as many more moderate peaceniks. However, where's the Pal equivalent?

[ithinktfiam]

At least I figured out the first question. Most blogs put names before the post. This puts it after. My name's david but sometimes I use that and sometimes this, depending on my mood.

[eman]

is it a conflict or an occupation !

[sim]

ithinktfiam: are you biased towards one side or are you willing to look at both sides of the story!

[Abe Froman]

Surprise! The Palestinian Partners in Peace were plotting an attack on the event. Wake up and smell the coffee.