OneVoice Movement

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 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.

OVP's Wasim Masri talks negotiations on BBC World News

WATCH: OneVoice Palestine's Wasim Masri on BBC World News to discuss the return to Israeli-Palestinian negotiations after three years without talks. Video courtesy of BBC World News.

 

OneVoice Occidental’s president reflects on “Two States 2013” campaign

By Dina Yazdani

Kizoa slideshow: Two States 2013 Campaign! - Slideshow

We at OneVoice Occidental (Oxy), the local OneVoice chapter at a Los Angeles college, felt the need to revitalize the two-state solution discussion on our campus. As president of the chapter, I have seen first-hand that students are losing hope in the peace process…and the discourse around the conflict is discouraging.

Students and professors speak as if they give up on the two-state solution in favor of other outcomes that would not allow the nationalistic rights and aspirations of both Palestinians and Israelis to be realized. With Iran’s nuclear program, the Syrian civil war, and the transition the other Arab Spring states were and are undergoing, it is understandable why students are losing sight of the peace process. However, if Americans begin to forget, become discouraged, or stop caring about the Israeli and Palestinian conflict altogether, then President Obama will also be less motivated to work with Israeli and Palestinian leaders to resolve the conflict. 

We knew we needed to do something unique and eye-catching to rekindle hope for a two-state solution in the students, and we saw President Obama’s visit to the Middle East as the perfect opportunity to make our voices heard.

On March 20, the same day that the president landed in Israel, we launched a “Two States 2013” campaign to revive support for the two-state solution on our campus. The night before, we plastered stickers with Israeli and a Palestinian flags with the words “Two States 2013” around our entire campus, and hung a large banner replicating the sticker at the front entrance of our cafeteria. We wanted to make it clear the next morning when students would make their way to class that the demand for a two-state solution is very much alive at Oxy.

That afternoon, we set up a table in our quad to hand out stickers and collect signatures for a OneVoice petition, which called for the president to prioritize a two-state solution during his second-term in office. We also hung an Israeli and a Palestinian flag on a branch of the tree behind the table, which coincidently, became the location of de facto photo-op sessions for students to display their support for a two-state solution. We were amazed and humbled by the amount of support students showed.

Everest Law, a sophomore member of OneVoice Oxy and international student from Hong Kong, explained to passersby the significance of doing this campaign on March 20 and the urgency of achieving a two-state solution.

"We chose our event date such that it coincided with Obama's visit to the Middle East, and one of our frustrations is that there is not enough conversation about [the conflict] in American society,” Everest said. “Therefore, we wanted to make use of the publicity of Obama's visit and remind people that there is still a conflict going on. If not now, then when?"

When, indeed? We need Americans to know now that despite a decade of frozen peace talks, activists on the ground at OneVoice Palestine and OneVoice Israel have worked and continue to work hard for two states, an end to the occupation, and an end to the conflict. It’s time that we in the United States work equally as hard to help end this conflict. Americans can help keep the peace process alive by urging their leaders to take constructive steps to revive the peace process. In addition, Americans can help educate their communities on the conflict and spread the message of a two-state solution.

My hope for the “Two States 2013” campaign was to amplify the Israeli and Palestinian activists’ voices and shed some light on the need to keep the discussion alive. I believe we did. Walking around campus, I still see some of the “Two States 2013” stickers stuck on light poles, buildings, and students’ laptops. Earlier this week, I saw one student wearing the sticker in the middle of his t-shirt. 

While the stickers may be small, the message is big. President Obama’s new Secretary of State John Kerry has announced that Israel/Palestine peace will be a priority, and has already visited the region multiple times since stepping into office only a few months ago. We’re confident that this year will be a milestone for the peace-process. After witnessing the excitement the “Two States 2013” campaign generated on campus, we’re ready to make sure that happens.  

 

"Two States 2013" sticker on the Occidental Campus.

OneVoice Hosts Building Bridges for Peace

Dr. Patrick Magee and Jo Berry of Building Bridges for Peace met students at OneVoice Israel event at the University of Haifa. They travelled to Ramallah the next day to meet with OneVoice Palestine activists. 

On March 13, Dr. Patrick Magee, a former IRA member, and the daughter of one of Magee’s victims, Jo Berry, spoke about the role of forgiveness and conflict resolution at an event co-sponsored by OneVoice Israel and Haifa University.

The event enabled Pat and Jo, founders of Building Bridges for Peace, to share their unique story and relay back to the students the importance that understanding and dialogue played in their reconciliation. Indeed, a key theme throughout the talk was empathy, for it is only through understanding of where someone else comes from that we are able to learn of the circumstances which shaped the views and opinions of others. 

This point was emphasized by Jo when she said, given a change of circumstances, she could have easily grown up to be a member of the IRA. She stressed that actions are determined by circumstances, not by any innate characteristics within us. It was only through knowing Pat, and the struggles and injustices he faced growing up in the Northern Ireland conflict, that she could understand how and why he turned to violence, and in turn why her father lost his life. 

Pat and Jo have traveled to many countries to share their story, but this was their first visit to Israel and Palestine.

“Everybody wants peace, every conversation we’ve had here has been about that,” Pat observed. “There’s a solution already there, it’s just creating the conditions for people to come around the table and thrash it out. There’s so much fear. Fear drives people to apathy and drives people to extremes.”

Some students present in Haifa found the idea of Pat's and Jo’s reconciliation incomprehensible, even wrong, though many others wanted to better understand. As such, some frank exchanges between the students and the speakers took place.

Pat was also keen to emphasize that one must not lose hope.

“There’s a list of seemingly endless problems, no solutions in sight, and then this miracle happens,” Pat said after a question about seemingly intractable conflicts.

The students asked Pat and Jo a variety of questions, ranging from how their families received the partnership, to how their experiences and what they have learned could be applied to address the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

In response, the message was clear, in that it emphasized the need to be open, patient, and to empathize – to imagine one’s self in the place of the other.

Jo also had some practical advice to end on: “I recommend you get involved with OneVoice, they do fantastic work.”

***

Pat and Jo with OVP activists in Ramallah.

The next day, OneVoice Palestine youth leaders met with Pat and Jo in Ramallah.

Pat and Jo had a chance to discuss the conflict, occupation, and suffering, as well as see the impact of the settlements and separation wall. They shared their stories with youth leaders in an event OVP’s activists described as “inspiring” and “a powerful example of reconciliation.”

Within the duration of this visit, Jo spoke of her commitment to peaceful resolution, mediation of conflict, and about Building Bridges for Peace. She was inspired by the youth leaders’ work in the West Bank and Gaza and their commitment to non-violent activism. Pat spoke about his journey, his 14 years in prison, and Jo’s efforts for achieving reconciliation with him.

OVP youth leaders shared observations about the need for justice, an end to the occupation, and solving all final status issues in line with international resolutions as pre-requisites to real reconciliation with Israel in a meaningful sense.

The youth leaders listened intently to Pat’s story, and then explained how there is another internal reconciliation that Palestinians are concerned about: the schism between the West Bank and Gaza, and how important healing this divide will be in order to achieve a sustainable peace agreement with the Israelis that will end the occupation, build the Palestinian state, and bring peace to the region.

Over the course of two hours, Pat and Jo shared with the youth leaders the concept of creating a legitimate partnership in times of conflict. They also answered questions by the youth on peace building and the obstacles generated by mistrust and frustration on both sides of the conflict.

“I can only imagine their journey for reconciliation,” said OVP activist and Project Manager Malaka Samara. “In times of conflict, it is important to hear the other side and give an opportunity to create a legitimate partner to end the conflict for the benefits of both sides.”

OneVoice Palestine continues outreach to Gazans

OVP Gaza Director Ezzeldeen Masri leads an introductory session for university students in Gaza City on March 12, 2013.

In a Gaza City conference room covered with OneVoice messaging, 30 university students from around the Gaza Strip gathered around the table to hear why they—as citizens— must play an active role in securing a Palestinian state.

OneVoice Palestine-Gaza Director Ezzeldeen Masri introduced OneVoice to the students and briefed them on the historical reasons why the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) made the landmark decision to accept and pursue the two-state solution, how it could secure their rights and independence, and what they could do as Palestinian youth and the inheritors of this legacy, to help bring it about.

Ezzeldeen recounted the decades of bloodshed that people had already suffered through, and emphasized a critical point, that violence between the two sides will not achieve what Palestinians truly want: an independent state living in peace and security.  

“After the 1982 war, the PLO decided to focus more on the political and diplomatic front in order to end the occupation and establish the independent Palestinian state based on the 1967 borders,” Ezz explained.

An audience member raised a question about armed resistance to the Israeli military occupation, and Ezz focused on the need for Palestinians to focus their energies on nonviolent resistance.

“At OneVoice Palestine, we honor the martyrs who have suffered or died in the cause of Palestinian justice and statehood. Now, in our struggle toward liberation and independence, we support the vision of our President, Mahmoud Abbas, in ending the Israeli-Palestinian conflict based on the two-state solution and through popular nonviolent resistance and other diplomatic and legal measures,” Ezz responded.

OneVoice Palestine was glad to be able to facilitate a genuine debate on what steps the Palestinians needed to take to begin building a future free of occupation. Recent history provided an important touchstone to many of the young people in attendance.

Yasser Arafat's vision of the Peace of the Brave, and the historic Arab Peace Initiative of 2002, provided the framing for a lively debate, as the young Gazans present discussed what could be done to break the impasse.

“For me”, said Ezz, “one of the most important things we’re doing here in Gaza is giving these young people the tools and grounding necessary to take ownership over their fate and play an active role in ending this occupation and building the two-state solution. Nobody else here is doing this sort of work-- nobody.”

Some of OVP’s longest serving Gazan activists - Mahmoud Daoud, Hasan Skaik, and Islam Shalah - spoke about their experience and the skills they gained from participating in the youth leadership training program (YLP), encouraging participants to join and become OVP volunteers. The activists also introduced the town hall meeting program (THM) and the various initiatives that OVP conducted in the past, as well as brainstorming about future activities.

“The OVP leadership training program helped us develop the skills needed to become politically active and capable of contributing to the march toward liberation and independence,” Mahmood explained to the group. 

Mr. Salem Hindi, director of the Palestinian Peace Coalition, and Mr. Ibrahim Kishta, councillor in the Palestinian Diplomatic Corps and an OVP supporter, both addressed the session’s attendees. They spoke about the need to adopt nonviolent popular resistance in order to put pressure on Israeli society and for the international community to demand an end for the occupation and the establishment of the Palestinian state based on the 1967 borders.

"We must have a clear objective: liberation, independence, and popular nonviolent resistance combined with diplomacy are the best methods to reach our goal," said Mr. Kishta.

Mr. Hindi concurred. “Nonviolent resistance proved its effectiveness in the West Bank towns of Bodress, Nalien, and Nabi Salah,” and therefore should be used elsewhere in Palestine.

“At this stage in our struggle toward liberation and independence, we need to adopt the popular nonviolent resistance model," activist Islam Shalah told the group.

By the end of the intro session, 23 of the 30 attendees signed up for the youth training program with OVP-Gaza, helping Ezz and his team further increase their impact and non-violent agenda in this most challenging of environments.

The introductory session was done in cooperation with the Adam Center for Dialogue of Civilizations in Gaza City.

Mahmood Daoud, OVP activist (right) explains the youth leadership training program to the group. 

OVP Gaza youth leader Islam Shalah told the group that nonviolent resistance must be the model in Palestine.

Participants, including Mr. Kishta (far left) and Mr. Hindi (center, speaking), discuss the role of nonviolent resistance in bringing about a Palestinian state.

With Israel’s coalition government formed, Maya Peretz reflects on OVI campaign

Jerusalem Coordinator Maya Peretz hangs posters near the Knesset and the entrance to Jerusalem. The campaign called for Yair Lapid to keep his promise to promote the peace process and not go into a coalition with Habayit Hayehudi.

The Israeli government’s coalition formation period is over, leaving surprise winner Yair Lapid of Yesh Atid with Habayit Hayehudi’s Naftali Bennett, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Likud, and Tzipi Livni of HaTnua to officially lead Israel’s 33^rd government.

While the outcome is not what OneVoice Israel would have wanted, it is important to understand and acknowledge the effort OVI’s youth leaders dedicated to their campaign and how much work is still needed to bring the two-state solution and an end to the conflict to the forefront of Israeli policy.

Maya Peretz, the Jerusalem regional coordinator, was caught by surprise after the election and during the run-up to this announcement.

“[Yesh Atid] was supposed to be the biggest party representing the moderates in Israeli society and [Habayit Hayehudi] has very nationalistic views, which among other things calls for no compromises when it comes to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict,” Maya explained. “I think that because of this surprising move it is also very difficult to predict what direction this government will go.”

For two months, OVI engaged in a vigorous social and traditional media campaign to keep the pressure on Lapid during the coalition process. They particularly targeted his promise to restart negotiations with the Palestinians as a condition for his joining a coalition, as well as his call to take the money from the settlements – putting a partial freeze on construction – and investing the money in Israel’s middle class.

OVI postered messages all over Israeli streets criticizing Lapid’s alliance with Bennett and submitted op-eds, letters to the editor, and ads to national media. Youth leaders canvassed outside the Knesset and Lapid’s house. They even danced the Harlem Shake in a satirical video aimed at the Lapid-Bennett alliance.

Key highlights included an opportunity to meet with Robert Serry, UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, to discuss the immediate need for a two-state solution, as well as Dr. Patrick Magee and Jo Berry, founders of Building Bridges for Peace.

During this campaign period, OVI also inspired a wider online conversation on several pages.

Maya believes that Lapid’s alliance with Bennett deserved every ounce of creativity emanated by OVI’s campaign.

“Sometimes it’s very hard to find activities that can really change reality and promote the two-state solution,” Maya said. “These actives felt like we were doing something with this issue and that we were responding to the current political reality. We wanted to make sure that he stood behind these statements, but we found that the bond with Bennett is causing him to betray exactly that.”

Maya suggests that the mood on the Israeli street is that Lapid’s coalition with Bennett resulted in support because its unexpected nature, as well as refusing to give in to initial pressures from Netanyahu.

Although the two claim they differ on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Lapid and Bennett share the same ideas in other areas of Israeli society, including drafting the Ultra-Orthodox into the military and the status of Jerusalem as the undivided capital of Israel.

This is yet another challenge for Maya. As the Jerusalem coordinator, she is a vocal advocate for the sharing of Jerusalem between Israel (West Jerusalem) and a future Palestinian state (East Jerusalem), something that isn’t an easy task sans election years.

“The fact that the Knesset is placed in Jerusalem makes it very relevant to these [unique] activities,” she said. “Jerusalem is one of the core issues of the conflict and has its own symbolic significance, which makes it a lot more important and meaningful to be active there in general.”

So what’s next for OVI in the coming months?

“I think we should focus on empowering the moderate voices in the government and reestablish our Two-State Solution Caucus,” Maya suggested. “We need to use it to pressure the policymakers of Yesh Atid from inside the government, all while ramping-up the pressure from outside the Knesset with our youth activists from all over Israel.”

Robert Serry, UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, speaks about the need to act now for the two-state solution with audience members at Tel Aviv University. Serry criticized the potential policy of the new coalition of enhancing settlement construction, thereby adding to OVI’s momentum toward combating the potential consequences of Bennett's party membership in the new government.

  

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.

 

OneVoice Palestine launches youth leadership training program for 2013

Long-time OneVoice Palestine youth leader and current staff member, Mohammed Asideh, during an introductory training session in Nablus in January. 

OneVoice Palestine launched the 2013 Youth Leadership Program with an ambitious plan in mind: to reach 1,000 youth leaders by the end of this year.

Designed by OVP's youth leadership department, the program plans to engage new participants from 11 different cities in the West Bank through three newly created regional offices in Nablus, Jenin, and Bethlehem.

The program is designed to determine the readiness and willingness of the participants to move up in the program. Of the projected 1,000 new youth leaders, 500 will advance to receive basic leadership training, 100 will receive the advanced leadership training, and 40 will train as senior advanced leaders – the highest volunteer position – throughout 2013.

The program will provide basic leadership training through the first six months of 2013, focusing on topics such as communication skills, leadership skills, working within a team, and campaigning. There will also be an introductory session on the history of the conflict and the work of OneVoice since the Movement's inception. The youth leaders will benefit from these workshops, building their leadership skills and shaping their personalities to become active leading members in their own communities.

In January, OVP reached 191 new youth leaders – a one-month recruiting record. Citizens from all participating cities in the West Bank joined the introductory sessions and learned about OneVoice's message and the two-state solution. The sessions, conducted by OVP's senior youth leaders, also aimed to engage new recruits and create opportunities for OVP senior volunteers to lead introductory sessions.

"We are seeking to mobilize leading Palestinian youth through our progressive program," said Abdallah Hamarsheh, OVP's youth leadership program director. "The aim is to establish a nonviolent resistance base against the occupation and the Israeli settlement policies."

During the second half of 2013, OVP will move into advanced training with 100 volunteers from the basic training phase, tackling one topic each month until the end of the year. Topics will include public speaking, media, negotiation skills, and the conflict as seen through the Palestinian narrative.

January already proved to be a fantastic start to what appears to be a successful year for the youth leadership department in OVP. The team is very excited to move forward with the program and promote nonviolent activism among the Palestinian youth in the West Bank and Gaza. 

  

State of the Union fails to stress peace process

Last night, President Obama told the nation his vision for the coming year.

We are disappointed that the president did not mention a plan to pursue a return to negotiations between the Israeli and Palestinian leadership. The Israeli-Palestinian conflict MUST be a priority for this administration. The United States has a responsibility to leverage its leadership role in the Middle East to push both sides to do what is necessary to get serious negotiations back on track. Not only is regional peace in the Middle East vital to American national security and foreign policy interests, but the two-state solution remains the only pragmatic, mutually acceptable solution that can guarantee justice, peace, equality, and security for all.

We at OneVoice have pushed for the United States to take the lead and resume talks since September. We must show the president that we are serious.

OneVoice Israel and OneVoice Palestine are committed to building political and grassroots capacity to bring both parties back to the table and ensure a viable, effective negotiations process with a clear plan and a limited time frame that will fulfill the national aspirations of both peoples. We, as the international community in support of a two-state solution, must amplify these calls.

The president must speak directly to the people on his upcoming trip to the Middle East. We urge him to make the peace process the centerpiece of his visit and address the majority of both populations who support the two-state solution.

We URGE you to make your voice heard and SIGN OneVoice’s petition before we deliver it to the administration in Washington, D.C. in one month’s time ahead of the president’s trip in March.

If you, too, are disheartened with the lack of clarity and action, it is your duty to let the president know how you feel. Sign our petition and tell President Obama that he needs to put the Israeli-Palestinian conflict at the top of his foreign policy agenda.

Spread the word – forward this message to five friends who share our commitment to the two-state solution and an end to the conflict.

You can also support OneVoice by making a donation, liking us on Facebook, and following us on Twitter.