The OneVoice Movement, the RAND Palestine Initiative, and Alliance for Middle East Peace (ALLMEP) are holding an exclusive briefing in DC next week for interns, students, and young professionals.
The event will take place on Tuesday, 14 July at 10.30am. More information on how to attend here.
OneVoice Israel recently completed production on 2 films for OV's Imagine 2018 project.
Thanks to the help of Directors Rani Blair and Eran Riklis, some of the best actors in Israel were recruited to be part of the short films, including Yona Elian, Aki Avni, Clara Khoury, Oshri Cohen, Ali Nassaer, and Abdallah Akkal.
On Sunday 24 June, OVI and its production team filmed "Tel Aviv-Damascus Express," under the direction of Rani Blair. The story is about two young people, an Israeli and a Palestinian, who are traveling together on a train from Tel Aviv to Damascus for the first time.
The following day, under the direction of Eran Riklis, OVI filmed "A Soldier and a Boy." Abdallah Akkal, who played the boy, and Aki Avni, who played the soldier, both brought their real families for one of the scenes of the film, in which an Israeli soldier and a Palestinian boy meet at a picnic.
The two children who wrote the original stories on which the films were based were invited, and were amazed to see their ideas come to life. All the actors and directors involved in the filming agreed to join OneVoice, together with OneVoice's international Entertainment Council.
Jason Alexander recently met with OV Israeli and Palestinian Youth Leaders in Jerusalem. He discussed a number of topics with the Leaders, including the chances for a two state solution under the Obama administration, the general political atmosphere around OneVoice and its efforts, and the recent protests in Iran. The Leaders were encouraged by Jason's enthusiasm for their work, and interested to hear his insights.
Jason also took part in an event around OneVoice's Imagine 2018 project, which included some of the artists to work on the films, and the children who wrote the original stories. The atmosphere was very positive and productive, and a discussion ensued over whether or not humor can help people break taboos, and whether it can help change public opinion.
As part of our effort to make the data from our poll come to life -- building real momentum toward a two state solution from the grassroots up to governmental leadership -- OneVoice brought its pollsters Nader Said, Mina Zemach, and Colin Irwin to Washington DC this week to address the policy-making community in Washington DC.
The 3-day speaking tour kicked off with a "Peace Café" hosted by Busboys and Poets, a well-known public venue in DC. There were over 50 people in the audience.
On Monday, OV was hosted by Senator Kerry’s office in a closed-door Senate briefing for staffers, including the Chiefs of Staff and Legislative Directors for over 20 US Senators.
We later spoke at the House of Representatives, in an event co-sponsored with J-Street, IPF, ATFP, AAI, CMEP, and Brit Tzedek v'Shalom. There were over 100 people from the Hill and the media. Our pollsters spoke on a panel with Drs. Jim Gerstein and James Zogby.
The final events were hosted by the Woodrow Wilson Center and the New America Foundation -- two of the leading policy institutions and think tanks in DC -- on the polling results as well as the Town Hall Meeting methodology that OneVoice is using to facilitate urgent conversations on the ground around some of the toughest issues at the heart of the conflict.
OneVoice will continue to work to bridge the gap between the grassroots and policy-makers, and to "say what needs to be said" in order to work toward a two state solution.
As the United States assertively reengages in Mideast peace efforts, and in the wake of President Obama’s historic address from Cairo, OneVoice is bringing Nader Said, Mina Zemach, and Colin Irwin - the public opinion experts who conducted OneVoice’s poll finding continued grassroots support for a two state solution - to Washington DC for a series of public speaking engagements on Capitol Hill and within the policy-making community from Sunday 14 June – Tuesday 16 June.
We are holding the following events:
SUNDAY 14 JUNE
MONDAY 15 JUNE
TUESDAY 16 JUNE
This is a crucial time for the OneVoice Movement. It is imperative that we work to connect the support on the ground for a two state solution which allows both peoples to live in peace, security, freedom, independence, and dignity with the political will at the top level to broker the process.
President Obama’s speech in Ciaro reinforced many of OneVoice’s values and our goal of a two state solution. As Obama stressed the importance of a two state solution, he vowed to pursue this goal with patience and persistence. OneVoice is thrilled with the philosophy and drive behind Obama’s speech and we feel that this historical moment brings with it much hope for the future.
Obama did recognize the difficult history of the conflict and the struggle that exists today for both Israelis and Palestinians. However, Obama expressed our need to move forward with the peace process because “whatever we think of the past, we must not be prisoners of it. Our problems must be dealt with through partnership; progress must be shared.”
In order to move forward, Obama stressed the need to stop blaming the other side, and instead to see the conflict from all sides. “It is easy to point fingers” he said, “but if we see this conflict only from one side or the other, then we will be blind to the truth: the only resolution is for the aspirations of both sides to be met through two states, where Israelis and Palestinians each live in peace and security."
Obama also spoke of the need to speak openly about the conflict. These words resonate with OneVoice’s initiative to ‘say what needs to be said.’ Obama stated, “I am convinced that in order to move forward, we must say openly the things we hold in our hearts, and that too often are said only behind closed doors. There must be a sustained effort to listen to each other; to learn from each other; to respect one another; and to seek common ground.”
With Obama’s words as a beacon of hope, OneVoice continues to push forward with our goals for 2009 through Educational Programs, Town Hall Meetings and Leadership Training Seminars in both Israel and Palestine as well as around the world.
On Obama's speech in Cairo yesterday, the recent OneVoice poll, and saying what needs to be said in order to achieve a two state solution.
Rami Rabayah of Jenin and Rotem Yossef of Tel Aviv served on our tour to Southern California. We were hosted by a diverse set of student groups at Occidental College, Santa Monica College, San Diego State University, UC San Diego, and UC Irvine. The OneVoice chapter at Occidental was launched by students following our regional tour to Los Angeles last year, and it has grown into a very active student organization on campus! We were pleased to be hosted by the Olive Tree Initiative at UCI, an exceptional campus initiative that was initially inspired by a OneVoice presentation at UCI three years ago. Rami and Rotem held an extensive interview on the Defining Moment talk show.
May 16 2009
/ London / Paul McCartney has
recently written to President Barack Obama making him aware of an organisation
called OneVoice – an organisation that Paul first came into contact with during
his memorable trip to Israel and Palestine last year.
The OneVoice
Movement currently has over 650,000 signatories (equally represented by Palestinians
and Israelis) and they work steadfastly towards a two state solution to the
Israel/Palestine conflict, endeavoring to ensure that the voice of the moderate
majority on both sides is heard and acted upon by their respective leaders. Earlier this year Paul officially joined
OneVoice’s International Board of Advisors, which includes names such as Danny
DeVito and Muhammed Ali.
Whilst
performing in Tel Aviv last year, Paul’s message was to bring people together
via the power of music – a sentiment that is shared by two singers, Noa, an
Israeli Jew and Mira Awad, an Israeli Arab, who are members of OneVoice Israel. They are to perform a song together for the
Eurovision song contest titled There Must Be Another Way.
Paul said: “This seems to me like a great idea, the
symbolism of two people from both sides coming together to spread their message
of peace via music is exciting and inspiring for me. I hope President Obama
looks into this organisation and feels that OneVoice could be part of a
peaceful solution.”
When Noa and
Mira heard of Paul’s involvement with OneVoice they said: “Paul is a great source of inspiration for both of us, and we
would like thank him from the bottom of our hearts for the amazing gift he has
given us with his music and for supporting the great work that everyone at
OneVoice is doing. Our first collaboration, 8 years ago, was a cover of Paul’s
song, “We Can Work It Out”. We’ve performed it all over the world, using the
timeless words and music to carry our small torch of hope for a better
future.”
About OneVoice
The OneVoice Movement is an international mainstream
grassroots movement with almost 650,000 signatories in roughly equal numbers
both in Israel and in Palestine, and over 2,000 highly-trained youth leaders.
It aims to amplify the voice of the overwhelming- but heretofore silent- majority
of moderates who wish for peace and prosperity, empowering them to demand
accountability from elected representatives and work toward a two-state
solution guaranteeing an end to occupation and violence, and a viable,
independent Palestinian state at peace with Israel. OneVoice counts on its
Board over 60 foremost dignitaries and business leaders across a wide spectrum
of politics and beliefs, joining as OneVoice for conflict resolution.
Learn more by visiting www.OneVoiceMovement.org
Yesterday in his opening remarks for the US Senate Hearing on the Middle East with Tony Blair, Senator Richard Lugar of Indiana (R) -- who is the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee Republican leader -- cited the recent OneVoice poll as evidence of grassroots acceptance for a negotiated two state solution:
President Obama has stated clearly that a comprehensive peace between Israel and the Palestinians is in the national interest of the United States. He says he wants results, not just a process. He has assigned a new special envoy, our friend Senator George Mitchell, to engage in the detailed diplomacy required of such an effort. When we met with Senator Mitchell several weeks ago, he spoke with energy and pragmatism about the task at hand. We also heard from King Abdullah of Jordan three weeks ago, who communicated the support of leaders of the Arab states for “decisive action” toward a settlement. In addition, there is substantial support within Israeli and Palestinian societies for a resolution to the conflict. A recent poll, published by OneVoice, found that 74 percent of Palestinians and 78 percent of Israelis want a two-state solution.
Senator Lugar's full remarks are here: http://lugar.senate.gov/press/record.cfm?id=313018&&
