OneVoice Movement

Portrait from Palestine: OneVoice Activists in Nablus Paint Mural, Aim to Promote Public Participation in State Building

OneVoice Palestine youth leaders and community members from Nablus in front of the mural.

On Saturday November 23, 40 OneVoice Palestine (OVP) activists in Nablus organized an artistic initiative to support the Palestinian leadership and emphasize the importance of a peace agreement to achieve Palestinian national aspirations.

OVP's chapters in Nablus designed a mural reflecting on two important events in Palestinian history, according to OVP Youth Leader Alaa Salous. The first was the anniversary of the late Palestinian President Yasser Arafat’s death on November 11 and the second was Palestine's Independence Day on November 15.

“Today we honor our leader by walking in his footsteps and supporting the two-state solution,” Salous said, “and we also want to promote young Palestinians’ roles in ending the occupation and building the independent state.”

The mural shows the faces of the late President Arafat and current President Mahmoud Abbas. The Youth Leaders wrote “Palestine, the 194^th State” on the mural, referring to the name given to the diplomatic campaign by the Palestinian National Authority last year in an effort to gain statehood in the United Nations, which OVP supported through a national campaign in the West Bank and Gaza.

As the young leaders raised the mural on the wall of the Center, they were satisfied and very proud of the work they accomplished.

OneVoice staff was also happy of the outcome.

“I think this is a clear image of non-violent activism at its best,” said OVP Executive Director Samer Makhlouf. “We encourage our volunteers to organize these types of activities to protest the occupation and the Israeli government's policies against our people.”

Join Sir Paul McCartney: Double your Donation to OneVoice on December 5th

Sir Paul McCartney joins OneVoice Israel staff and activists in Tel Aviv.

For the first time in over three years, Israel and the Palestinians are negotiating. But these talks are fragile, and now is the time for OneVoice to deploy all of its resources in making sure that the voice of the people is heard, and that this opportunity is not squandered.

In the coming weeks, our offices in Ramallah, Tel Aviv, and Gaza City will launch ambitious, parallel campaigns to support bold leadership, mobilising the majority of citizens who support two-states and an end to conflict. But they need your help. 

This December, online donations to OneVoice Europe will be doubled. That means that every gift you make will train twice as many young people, hold twice as many pioneering events like our Knesset and Muqata visits, and mobilise twice as many activists to take to the streets and demand brave action from their leaders.  We are honoured to have the support of OneVoice International Board of Advisors Member Sir Paul McCartney in this effort.

Upon meeting OneVoice activists in the region, Sir Paul commented to reporters that "they told me that the vast majority of people in both societies are moderates and simply want a better life for their families and themselves. This gave me great hope that, one day, people like them will help to bring about a peaceful resolution to the troubles in the area." 

Sir Paul McCartney is promoting OneVoice's Big Give campaign, sending messages to his millions of Twitter and Facebook followers asking them to give what they can in support of our efforts. Writing on his blog last week, Sir Paul said:

“I support OneVoice because Israelis and Palestinians deserve peace, and the young people who are part of OneVoice need our help in making that happen. From December 5^th, online donations to OneVoice are being doubled. Please click here, make a pledge, and show your support for the moderate majority who want to put conflict behind them.”

This December, please join Sir Paul, and the hundreds of thousands of people who have signed OneVoice's mandate, and demanded an end to conflict. Please donate what you can on December 5th, or click here to make a pledge. Together, we can help make history in 2014. 

OneVoice Palestine Volunteers Win Outstanding Arab Youth Excellence Awards

OVP Youth Leader Ibrahim Mubarak won the Youth Culture Award, and is pictured here with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.

The Arab Youth Council for Integrated Development has announced the winners of the 2013 Outstanding Arab Youth Excellence Awards, and two of OneVoice Palestine's (OVP) Youth Leaders from Bethlehem—Ibrahim Mubarak and Ziad Dar'awi—received awards in the fields of culture and innovation.

Ibrahim, who joined OVP’s Youth Leadership Program in 2006 and currently leads the Bethlehem chapter, received the Distinguished Arab Youth Culture Award in the field of public speaking.

“I want to extend my sincere thanks and gratitude to the Council sponsored by the League of Arab States,” said Ibrahim. “I dedicate this award to my beloved family who supported me throughout my journey and OneVoice Palestine who contributed to the refinement and development of my abilities over the past years.”

OVP Youth Leader Ziad Dar'awi was recognized for technical innovation for his “smart glasses,” a tool that controls wheelchairs by using eye gestures. The glasses are also compatible with most electronic devices in order to help people with special needs to accomplish most of their tasks with ease. 

Ziad expressed gratitude to all those who stood by his side and supported him to win the Arab Youth Excellence Award for innovation. His dream is to represent Palestine internationally and give back to his community.

The Arab Youth Excellence Awards are bestowed upon young Arab entrepreneurs overcoming obstacles and excelling in their fields. The Arab Youth Council bestowed the winners with honorary memberships in the Council and its advisory board.

Congratulations to Ibrahim and Ziad!

Youth Leader Ziad Dar'awi talks about his “smart glasses” which won the Innovation Award.

OneVoice Israel introduces Laura Talinovsky as new executive director

Laura Talinovsky, left, and Roee Neuman, right, are the new faces of OneVoice Israel.

The OneVoice Movement warmly welcomes Laura Talinovsky as the new OneVoice Israel (OVI) executive director. Tal Harris, executive director for OVI the past four years, will continue working with OneVoice from Washington, D.C.

Laura said upon entering her new role that “Israeli society cannot sit by and hope that a peace agreement will be signed by itself. Official negotiations taking place right now are possibly the last chance for peacefully settling the conflict and achieving a better life for both peoples in the region. A vacuum of indifference and skepticism permeates Israeli society, making the voices of extremists disproportionately loud. We must amplify the sober, balanced voice of the moderate majority that seeks to end the conflict.”

Laura added that “I wish to thank Tal Harris, not only for the impressive achievements brought to the Movement in the last four years, but also for dedicatedly accompanying my entrance to the role. We are facing challenges which Harris shall be part of their fruition and success.”

Laura is well suited to take the reins of OVI. She joined OneVoice in 2006 as a volunteer, and has served as the advisor to Opposition Chair, Shelly Yechimovich (Labor), for the past three years. She holds her B.A. in Political Science and Sociology from Hebrew University, where she is about to complete her M.A. in Public Policy. Laura is also a graduate of the Leadership for Peace program at New York University, and has been a researcher in the Israel Democracy Institute.

Tal spoke of the need to keep pressure on the Israeli leadership during this critical time and confidently about Laura’s abilities to steer the Israeli office to further accomplishments.

“The last four years were paved with activities and successes of OV and the peace camp in general,” Tal said. “These were undoubtedly an important component in the strategic achievement of unfreezing the diplomatic channel between the Israeli government and the Palestinian leadership, which recently returned to the negotiations table. We are facing a real opportunity to ending the conflict and I am therefore excited and particularly proud of having Laura joining the leadership of the Movement in Israel.”

More new faces at OVI

In related staffing news, OVI would also like to introduce Roee Neuman as spokesman and government relations director, replacing Nadav Galon in that role. Roee was the spokesman for the #J14 social demonstrations in the summer of 2011, as well as for MK Michal Rozin, and formally a media consultant in the public relations company, Gaya.

OVI youth leader Elanit Green was also hired by OVI as a program assistant. Elanit is a recent graduate of Ben-Gurion University and is an accomplished International Engagement Program (IEP) and Outreach and Education Program (O&E) alumna, touring the U.S. and U.K. on several speaking tours.