OneVoice Movement

Invisible Giants: OneVoice Supporter Highlighting Global Leadership

This Tuesday, I was lucky enough to attend the launch of a very special book by Lindsay Levin, Honorary Board Member, and former Chair of both OneVoice Europe and the movement’s International Steering Committee.

Lindsay is one of the most important figures in the growth and vitality of OneVoice Europe, and has facilitated countless discussions between Israelis, Palestinians and internationals, often at times when the conflict in the Middle East has taken some of its darker turns, and help is needed to forge consensus.

Lindsay is also the founder and managing partner of Leaders’ Quest, a social enterprise that brings together a diverse global community of 6,000 leaders – from CEOs of multinational companies to grassroots activists working in some of the poorest communities on the planet. All of them share a commitment to using their unique influence to create positive change.

In her book, Invisible Giants: changing the world one step at a time, Lindsay tells the stories of some extraordinary people who, whatever their background and status, are stepping up to overcome obstacles and change the world around them.  

One such leader in the book is Abdullah Hamarsheh, OneVoice Palestine’s Youth Leadership Director and a central figure within the movement’s history, having trained, inspired and recruited thousands of young Palestinians.

In a powerful chapter about Lindsay’s work with OneVoice in the Middle East, Abdullah speaks about his own experience of finding his voice as a leader. He quit his job in an Israeli settlement as a young man —taking a massive pay cut—and sought instead to help build a Palestinian state, eventually finding himself working amidst the PA leadership. 

In the book, Abdullah tells how he “learned how hard it is for a leader to take a decision that people don’t like, and yet which he knows to be the right choice. I learned that being responsible is more important than emotion. That sometimes the street might not approve, yet you must still take the right decision.”

On Tuesday evening, at the launch event for Invisible Giants, Lindsay asked an important question: “how much is enough?” Working for an organisation like OneVoice can sometimes make you feel like you’re at the bottom of a very big mountain—in our case, the resolution of a seemingly intractable conflict— and the inclination can sometimes be to race ahead as fast and hard as one can toward the top.

That approach will leave most mortals exhausted, demoralised, defeated, and alone. Lindsay’s book is full of sage advice and lessons drawn from unlikely leaders around the world who have climbed some enormous mountains, one step at a time. They’ve done so by realising what their role and personal capacity is, and understanding how they fit into a bigger, broader story of change.

They’re people like Anwari Khan, who lives with her children next to one of the biggest rubbish dumps in Asia. A self-taught leader who never learned to read or write, she now heads a network of hundreds of women, and runs training courses for the police on responding to domestic violence.

“That’s why I wrote this book,” says Lindsay, “to explore some of the tough questions and choices that affect us all. It’s a story about seeing the world through new eyes, and understanding how we’re all part of something much bigger than ourselves.”

• WATCH Lindsay talk about Invisible Giants.
• Buy the book here (all profits go to the Leaders’ Quest Foundation).

 

- John Lyndon, executive director of OneVoice Europe

Yasser Arafat’s leadership and legacy debated by King’s College panel

From left to right: BICOM Prof. Alan Johnson, OVE Director John Lyndon, Amb. Manuel Hassassian, and The Price of Kings Co-Director Richard Symons at the February 27 panel debate. 

By anyone’s estimation, Yasser Arafat was - and remains, posthumously – a totemic figure in the Palestinian national psyche. As is often the case with such foundational figures in the history of a people, it is difficult to separate the myth from the man, and for an honest appraisal to take place. 

However, at OneVoice Europe’s film screening and panel discussion on Arafat during the February 27 event – following our heated debate on Shimon Peres January 30 – the analysis was free flowing and candid from all three panellists.

Palestinian Ambassador to the UK, Professor Manuel Hassassian, was frank in his remarks, and admitted to not having been supportive of every move his former president made. Hassassian pointed out the “oxymoronic character” of Arafat, who “had incredible charisma,” but, he felt, was sometimes guilty of political miscalculation. Hassassian ultimately praised Arafat for managing, uniquely, to wear both the “hat of a statesman and the hat of a freedom fighter,” and for being the crucial figure in the struggle for Palestinian rights and statehood.

Britain Israel Communications and Research Centre’s (BICOM) Professor Alan Johnson was critical of some of Arafat’s deeds and legacy, but stressed that the film “reminded us of how far we’ve come in terms of negotiating...Peres mentioned that it was illegal for Israelis to negotiate with the PLO,” and Arafat presided over that transformation.

Looking to the present-day leadership, there was a mixture of pessimism and optimism stemming from the panellists. Richard Symons thought that because President Mahmoud Abbas did not enjoy the same adoration as Arafat, he would have less ability to make a historic deal. Hassassian, though, has confidence in Abbas’s strategy, which he said was “negotiation and refraining from violence...he said that he is willing to make the historic compromise of agreeing to 22% of the land,” but “the basic condition to negotiate is to put a moratorium on the building of settlements.”

Ambassador Hassassian and Professor Johnson had different takes on the state of play in Israel. Hassassian argued, “the Israelis are not ready to make peace because they do not have the political will,” while Johnson disagreed and sees a window of opportunity in the recent Israeli elections, in which he views as a “significant shift to the left.”

The event was notable for the extent to which the panellists were willing to be critical about some of the shortcomings of their respective “sides” in this conflict, with some constructive ideas discussed around ways to break the current impasse and restart negotiations. All panellists agreed that the missed opportunities to reach a negotiated two-state solution can largely be blamed on a lack of leadership on both sides. As Richard Symons said, “it is all about political willpower, nothing else matters.”

Symons closed the event on optimistic note, when he pointed to a new, “younger generation of political leaders who were trying to break through” and whom he felt had the ability to really affect change. It is this generation of Israelis and Palestinians that OneVoice puts its faith in, too, training thousands of the region’s most talented young people so that they can be the change necessary to end this conflict.

 

House of Lords discusses “remarkable” work of OneVoice

 

"We all owe them a debt of gratitude."

- Baroness Falkner of Margravine

 

By Anthony Silkoff

I was at the House of Lords on Thursday, 7 February, watching from the public gallery as they debated, for the first time ever, the role of civil society organisations in promoting peace in Israel and Palestine.  As many Peers pointed out, 2013 represents 20 years since the signing of the Oslo Accords. Lord Bew (Crossbench) poignantly remarked, "the happy future that seemed to beckon in Washington in September 1993 has not come about."  There is, then, little cause for celebration on this particular anniversary.

However, sitting in the gallery among Italian tourists and a family of Hasidic Jews, I was delighted to hear Baroness Falkner (Liberal Democrat) remind the Lords of the importance of civil society organisations which "have not given up on the peace process, even while their governments either wilfully backslide or are powerless to move forward."

We heard how organisations such as OneVoice continue to demand that both sides have a future that is better than their past. Indeed, this "remarkable organisation" (Lord Triesman, Labour), is tackling the very obstacles to the peace process that this debate identified.

Peers spoke despairingly about the expansion of settlements in the West Bank, each one making a two-state solution harder to realise.  However, Baroness Falkner provided some hope, noting that "OneVoice Palestine is at the forefront of peaceful opposition to illegal settlement activity...in February 2012, OneVoice Palestine brought around 150 Palestinian youths to plant dozens of trees and Palestinian flags in a barren area east of Bethlehem that was under threat of confiscation by Israeli military order."

Much blame for the current situation was laid at the door of the outgoing Israeli government, as well as continued political division amongst Palestinians. Nonetheless, civil society provides hope where politicians are seen to be failing.  Lord Sheikh (Conservative) praised OneVoice Israel, which "campaigned during the Israeli elections on the importance of citizens opting for moderate candidates who are committed to a two-state solution."

Peers were not only turning to OneVoice to revive the peace process. Other organisations, such as Hand-in-Hand, B'tselem, YaLa Young Leaders, and the Alliance for Middle East Peace were also cited, with Lord Palmer of Childs Hill (Labour) stating that "their activity is a vital part of encouraging their respective societies to engage in renewed negotiations towards a two-state solution."

While all these organisations provide reasons to be cheerful, government spokesperson Lord Wallace (Liberal Democrat) was clear in his fear that "the time left to preserve and reinstate a two-state solution is now limited. If we fail to make progress in the next 18 months to two years, it may possibly be too late."

For that reason, I'm proud that OneVoice in 2013 is turning up the heat, with new and innovative projects, two of which were cited by Peers in Thursday's debate. Reaching out to Palestinian women, "OneVoice Palestine has recently started a programme to educate and empower women from towns and villages to become leaders in their communities" (Lord Sheikh).

Reaching out to investors, "at OneVoice, John Lyndon and his team are now also looking at using civic, economic, and media milestones as part of an ambitious programme called the Peoples' Blueprint" (Lord Stone, Labour).

'It's hugely encouraging to hear these messages of solidarity and encouragement from esteemed members of the House of Lords, and to know that they are with the moderate majority of Israelis and Palestinians struggling for peace,” said Tal Harris, executive director of OneVoice Israel. 

Baroness Falkner summed up her statement "with the observation that, while the peace process is often described as 'dead', in the words of Aaron David Miller, the U.S. negotiator on successive talks: 'It is not yet buried and it will be back'."

I felt immensely proud of all our Palestinian and Israeli activists when Baroness Falkner told the House of Lords: "When it [the peace process] returns, its foundations will have been laid by the thousands of activists on both sides who work day in and day out for that end. We all owe them a debt of gratitude."

London panel debates leadership and legacy of Shimon Peres

Panellists debate the legacy of President Shimon Peres: (L-R) Dr. Ghada Karmi, John Lyndon, Richard Symons, and Paul Charney.

By Anthony Silkoff

Boring?  A father figure?  An over-achiever?  A failure? Conflicted?  These were the varied descriptions of Israel’s President, Shimon Peres, which an audience of activists, students, Israelis, Palestinians, and others at Kings College, London, heard on January 30.

OneVoice Europe hosted a panel discussion on leadership in the aftermath of the Israeli election. Following a screening of the acclaimed documentary, The Price of Kings: Shimon Peres, a panel of speakers offered their take on Peres as a leader and the legacy he will leave in Israel and Palestine.

There was inevitably much disagreement on the panel, with different points of view represented by Paul Charney (Chair, Zionist Federation), Dr. Ghada Karmi (Palestinian activist and academic), John Lyndon (Executive Director, OneVoice Europe), and Richard Symons (Co-Director, The Price of Kings).

There was as much criticism as there was praise for Shimon Peres, which was unsurprising for a such a long-serving political figure. 

Dr. Karmi was forthright in her view, saying she found him “to be so boring in that movie” asking “what has he achieved?” and suggesting she would find a film about assassinated Prime Minister Yitzak Rabin far more interesting. 

Paul Charney found much more to be positive about, observing that “Peres was instrumental in the pulling out of Lebanon and a key figure in the Oslo accords.”  Watching both the film and the debate, I was simply struck by the sheer, undeniable, expanse of his experience, having spent decades at the frontline of Israeli politics.

However, what is also hard to deny, is that all political leaders so far have failed in their attempts to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.  The occupation remains; Palestinians and Israelis both live in fear and insecurity; neither side lives in peace. So given the gravity of this situation, there is little point drawing up a ranking of the “best” and “worst” politicians of each side.  Rather, we need to support a new generation of leaders who are courageous enough to make a two-state solution become reality.

The young Israelis and Palestinians at the forefront of OneVoice’s grassroots campaigns continue to make me immensely proud to be part of this Movement. I often hear people quote Gandhi – “be the change” - our young activists are doing, not quoting; leading, not following.

In the past six months alone, OneVoice Israel activists compelled their fellow citizens to “Wake up!” to the reality of politicians who want to damage the two-state solution.  OneVoice Palestine activists went out across the West Bank, planting trees for a new forest and demanding an end to settlement expansion.

Summing up proceedings, OneVoice Europe Executive Director John Lyndon made just that point, explaining out that there are many different ways to lead.

“Peres represents a totemic figure in Israeli political life,” Lyndon said. “But across the Middle East, young people are taking the initiative themselves, and pressing the case for change. Whether it’s the hundreds of thousands of Israelis who took to the streets for social justice or the millions across the Arab world who have demanded democracy and justice, it is clear that new dynamics are emerging, with youth at the fore.”

So yes, leaders of all countries have failed to achieve Israeli-Palestinian peace, but hope is not lost when a new generation is so clearly putting its foot down.  No more excuses.  Two states, now.  As internationals, let’s make sure we support them every step of the way.

OneVoice will be screening the second film in The Price of Kings series, examining the life and leadership of Yasser Arafat, on the February 27 in London. Please email Anthony@onevoicemovement.org.uk for more details.  

 

OneVoice Europe: Double Your Donation this December!

You can help fund a tour in Europe and bring youth leaders like Leeba Gilad, center, to your area.

As 2012 draws to a close, OneVoice Europe is gearing up for an ambitious new year of projects to push for a two-state solution.  For a limited time only, your support can be doubled through the Big Give Christmas Challenge starting on December 6 at 10am (GMT) with funds released on a first-come, first-served basis.

The past month alone has seen moments of mixed emotions among Palestinian, Israeli, and international supporters of two states. But the U.N. General Assembly vote, the bluster of politicians, and November’s outbreak of violence have done little to change the status quo. The conflict and the occupation remain; Israelis and Palestinians remain in insecurity.

"With the situation in the region as difficult as it is, and the window of opportunity for two states closing, there really has never been a more important time for OneVoice to have an impact,” said John Lyndon, executive director of OneVoice Europe.

Beginning December 6, online donations to OneVoice Europe will be doubled by a combination of pledges from the Movement’s major donors and the Big Give’s Philanthropist Fund. There's a limited pot of matched funding that we're competing for, with a good chance that it will all be exhausted by Friday, December 7, so the best way to be sure that your donation is doubled is to log in on Thursday morning.

Donors can now make a big difference for much less money.  When GiftAid is factored in, each donation is worth an extra 125% of its original value. To put that into context, a £5,000 donation (increased to £11,250) will fund two youth chapters – one in Israel, one in Palestine – and all of their activities, costs, campaigns and initiatives for one year.

Before your donation is doubled:

£5000 funds one chapter

£3000 funds one tour in Europe with an Israeli and Palestinian youth leader

£2,500 trains 100 Youth Leaders

£1000 funds 5 Town Hall meetings

£500 engages 500 new members

£250 covers the cost of 200hrs of volunteer activism

There never has been a better way of ensuring that each donation goes as far as possible toward achieving the goal of two states, thanks to the Big Give Christmas Challenge.

OneVoice Europe’s Outreach and Education tour brings new insights to historic places

OVI youth leader Leeba Gilad, center, explains the importance of women's roles in peacemaking to the Bristol Women's Interfaith Network community event on October 17.

London, October 26, 2012 – Stonehenge. Roman baths. Ancient castles. The Southwest of England is known for historical sites and beautiful vistas, but from October 18-24, this region of England was also known to host discussions about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and the importance of the two-state solution.

OneVoice Palestine’s Malaka Samara and OneVoice Israel’s Leeba Gilad engaged nearly 400 audience members in OneVoice Europe’s first Outreach and Education Program (O&E) of the academic year.

This was the first foray into the southwest of the country, with a focus on schools, universities, and community groups in Exeter, Taunton, and Bristol. Somerset and London were also stops on the five-day tour.

Both Malaka and Leeba focused their message on encouraging people to be pro-solution and pro-justice, rather than supporting one side over the other.

“I…learned that we must continue our work,” Leeba said of the tour as a whole, “because a lot of people care about this region.”

Four school sessions dotted the week in the southwest, reaching 230 students between the ages of 14 and 18. The students left the programs impressed and mindful of what they knew about the conflict before, and what insights Malaka and Leeba gave them after the sessions ended.

“We felt there has to be two states if the needs of both Israelis and Palestinians are to be met,” said one student at Exeter School after group discussions. "I hadn’t thought about conflict in this way before.”

Reaching young people with conflict resolution tools and equipping them with the awareness of an issue like Israel-Palestine before they go on to university is a central part of O&E, according to Sharon Alsoodani, director of the program.

At Taunton, a town home to a number of old, established religious sites, the youth leaders met with members of Temple Methodist Church. Over 50 people came out on a rainy evening to discuss with Malaka and Leeba about making a breakthrough for peace, leaving the parishioners “full of hope” and with “a way that British people can truly support ordinary Israelis and Palestinians.”

Next on the tour was the City of Bristol, which provided the backdrop to a number of interreligious assemblies during the O&E tour. In particular, a women’s interfaith event proved to be very diverse and fruitful, sparking a partnership with Salaam-Shalom Radio, Bristol Women’s Network, and Bristol Multi-faith Forum.

Malaka emphasised the efforts of OneVoice in small towns like Qalqilia in the West Bank to empower women and get them more involved in political life.

“Women’s role as mothers means that they have a unique perspective to bring to the discussion about the peace process,” she said.

Two student events at Bristol University and a session about peace activism at the Quakers’ ‘Called to be a Peacemaker’ conference in London rounded out the tour, bringing total participation in the tour to nearly 400 people.

Throughout the week, Malaka and Leeba shared the same vision and goal to break the status-quo in both their societies. They called for a settlement freeze and ending all claims after solving all final status issues according to international resolutions, along with a cessation of the occupation and an independent Palestinian state based on the 1967 borders.

“The youth leaders demonstrated what can be achieved when those with opposing perspectives on a situation unite behind a future that can fulfil the core needs and aspirations of all those involved through non-violent means,” Sharon concluded.

Malaka Samara, of OVP, emphasizes to students at the Kings College School in Taunton the importance of understanding Palestinians' interests when seeking a solution.

Take a look at this short video of Leeba, Malaka, and O&E Director Sharon Alsoodani at Temple Methodist Church in Taunton.

 

 

OneVoice Europe trains British students in Middle East peace advocacy

OneVoice Europe offers 20 British students a three-day intensive training program on conflict resolution in the Middle East in July.

London, August 27, 2012—Academics, faith leaders and politicians joined OneVoice in London to offer 20 British students a three-day intensive training program on conflict resolution in the Middle East last month.

The sessions, the first of their kind to be organized by OneVoice Europe’s Outreach and Education Program, mirrored the training given to the movement’s youth leaders in Israel and Palestine. The diverse pool of participants, ages 18-26, from across the United Kingdom underwent a vigorous recruitment process to ensure representation of all views on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

“We've equipped and empowered a group of highly-qualified students with knowledge and skills on this specific issue that would be hard to obtain elsewhere," said Sharon Alsoodani, Outreach and Education Program director."With the potential to take influential positions within their communities and wider society, they embraced OneVoice's pragmatic win-win approach and left with the motivation to mobilize others."

OneVoice Palestine’s Executive Director Samer Makhlouf in Ramallah and OneVoice Israel’s Executive Director Tal Harris in Beersheba joined the students over Skype video conferencing and gave them an introduction on the movement and the grassroots power that fuels its work. This was followed by an open discussion with Rabbi Natan Levy, Canon Robert Reiss, and Imam Usama Hasan on the religious aspects of the conflict.

Sam Gross, an Orthodox Jew, commented how rare it was to see an Imam and a Rabbi interact with respect and understanding on such a controversial topic and felt privileged to have witnessed it.

Sessions with MP Ian Lucas, shadow minister for Middle East and Africa, academic Rory Miller, business leader David Levin, among others, covered everything from the Arab Peace Initiative to the economics of the conflict and the difference between the European Union and the United States on the issues.

“I arrived with preconceptions formed from looking at a single side of the conflict," said Ahmad Bismillah, a 19-year-old student at the London School of Economics. "Now, I realize that several issues like the economy and relations between the US and Europe have to be taken into account.”

Among the perks of the training program was a guided tour of the House of Lords, which the students were treated to after chatting with Lord Michael Levy about the challenges of achieving Middle East peace in the current climate.

On the third day, Debate Mate, a London-based social enterprise, led the sessions with the students. A set of challenging exercises helped the students focus their arguments and develop their public speaking. They then split up the group into two teams to debate such topics as the viability of the two-state solution and military intervention in Syria.

Debate Mate, which also runs international programming in countries such as the Nepal, Israel, Palestine, and the United States, had held successful training sessions with OneVoice’s youth leaders in Israel and Palestine.

Each day ended with a debrief session, allowing the students to reflect on the talks they heard and resolve any concerns. Individuals from different backgrounds were paired together for 30-minute walks to discuss the sessions and try to understand each other’s viewpoints.

OneVoice Europe’s Executive Director John Lyndon gave the closing presentation, highlighting some of the activism of OneVoice’s Israeli and Palestinian offices and injecting a massive dose of inspiration for what's possible when young people collaborate under the banner of conflict resolution.

“Many participants felt inspired by seeing the sheer scale and ambition of OneVoice’s work in the region,” said Lyndon. “They expressed interest in joining our student network to show solidarity with these efforts and help build a network of OneVoice activists from the US to Europe capable of supporting the chapters across Israel and Palestine.”

OneVoice Europe’s student network offers participants additional training, advocacy tools, and reunion activities. The student activists represent OneVoice at speaking and panel events, networking and outreach activities, and help organize Outreach and Education tours across the UK.

Rabbi Natan Levy, Canon Robert Reiss, and Imam Usama Hasan led an open discussion on the religious aspects of the conflict.

OVE's John Lyndon gave the closing presentation, highlighting some of the activism of OneVoice’s Israeli and Palestinian offices and injecting a massive dose of inspiration.

OneVoice makes inroads for growth in Europe

High school students at Theresien-Gymnasium in Ansbach, Germany, connect with OneVoice Palestine's Wasim al-Masri in Ramallah using Skype video conferencing.

New York, August 16, 2012—With big ambitions for growth in Europe, OneVoice capitalized on positive word of mouth surrounding its Outreach and Education Program and made inroads this July in Germany toward possibly opening a branch.

For some time, Outreach and Education Director Sharon Alsoodani has led a video conferencing series, connecting UK communities vested in the Middle East conflict with OneVoice’s Israeli and Palestinian activists working to build peace. Over 38 sessions, reaching more than 900 individuals, have allowed this often highly volatile topic to be addressed in an intimate and safe environment. This led English teacher Elisabeth Deisenhofer at Theresien-Gymnasium, a high school in Ansbach, to reach out and request OneVoice hold such sessions with her students.

“These were some of the most successful school sessions we’ve done as part of the Outreach and Education Program,” said Alsoodani. “The students showed a high level of engagement and interest, having studied the subject recently as part of their school curriculum, and asked questions ranging from life in Palestine and Israel to more political ones on settlements and a bi-national state.”

OneVoice Palestine’s Wasim al-Masri in Ramallah and OneVoice Israel’s Gabi Avner in Tel Aviv engaged a total of 80 students over the course of two sessions, offering their firsthand experiences and insights in a manner that allowed their audience to easily relate. The powerful and immediate impact of the session was evident when many of the students grabbed flyers advertising the program’s Facebook forum, and later that day, began to actively participate in the conversation. The school expressed interest in holding more sessions with OneVoice.

Alsoodani took full advantage of her time in Germany by travelling to Munich for meetings with several local and national Israel-Palestine dialogue groups. All of them expressed support for the two-state solution, although skepticism was rife.

Salam-Shalom, a local Munich group with Jewish, Muslim and Palestinian members, felt that negotiations had run their course and sought more aggressive action to achieve a just and permanent peace agreement. On the other hand, Beth Shalom, a liberal Jewish community with branches across Germany, strongly believed achieving the two-state solution was not only possible, but imperative. Despite the groups running the gamut, they all welcomed the opportunity to help OneVoice with outreach efforts.

In related news, a group of German students on a trip to the Middle East paid OneVoice's office a visit last week, where they spoke with staff and youth leaders. The students seemed energized and eager to take action to help achieve the two-state solution. Their enthusiasm served as further encouragement for OneVoice to explore fundraising opportunities in Germany, with the help of locally-based volunteers, that would enable the movement to open an office there.

If you know of any potential outreach or fundraising opportunities that could facilitate OneVoice’s further growth in Germany, please contact europe@onevoicemovement.org.uk.

Outreach and Education Program links Palestinian and UK women’s groups

New York, July 30, 2012—Recognizing women’s role in peacemaking, the Outreach and Education Program, led by OneVoice Europe’s Sharon Alsoodani, plans to connect UK women's empowerment groups with women in remote Palestinian community.

Since visiting the Women’s Association of Qalqilya early this summer, where several of OneVoice’s top women youth activists volunteer, Alsoodani has been exploring establishing a relationship for them with Lotus Life, a London-based young women’s empowerment group, to share with each other their efforts and experiences.

“Witnessing the desire among the women of Qalqilya in shaping their community and political landscape, I’ve returned to London with renewed motivation to amplify their work,” said Alsoodani. “I’ll be facilitating cross-border and cross-cultural communication that will make the global impact of our voices stronger.”

The Women’s Association of Qalqilya, founded in 2010 and now 55 members-strong, empowers women of all ages in the city to assume a greater role in civil and political life. They’ve been focusing on creative means of combating the dramatic effects of Israel’s controversial separation barrier, which almost completely encircles the city and results in political disenfranchisement as well as severe poverty.

“Our connections with the outside world have not been good in Qalqilya,” one middle-aged woman told Alsoodani during her visit. “But we are starting to build relationships, which will enhance the progress and development of our town.”

At a town hall meeting that OneVoice held late last year in Qalqilya’s city hall, over 100 participants discussed the best way to invigorate the city’s stalled economy. Meanwhile, at their latest meeting, Women’s Association members and OV youth activists raised the issue of municipal politics and how to best use the upcoming elections to advance social causes.

“We have to stop looking always toward the past,” said Azil Nazzal, a top OneVoice Palestine youth activists and Women's Association volunteer, during her presentation at the meeting. “We have to start planning what we want for the future and make it happen.”

And it is in that message — recognizing the pain of the past while refusing to let it dictate the future — that OneVoice Palestine and the Women’s Association of Qalqilya have become natural allies in the effort to mobilize Palestinians across the West Bank.

Meanwhile, back in London, members of Lotus Life are receptive to learning firsthand from them about the actions they're taking on the ground to end the occupation and improve the quality of life for Palestinians.

For starters, Alsoodani plans to run a Skype session, connecting the two groups and giving the Women's Association of Qalqilya their sought after link to the outside world. Whatever the forum it takes — whether  concerned with political, social or economic issues — the end result of such initiatives is greater ownership for the embattled residents of Qalqilya over their futures.

UK Muslim-Jewish Group connects over Skype with Israeli and Palestinian activists

Two dozen members of the Nottingham Muslim-Jewish Dialogue Group connect over Skype with an Israeli youth leader in Tel Aviv and a Palestinian youth leader in Ramallah at an event organized by OneVoice Europe's Outreach and Education Program.

London, May 29, 2012—Members of the Nottingham Muslim-Jewish Dialogue Group assembled at a local synagogue earlier this month to connect over Skype with an Israeli youth leader in Tel Aviv and a Palestinian youth leader in Ramallah. The session allowed them to learn firsthand about parallel grassroots efforts to achieve the two-state solution.

Two dozen members listened intently to a brief presentation by OneVoice Europe’s Outreach and Education Program Director Sharon al-Soodani, and then opened the floor for a question and answer session with Ben Ofer and Abeer al-Natsheh through video conferencing. Part of an ongoing series – the program has held 38 sessions so far and reached more than 900 individuals – the events allow UK communities vested in the Middle East conflict to address this often highly volatile topic in an intimate and safe environment, using a constructive approach.

“It was an excellent meeting,” said Jeff Cohen, co-chair of the dialogue group, after the session. “We not only gained an insight into what it is like for people living in Israel and Palestine, but it also helped to cement relationships in our group as well.”

Abeer, a 28-year-old Jerusalem resident who holds a bachelor’s in computer science, answered several questions about living conditions in the West Bank and freedom of movement between Jerusalem and other major Palestinian cities. Ben, a 24-year-old law student, spoke about the first-ever Two-State Solution Caucus in the Knesset, which OneVoice Israel co-conceived, and the recent successes of using social media to impact Israeli society.

“The Nottingham Muslim-Jewish Dialogue Group sets an example of how interfaith groups can explore both the comfortable and uncomfortable aspects of dialogue,” said Sharon. “By participating in a Q&A with two of our activists from Israel-Palestine, they have engaged together in a pragmatic approach that challenges the status quo and demands justice and peace for all those affected.”

Sharon explained to the group that her program focuses on forward-thinking and solutions to the conflict. The approach has allowed the program to successfully improve relations between Jewish, Christian and Muslim communities and promote a win-win scenario to conflict resolution in Israel-Palestine and in British communities, schools and campuses. OneVoice advocates for the two-state solution based on the pre-1967 borders, and resolving all final status issues according to international law and resolutions.

School students, university students and members of communities who are most affected by the Middle East conflict are finding a space, through the Outreach and Education Program, where they can be heard and understood. The program enables them to channel their energy and passion to be active toward ending the occupation and finding a just solution to the conflict.

“Grassroots understanding here in the UK of the needs of both sides in the process and how their experiences have shaped their positions is what will eventually lead them to take a realistic and pragmatic attitude toward resolving conflict and divisions both in their own societies and back in the Middle East,” Sharon explained.

Interfaith groups have been particularly keen to invite Sharon to work with their participants on this issue, where they are failing to deal with it effectively. A connection with five synagogues, three mosques and nine churches has been established. A network of nine Muslim organizations, two Christian organizations and six Jewish organizations has been built, and extended into 22 other organizations, including interfaith, community development and local councils.

Ben Ofer spoke to members of the Nottingham Muslim-Jewish Dialogue Group about the first-ever Two-State Solution Caucus in the Knesset as well as successes in social media activism to impact Israeli society.

Abeer al-Natsheh spoke to members of the Nottingham Muslim-Jewish Dialogue Group about living conditions in the West Bank and freedom of movement between Jerusalem and other major Palestinian cities.