One Million Voices to End the Conflict.
October 8th, 2007Whether you’re in the area – or not, whether you believe in this stuff – or not, here’s an announcement on what’s going in next Thursday in my neighborhood:
On October 18, OneVoice will engage and mobilize hundreds of thousands of Palestinians and Israelis in a “People’s Summit”. Ordinary citizens will speak out in unprecedented numbers against violent extremism, occupation, and terror, and demand that their leaders negotiate and implement a two-state solution.
Live music, speeches by dignitaries and celebrities, and statements from grassroots activists will draw Israelis and Palestinians out to the streets, where they will be linked via satellite to their counterparts across the region. This platform will allow people on both sides to see that they have a partner in the resolution process. The event will be broadcast around the world.
For the rest of the details, see here.
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http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article9027.shtml
Yaman I’m sure you know what will happen, right? Arabs/Palestinians will be portrayed as the ones who don’t accept these “peaceful” means in attempting to find a shared solution (often pro-Israel) and we’ll as usual be slammed in the media for ignoring peace / wanting violence. I am not sure how Israel expects us to forget our past and party with them while it continues to expand itself illegally at the expense of innocent civilians. If they really want peace, they’re going to have to work a little harder and to show some respect for international law, the UN, the EU, human rights organizations worldwide and all other bodies that attempted to correct and eliminate war crimes but whom the Israeli government has thus far ignored with the help of its best friend, the USA.
Sorry Eliesheva for ruining your post I’m sure your intentions are good but these thoughts are worth sharing. Other than these sorts of gatherings, Israel has done nothing to earn our respect as an “agent of peace” as it was described by president Bush.
Murad, maybe you’re a realist, maybe a pessimist, but give it a chance man. Frankly I’m not that hopeful either that it will bring peace. However seeing Palestinian and Israeli mothers under one roof interacting peacefully with each other and attempting something involving mutual sincere goodwill puts a big smile on my face.
As much as I doubt this will actually bring peace in the political sense, it has already brought about peace on a social level. At least these hundreds of thousands involved from both sides aren’t inclined to choke each other to death. You can’t deny it, it’s good to see.
I see your point SudaneseDrima, but did you not read Yaman’s post? Did you not read what the Palestinians involved in this have to agree to and sign? I think that is more damaging than the amount of positive that may come out of this.
I don’t consider myself a pessimist, I consider myself someone who respects Palestinians too much to watch them be part of an agenda where their interests are nowhere to be served. Will you shake hands with someone knowing that your own house can be demolished any minute by that very same person?
Hey Elisheva,
Thanks for bringing, I was going to write about, I actually have video post about it…lets hope it achieves something!
I agree to an extent where Yaman and Murad are coming from but there is a very dangerous association that was made:
Shaking hands with an Israeli citizen is not shaking hands with the Israeli government. There is a difference, and it must be distinguished if we ever want to solve anything. There are many Israelis who are against Israeli human rights abuses, many Israelis who refused to serve in the IDF, and many Israelis who marched against the attacks in Lebanon. Their efforts should not be dismissed because of our generalizations. There’s also many Palestinians who are against suicide attacks and their own governments, several of whom even donated their organs to Israeli civilians. These are the people who will ultimately achieve real peace; those who put the lives of others in the same level that they put their own lives.
Personally, I’m usually a skeptic about all of it. I’m skeptical about this too. These are superficial gestures and do nothing to ease the pain on any side.
I do think action on the grassroots level, however, has the power to be more effective than action on the governmental level. I’m skeptical about everything, but the one thing I’m hopeful about is dialogue, (even though I am simultaneously skeptical of that too) and, no, this is not dialogue, it’s a bunch of people boasting how peaceful they are.
I posted it more as an announcement of something happening than an endorsement. Do with it as you wish.
The problem is, by participating in this ’summit’ they are not simply having to ’shake hands’ with Israeli’s, they have to agree to terms that are extremely damaging to the Palestinian people and agree to terms that are in fact in violation of International Law. The government is involved in this, it is not just good Palestinian and Israeli citizens standing up for peace.
You are right about all those things Esra’a but I did not mean civilians in this case but rather accepting the strict terms of the Israeli government who will only want peace if victory is assured for them. They want us all to be blind to what they are doing and what they will continue to do if we are not careful enough.
Tamara, that is exactly the problem. Peace has been pre-defined and each attempt at achieving it requires one side or the other to give up certain things, in this case it’s Palestinians who have much to lose. The government’s solid promotion and involvement means it’s only interested in increasing PR goals and worldwide public support which it needs to continue oppressing Palestinian citizens. In the end we are still the ones paying the price, I really do welcome you to read all the media coverage about this and how the overwhelming Israeli majority will be interpreted as they wanting peace and us not accepting it, not many are willing to understand why we don’t accept these one-sided strategies.
Liz you hit the nail on the head when you say this:
Exactly. Plus, ignoring the problem does not help aid it.
Anything that is pushing towards the direction of ending conflict and towards peaceful coexistence is better than digging graves and gnashing teeth. The fact is that here in the Middle East, people do want a peaceful resolution and if the resolution doesn’t correct everything that you feel needs to be corrected, well… How can anyone undo something that started with the Diaspora? We can’t. We weren’t there. The fact is that today we have Palestinians and Israelis occupying the same geographic area that has been a source of bloodshed and anger, and if a solution comes about that is reasonable, that is the best we can do for now. We, meaning, the human race, for conflicts that arise there has an effect on all of us whether you have something to do with it or not.
Dawoud, nice. We’ve all taken, we’ve all been taken from, we are all tired, now we all do what we have to do…
This presented ’solution’ is not reasonable.
Let me say from the start that despite concerns I have about how OneVoice is organized and managed, I thinkt he concept is RIGHT ON and we Palestinians should support it, despite the anti-campaign from the Electronic Intifadah … the rejectionists always say what theyd on’t like but never say what they like …
OneVoice is based on the principle of recognizing two-states, one Jewish Israel and one Arab Palestine; allow the borders to be negotiated, and to push both sides to dedicate themselves to the peace process.
It’s a GREAT program, with some issues, obviously, but those issues are typical of all efforts.
I say we HAVE to support it … and we should support all efforts to bring Palestinians and Israelis together.
I especially object to the phony term “normalization” … Duh! Have the people at the Electronic Intifadah spoken recently with Palestinians who live under occupation And in Israel … we have “normalization” … what EI is advocating, though,a nd everyone knows it, is the ridiculous demand for One State … it ain’t gonna happen … Instead of living in the past, the Electronic Intifadah and One-State advocate Ali Abunimeh should really move into the reality of the present rather than the failed dreams of the past — failed because of pathetic leadership from Palestinian elitist families who controlled Palestine in the 1930s and 1940s and who, out of stupidity, dropped the ball. Many advocates of the “One State Solution” come from those elitist families responsible for Palestinian failures but who insist on distracting us by pulling on our frustrations and suffering and disappointments.
We ALWAYS should suppor tpeaceful means to end this conflict and ONE VOICE is at least offering something that no one else is offering … now, if Daniel Lebutzky can stop being a on-eman show and start opening up (I hate presidents-for-life
) … he might actually have a program more Palestinians would support. It’s the one thing I heard over and over again from Palestinians in Ramallah and Bethlehem and Nablus when I was there …
Ray Hanania
http://www.ArabWritersGroup.com
There is another side of the story too, which is that, somehow, “peace” is based upon a complete exile of Jews from their ancestral tribal lands in the West Bank. There has never been any sort of provision to guarantee safety or security or any ability for Jews to live as minorities under Palestinian rule. And to some people, that’s justice, peace, and a method to build a harmonious Middle East. Jews already are not allowed, by law, to own property in Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, UAE, or Qatar. And now, “peace,” we’re told means that Jews are not to own land in Judea/Samaria/Palestine either.
Personally, I’ll take the type of peace “one voice” advocates than the one by those petitioners any day — people who seek to alienate, boycott, and turn their backs for peace, rather than actively cultivate coexistence. At least the people participating in One Voice’s campaign can show they are part of a critical mass that seeks an end to conflict and suffering regardless of who it comes to, and have dedicated themselves to move forward, and create symbols and imagery of coexistence, where there currently are so few. People at least will SEE what coexistence under a two-state solution can look like for a change. It’s a start — a foot in the door. But some people want nothing less than victory on their terms. The petitioners are motivated by self-righteousness, not peace.
What’s so distressing about Yaman’s response, and the subsequent responses to it, is that your first concern is not about healing. It’s about proving to the world that Palestinians are victims, which means that your first priority is creating a public relations victory, not about using “best practices” to improve lives. As you see, the petition Yaman posted makes demands about securing rights for one group alone, but where is the discussion about the “day after,” in which the rights of all who live there must be met regardless of which side of the territory they live on?
One thing is depressingly clear. To many people, including some authors here at MEY, “Peace” and “Justice” are euphemisms for, “Judenrein Palestine”. That should be your slogan based upon what you’ve convinced yourselves are principles of fair play, and hey, it even rhymes. You can even build a chant around it. Here you go …
Hey Hey
Ho Ho
All the Jews have got to go!
In Peace
We’ll Find
A Judenrein
Palestine!
Sarcastic? Yes. But if that’s what you’re ultimately advocating then it’s not fair. Peace and justice will not come until the rights of minorities are met on both sides. That discussion hasn’t even really begun, but it needs to start now.
Hey PeacefulVanguard, I know don’t always agree, but I agree with your post above. I think it is utterly arrogant and symbolic of why Palestinians have failed to impose principle on the Palestinian-Israeli question. We argue justice, but only apply it to ourselves.
If an Israeli kills a Palestinian civilian, we MUST all denounce it. But it also is important that if a Palestinian kills an Israeli civilian, we MUST all denounce that, too.
I think that Jews should be allowed the same rights in Palestine as Palestinians are allowed rights in Israel. Right now, neither side is very forthcoming. I own 8.25 acres of land (33 dunums) outside of Jerusalem on the northern border of Gilo. This is property occupied and then annexed by Israel … it is on the Israeli side of the wall … I can’t develop it, I can’t build on it (even though we had a home and well that were destroyed in the 1980s by the Israeli military. They have not formally confiscated it from me, but they have imposed discriminatory zoning laws that prevent me from building on it but allowing someone Jewish to build on it … it’s the typical story of how Israel also discriminates against Palestinians.
In the criticism of these peace proposals, I hear Palestinians rightly wondering aloud why we focus on some issues that benefit israel but not on other issues benefitng the Palestinians.
I support the OneVoice principles, although I think it is another president-for-life organization, no different than any other failed Middle East group.
The key to success is not how many signatures you get but how much real buy-in you get from people. Many good Palestinians sign their names to all kinds of petitions, like the OneVoice petition, but nothing happens.
We need a real, genuine peace movement and OneVoice could be it if it would stop being a one-sided dictatorship embracing great principles. I mean, why should a Palestinian believe that OneVoice really supports what it says it supports when it is governed in a completely different manner — and I know many of the Palestinian OneVoice activists personally.
I wouldn’t fall into a depression, though, every time someone writes somerthing you don’t like
… I think we have to allow open debate and hear those things we don’t agree with. That is true free speech. While I disagree with those who oppose the OneVoice proposals, they have a right to express their concerns without being characterized as being anti-Israeli.
Just my two-cents
Ray Hanania
http://www.ArabWritersGroup.com
by the way the term “judenrein” is somewhat offensive and is really going over the deepend in terms of challenging some of the views here.
There is a middle ground and we should all try to define it better and walk in it, even if we disagree
Ray Hanania,
I am baffled by your reasoning. Should we simply accept an offer because it appears to be the best thing available? Why dont we try to create another?? Personally, I do not support a ‘One State Solution’, I believe the only solution is a two-state solution, but not on the terms on offer. Have you had a look at the map of Israel and the Palestinian Territories? Do you really think it is possible to have a Palestinian state that has Israel running through it? Where most of the major water supplies are in Israeli control? etc….
Yes ofcourse we should always support peaceful means, but not if that is at the expense of a viable Palestinian State.
I resent that simply because I dont support this, or the Israeli government, I am automatically assumed a Jew hater, a war monger etc. It is pointless even trying to respond to your comments ‘PeacefulVanguard’. I would just like to let you know, I do not support Hamas or Fatah either.
He/she is indeed very offensive.
Thanks Ray. I appreciate that.
Tamara, what’s up, who ever said you are a Jew-hater or warmonger? I may disagree with some of your ideas about how the region can move beyond the current quagmire, but that doesn’t mean I think you hate people or desire war, come on. If we can at least agree that our hearts are in the right place, then we can have a mature discussion about tactics and strategy, which of course will include some difficult discussions. But the process of dialogue is good because it builds trust and understanding. It’s ridiculous for you to say it’s pointless to respond to my comments. Nobody here is trying to cram their ideas down anyone’s throat. Everything is up for discussion. I think it’s obvious we are both capable of showing each other respect even when we disagree, so why not … face to face, eye to eye, as equals, nothing more, nothing less.
Murad, why don’t you tell me what I said that offends you. I’m open minded, and my intention here is just to be honest about my views toward cultivating a real and deep coexistence, it certainly is not to offend anyone, so why don’t you try talking to me instead of about me?
Hey Tamara
I understand your points but we have to be better than our enemy. I have been to Jerusalem 8 times int he past three years and I am watching in horror as the Palestinian identity in that city is being erased, slowly, steadily and methodically …
The peace process did not fail because the Israeli offers stunk, but because extremists destroyed the peace process on both sides. Every time the Palestinians were about to achieve a milestone in peace with the Israelis under Arafat, Hamas used suicide bombings to destroy the peace process. And the Israeli extremists and terrorists responded, too … they murdered Yitzhak Rabin, their own prime minister to prevent peace with the Palestinians, that is how sinister the Israeli terrorist movement is …
The two-state solution is the only solution … but that means we have to be realistic and accept realistic goals … we cannot expect Palestinian refugees to return to their original pre-1948 homes and lands even though they have a legal internationall sound and justified right to do so. It is legal but not realistic. It ain’t going to happen. So why lie to the refugees. Tell them the truth. We can fight to get them an apology, reecognition finally of their suffering and compensation and new homes in a new Palestine State.
Palestinians must be more principled and more moral than the Israelis. We have to out-principle the Israelis and out-moral the Israelis. Every time the Israeli extremists and terrorists do something, we respond exactly the way we are expected to respond, with a hotheaded response that is neither productive nor strategic. We respond with our anger and emotion and that is the WOST way to respond to anything, unless the sole goal is to make yourself feel good that we avenged or got revenge.
I don’t want revenge. I want to preserve what’s left of Palestine. We were almost there, but Arafat knew he could not convince Palestinians to accept compromise on the right of return and the Israelis knew that and Ehud Barak was treacherous in his phony dealings with Arafat at Camp David. (They NEVER met face to face to negotiate and that was because Barak and Dennis Ross — a true Zionist — prevented it and used it as a means of trying to impose a solution on Arafat) … but we Palestinians responded with anger when a terrorist named Ariel Sharon pushed our button on the Haram al-Ash Sharif and we responded exactly the was he expected us to respond. We got angry, threw stones and gave the Israelis every excuse they wanted to back away from a deal they never intended to follow through on …
We are our worst enemies and until we become smart, strategic and view this not as an emotional issue but as a business deal using our intelligence not emotions, we will NEVER achieve a Palestinian state of any kind.
Now, some of us are happy dying knowing that we rejected everything and refused to give Israel WHAT ISRAEL ALREADY HAS … we thing that by refusing to recognize Israel in reality and fully that somehow we are hurting Israel. The truth is, most Israelis are living their dream … not so perfect … but their dream nonetheless and we are helping … and Palestinians are living their nightmare.
We should wake up and do something … or keep dreaming, keep yelling keep rejecting and keep saying it’s all Israel’s fault.
It’s just as much our fault.
Ray hanania
http://www.ArabWritersGroup.com
First to clarify, my first comment was not something I wrote, but something I was reposting from Electronic Intifada.
Second, PeacefulVanguard, you talk about the petition’s call for rights for “one group” only. Is there a Palestinian regime running the daily lives of Israelis without giving them a say in their own governance (because no matter what you say, the relationship that the state of Israel has to the Palestinians at the moment is one of governance, oppressive as it is)? If there is, then please show it to me. If there ever is, then we can start organizing to oppose that and to recognize the rights of oppressed Israelis. Until then, though, this misguided talk about “rights for all people” is absurd, and is a meaningless distraction. Were those struggling against the racist South African regime expected to say that they were fighting for the rights of the whites? Your position is absurd and, if even well intentioned, ridiculously naive and insensitive to the suffering of the Palestinian people.
PeacefulVanguard, you champion this One Voice movement, as if it is a “movement” and not just a silly PR party in Tel Aviv. But let me see you supporting the real movement of one voice for Palestinians and Israelis, which is taking place in Bil`in, between Jews and Arabs, Israelis and Palestinians. This is real cooperation; this is real coming together. And it is actually political. They are actually doing something. The One Voice people seem to be acting as if their actions occur in a vacuum and as if refusing to address every pertinent political grievance the Palestinians have is a way of “connecting” and “building understanding.” These things are important–but if you separate them from the political context, they are totally worthless, and will give us nothing.
And Ray, your overwhelming sense of pessimism always disturbs me. You always consider that holding Israel accountable for its actions regrading the Palestinians is “rejectionism.” You think there is no hope for the just, democratic cause of the Palestinians to have equal rights with their Israeli neighbors, and with the 1948 Arabs to have equal rights with their Jewish neighbors in Israel. Theirs is a just cause, and no dosage of perverse “realism” will change that. The very nature of it being a just cause is what makes its success possible in the long run. You are looking for expediency; imagine if African Americans had settled with the 13th and 14th Amendments! Why do you support a system of separation between Palestinians and Israelis, rather than one of integration and coexistence? Coexistence to you seems to mean two countries next to each other–this is an awfully simplistic idea of coexistence. Real coexistence is the coexistence that was there before 1948: between literal neighbors on the same street, not vague neighbors on a geography map.
Returning to PeacefulVanguard: you said something about the illegal settlements in the West Bank and Gaza (which you refer to as Judea and Samaria, as if they belong to Israel); I don’t think the West Bank and Gaza should be void of a Jewish population. I think Arabs and Jews should be free to live where they like anywhere in the countries known as the “Arab world,” and more specifically, anywhere in historical Palestine. You condemn this call for expulsion of the settlers, who live in splendor and luxury while within eye distance Palestinians starve, as if it is unjust–and as if Israel would allow Palestinians to return to land that they actually lived on within the 48 borders!! The sheer hypocrisy of your positions is startling and telling… the peace you are a vanguard for is terribly superficial.
A lot of people are very critical of the fact that everyone is asked to sign the mandate at this event – I urge you to take the time to read what they are signing, it is a simple affirmation of the basic rights of people on both sides. Its important for those on each side to know that the other side is willing to work towards an end to the conflict.
OneVoice is an answer to failed top-down peace processes, it works from the ground up. The idea is to bring the discussion into the mainstream and for everyone to see that the actualilty is that the sides are not that far apart, they just lack trust for the other.
Its also important to note that OneVoice does not claim to have THE ANSWER – Its goal is to help empower the moderate majorities on both sides that are silenced by the more extreme stances of those who are generally much more involved politicaly.
Fact is that there will always be those who think its a zionist hoax or camoflauge like Electronic Intifada does, but I guarantee you that for each individual of that persuasion, there is a pro-Israel person who thinks that this is just a Palestinian conspiracy.
There is so much distrust on both sides, this is about take a step forward together, and working towards a comon goal.
Go out on Oct 18th and find a rally near you, Jericho, Tel-Aviv, Washington, Boston, Ottawa, or start your own, small or big. Get together with your friends and watch it on Yahoo. At the end, as yourself an important question…What are you willing to do to end the conflict?
Thanks for reading,
OneVoice Activist
I admire you Yaman for clinging to the past for so long, but the facts speak for themselves. The Palestinians have a just cause. Should we just sit back and wait for our leaders to make it happen. I know you describe that as negative, but the truth is Arabs are notorious for refusing to acknowledge their own mistakes and failings, yet acknowling a failing is exactly what makes success in Western cultures. Israel debates its failings openly and honestly all the time, and that is one reason why they are so successful. Arabs tend to turn away and refuse to acknowledge their failings, and maybe because Arab failings have been so overwhelming it is too painful to be honest. So, we hide behind principle, with no purpose. We talk about problems but offer no solutions. We define dreams with no strategic means of making those dreams happen. No civil rights movement has ever acted in this self-pitying manner in which Palestinians hold up their suffering as their most important asset.
In truth, achieving goals comes through not analyzing your enemy’s faults, but through analyzing your own. It’s fundamental to success of any campaign at any level. We need to understand the enemy and those we face, but we need to understand ourselves even more. We don’t. We just point to 1948 and say, “We have a just cause and that’s good enough for me.” It might be good enough for the extremists who exploit Palestinian suffering to create their jobs and their own employment industry — imagine how many people will be out of jobs when peace finally does arrive — but it’s not good enough for Palestinians who recognize that we are where we are at in a large part because we have people who shout with emotion and only act when it is convenient to them.
Winning requires long range planning, intelligence and strategy, not “Hey, I’m mad today. Let’s have a protest tomorrow.”
Just my thoughts and thank you for your comments.
Ray Hanania
http://www.ArabWritersGroup.com
Ray, you have quite a penchant for making sweeping and self-deprecating statements and generalizations about “the Arabs,” really, Bernard Lewis would be proud. Do you view yourself as the exception? If you do, doesn’t this disprove your theory and defeat the purpose of your statements? If you don’t, then what is it you are trying to say? I did not say we should wait for leaders: in fact if anything I’ve hinted at the opposite. Is the Bil`in struggle one of leaders? Is it not a bottom-up struggle? Has it not been successful? Is it not a “solution?” You put everything in terms of the problem and the solution, as if the solution is a single agreement or contract that we will sign and all of a sudden everything will be okay. You are wrong. The solution is a long process (and not the one that the “leaders” are proposing). The solution is a bottom-up approach. In this regard, the One Voice movement is on to something; but too bad they are settling on a street party, and not a political party. And really, you have so much criticism of the “leaders,” but who is OneVoice endorsed by? Queen Noor? What a leader!
You say you are looking for peace, but how many articles or comments have I read by you in which you suggest that the Americans and Israelis should work to eliminate Hamas from the Palestinian society and government? How do you suggest they do that? With peace? With war? What absurd notion of peace requires war? Can that happen? What gross violence which has been exacted on the Palestinians–violence with bombs, missiles, embargoes–in the name of peace and security!
And then you talk about analyzing “our own” faults, and not just “the enemy.” You have a problem here, which even I, the “extremist” in your words, am not guilty of: you still define “us” as “the Arabs” and “the enemy” as “Israel.” You are wrong. Look at Bil`in, Israelis & Palestinians struggling together. That is real cooperation–just because you can have lunch & drinks and make jokes with an Israeli does not mean you’ve made peace. This is not about Arabs vs Jews or Israelis vs Palestinians; there are many Arabs and Palestinians who are just as complicit in the apartheid system as the Israelis executing it: and there are Israelis more genuinely involved in the struggle than some Palestinians.
You speak about peace, about looking forward, and about struggle, and yet ultimately everything you say, all your analyses, are grounded in supposedly unsurmountable divisions between Palestinians & Israelis and Arabs & Jews, and nothing proves this so well as the absurd generalizations you made in the first paragraph of this comment about “the Arabs.” This is an old idea: if you want to move forward, move beyond this.
OneVoice Activist: I don’t think these events are planned with something malign in mind. But that does not mean we should support it because it is well-intentioned. Maybe there is a reason all of these so-called leaders, which have never done anything notable in their lives, have endorsed it. Maybe there is a reason that Likud and Labor etc have endorsed it: because it means nothing and it does nothing! That is the point here. It is a superficial event; not an evil one, not a badly intentioned one, but one that distracts from the issues at hand.
[...] One Voice Movement Author: yaman – October 9, 2007 A vibrant discussion followed Eliesheva’s previous post regarding the One Million Voices to End the Conflict concerts. Many people that responded to [...]
Yaman, you wrote
I used to believe in peaceful coexistence, but those days are long gone. I believe that if there is to be coexistence, both Jew and Arabs should enjoy the same rights AND have the same responsibilities.
Currently, Arabs in Israel proper (pre-1967) are in a sort of “cease-fire” agreement with the state – they enjoy some rights of Israeli citizens like the right to vote, and should (in theory) enjoy fair and equal treatment under the law. BUT they do not recognize the state as a Zionist entity that is the homeland of the Jewish people, and more importantly, they don’t pay taxes and don’t serve in the army, the 2 most important responsibilities the Israeli state requires of its citizens. Thus they enjoy a special status within Israel, one with less rights and less responsibilities. However this inequality in both rights and responsibilities has ended up working against the Arabs’ interests. Because the government does not see tax revenue from Arabs, it does not invest enough in infrastructure in Arab villages. Moreover, many Arabs (though not all) are highered as “untaxed employees” by small, private Israeli businesses to help in manual tasks like painting homes or maintaining a garden. Too often, the untaxed Arabs (like illegal workers) end up being exploited. And because they don’t serve in the army, the Arabs are seen as a security threat.
If there is to be coexistence within Israel between Jew and Arab, there needs to be a compromise so that all the citizens of the state share the same rights and the same responsibilities. But judging by 4 documents published by the Arab leadership in Israel (Adalla, the Monitoring Committee, and others), they propose full and equal rights as Israeli citizens but refuse any cumpolsory army service or equivalent civil service. Many Jews, as well as smaller minorities like Druze and Charkasses and Bahais, view these proposals as creating a “priveleged” Arab class. These proposals, like the status quo, is not a way to coexist.
As for physical separation, this solution has been shown to work in plenty of other troubled areas. For example, Germans were separated from Czechs and Poles after WWII and these days they get along fine. Separation also worked better in Yugoslavia than coexistence – imagine if Yugoslavia was still one country today, there would still be internal chaos and quite possibly ethnic cleansing. Countries in the Middle East faired no better at co-existence, just look at Lebanon.
In my opinion, for a just peace to occur, the Israeli and Palestinian populations need to be physically separated for at least 10 years, with 95 % of the Jews in Israel and 95 % of the Palestinians (including those in Israel proper) in the Palestinian state. Unfortunately I don’t know how to achieve such a solution without major population exchages on both sides, or cantons inside the other’s territories. But brainstorming ideas is what this exchange is for.
PS – yeshar koach Ray, I agree with every point you made in this discussion and want to compliment you on your clear, articulate, and above all realistic line of thinking.
[...] most of us are caught up in the euphoria of the movement, OneVoice is under attack from both sides. Electronic Intifada on one side, and an angry Jewish lady leaving emotionally charged comments on the [...]