OneVoice Movement

OneVoice discusses the importance of interfaith work in Muslim, Jewish, and Christian communities

Members of the ADAMS Center mosque in Sterling, VA listen to the opening of the IEP event.

By Tamar Schneck*

“People have to recognize the humanity of people. We are talking about real people; it is not about the numbers.”

Imam Mohamed Magid, executive director of the All Dulles Area Muslim Society (ADAMS) and a prominent Muslim-American leader who works on many interfaith initiatives, said this to the 50 attendees at an International Engagement Program (IEP) event at the Sterling, Virginia mosque on October 4.

The IEP fall tour featured events at political, academic, and religious settings, including the event at the ADAMS Center.

Both Samer Makhlouf, Executive Director of OneVoice Palestine (OVP), and Tal Harris Executive Director of OneVoice Israel (OVI), spoke at events in faith communities about the danger of designating the Israeli-Palestinian conflict as a religious one.

At the event at the Suffolk County Y, a Jewish Community Center in Long Island, New York, Makhlouf emphasized this point saying, “the conflict between the Israelis and the Palestinians is not religious...This is not a conflict between the Muslims and the Jews or the Christians and the Jews or the Christians and the Muslims. It is a political conflict, between two parties that are un-equal, and it has to be addressed this way.” Only when the conflict is addressed as political, will the issues be resolved and the fighting end.

Harris addressed the positive use of religion, saying that it can be used as a tool to bridge gaps. In fact, it was an interfaith initiative that brought Harris to conflict resolution. At the age of 17, he joined an Arab-Jewish Israeli orchestra, and he realized “once we managed to follow a tune together, and follow a harmony together, that’s when I began thinking that maybe we can synchronize on another, more political, level.” 

Harris and Makhlouf also visited Christian communities. They stopped at Chestnut Hill Presbyterian, a OneVoice connection made through a longtime activist and supporter of OneVoice, Reverend Bill Borror. They also spoke at Pacem in Terris, a Wilmington-based peace organization that hosted OneVoice in partnership with Westminster Presbyterian.

At Pacem in Terris, an attendee asked about contact between Palestinians and Israelis, asking if Palestinian and Israeli youth ever interact. Makhlouf answered that unfortunately, the situation on the ground prevents Israeli and Palestinian youth from meeting one another, and OneVoice’s approach is different as we work in parallel, which is more impactful.

This is one of the many reasons why OneVoice works so hard to change the status quo and end the occupation, so that ultimately, the youth of the region will be able to interact. However, OneVoice believes, as both Harris and Makhlouf mentioned, that the political step of a peace agreement and two-state solution must be reached in order for the peoples to begin on the path of reconciliation.

The topic of religious incitement was also addressed on the tour when an attendee at the Suffolk County Y event asked about religious incitement in the Palestinian educational system.

Makhlouf replied, unequivocally, that stories of religious or non-religious incitement within the educational system are rumors, and in reality, there needs to be agreement on what is defined as “incitement.”

“Criticizing the occupation is not incitement,” he explained. “As far as I know and from what I studied, there is no incitement in the Palestinian books. The Palestinian educational system even authorized a history book that includes the Israeli narrative.”

These types of rumors are often the manifestation of misunderstanding the conflict as religious, instead of addressing the real political issues. The important work is to recognize and address the conflict in its true context as well as use religion positively. As Rizwan Jaka, the moderator at the ADAMS event, said, it is important that the mainstream know “the narrative is not Jewish against Muslim…actually Jews and Muslims are coming together in America in big numbers…we have to be hopeful, practical, realistic, and not whitewash the situation, there are lives on the line, there are futures on the line, so we have to hope and pray.”  

*Tamar Schneck is the Fall 2013 IEP intern.

Imam Magid interacting with audience members before the event at the ADAMS Center mosque.

OVI Executive Director Tal Harris, right, speaks to the JCC of Suffolk County (NY), as OVP Executive Director Samer Makhlouf looks on.

Reverend Greg Jones giving introductory remark at the Pacem in Terris and Westminster Presbyterian Church event, with Harris (left, seated) and Makhlouf (right, seated).

OneVoice engages thousands in first fall 2013 tour

OVP Executive Director Samer Makhlouf (center) tells the POMED audience about Palestinian nonviolent activities to resist the occupation.

By Tamar Schneck*

“The test of a first-rate intelligence is the ability to hold two opposed ideas in the mind, at the same time, and still retain the ability to function,” said Mark Rosenblum, director of the Queens College Center for Ethnic, Racial and Religious Understanding, quoting F. Scott Fitzgerald.

Introducing OneVoice to the audience at the October 8 event at Queens College, Rosenblum explained that, to him, the quote means one should be able to see things that are hopeless and be determined to act otherwise. The audience, an eclectic mix of student groups from political, faith, and social justice organizations, listened attentively. This theme was repeated in presentations from OneVoice Israel Executive Director Tal Harris and OneVoice Palestine Executive Director Samer Makhlouf throughout the Washington, D.C. tour three weeks ago.

The tour kicked off at the J Street Conference on September 29 where Makhlouf and Harris spoke about OVP’s and OVI’s tireless work in challenging the hopelessness on the ground and inspire the Palestinian and Israeli peoples to support negotiations and look forward to a time of peace. Combined, Makhlouf and Harris were able to speak to nearly 3,000 people in just two sessions that day.

On October 2, at the Project on Middle East Democracy (POMED), Makhlouf explained the disillusionment of the Palestinian people, caused by the negative facts on the ground, such as settlement expansion. OVP works to combat this sentiment by acting nonviolently to fight against the injustice of the occupation and to create positive facts on the ground. He emphasized a recent event in which OVP mobilized hundreds of Palestinian activists to plant trees in an area east of Bethlehem to prevent Israeli land confiscation there.

Makhlouf explained that through nonviolent activism, such as the tree-planting, “we plant hope in peoples’ minds and hearts…this kind of activism shifts people from being negative and hopeless to being positive and full of hope.”

OVP also works to challenge people to think about the aftermath of negotiations. If they fail, what are the alternatives and next steps, and if they succeed, what happens the day after? Asking these tough questions can prompt a nationwide conversation.

OneVoice Israel faces similar challenges: after 20 years of peace talks that yielded very limited progress, people are dismissive and skeptical about the renewed peace talks.

To reach the apathetic and instigate the public’s interest, OVI seeks to amplify the voice of moderates in campuses and youth centers. These voices foster a constructive conversation around negotiations and focus on the positive effects of peace rippling beyond the immediate, opening up the entire Arab and Muslim world to Israelis for security cooperation, business, and travel. This voice must also be translated into direct support for negotiators to take the necessary bold steps, added Harris. It must also pressure decision makers to reject the pressures of spoilers such as the Yesha Council and the settlement lobby.

Although the negotiation room is filled with politicians, the voice of the youth in both Israel and Palestine is integral to ensuring the possibility of implementing an agreement.

Both Harris and Makhlouf emphasized that Americans, too, should proactively support negotiations in the face of hopelessness by reminding their politicians that Israeli-Palestinian peace is vital to American interests.

“We need you...Peace will be an image made up of a lot of pixels, and we can only aspire to be one bright pixel in that picture,” Harris said. “But we cannot take ownership of the entire outcome. It’s a collaborative effort.”

*Tamar Schneck is the Fall 2013 IEP intern.

Harris, left, and Makhlouf, right, address the Queens College (NY) students at their October 8 event.

A student asks a question at the diverse Queens College event.

International officials cite OVP’s work for two-states and women’s empowerment

Mayor Teresa Isaac speaks to members of the Women of Influence program at OVP in Ramallah.

As the eyes of the world put the secretive Israeli-Palestinian negotiations under a microscope, dissecting, analyzing, and predicting outcomes based on the failures of the past, the dedication by the grassroots gets overshadowed time and again.

OneVoice activists are helping to break this mold. They are underscoring the importance of these negotiations while providing their own peoples – Israeli and Palestine, male and female – with a platform for bold words and actions of support, making civil society a critical player in the outcome of a just two-state solution.

OneVoice Palestine (OVP) has already gained the recognition of two very important yet disparate internationals earlier this month who see the value in the work of our youth leaders.

Andreas Reinicke, the European Union’s Special Representative for the Middle East Peace Process, met with OVP in Ramallah on October 8. This was Reinicke’s second visit to OVP’s offices this year and highlighted the ongoing and future campaigns that OVP will run in support of the Palestinian leadership at the negotiating table.

“There is a need to create a positive discussion around the talks and to utilize the media – social and traditional – to create support and personal responsibility to end the occupation,” said OVP Executive Director Samer Makhlouf. “We will be leading several activities in the next few months to bridge the gap between the leadership and the public in Palestine in order to explain the benefits of negotiations as a means to gain rights, not to lose them, and the options moving forward depending on the outcome.”

The following day, former Lexington, Kentucky (USA) Mayor Teresa Isaac visited OVP in coordination with the U.S. Consulate in Jerusalem. Isaac currently works as a consultant for the U.S. Department of State as a trainer for mayors and police chiefs, runs her own law firm, and teaches at Midway College. She not only wished to share her experience as a woman in a leadership position, but also about women empowerment programs in the U.S.

Isaac told the group about her experience studying law at the University of Kentucky and empowering women in her society to take leading roles in their communities. She also shared her experience during the years she served in office and the challenges she encountered trying to provide equal services for all citizens in Lexington.

The OVP team briefed Isaac on the work they are doing around negotiations, but similarly shifted the discussion to women’s issues. OVP youth leaders and other attendees were eager to share the challenges they encounter every day. Patriarchy, coupled with access to education, were the primary challenges to female empowerment in Palestine, the youth leaders told Isaac. A few shared individual stories about their struggle to take leading roles in the political scene in Salfeet and Nablus. They explained that they are trying to provide services for the community and encourage other women to speak up for equal rights.

Nisreen Shahin, executive director of the PeaceWorks Foundation in Palestine, was also present and thought the meeting with Isaac had a great impact on those in attendance.

“I noticed that the women who were invited by OVP were very passionate to hear about the experience of powerful women in a leadership positions,” she explained. “Local and international role models, such as successful women in politics and business coming to share their experience and lessons with young Palestinian women can have an immediate impact with inspiring results, even more so than training.”

At Jabalya Refugee Camp, two-state solution is a topic of interest

OVP-Gaza Director Ezzeldeen Masri talks about the two-state solution with refugees in Jabalya.

Twenty-five university students came together to discuss and debate the two-state solution in an intimate setting in Gaza last week.

These discussions are not uncommon in Palestine, especially at OneVoice Palestine (OVP) events. Refugees, sometimes maligned in their own communities, have strong opinions on these issues, and are directly impacted by the outcome of the conflict.

On October 9, those 25 university students living in Jabalya Refugee Camp came together with OVP and partner the Society of Hope & Future to discuss Palestinian hopes and the realities surrounding the two-state solution.

OVP-Gaza director Ezzeldeen Masri spoke to the unfortunate realities that Palestinians have gone and continue to go through: half of the population has lived in refugee camps since 1948; the continued suffering under Israeli occupation; perceived collective punishment against the 1.7 million Gazans; continued Israeli settlement building West Bank; the Palestinian national division; and the lack of a comprehensive and agreed upon national program.

“In order to liberate our land and establish our independent Palestinian state, we all need to get involved in the struggle against the occupation,” said Masri. “The creative, nonviolent resistance is the only way that guarantees that all the segments of the Palestinian people can participate in the march toward independence. Each one of us should ask: what can I do to end the occupation and establish the independent state?”

Amid some skepticism, Masri went on to tell the students that the two-state solution protects Palestinians’ right to self-determination and statehood and preserves their national identity as Arab Palestinians living in an independent state. He also mentioned that signing of a permanent peace treaty between Palestine and Israel will ensure that all final status issues, including refugees, settlements, and Jerusalem, will finally be resolved.

Mr. Saleem Hindi, the Director of the Palestinian Peace Coalition in the Gaza Strip, agreed.

“The two-state solution is an ideal solution for the Israeli-Palestinian conflict,” Hindi said. “However, the continuation of the Israeli settlement enterprise in the West Bank forbids us Palestinians from having our sovereign state…we are ready to end the conflict based on two states, are the Israelis ready?"

The topic of negotiations also surfaced during the meeting. The secretive peace talks between the Israeli and Palestinian leaderships have gone underground for the most part, but that doesn’t stop the discussion on the street.

“What if the current negotiations failed just like the other rounds of failed negotiations, do we continue to negotiate just for negotiating while Israel continues to build facts on the grounds?” asked Mohammad Majdalawi.

Masri explained that negotiations are the ideal method to end any conflict, and eventually a permanent peace agreement will be signed based on win-win negotiations. One shouldn't blame the process of negotiations, he said, but instead show support for the Palestinian negotiators.

Of the 25 students in attendance, 18 stayed after to sign up for OVP’s basic training program in Gaza.

“The state of Israel is a reality that we Palestinians have to deal with in order to end our suffering,” Masri told the audience, “and the two-state solution is a birth certificate for two states: Israel and Palestine.”

Saleem Hindi, the Director of the Palestinian Peace Coalition, explains that continued Israeli settlement expansion is problematic.

OneVoice Facilitates Historic Political Meeting between President Abbas and Israeli officials

On Monday, a delegation of Israeli politicians from the Caucus for Ending the Israeli-Arab Conflict traveled to the Mukata, the Palestinian Authority’s headquarters in Ramallah, to meet with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.  

OneVoice helped organize the meeting, which followed the successful July 31 visit, where Palestinian officials came to the Israeli parliament as a sign of good faith and support of the negotiations.
 
“The OneVoice Movement was honored to take part in the making of this unique and historic meeting at the Mukata,” said OneVoice Israel (OVI) Executive Director Tal Harris. “Each side’s commitment to engage in a meaningful dialogue highlights the reality that we are another step closer to making the dream of ending the conflict and the vision of the two-state solution a reality. As we move past this event, the OneVoice Movement will continue to leverage our regional grassroots networks to help mobilize civil society and amplify the voice of the moderate majority on both sides.”

“We are pleased to see the progress being made by the OneVoice Movement's Caucus for Ending the Israeli-Arab Conflict,” said OneVoice Palestine (OVP) Executive Director Samer Makhlouf. “Although headway is being made, both sides must recognize that there are still significant issues to be addressed, primarily the freezing of settlements activities. Our organization will continue to support the joint work of our government and civil society partners and work with OneVoice youth leaders to support the efforts of President Abbas and lead us on a substantive path toward a two-state solution.”

There was also a strong media contingent at the Mukata. Take a look at some of the coverage, including Reuters, Times of Israel, and JPost.

 
These diplomatic exchanges and trust building measures are extremely important, particularly during negotiations - and you can help us do more! 

Support OneVoice through the Skoll Crowdrise Challenge!
 
OneVoice is currently in the Top 10 organizations with over $7,500 raised so far! Right now, every donation will be matched, helping us unlock cash and in-kind prizes up to $1 million!

Your donation enables OneVoice Youth Leaders to rally essential support in their communities for the two-state solution. Through official and unofficial channels, and by leveraging our diverse networks, OneVoice is bringing the leaderships together to build political good will and demonstrate that there is a partner on the other side. 

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OneVoice unites friends of Israel and friends of Palestine to back two states now

The OneVoice team with Ed Miliband, Leader of the Labour Party.

As Ed Miliband, the UK’s Leader of the Opposition, joined 10,000 other delegates in Brighton for this year’s Labour Party conference, Israel-Palestine was high on the agenda. No less than 7 fringe events focussed on the conflict, with varying points of view ranging from BICOM’s Israel advocacy to the Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC). Alongside them, a team of volunteers and staff from OneVoice Europe (OVE) were there to make the case for ending the occupation and the conflict now, through a two-state solution.

It’s perhaps no surprise that the Middle East is a hot topic right now, following July’s much-heralded launch of new negotiations between Palestinians and Israelis. These talks are critical. In the last few months, US Secretary of State John Kerry, UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process Robert Serry, and UK Foreign Secretary William Hague have each stated that the window of feasibility for a two-state solution in Israel and Palestine has only 18 – 24 months left. 

Poll after poll has demonstrated that two sovereign states, Israel and Palestine, based on the pre-1967 borders, is the only acceptable solution to the majority of Palestinians and Israelis. However, while support for two states remains high, time is running out for the two-state solution, a thought echoed by Ben Bradshaw MP at the Labour Friends of Palestine and the Middle East (LFPME) event, who wanted to send out a clear message that “Western governments, and the Labour Party, are growing impatient.”

The urgency of securing a two-state solution in order the end the occupation and the conflict was the theme of each of OneVoice’s three innovative campaigns at the conference, engaging hundreds of delegates. Delegates recorded video clips for the #2StatesNow campaign, which calls on British citizens to raise their voice in support of a two-state solution. MPs were lobbied for the second campaign, to sign a parliamentary motion that challenges the negotiators, in order to ensure the talks are serious and successful. Lastly, hundreds of delegates were delighted to be offered a date (a Palestinian Medjool date), as part of a campaign to promote Palestinian produce. As Anthony Silkoff, OVE’s Advocacy and Outreach Coordinator explained, “statebuilding cannot wait until the negotiations are complete; we can help build Palestine now.”

These campaigns, and those of OneVoice Palestine and OneVoice Israel, found a huge level of support from across the conference. From the stage at the PSC debate, Andy Slaughter MP (Vice-Chair, LFPME) implored the audience to back OneVoice. At both of Labour Friends of Israel’s conference events, Israeli MK Hilik Bar was proud to name OneVoice as “the most important partner” of his Knesset caucus to end the conflict. At LFPME’s packed reception, Shadow Middle East Minister Ian Lucas led the whole room in a round of applause for OneVoice’s grassroots campaigns.

As so many delegates told the OneVoice team at our stall, it is only right that these organisations are showing unity in their support for a two state solution. The negotiators should see this as a challenge from both friends of Israel and friends of Palestine. These negotiations must not just be a talking shop, as many fear.  This is the time for action; no more excuses.

RAISE YOUR VOICE: UK CITIZENS CAN CLICK HERE AND ASK THEIR MP TO SIGN OUR EARLY DAY MOTION.

(L-R) OneVoice Volunteers Mojgan, Adam, and Hannah give out Palestinian dates.