Author: Avi Bohbot

About One Voice

OneVoice is an international grassroots movement that amplifies the voice of mainstream Israelis and Palestinians, empowering them to propel their elected representatives toward the two-state solution. The Movement works to forge consensus for conflict resolution and build a human infrastructure capable of mobilizing the people toward a negotiated, comprehensive, and permanent agreement between Israel and Palestine that ends the occupation, ensures security and peace for both sides, and solves all final-status issues in accordance with international law and previous bilateral agreements. The 1967 borders form the basis for the establishment of an independent, viable Palestinian state, with permanent borders and any modifications to be agreed upon by both parties. The Movement recognizes that violence by either side will never be a means to end the conflict.

Our mission is premised on the notion that everyday people have a crucial role to play in creating the political conditions necessary to propel their leaders toward ending the conflict and the occupation. While a majority of Israelis and Palestinians support the two-state solution, an emphasis on the risks of an agreement and the compromises it entails has led many to lose sight of the transformative change that peace can bring. An increasing percentage also doubt they will see such an agreement in their lifetimes, widening the ‘incredulity gap’ of those who would readily accept a two-state compromise but cannot envision one.

From the Caucus to End the Arab-Israeli Conflict that we established in the Israeli Knesset to our “Wake Up! What Is Your Role Campaign?” to mobilize Palestinians to end the occupation and the conflict through non-violent activism, we are providing the centrist mainstream on both sides with the opportunities and tools to build momentum for a peace agreement and #2StatesNOW.

We are the only grassroots organization working in parallel with Israelis and Palestinians to empower the mainstream center in each society. Our independent offices in Tel Aviv, Ramallah, and Gaza City appeal to the national interests of both sides, catalyzing the mainstream public to be pro-active in their support for a final status agreement. While we applaud the essential work other groups do to facilitate cross-cultural dialogue and promote “Track II” diplomacy, we are action-oriented and advocacy-driven, energizing the public to demand accountability from political leaders to deliver an agreement.

Summery of One Voice Activities\ 2008

1) Who funds OneVoice?

Individuals, foundations, corporations, and governments – Israeli, Palestinian, and international. A financial review is available in our 2013 Annual report.

2) Do you really think you have an impact?

Yes. This is not to say that it will be easy. Our principal objective is to mobilize people both to demand more of their leaders and to support them in concluding an agreement to end the conflict and the occupation. As Nelson Mandela famously declared, “It always seems impossible until it’s done.”

3) Is this an attempt to impose a Western solution on a uniquely Middle Eastern problem?

No. We are supporting a solution by Israelis and Palestinians for Israelis and Palestinians. Our mission is specifically to help the majority on both sides who support the two-state solution to realize their goal.

4) Why do we support the two-state solution?

The two-state solution is the only solution that allows for the national aspirations of Israelis and Palestinians to be realized, ensuring lasting dignity, prosperity, and security for both sides. A negotiated two-state outcome is the only one that can end all claims, resolve all final status issues, and truly end the conflict. An independent, economically viable state of Palestine can only be a benefit to its neighbors, as can a secure and prosperous Israel. In the eyes of the international community, a two-state solution is the only legitimate solution to decades of war that can lead to a true democratic finality for Israelis and Palestinians, with equal rights for their citizens and a global opportunity for investment and progress. It remains the only solution that is accepted both by the international community as well as the majority of Israelis and Palestinians.

5) How can we move forward with the belief in moderates when violent extremism persists on both sides?

Average citizens on each side – Israeli and Palestinian – often abstain from vocalizing their moderate views because they fear that the other side lacks a contingent of moderates. While moderates are out there, they feel powerless and partnerless. We give people the opportunity to raise their voices, neutralize violent absolutist viewpoints, and seize back the agenda for conflict resolution. It is important to note that while addressing the phenomenon of extremism, we are not ignorant of the roots of the conflict, or the policies and the facts on the ground.

6) What does the number of supporters represent?

The number is a reflection of signatories to our various campaigns since our founding, all of which endorse the two-state solution and the principles of the OneVoice Movement. When people now add their voice, they are demonstrating their support for our common message, which can be found alongside the ticker.

http://onevoicemovement.org/

Playing Your Role: A Middle East Peace Drama by Jason Alexander
The Middle East is a very difficult stage to play upon. Without doubt, it is a good drama. And on occasion, there are situations so unimaginable, if not ludicrous, as to make them almost comic. But the cast is constantly changing, the audience is often disengaged and it seems at times that no one is actually running the show. So, how does one find their role?

On May 16, I will be joining a panel of experts organized by the OneVoice Movement at 92Y in New York City to explore this very point. We will discuss what civil society can do to rekindle and fuel the hopes for peace between Palestinians and Israelis. I am, by no means, one of those experts. Nor need I be to understand the importance of this cause and the value of participation from people in all walks of life — both directly engaged in this conflict and supporting from the outside.

I found that looking at the Israeli/Palestinian conflict from an outside vantage point was actually quite distancing. The history of the conflict, the personalities, the violence, the distrust, and the seeming lack of viable solutions made meaningful involvement feel impossible. What changed that, for me, was changing the vantage point.

I’ve visited the region several times, many with OneVoice during delegation trips, and each time my interest and activism in this conflict increased because I not only saw and heard with my own eyes and ears, but through those living the conflict daily.

Event number one: while visiting a kibbutz in the north of Israel, I learned of an interesting exchange during a security patrol. The kibbutz is situated on a hill at the bottom of which sits an Arab village in Lebanon. Despite the ongoing struggles, the kibbutz and the village had been good neighbors — sharing resources, celebrating each other’s holidays and generally looking out for each other. Then, a fundamentalist group came into the village and forcefully took over day-to-day operations.

To the outside observer, the two environments were now deadly enemies. One night on patrol, the security team for the kibbutz encountered an elderly man from the village who was about to fire two mortar rockets into the kibbutz. The team confiscated the rockets and then realized that they all knew this man. They reminded him of how they had all been such good neighbors, how their children all played together, of how they had spent many happy times together and then asked the man why he now hated them so much that he would attack them. The elderly man answered, “I don’t hate you. There is no work. There is no income. The fundamentalists pay me seventy-five dollars for each rocket I fire at an Israeli target. For one hundred and fifty dollars, I can support my family for six months. I cannot say no. But I have no hatred for you. In fact, give me the rockets and give me the one hundred fifty dollars and I will fire at the fundamentalists”. This “conflict of ideologies” was no such thing. This was a desperate act of survival.

Event number two occurred in Los Angeles in the mid-90’s. OneVoice founders and board members Daniel Lubetzky and Mohammad Darawshe had come to talk about their vision for a new path to peace for Israel and Palestine. I was dubious. I thought this was merely an appeal for money that would be thrown cavalierly at an impossible project. But during their presentation, Mohammad spoke about why he chose to devote himself to OneVoice. He spoke of his young son, Fadi, and of how remarkable this boy’s dedication to goals had been. Fadi had promised his father that he would be the top student in his class, and succeeded. He promised he would be captain of the soccer team, and succeeded. And then one day, he came to his father and promised that he was going to be a martyr. He was twelve years old. Mohammad then spoke of how he would stop at nothing to make this goal one that his son would never keep. And as he was weeping, so was I. Mohammad was a father. I was a father. His child was my child. And I had to help.

Those are the stories that do not get told in this conflict. We on the outside do not get these glimpses of reality. We see and hear about Israelis and Palestinians only when they are defined by the global media as “occupiers,” “terrorists,” and “victims.” But we forget that they are fathers and mothers and sons and daughters and neighbors and doctors and shop-owners and farmers and students. It is those roles, those definitions that make possible the name of the organization I support — OneVoice. Because in those roles of family and community and shared interests, we do all speak with one voice — our voice of humanity.

At 92Y, OneVoice is unveiling its new strategic vision, the “Peoples’ Blueprint.” OneVoice is creating activists out of everyday people and forging links with local, national, and global stakeholders to create positive facts on the ground toward a two-state sol.
Article Source, Huffington Post: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jason-alexander/onevoice-israelis-palestinians_b_3271691.html

Many people in Israel & Palestine either do not believe that the conflict can end, or do not understand the urgency with which it must. Imagine 2018 is a bold initiative asking citizens to visualise Israel & Palestine in 2018- either positively or negatively- and urge them to build their own future.

Israelis & Palestinians disagree about many things, but one shared feeling that resonates across both societies is a deep cynicism, scepticism and hopelessness about the future & the prospects for peace. Yet peace is attainable & a two state solution is viable- but time is running out. Ordinary citizens need to see what is possible, understand the compromises needed to get there, & the role they can play as individuals; they must also understand that this window of opportunity is closing fast.

Solution

We will ask Israelis & Palestinians three key questions:
1. What will 2018 look like?
People must visualise the future- both the positive & negative possible 2018s- they may live in. Peace, security, prosperity & legitimacy; or violence, stagnation, isolation & hopelessness.

2. What will it take?
Both futures are possible. Compromises will be needed to enable the positive future to emerge.

3. What is your role?
Every citizen has a role, & the power to make a difference. People matter.