OneVoice Movement

Adva Vilchinski talks about time on New England tour

Youth Leadership Program Director Adva Vilchinski during the New England tour in September.

New York, September 27, 2012 – The International Engagement Program (IEP) just concluded the first tour of this academic year. From Sept. 10-13, over 800 individuals throughout New England engaged with OneVoice youth activists, listening to their memorable experiences working on the ground and heeding the call for Americans to help them achieve a viable two-state solution.

Youth Leadership Program Director Adva Vilchinski of OneVoice Israel was one of these activists. We talked to Adva on her way back home about her time on tour.

OneVoice: From start to finish, how do you think this tour went?

Adva: It was great. People were very interested in what we had to say and the audience members were eager to act and sign the petition. We also had many different, diverse audiences, which was a great part of the tour…we talked with little children and older people, and that is very important for spreading OneVoice’s message.

OneVoice: Why is the International Engagement Program important to the mission of Israelis and Palestinians seeking a viable two-state solution? And why is it important to Americans?

Adva: IEP is another way to get the word out and a way that people worldwide can pressure their leaders because they, too, are important actors. It is important to Americans because if they can put enough pressure on their leaders, it will be on the president’s agenda and then he could compel our leaders into acting. And it is important for Americans to know about the region, to know that their money isn’t wasted.

OneVoice: What were the most commonly asked questions? Were there any that particularly challenged you? How do you approach questions like these?

Adva: Many asked why Israelis appear less concerned about the Palestinians than they are with Iran, while others wondered why our programs are parallels and not combined. I thought [the latter] was a very important question, and the answer is we are parallel to show that we are partners in this effort for a two-state solution [while working in our communities]. The hardest questions were from the children – for instance, some asked, “Why is there a conflict?” Those really made me think because children keep it simple. In the end, we’re not doing a blame game, we’re trying to solve it.

OneVoice: What experiences resonated with your audiences and why do you think this happened?

Adva: We shared much of our work with the participants and by far the ones that interested them the most were the creative campaigns. For instance, we partnered with the #J14 Movement and created an ice wall to show how settlement expansion and the freeze in negotiations affects Israel’s economy, and audiences really liked it. I believe they enjoyed such campaigns because of this creativity.

OneVoice Israel activists file for "divorce" from Palestine

OneVoice Israel youth activists Gal Bareket (center) and Raz Ballin post a mock divorce form on the rabbincal court in Tel Aviv on Monday night.

New York, September 28, 2011—Dozens of OneVoice Israel youth leaders demanded a “divorce” from Palestine by plastering posters on and around rabbinical courts across Israel on Monday.

During the night, youth leaders in Ariel, Ashdod, Beersheba, Haifa, Jerusalem, Kfar Saba, Ra'anana, and Tel Aviv put up posters that likened the relationship between Israelis and Palestinians to an unhealthy marriage. Given that the Chief Rabbinate of Israel has exclusive jurisdiction over divorce in Israel, the youth leaders felt it was an ideal place to post the mock divorce forms.

The poster suggests that the current Palestinian bid for statehood at the UN, with its seal of formality, could enable an official separation process that leads to two independent states.

“We can still turn the Palestinian UN bid into an opportunity that would serve Israeli interests,” said Tal Harris, executive director of OneVoice Israel. “The Israeli government needs smart and creative diplomacy that serves our true national interests and not the national honor and ego of those in office.”

OVI youth activists plaster mock divorce forms on a bulletin board in the coastal city of Ashdod.

An OVI mock divorce form on the outside of the rabbinical court in Kfar Saba.

OVI's Jerusalem chapter peppered popular posting areas in the city with the mock divorce forms.

Shirly Coifman, coordinator of the Ben Gurion chapter, posts forms around Beersheba.

Even areas around the Israeli settlement of Ariel were plastered with OVI mock divorce forms.

Naomi Havron, coordinator of the Haifa chapter, takes to the streets of Haifa with her newborn baby.

C-SPAN airs OneVoice briefing on Capitol Hill

New York, September 20, 2011—OneVoice youth leaders Eyal Shapira and Obada Shtaya spoke about their activism on the ground, the future of the two-state solution, and the Palestinian UN bid at a Capitol Hill briefing on Monday. OneVoice's CEO Dr. Howard J. Sumka provided opening remarks and Ambassador Philip C. Wilcox moderated the panel. The event was covered by C-Span and co-sponsored by American Task Force on Palestine, Americans for Peace Now, and Foundation for Middle East Peace.

OneVoice's International Education Program tour of Washington, DC kicked off on Sunday with an event at Busboys and Poets. Voice of America was on hand to interview the youth leaders and will air the segment on Thursday. Stay tuned for more details.

OneVoice Israel doubles its recognition among locals

New York, August 16, 2011—OneVoice Israel (OVI) increased their recognition across Israel over the past ten months through the innovative Imagine 2018 campaign and their outspoken position on the UN vote to recognize Palestinian statehood this September.

Drawing on the groundwork laid during the Imagine 2018 campaign, including the first ever Two-State Solution Caucus in the Knesset and widespread social media campaigns, OVI is educating the Israeli public, dispelling fears, and helping form a proper Israeli response.

“The current response from the Israeli government [to international recognition of a Palestinian state] is frantic,” said Tal Harris, executive director of OVI. “Therefore, we must put forth a bold Israeli response to make Israel part of the solution rather than a victim or spectator.”

OVI’s original Facebook application, launched in December 2010, allowed users to write headlines about what they would like to read in the year 2018. The application increased OVI’s overall Facebook presence by 300 percent. It also garnered recognition by government ministers and celebrities and reaped thousands of page views.

The 10 winning headlines – chosen by the number of likes on Facebook – were displayed on bus shelters across the country, allowing thousands of Israelis to see the message.

The Two-State Solution Caucus, conceived and co-created by OVI, officially launched in January with the aim of keeping pressure on the Israeli government to achieve a two-state solution and permanently end the conflict.

“We are working to make the Two-State Solution Caucus even stronger by bringing in a total of 35 Knesset member by September,” said Tal.

Other achievements include OVI’s expansion of the town hall meetings series to include high schools across Israel. At one event in Holon this February, a girl sat uneasy in her chair, facing the skepticism of her classmates. Unable to remain silent, she finally asked one of them, “Are you 16 or 68? You sound so depressed and hopeless, [it’s] as if you forgot that the role of youth is to pursue change and not to block it.”

Beyond Israel’s borders, OVI made waves abroad by engaging British Parliamentarians and receiving recognition from Foreign Affairs Shadow Minister Stephen Twigg during a speech he gave in the House of Commons in March.

OVI’s hard work attracted the attention of Israel’s top media outlets, including Haaretz and YNet. Interviews on Channel 10 and Channel 2 have mentioned OneVoice and Karyout radio station broadcasted a two-hour interview with Tal.

OVI is now focused on framing an Israeli response to September's UN vote on Paelstinian recognition. Their newest campaign, “Help Bibi Complete the Israeli Peace Initiative,” has utilized guerilla tactics, an online application and a massive block party to mobilize Israelis and get them thinking creatively about a negotiated peace agreement.

“Our work so far this year has more than doubled OneVoice’s recognition among mainstream Israelis ages 18-44,” said Tal. “The people that have become part of our movement as a result will prove to be the greatest strength to OneVoice's vision of a two-state solution, particularly considering the major challenges ahead.”

OneVoice Israel wins national Effie Award

From left: Nimrod Nir and Asa Shapiro of The Brief pose with OneVoice Israel Executive Director Tal Harris and former Campaign Manager Daniella Shlomo at the national Effie Awards in Tel Aviv on July 10.

New York, July 14, 2011—OneVoice Israel (OVI) took third prize in the nonprofit organizations category for their Imagine 2018 campaign at the 2011 national Effie Awards July 10 at the Tel Aviv Museum of Art. The Effies are gifted to organizations with the most effective marketing and advertising campaigns.

Executive Director Tal Harris and former Campaign Manager Daniella Shlomo worked on the campaign, known in Israel as “Creating Tomorrow, Today” with the help of Nimrod Nir and Asa Shapiro from marketing agency, The Brief.

“It is amazing that the whole advertising industry recognized that we really got the message to the public,” said Shlomo. “Winning this award reaffirmed what I felt from the beginning: that we can have a huge impact and get people talking about the situation.”

Nir and Shapiro stepped up to the plate when approached by OVI with their idea and were more than happy to help.

“Instead of telling [OVI] what we thought was right for them, we asked them for the solution,” said Nir. “They generated the content and all we did is magnify and megaphone their visions of peace. We usually sell cheese or cars, but now we’ve sold hope.”

OneVoice co-hosts first debate competition in Palestine

New York, June 9, 2011—A crowd of 220 students and 55 ministry and school representatives sat riveted as high school youths from the Governorate of Salfit participated in the final round of the first ever debate competition co-hosted by OneVoice Palestine on May 26.

The final four teams debated various social and political issues in the occupied Palestinian territories, including women’s rights and economics. The competition was organized in conjunction with Ramallah-based NGO Afkar for Educational and Cultural Development, a partner organization with OneVoice Palestine that works on issues like education, good governance, and democracy in the West Bank. Executive Director Samer Makhlouf sat on a panel of three judges at the competition.

“As we engage in nonviolent movements we need to maintain a way in which people can scream to the world so that it listens, and the art of debate has a major role in this approach,” said Makhlouf. “It is highly important to advance this capacity within the youth sector so that they may become voices in their communities, schools, and at home.”

Organizing the competition started over a year ago, according to Makhlouf, who was involved in the process with Afkar early on. The students, in teams of four and guided by predetermined topics, held debates against other schools over a six-month period. The top four teams participated in the final round and the winners received monetary prizes.

Dr. Abed al-Hodali, a consultant working for the Palestinian Ministry of Education and a panel judge, lauded OneVoice Palestine’s work in advancing the performance of youth leadership. Al-Hodali recalled the OneVoice’s Imagine 2018 as one such campaign that makes sure Palestinian youth get a platform to speak to the world.

Imagine 2018, organized in cooperation with the Palestinian and Israeli school districts in 2008, re-launched in 2010 as a contest where Palestinian and Israeli youth share their visions of the region in 2018.

OneVoice Israel creates ideas of tomorrow in Sderot

New York, March 31, 2011—Headlines reporting recent violence contrasted starkly with OneVoice Israel’s (OVI) Imagine 2018 exhibit, entitled “Creating Tomorrow, Today,” at Sapir College on March 24.

During the day long exhibit in the southern town of Sderot, OVI activists confronted the palpably tense mood colored by the morning's headlines, which reported rockets launched from the Gaza Strip striking the southern Israeli city of Beersheba and a bombing in Jerusalem. The headlines in the “Creating Tomorrow, Today” exhibit featured the 10 best submissions from a competition run in December 2010 that challenged Israelis to envision the headlines of a mock newspaper from 2018.

“It was very moving to be there today, amidst such sadness and frustration,” said Tal Harris, executive director of OVI. “Being in Sderot, less than 3 kilometers (1.6 miles) from Gaza, and asking people about what type of tomorrow they would like to see and their role in creating it was inspiring to say the least.”

The “Creating Tomorrow, Today” exhibit was mentioned on the Israeli newspaper Maariv’s Web site and twice on Israeli radio. It was previously displayed in the Israeli Knesset during the launch of the Two-State Solution Caucus and on bus shelter billboards. The exhibit gives people an opportunity to reflect on what they’d like to read in the media on Israel’s 70th birthday. As the third public showing, the exhibit challenged Sderot residents to take personal responsibility in defining their own future.

Throughout the course of the day, OVI activists spoke to hundreds of people, signing people up to the movement and inviting all to a town hall meeting with Im Tirzu, scheduled to take place in early April.

“Though many who saw the exhibit said we’re being naive, others said it was funny and encouraging,” said Harris. “However, the intelligent, witty, and inspiring headlines allowed us to engage people on the tougher issues, making them think about their role in promoting the good news they'd like to read themselves.”

Mohammad Asideh Gets Practical to Build for the Future

Mohammad Asideh will lead an International Education Program tour of the Midwest from April 6 - 16.

New York, March 24, 2011—An enormous personal transformation has led Mohammad Asideh to discover that the common thread in successful conflict resolution is practicality.

Through his education, which culminated with his graduation from An-Najah National University in Nablus, Mohammad, 24, has learned that pragmatism and rationality are the paths to Palestinian statehood. He holds that tenet as the pinnacle aspect of liberation. In order for Palestine to emerge as a sovereign state, it must embrace the change that Mohammad himself has undergone.

“Think more practical,” Mohammad explains, “I realized that the use of violence would only lead to more violence and victims on both sides.”

As a teen in the West Bank, Mohammad’s life was turned upside down by the second intifada that began in 2000. Through the lens of a marginalized youth, he saw only one avenue through which to better the lives of his compatriots: fighting the Israelis. Through the power of education, however, Mohammad matured and later renounced violence as a means to statehood.

Reflecting on his about-face, he says, “I started thinking about finding a base for the Palestinian consensus about the future and not living in the circle of history, but curing history with mutual recognition. I think the Palestinian people have reached a state of consensus on a Palestinian state (based) on the 1967 borders and not resorting to violence in the face of the occupation, no matter how we were attacked.”

Though undoubtedly a man of letters, Mohammad’s education extends far beyond the classroom. He has spent his life in the occupied Palestinian territories, has seen poverty first-hand, has had loved ones killed, and now works with Palestinian refugees who have further enhanced his conviction that a pragmatic stance will precipitate a state.

Mohammad recalls a heartening conversation with a refugee in a Nablus camp, “The man said to me, ‘If reaching a comprehensive settlement requires mutual hard compromises to let our children live in an independent state, we will bear the price, including finding a just settlement for the right of return.”’

Mohammad plays a tremendously active part in Palestine disseminating the message that statehood can and will be achieved through nonviolent methods. “My role,” he says, “is to contribute to building the institutions of a future Palestinian state, raise awareness within the community, and support the unarmed resistance to bring about the end of the prolonged occupation of the Palestinian territories.”

The spirit of activism and forward-thinking is a driving force at OneVoice and it is embodied by our Imagine 2018 campaign. Imagine 2018 asks each individual to think not backward, but forward. Mohammad Asideh personifies this shift, “I started thinking more about the future than thinking of history.”

Instead of using history to sow division, Mohammad implores that we use history as an engine for cooperation, “In our case, I think that history and the suffering experienced by both peoples should be a motivation and a catalyst toward a comprehensive peace agreement, ending the occupation, and creating lasting peace between all parties in the Middle East.”

Join Mohammad and OneVoice Israel’s Shir Lachish on tour this April, as they share their message to end to the conflict at universities and institutions around the Midwest. 

OVP engages residents of Tal on Palestinian state building

 

New York, February 15, 2011—OneVoice Palestine (OVP) volunteers along with citizens of Tal, a governorate of Nablus, are taking action to build a Palestinian state. After a riveting town hall meeting, the participants planted trees near the village of Tal with the vision of a lush and thriving Palestinian state.

Dr. Mohammad Masri, an expert on security strategic affairs and the head of the Institute for Research and Strategic Studies, led the town hall meeting. He focused on what Palestinian security services could look like in a new Palestinian state.

"Town hall meeting discussions of strategy and security are important for state building”, said Roza Helou, a senior youth leader, who attended the event and planted many trees. “It educates civilians who have no previous knowledge about the idea of state building. It empowers them to know more about their security and it gives the responsibility of state building to them.”

Masri began with a look at the past security strategy adopted by Palestinian factions. He then recounted the birth of the first national Palestinian security institution, which was created following Oslo. Dr. Masri also discussed the security bodies under the Palestinian Authority, the series of setbacks encountered as well as the developments it has achieved. 

Samer Makhlouf, OVP executive director, elaborated on and emphasized the role of citizens, especially the generation of politically active young people, in the development of a future Palestinian state. Makhlouf urged citizens to be more positive and proactive to effectively contribute and participate in state building.

One way to quell negativity and actively contribute to peace building is through OVP’s Imagine Palestine 2018 campaign. The campaign includes various activities intended to allow Palestinians to envision a peaceful Palestinian state and to identify their responsibilities in achieving it.

Personal hardships motivate Roza to help future generations

New York, February 1, 2011—She was only ten-months-old when her politically active father was sentenced to five years in prison. Barely six when she went in hiding with her family, adopting a new identity. Just seven when she had to live apart from them to attend school.

Her real name is Roza Helou. With her fellow OneVoice Palestine youth leaders, she’s fighting to end the Israeli occupation, establish an independent Palestinian state, and permanently resolve the conflict.

“As much as people think there is no hope or partner for peace, I want to say to them that we’re right here, we’re working hard to achieve peace, and there is a partner on the other side,” said Roza.

Recounting her family’s early years, there’s a clear sense of pride in Roza’s tone. She seems unfazed by the hardships they’ve endured. Her father’s sense of nationalism clearly seeped in her veins.

“I rarely saw my dad during his five years of imprisonment for being a member of the Palestinian Liberation Organization, which then was tagged a terrorist group by Israel” said Roza. “He spent more than 10 years behind bars.”

Roza’s father, Mohammad, finished serving his sentence in 1987, right at the outset of the first intifada (uprising). A constant target for interrogation and detention, he finally decided to evade further capture by changing his family’s name and hiding out in the West Bank city of Nablus. Roza, at the time six-years-old, kept few friends lest she accidentally let her real name slip.

Fearing Israeli forces were closing in on him, Mohammad moved with his wife and younger daughter to the Gaza Strip, but Roza stayed behind to finish the school year. Enrolling Roza at a Gaza school threatened to reveal the family’s true identity, she said.

Roza later transferred from the Nablus branch of Saint Joseph’s School to its Ramallah one. “I stayed with the families of my friends for two to three year, living out of a suitcase,” said Roza. “I saw my family on some weekends and during summer vacation.”

In 1991, Roza’s father came out of hiding when his party, the Palestinian Democratic Union or FIDA, selected him as their representative for the Madrid Conference of 1991. Israel approved his selection and allowed him to travel.

Following the Oslo Accords, Roza’s father became disillusioned with his party’s leadership and decided to quit politics and live abroad. The family wound up in Kenya where Roza spent her formative years.

Roza returned to Ramallah in late 2007 and began working as a travel consultant for Royal Jordanian Airlines shortly thereafter. She was also introduced to OneVoice.

“OneVoice is not an NGO, but a movement, and that sets it apart,” said Roza. “The movement works directly with the people to bring better understanding of why we need peace. This doesn’t simply entail signing a peace agreement, but actually achieving a viable, secure, and dignified Palestinian state.”

As a key member of the OneVoice Palestine Youth Council, Roza has played an active role in OneVoice’s multiplatform Imagine 2018 campaign—painting inspirational murals throughout the West Bank and collecting video visions of the future from fellow Palestinian citizens. She has worked tirelessly to cultivate a sense of personal responsibility in her community.

Despite the many challenges that come with working in an Israeli-Palestinian parallel movement, Roza remains determined to be part of OneVoice because she has seen the tangible effects of her work in amplifying support for the two-state solution.

“We’re not only speaking about the imperative to resolve the conflict and end the Israeli occupation,” said Roza. “We’re also taking concrete steps on the ground to accomplish this goal, so that future generations can live a normal life.”