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

John Lyndon, OneVoice Europe: Peace, the Public and Politicians

John Lyndon, executive director of OneVoice Europe, wrote the following look at the peace process for Compass in the U.K.

In the merry-go-round world of Middle East peace, this week could be one to remember. Israel's right wing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, spent the first half of the week in London, meeting with Gordon Brown and the US' Special Envoy to the Middle East George Mitchell.

Murmurs of a deal in the offing began to appear- first online, and then in the broadsheet press. Is this silly season sensationalism, or evidence of a genuine breakthrough and the imminent resumption of negotiations? Much more will be known in the coming weeks and months, with talk of President Obama making a major announcement in late September- but one thing is certain: the people of Israel and Palestine will not tolerate very much more foot dragging on the part of their leaders.

Read the rest at Compass »

OneVoice's Israeli and Palestinian Youth Leaders to tour UK Campuses in November

OneVoice’s International Education Programme is launching its autumn outreach event from 9-20 November this year in universities and communities across the UK. The OneVoice Europe staff will be touring the country with two of our trained Youth Leaders from Israel and Palestine, seeking to win support from the UK’s students and citizens for the 600,000 Israelis and Palestinians who are calling for an end to the conflict and a two-state solution. We will also be addressing the issue of how concerned British citizens can be most effective in pushing to achieve this change.  The Youth Leaders will be speaking about their experiences of living in the region and will be promoting their hope and motivation for peace.

Universities to be visited on this tour will be London, Manchester, Nottingham, Bristol, Oxford, Southampton, Birmingham and Glasgow. Look out for more information about the events on our website and on posters and flyers in your area. 

OneVoice Europe go to Trade Union Conference

OVE at TUC in Liverpool by Joel Braunold Coordinator Media and Political Outreach OVE

Starting early from London myself and John (Executive Director of OVE) started our long trip up to Liverpool. We were off to the annual Trade Union Congress (TUC) where the Trade Union Movement decides its policy for the year ahead. This year was key for the TUC with the ongoing global recession and upcoming election. Yet the most controversial issue at conference was a motion whether or not to boycott Israel and the Israeli trade union movement. We were going to speak at a fringe event of the Trade Union Friends of Israel, a group that pushes cooperation between the Hisdatrut and the PGFTU (Palestinian trade union movement).

Arriving at the event we saw that many delegates felt connected to the conflict, and though OneVoice takes no position on issues such as boycotts, there was a general cry for action to be taken to end the conflict. We were clear in our discussions that peoples’ energies should be spent on actions that will hasten the end of the conflict rather than exasperate existing tensions and entrench existing positions.

At the actual fringe event, OneVoice received a warm reception- both from the floor and fellow speakers. Michael Leahy, General Secretary of Community, said:

“What the young people in OneVoice are doing should be a focus for inspiration... asking for real progress, real solutions and real peace.”

Roger Lyons, former president of the TUC and chair of TUFI encouraged all unions to invite OneVoice to their executives to learn about their activities within the region.

John stressed that it was vital that we end this conflict by appealing to the pragmatic moderate majority on each side. It is a vital time to put pressure on the leadership on both sides to sit down and negotiate, as the people of the region will not put up with anymore foot dragging from their representatives.

The panel also included the deputy ambassador of Israel to the UK, Talya Lador-Fresher, and the head of the TUC international division.

Regardless of the outcome of the vote on the boycott, I urged delegates not to retreat to entrenched ideological positions and work to find a pragmatic way forward. As the meeting closed many delegates from across the political spectrum came up to OneVoice to congratulate us on our unique and optimistic approach with offers of support and partnership.

After the fringe everyone rushed back to conference floor to hear the key note addresses from Prime Minster Gordon Brown.

The TUC in the end adopted a targeted boycott of settlement produce instead of the more wide-ranging measure initially suggested; but the General Secretary Brendan Barber stated what that the position was, “A two-state solution. The Road Map. Justice for the Palestinians. Security for Israel.” Read his full speech here.

OVE is hoping to work closely with the Trade Union movement, with both their delegations to the region and with their national executives within the UK, to add the trade union movement voice to ours- jointly and loudly calling for a negotiated end to the conflict.

Israeli and Palestinian Youth Leaders come to the US

Fed up with long-stalled peace talks, Israeli and Palestinian youths wanting to engage the masses to end the conflict are turning to the youth leadership development program at OneVoice.

The program, which forms the heart of the movement, aims to create a new generation of activists and leaders who embody a culture of understanding and tolerance and who have the tools to lead in their communities.

“We started with a small group of youths,” said Nisreen Abdallah, director of the youth leadership development program in the Palestine office. “But now we have more than 1,800 youths, both boys and girls, in the field, ranging from activists to senior youth leaders.”

Her Israeli counterpart, Roi Assaf, said approximately 400 Israeli youths underwent the program’s leadership training at various levels. Participants showing promise and greater involvement are put on an advanced track toward becoming ambassadors and trainers for the movement.

OneVoice maintains independent Israeli and Palestinian offices with each working for the national interests of their own people. Differences abound in the unique issues facing each society, but immediately striking is the similar language of optimism, hope and change senior youth leaders on both sides use to explain their motivation to play a role.

As OneVoice's work—and the peace process as a whole—gathers renewed momentum in the Middle East, the International Education Program (IEP) is delighted that two of the most active and experienced youth leaders will embark on a speaking tour in Washington, DC and North Carolina next week.

Ari Eitan, the head of OneVoice Israel’s Jerusalem chapter, and Antwan Saca, a 25-year-old researcher at a Palestinian research institute, will talk about their efforts to break taboos surrounding the conflict in their communities.

Eitan believes his country’s settlements in the occupied West Bank serve as a major obstacle to peace and says there is no justification for an Israeli “civil presence” in the Palestinian territories.

Wearing a black yarmulke, a sign of religious piety in the Jewish faith, Eitan said his focus is on trying to influence Israel’s religious ideologues that are behind settlement expansion.

“I’m ashamed to say they caused the problem here with the settlements activities, which is inspired by religion,” he said. “So that’s why I go to the root of the problem and there I’m trying to find a solution. I think the key to solving this problem is among the religious people.”

Saca, who serves on OneVoice’s Youth Advisory Council, wants the voices of moderate Palestinians to reach stakeholders and the international community in order to “seize back and advance the peace process agenda.”

He stresses the need to raise awareness among Palestinians of the compromises necessary to peacefully resolve the conflict and the personal responsibility of civil society in achieving this goal.

“I am really excited about my first trip to the United States and touring university campuses,” said Saca. “It will give me the chance to freely interact with counterpart students in the US.”

Both Saca and Eitan want to emphasize the important role that Americans—especially young people—have to play in being part of the solution.

“It is vital to engage the youth of other nations involved in policy making toward peace in the Middle East,” said Saca. “The youth of today are the leaders of tomorrow.”

The tour will kick off at American University and includes stops at eight other universities in the region.

In North Carolina, Muslim and Jewish students at the University of North Carolina-Greensboro have arranged a “Unity” Iftar, the evening meal when Muslims break their fast during the holy month of Ramadan, to welcome Eitan and Saca.

OneVoice is also working to ensure that Israeli and Palestinian civil societies are represented in Washington’s dialogue on the two-state solution in anticipation of US President Barack Obama’s expected announcement calling for a resumption of Middle East peace talks later this month.

During this crucial time, a major component of the IEP tour will be connecting U.S. policymakers and leaders with the youth leaders. Eitan and Saca will attend several meetings with government officials, present a briefing to Senate staff, and feature in roundtable discussions at the Buxton Initiative and the United States Institute of Peace.