There is also a discrimination between the two genders in the international solidarity with the Palestinian cause… I had read a lot about the American, Rachel Corrie, who was killed because of her non-violent struggle in solidarity with Palestinians… But, it’s the first time to know that there is another British activist named Tom Hurndall who was also killed in Palestine in similar circumstances… I don’t know why people remember the feminine sacrifices more than male sacrifices?

I was also happy to read about the non-violent struggle of some Palestinian activists… I liked what I read in the organization, ISM (International Solidarity Movement)… For all of my life I was against the Palestinian movements because of their violent means, that’s why I am impressed by the non-violent Palestinian experience… I want to visit this organization when I visit Palestine and Israel.

I don’t deny that I started to feel big sympathy with Palestinians of the West Bank who are compelled everyday to see the occupying army of Israel in the streets and squares… I felt their feeling when I was compelled to see the occupying army of Tantawi in the streets and squares of Egypt after the coup d’etat of last February.

In the earphone of the MP3 I hear her refreshing voice… Ofra Haza, the fabulous Israeli singer… Singing in Arabic “Ya Helu ya Hali”… Prisons won’t prevent you of what you like, prisons are inside brains of Arabs preventing them from enjoying the art and the literature of Israel although they are theoretically free… I only in need to listen to the crazy Israeli band, Orphaned Land, even though I don’t know how will I see the the female dancer who dances oriental dancing on their songs on the MP3

I heard of the campaign by some Israeli females in solidarity with Aliaa El-Mahdi… You do it from behind my back, you bastards! All that while I’m imprisoned, waaa.

The Egyptian people are very strange… When Sadat presented the peace treaty for referendum, most of the people agreed on the treaty, then they come to think of me as a traitor because I want to apply the treaty in reality! Honestly, I want the referendum on the treaty to be made once again in order to silence the loud-voiced persons who speak on behalf of the people against the treaty, for no reason, but the referendum has to explicit, giving the people the choice between war or peace, because it’s necessary that the people understand that abolishing the treaty means entering a state of war.

Solidarity letters reach me from ordinary Israeli citizens, but it didn’t reach me any kind of solidarity of the Israeli government… The Israeli people remind me of the Egyptian people, a great people ruled by a gang with an extremist minority harms their image.

Speaking of the official solidarity… The German embassy in Egypt was the only one to send me an official for them to visit me in prison, when it was supposed to be that Israelis be the ones to do that, as I was saying on myself “pro-Israel” not “pro-Germany”… But, it’s OK, that’s what is expected of the government of Bibi “Netanyahu”.

Days before I was imprisoned, I wrote that I wanted to visit Israel, but their embassy refused to give me a visa… In reality, this is part of the truth, the first part of the truth is that before January revolution, there was an agreement with one of the Israeli activists who would have given me an official invitation from a minister of Likud, but after I read that the this minister participated in activists hostile to our revolution, I sent a message to this activist telling him not to send the invitation because I won’t accept that I go to Israel with an invitation from someone who stood against our revolution… Sometimes I ask myself: Was this stance of mine the reason of the was of the unpleasant treatment from the Israeli official since then?

I also sometimes ask myself: Did the Israeli not want me to enter Israel so that to preserve their relation with the Egyptian regime as I was saying? Or, they don’t want me to see Israel on its reality and change my idea about it? I won’t know the answer except after I see with my eyes.

Several years ago, a Palestinian activist from Gaza sent me an e-mail, telling me about his activism… He was joined with a group of teachers in Gaza, who were making researches on the effect of the Israeli gases on the psychology of children in Gaza, and they were taking foreign funds for long years, then the foreign fund, the business and the gifts were cut, then he sent me asking if I was able to help him in a source of foreign fund… I sent him a message, telling him that Palestinian children don’t need researches to be written on paper. Palestinian children need the Israeli gases to stop, and that won’t happen except with your recognition for Israel and entering a peace treaty with it… But, you are like that, you are like the doctor who wants his patient to always keep being ill, in order for the patient to always keep paying the bill of the medical check… Of course, after that, this fellow struggler didn’t answer me again.

I learned that “Yaakov Amitai” was hired as an ambassador to Egypt instead of “Yitzhak Levanon”… I’m happy with the departure of Levanon, the man who contributed in many political crises between the two nations… I don’t know anything about Yaakov Amitai and I’m pessimistic with the choices of Avigdor Lieberman, but I hope that he would be able to fix the relation between the two nations… My advices to him: You are an ambassador of Israel in Egypt, not an ambassador of Likud government for the military council; your role is to bring the peoples closer together, not that you preserve some ink on paper called the peace treaty. The peoples are more important than paper, Mr ambassador.

I really wonder of Hamas claims that it would throw Israel in the sea… I don’t know how a movement which doesn’t even own air force, how would it be able to enter a equivalent war? Not that it would win the war… Minds at rest already!

I think that the two peoples, the Palestinians and the Israelis, need to appreciate the value of “non-violence” and I think that this became easier after the Arab Spring… Likud needs to forget the saying “that the Arabs only understand force”, Hamas and its allies need to understand that they can achieve gains through non-violence, more than the gains that they achieve by their fake missiles (that if there are any gains).

I’m sad that Palestinians lost their round of recognition in the Security Council… The source of my sadness is that this loss will cause more frustration to the Palestinians, this would drive them to more violence… Also, if this step succeeded, this would encourage the Palestinians to follow the non-violent means, and this is in the interest of peace… In my opinion, Israel came out losing by the position of the Security Council.

My tutor Amin El-Mahdi, after reading my article “Why am I pro-Israel”, told me that it’s necessary to speak about disadvantages and advantages, in order to be fair and objective in my evaluation… This is what I tried to do in my article “Why Don’t we Also be Peaceful with Israel”, “Yes to Peace for Egypt before it is for Israel” and in this article “Establishing a Palestinian State is in the Interest of Israel”… The respect of the writer for himself (even if he was imprisoned) is more important than anything else in the world.

Maikel Nabil Sanad
El-Marg prison – prison hospital
2011/12/8

Related articles:
* Why am I pro-Israel
* Why Don’t we Also be Peaceful with Israel
* Yes to Peace for Egypt
* Establishing a Palestinian State is in the Interest of Israel

I have set up an e-petition urging the British Government to recognize the Genocide inflicted upon the Kurdish population by the former regime of Saddam Hussein.

If we get 100,000 signatures than they will debate this cause in the British Parliament, thus please sign and pass on your petition.

http://epetitions.direct.gov.uk/petitions/25526

I would like to thank you all for the support and for being a friend to Kurdistan.

Laween Atroshi

Statistics shown that the use of nuclear power raised by some countries while other countries faced difficulties to begin their nuclear programs. The most powerful countries monopolized this power for their own interests, and they allow their close allies from less developed countries to benefit from this power while other countries that have independent or semi-independent policies are facing difficulties to use this power even for peaceful needs. While most countries in the third world are moaning due to lack of electricity, in 2009, 15% of the developed world’s electricity came from nuclear power. In the Middle East especially the need of nuclear power for making electricity is inevitable because of lack of water and countries like Turkey and Jordan doesn’t have oil or other energy resources to get benefit from it, so they need nuclear power to make electricity for their citizens.

Israelis the only Middle Eastern country that has nuclear power for both peaceful and military needs. Very recently, while all countries over the world signed the nuclear non-proliferation treaty, Israelis the only country all over the world that hasn’t signed it. A lot of observers believe that since fifties Israel has gained nuclear power, but until now neither the major powers nor United Nations even discussed Israel’s nuclear program just to make sure if the suspects are right or wrong. In 1974, Israeli President Ephraim Katzir said that “it has always been our intention to develop a nuclear potential. We now have that potential”. That’s despite a lot of other evidences that published in British newspapers which strengthen suspects over Israel’s nuclear power. Based on an article that Mordechai Vanunu a former Israeli nuclear technician published on The Sunday Times, Israel’s channel 10 made 3D video which clearly shows the nuclear plants in Israel(1).  I think Vanunu gave us adequate evidences to make us believe thatIsrael has nuclear weapons for a long time.

Iranwhich is same as Israel situated in the Middle East began its nuclear program in Shah’s era before Islamic revolution in 1979. It has stated its uranium enrichment program solely for peaceful purposes and since February 1992 has permitted the IAEA to inspect its nuclear facilities. United Nations which is superintended by the five superpowers unfairly wants to assail Iran, and they are going to jostle Iran to quit its nuclear program by announcing new sanctions against it. Those moves are happening while The IAEA couldn’t find any evidences to show that Iran is using its program for not tranquil needs.  As incoming Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency, Yukiya Amano said he had not seen any evidence in IAEA official documents that Iran was seeking the ability to develop nuclear weapons(2).

I think if we even talk about both Israeli and Iranian nuclear programs based on suspects not on manifests, there are more evidences that indicate Israelhas nuclear weapons. According to excerpt from 160-page secret DIA report in 1999 Israel has had 60-80 nuclear weapons inventories while, Iran has had none(3). Western powers are arguing that if Irangets the nuclear bomb it may use it against other nations, but they are neglecting what Israelalready used it against Arabs during Arab-Israeli war in the October 1973. According to a detailed account contained in Time magazine, Israelassembled about a dozen bombs and readied them in this war. Now not because we love Iran, but we have the right to ask the United Nations why you are very harassed by Iran’s nuclear program while, Israel which same as Iran allocated in Middle East has more than 100 nuclear weapons with the components and the ability to build atomic, neutron and hydrogen bombs according to The Risk Report (4(5). Israel’s nuclear program began and still operates under tight secrecy, but Iran’s nuclear program operates under the eyes of IAEA‎ in semi-open place. Not just that in early 1968, the CIA issued a report concluding thatIsrael had successfully started production of nuclear weapons (6).  Here we can see the gap difference on how major powers are acting with nations in this region while, they are talking about justice and equality. I think becauseIran is independent in its policy theUnited States wants impedeIran’s nuclear program by claiming thatIran tries to get nuclear weapons. According to evidences that we exposed aboveIsrael has got nuclear weapon since 70s or even earlier, but becauseIsrael is west’s pampered baby no one can investigate with it.

As I explicated above, we can easily see the differences of the way that major powers acting with the countries in this region. United States the most powerful country in the world is making discrepancy in the way of acting with countries in this region, so that make tyrannized countries to loathe United States and turn their powers against it. Therefore, to end conflicts in this region United Nations should create an equal atmosphere for all nations to use nuclear power for peaceful means, or United Nations and IAEA should halt all of them to use it.

References:

(1) Israel’s Dimona Nuclear Weapons Factory In 3D [Videocassette]. (2004). N.p.: Israeli Weapons Ltd.

(2) Iran and weapons of mass destruction (n.d.). In Wikipedia. Retrieved  June 19, 2010, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iran_and_weapons_of_mass_destruction

(3) Rumsfeld’s War (Regnery, 2004), pp. 194-223.

(4) Israel: Plutonium Production The Risk Report Volume 2 Number 4 (July-August 1996).

(5) Israel: Uranium Processing and Enrichment The Risk Report Volume 2 Number 4 (July-August 1996).

(6) The Samson Option. Israel’s Nuclear Arsenal and American Foreign Policy Seymour M Hersh, [New York: Random House, 1991].

Also I have benefitted from:

• Center for Documents of The Imposed War, Tehran. (مرکز مطالعات و تحقیقات جنگ)
• Israel The Nuclear Potential of Individual Countries Treaty on Nonproliferation of Nuclear Weapons Problems of Extension Appendix 2 Russian Federation Foreign Intelligence Service 6 April 1995.

Some websites that I have benefitted from:

• http://www.israeli-weapons.com/
• www.aljazeera.net/english
• www.middle-east-online.com

You’re Also Right

Sagi Melamed

There is a well-known story about a rabbi who was called upon to settle a dispute between two of his followers.  The first man poured out his complaints to the rabbi, and when he finished, the rabbi said, “You’re right.”  Then it was the second one’s turn.  When he finished, the rabbi said, “You’re also right.”  The rabbi’s wife, who had been listening to the conversation, said incredulously to her husband, “What do you mean, ‘You’re also right’? They can’t both be right!”  The rabbi thought for a few moments, and then replied, “You know, my dear, you’re also right.”

If an alien were to land in our general vicinity, his response to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict would probably be like that of the rabbi in the story: You’re both right.

The Palestinian people are right when they expect and demand independence.  The Palestinian father is right to long for a life in which he can sleep safe at home without fearing a midnight pounding on his door.  The Palestinian woman is right to want to go from place to place without having to go through security checkpoints or risk arrest.

The Jewish people were also right when they returned to their homeland after a 2,000 year exile, establishing their own national home.  Jews are right to fear hatred and persecution, right to believe that only by relying on their own resources, can they prevent the nightmare of another Holocaust.  Jews are right to state that they entitled to all they have achieved through their own efforts.  The Jewish people are correct when they point out that the world has totally unreasonable expectations of them, expectations that are never imposed on any other people.  And they are also right to fear that if they give away some of their land today, then tomorrow the Palestinians might demand it all.

Friends and neighbors may say, “Why do you, the grandson of a refugee from Germany, offspring of kibbutz founders, army officer, and member of a religious community in the Galilee, feel the need to justify the position of our enemies?”  I reply, “I don’t have to justify anything, but I do have to understand.”  It is not hard to find untruths, gross exaggerations and significant holes in the Palestinian version of the conflict.  But even the most extreme among us cannot deny that Palestinians lack freedom, live in very difficult conditions, declare themselves to be a people and are hungry for independence.

In the 90s I believed, along with many others, that we could find a way to live side-by-side.  We had the feeling that it was beginning to happen, that it would come to pass soon.  I remember that I was even somewhat concerned, during my MA studies in Boston, that peace would break out before I could return to Israel.  What would we only give to be able to have such concerns nowadays! 

The speeches of Binyamin Netanyahu and Mahmoud Abbas at the UN General Assembly might have been the last nails in the coffin of the dream of living side-by-side – if not actually in peace, then at least living without war.  But this does not seem possible any time in the foreseeable future.  Both speeches focused on why I am right/fearful/angry/threatened and why the other side is threatening/thieving/untrustworthy.  From their own perspectives, they were both right.  And with “right” like that, who needs “wrong”?

Sagi Melamed lives with his family in the community of Hoshaya in the Galilee.  He serves as Vice President of External Affairs at the Max Stern Yezreel Valley College, and as Chief Instructor (4^th Dan) of the Hoshaya Karate Club.  Sagi received his Masters degree from Harvard University in Middle Eastern Studies with a specialty in Conflict Resolution. He can be contacted at: melamed.sagi@gmail.com. 

September 2011

* The beautiful dream
- I dreamed of one homeland and one state bringing together the two peoples, the Palestinian and the Israeli peoples. One state for the two peoples, living together in peace. A civic state that doesn’t discriminated between its citizens on a religious basis, ethnic origin or sexual origin. A state where the religious Jews won’t feel that there is a foreign state on the historical land of Israel, and where the Palestinians don’t feel that there is an occupying state on the Palestinian soil. A state where there is a human balance between Palestinians and Jews would prevent a tyranny of one side over the other. A state living in peace with its neighbors, not in need for a huge armament budget straining its national economy, and doesn’t need to daily lose its youth in childish absurd wars which have no meaning. A state where the citizens look to the new cities as a type of development not settlement. A state taking advantage of the cultural plurality of its population to become stronger and more effective in the region.
- However, for years, both sides killed the dream. The Palestinian terror broke many roads for the peaceful resolution of the conflict, it created a psychological barrier between the two peoples. The Palestinian politicians’ insistence on the two-state solution greedily in the hope of getting corruption money and in the political positions which they won’t reach in a one-state solution, considering that the Israeli politicians are university graduates while the Palestinian politicians are tent and para-military graduates. All that led to the unification of the international efforts toward the two-state solution, not the one-state solution.
- On the other hand, the Israeli insistence on taking unilateral decisions without making considerations for the other international parties, and its insistence for the strong military solutions, and the continuation of the military presence in the West Bank, and the continuation for the provocative policies on top of them the settlements and the obstruction of negotiations insisting on solving complicated issues like the Judaism of Israel and the rights of Jewish refugees who were expelled of the Arab countries; and finally, with the existence of a type of Israeli politicians in authority who are pro-war and anti-peace, they are politicians who know very well that they reached their positions on war propaganda, and will lose them once peace is achieved. All that led to the loss of Palestinians for the hope of serious negotiations, and that pushed them to more violence, and this also led to the creation of a psychological barrier for Palestinians preventing the idea of a one state.
- The realistic result for all that is: the one-state solution isn’t raised anymore in the near term. Both sides have no minimum readiness to exert efforts to achieve it, there is insistence from both sides on the two-state solution, this is a reality which we should accept whether we like it or not.

* Establishing a Palestinian state is in the interest of Israel
- I wonder because of the Israeli reaction toward the Palestinian request from the United Nations to obtain a full membership, because establishing a Palestinian state goes along with the interest of Israel, because it does not in anyway contradict with the Palestinian people obtaining their full rights or with the Israeli people obtaining their full rights.
- It is in the interest of Israel that the ongoing conflict for more than 6 decades ends. Israel has the right to live in peace for the first time in its modern history. It is in the interest of the Israeli people to live in peace and contentment for the first time since the establishment of their state. It is in the interest of Israel to feel contentment from its neighbors without a continuous distrust of an attack that Israel doesn’t know where will it come from.
- It is in the interest of Israel to end the state of war, therefore getting-rid of its need for the hugely inflated defense budget and taking advantage of this budget in favor for the Israeli citizens who need education, health care and housing more than their need for bullets, tear gas and cannon shells. It is in the interest of the Israeli youth not to lose years of their life in a compulsory military service, who can take advantage of these years in building their future, and they would be safe from injuries which they could be subjected to in the military operations.
- It is in the interest of Israel to improve its image to the world and to the Arab countries. It’s not of the interest of Israel that its isolation increases within the international community, and that its image would not be in the minds of the international public opinion as “a racist state”, “the only government of occupation on planet earth” and “the only state to make settlements after the second world war” even if this image is incorrect. It is also not in the interest of Israel that the Arab citizens (Egyptians, Jordanians, Palestinians and others) look to the Israeli people as enemies. As long as the Arabs look to the Israelis as enemies, Israelis won’t be able to invest or make tourism or make any joint relations with their neighbors, Israel is going to be continually besieged between people who don’t sympathize with the legitimate rights of the people of Israel.
- All countries pass through stages of strength and stages of weakness. All countries, no matter how strong they were, pass through moments of weakness (could be fatal sometimes), Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union are the strongest examples for countries to have reached their full strength then passed through weakness leading to their collapse. Yes, Israel is a strong country, but it is subjected to pass through stages of weakness, and it is in the interest of Israel at then when it might pass through moments of weakness that it would be in a state of peace and friendship with its neighbors, not to be in a state that its neighbors are waylaying waiting for the moment of weakness, to devour it. Peace guarantees for Israel the continuation for its existence on its lands, not the military force.

* A call for peace
- I invite Israel now to cut the way for the calls for hatred, racism and the escalating of war, and become the first country to recognize Palestine and invite countries to recognize it and to contribute in building the Palestinian state. The Palestinian state is going to be established whether you like it or not, so it’s in your interest that the new state be a friendly state, not an enemy state.
- Yes, I am not very optimistic with the coalition of rightists and militarists which drives Israel now, with very modest capabilities, to destruction and not progress, but why not invite them to take a pivotal historic stance for the interest of Israel? If the current Israeli political leadership was refusing to do this stance, why not the progressive forces of Israel adopt it, either they be political parties of peace forces, social forces or even the youth of the tent revolution who have represented all Israeli cities and neighborhoods.
Would Tzipi Livni, the leader of the Israeli opposition, adopt this invitation, to save Israel from complicating the conflict, to lead it to the ultimate and full peace, and to make Israel enter a new era of peaceful coexistence with its neighbors?
- I know that it is currently almost impossible for Israelis to accept the complications which the Palestinians put in the the text of their request, as the Palestinians’ insistence on 1967-borders and on eastern Jerusalem as the capital of Palestine. But, why not Israel recognizes the Palestinian state without stating borders or a capital for it, then these issues be resolved with other controversial issues like the issues of refugees, water and the security situation in a peace treaty signed within a year.
We are in front of a historic critical and decisive moment, Israel has to find an intelligent leadership able to innovate an unconventional solution to save Israel from what Ehud Barak described as a tsunami, and to lead Israel toward a new era of positive coexistence in the region. Currently, Israel has to choose between start moving in the way for prosperity or decayedness.
- I had advised Israel since the beginning of the Egyptian revolution to take the correct decision and to bias toward the Egyptian revolutionaries, but Israel didn’t respond to my advice at then, later it realized this after months that it took the wrong decision, Israel paid, is paying and will pay more price for not taking the right decision at the right time. Here I am repeating the advice once again, unfortunately Israel will pay the price if it didn’t respond to the advice of its friends, but in the end the people of Israel are mature and able to hold the responsibility of their decisions, and to hold their responsibility alone.

Peace is the solution.

Maikel Nabil Sanad
El-Marg general prison
28 September 2011
After 37 days on a hunger strike

BDS Success 1: 218 signed the call for a Swedish academic boycott of Israel

Action Group at KTH for Boycott of Israel

Coordinating Committee of BDS Sweden

BDS Success 2: Ahava finally closes its doors in London.

Cosmetics company Ahava is finally to close its controversial Covent Garden store this week, and manager Odelia Haroush said that the company had no plans to move elsewhere in the city, at least for the foreseeable future. Demonstrations by pro-Palestinian activists have dogged the store for years. Protesters claim the products sold in the store are manufactured in a factory in Mitzpe Shalom, an Israeli settlement. [Link]

From “If Americans Knew”: Ethnic cleansing has been an integral part of the Palestinian tragedy from the earliest days of the Partition of Palestine and the creation of Israel. October marks the anniversaries of 10 massacres of Palestinian villagers in 1948, as well as a massacre carried out by a unit led by Ariel Sharon in 1953 and another in 1956 in which Israeli border police killed 48, including 6 women (one of them pregnant) and 23 children aged 8–17. To commemorate these dates, we ask you to help fight the ethnic cleansing of Palestinians by sharing the booklet “Palestinian Right to Return and Repatriation,” by Mazin Qumsiyeh, which details the plight of Palestinian refugees and lists the many massacres Palestinians suffered during the creation of Israel. Please order copies to give out to your neighbors, friends, coworkers or strangers, on your campuses, in your congregations, on the street, at a public event or at a private gathering. [Link]

When Ismail Sidqi pasha refused that Egypt would get-in the war of 1948, he wasn’t a traitor to Egypt or loving Israel. All about it is that Ismail Sidqi was responsible for an economic renaissance in Egypt; he was the one to develop Alexandria and its beaches… The man feared that the war would destroy all the economic steps which Egypt took in the past years preceding the war.

But, Ismail Sidqi didn’t continue on his stance, El-Wafd party took a populist stance and went with the flow, supporting the war decision. Ismail Sidqi felt as a politician that he would lose people if he kept his stance, so he withdrew and supported the war, preferring popularity between the people over the interest of Egypt.

We are all subjected to Ismail Sidqi’s situation and we are required to to ask many questions, such as: Is this war in the interest of Egypt? Are we obliged to get involved into the war? Would we choose between the interest of Egypt and our desire to go with the flow along with the crowds to achieve personal political gains? This article discusses these barbed questions.

Firstly: Peace and Democracy
We all know that Egypt had a democratic parliamentary life till the coup d’état of 1952, and since this coup till this moment, we suffer from a totalitarian bloody militarist rule. But, we have to ask ourselves: Why did a coup happen? Does that have a relation with the case of peace and war?

The historical sequencing of events… Egypt entered a war in 1948 despite it wasn’t qualified to fight Israel from the side of development of weapons and efficiency of combatants, so this war changed two important elements:
1- Egypt’s commitment to the treaty of 1936 concerning to the evacuation of the British of Egypt. The treaty included the emergence of the British army after 20 years (in 1956) on a condition that the Egyptian army be advanced and able to defend Egypt. The palace deliberately intended to plunge Egypt to the war, from one hand for king Farouk’s desire for becoming a caliph of Muslims and on another hand, to destroy the Egyptian army, therefore to disable the evacuation process. That exactly what happened, after the defeat of the Egyptian army in the war, the weakness of the Egyptian army appeared to everyone, everything which was already built inside the army was destroyed, therefore, Egypt lagged what it pledged in the treaty of 1936, therefore, the evacuation won’t be on its time… That resulted dangerous political complications, most importantly the cancelation of the treaty of 1936, cutting-off of the diplomatic solution to solve the conflict, which paved the ground for a coup d’état solution to the evacuation issue. The war occurred on the way of Egypt independence.

2- The Egyptian soldiers were subjected to a huge defeat in the war of 1948, the toughest of it was the fall of many Egyptian soldiers under the siege of the Israeli army, the Egyptian soldiers became under the mercy of the Israelis who allowed the passage of food to them in order not to die of hunger. Then, in February 1949, Egypt was compelled to sign the armistice agreement with Israel in order to be able to get back its besieged soldiers. Those soldiers came back to Egypt in shame and dishonor (Gamal Abdel Nasser was personally of them), they went to a war and strongly lost it and were besieged, because of them Egypt was compelled to sign an armistice agreement with Israel to get them back.

In order for those soldiers to take away their shame of themselves, they created the lie of the corrupt weapons, despite the nonexistence of any proof on it. When the judiciary investigated in these rumors and proved their falsehood, they accused the regime of corruption. They didn’t have the courage to admit that the war was lost because of their failure. Starting from here, the claims to cleaning the army began, so the movement of the soldiers happened, which was at its beginning (as the statement of Muhammad Naguib) a movement of military soldiers aiming at cleaning the army, then the army would move back to its barracks. But, after the soldiers found themselves in control of everything, they didn’t abandon the authority, despite that the revolution court proved the nonexistence of any corrupt weapons in the war of 1948 which was the rumor that the coup d’état happened for.

We lost democracy and we suffered from oppression for 60 years, we were obliged to make the 25 January revolution, all of that because of a rumor or the soldiers shy of their defeat in the war of 1948. If we hadn’t entered the war, there wouldn’t had been the defeat and there would had been the rumor, there would had been the coup d’état and we would have been now celebrating 90 years of parliamentary democracy in Egypt. The relationship between peace and democracy is very strong. War opens the door for internal tyranny under the slogans “military secrets, the homeland interest, national security, no voice comes above the battle”. In wars, countries enforce “state of emergency/marshal law”, these are procedures to limit freedoms of citizens, not the enemies. In wars, armies inflate, opening the way for military coups (that’s why Ancient Rome banned the entrance for armies to the capital). Moreover, tyrants exploit wars to turn away the attention of their peoples from democratic reform, we all see how Arab tyrants exploit Israel to distract the Arab peoples from democratic reform issues and to distort the image of honorable opponents with silly charges of the type “Zionism, normalization, agent…”.

Secondly: Peace and Economic Growth
Regardless od the case of Ismail Sidqi which started my article with, Tawfik el-Hakim narrates, in his masterpiece “The Return of Consciousness”, information uncovering for us how wars destroyed the Egyptian economy.

- Tawfik el-Hakim narrates how the Egyptian army, under commands of Nasser, threw sacks of gold to the tribes of Yemen during the Yemen war, in order to sway them to the Egyptian side, which cause the depletion of the Egyptian gold stock… At the time when simple Egyptians were happy with Nasser who made them employees in the government, earning a few Egyptian pounds monthly!

- Tawfik also includes, the cost that Egypt paid during the 6 years between 1967 and 1973. He spread the numbers and said that what Egypt spent on the wars, if it had been spent on internal development, the share for each village would have been a million dollars (noting the difference between the value of the currency at that time; a million dollars in 1967 is equivalent to 5 million dollar by today’s standards). Imagine, what would Egypt look like now if we didn’t enter those wars, and spending this money on building schools, hospitals, streets and developing the civil society? What’s really silly is the governmental non-sense, in order to escape this question says that Israel was the one to start the war and occupied Sinai, when in reality, Nasser had announced the war in his speech on 15 July, 1967, before that he had used the right of land blockade against Israel which is of the rights of the the belligerent country… That if we ignored the historical novel which says that the decision to expel the international forces was taken by the Field Marshal “Abdel Hakim Amer” without Nasser knowledge, at the time when the Field Marshal the Army Chief of Staff, contesting Nasser in his authority!

Taking a look at the world around us… Look how America was hit from its war budgets and how America is solving the problem now by pulling its armies from Iraq and Afghanistan, also by dismantling some of the military bases in Europe.

See how the civil war weakened the Somali people and turned them into poor people despite the natural resources which Somalia has. See how the nuclear ambition of North Korea transformed the citizens into poor people, thousands of them die of hunger monthly. Look at the Axis countries in the second world war (Japan, Germany, Italy) and how they entered the war as strong countries and went out of it smashed under foreign occupation, and still are paying the price of this war till our day.

Peace is the strategic choice for all the people who want to live in luxury. On the other hand, the people who choose the wars would suffer poverty forever till they realize that wars drain their resources and the effort of their people.

Thirdly: Peace and Life of Humans
Does the one who takes the decision of war realize that he is making a decision of execution tens of thousands of humans, including who are going to have permanent disabilities in the war? The life of the one who takes the decision of the war won’t be subjected to danger, he would keep sitting in his air-conditioned office in the capital, while the youth and the patriots from both side are paying their souls because of the failure of the political leadership in reaching a diplomatic peaceful solution.

I can’t believe any official numbers regarding the Egyptian victims in our wars with Israel. Some militarists estimated the victims of Egypt in the war of 1973 as million martyrs! Other than the injured, the lost and the prisoners of war. I can say that when Israel aired the documentary “Spirit of Shaked” about executing Egyptian prisoners of war, Egyptians asked themselves if there were still Egyptian prisoners of war in Israel, but none of the officials knew the answer of the question.

What is the reason to make a country enters a war to lose its youth and the rest lose their limbs, imagine the population percentage between both genders (as what happened in Germany after the second world war, the percentage was one man for every 5 women)! Why all that when there are alternative solutions to solve conflicts?
I know that in the last decades, suicidal orientations have appeared under the naming “martyrdom.. industry of death, asceticism in life, challenging death…), but here I speak to reasonable who seek the interest of their homeland and not committing suicide, who search for life not death.

The goal of any conflict is to solve the conflict, not to exterminate the other. The goal of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict is to achieve the full Palestinian right, not exterminating the Israelis. If you were looking for the Palestinians’ interests, then the solution is in peaceful negotiation, not in entering war which both sides die in, the Samson style (on me and my enemies)? But, if you were seeking suicide, please, commit suicide quietly without killing millions of innocents with you.

Epilogue
When I was choosing the title of the article, I wanted to title it “Peace to Egypt, not Israel”, but I preferred it to be “Peace to Egypt Before it is to Israel”… Because, peace would benefit everyone, Egypt, Israel, Palestine, even Iran and Turkey. Peace will benefit the whole world. Our role as Egyptians is to think sanely of the interest of our homeland, the interest of our revolution, the project of democratic transformation, our ambition for economic growth and our fear on lives of our brothers, our children and friends.
The peoples have to choose and each reasonable society have their mind and know their own salvation.

Maikel Nabil Sanad
El-Marg prison – 2 ع [‘ayn]
2011/8/7

(A picture of the “sign of peace”)

Over 6 decades, Egyptians tried many strategies for opposition, starting from opposition from within the ruling party (and it’s the weakest strategy), to the militant opposition (and it’s the most violent strategy) – all these attempts failed. Till Egyptians discovered a new strategy, “the peacefulness” and the Egyptian revolution came out chanting “peaceful… peaceful”, and the peacefulness succeeded in achieving what the Kalashnikov couldn’t.
6 weeks as well is approximately the period of the Arab-Israeli conflict… For 64 years, Arabs tried many strategies dealing with Israel (starting from being agents to terrorism), and also all the attempts failed… So, why don’t we start adopting a peaceful strategy dealing with the state of Israel to reach full rights to all the peoples of the region? That research paper is an attempt of me to explain how peaceful means can end that conflict completely, thus all the peoples of the region rest and their suffering ends.

However, dear reader I have to warn you, if what leads you to deal with that case is the motivation of revenge and the desire to get-rid of Jews then that research isn’t directed towards you, so don’t waste your time reading it. This research is directed toward who wish to end the conflict by fair way giving all parties their legitimate rights.

The first scene: Security Council decision – November 1947
The first scene which I’m going to concentrate on between numerous historical scenes I’m going to present. It’s the events which followed the decision of Security Council to divide Palestine in November 1947… What were the reactions on the decision? Were these reactions correct or wrong?
After 6 days of issuing Security Council decision, the Arab League met and took a decision to prevent Security Council decision by force (by weapons)… Arabs ignored the peaceful and the diplomatic ways, they didn’t resort to a dialog and didn’t discuss Security Council in its decision. All they did was each one of them went to bring his weapon and chant “death to Jews”.

At the time when Arabs were drunk with the fever of blood-shedding Jews, Israelis were making a world-wide diplomatic campaign to convince the whole world to support the born state of Israel. The United States of America felt that Security Council decision will ignite a war in the region, so it provided a recommendation that to Security Council demanding canceling the partition plan. As usual, Arabs were busy preparing violence, they didn’t care for that American step, and Israelis didn’t go back to their homeland until they convinced the Americans to take back their recommendation from Security Council.

Here, a question arises: What if Arabs thought about peaceful means, and traveled as well to to convince the Americans with their point of view, also the rest of Security Council members? What if America didn’t take back its recommendation about canceling the partition plan? Arabs could have canceled the Security Council decision, therefore obstructing the establishment of the state of Israel from the first place, but unfortunately they were busy with violence, weapons and the desire to kill, so they lost everything.

The second scene: declaring the state of Israel – 15 May 1948
Days passed after the decision of Security Council and it wasn’t canceled. Based on the decision, Israel declared its independence as soon as the British mandate for Palestine ended. So, why didn’t also the Palestinians declared their state at that time, backed by the legitimacy of Security Council decision, and it’s the decision in which Israel adheres to strongly because it’s the decision which gave it legitimate existence? The answer simply is that Palestinians and Arabs were busy with war and blood, and they weren’t interested in peaceful ways, of the type of holding a parliament and heading to the United Nations to declare a Palestinian state.
Once more, Palestinians wasted a golden chance because of being busy with violence.

The third scene: Moshe Sharet initiative – 1953
After declaring independence, David Ben-Gurion headed the Israeli government, who was a Zionist leader adopting radical stances firm against Israel. The chance for achieving peace at his era was very weak. In the year 1953 the Israeli Knesset had its second Prime Minister for Israel who was Moshe Sharet, who was contrary to Ben-Gurion, believing in peace and giving Arabs their rights. Moshe Sharet demanded from the Israeli Knesset to delegate him in making peace talks with Arabs. The Knesset agreed to delegate Moshe Sharet in negotiating on anything and everything (including the right of Palestinian refugees to return inside the Israeli lands).
Moshe Sharet went to all Arab leaders asking for dialog, all of them refused and insisted to settle the conflict by war and violence. Gamal Abdel Nasser agreed on the dialog on the condition of secrecy, because Gamal Abdel Nasser didn’t have the courage to face his people that he was making peaceful negotiations with Israel.
Thus, Moshe Sharet fell in 1954 because of Moshe Sharet failure to convince Arabs of peaceful mechanisms to settle the conflict. David Ben-Gurion became once again to be Prime Minister closing many doors for a peaceful solution to the conflict.

Why Arabs don’t ask themselves: What if they accepted Moshe Sharet initiative? What if these negotiations succeeded and the Palestinian state was established at then, and the refugees came back home? Once again, Arabs lose because of their adherence to violent mechanisms and their objection to peaceful mechanisms.

The fourth scene: the assassination of king Abdallah – 1951
After the Arab defeat in in 1948 war and the truce agreement with Israel in Rhodes – February 1949, and because of not declaring a Palestinian state, Gaza became under the Egyptian administration while the West Bank under the Jordanian administration.

King Abdallah Ben Al-Sharif Hussein, king of Jordan, realized the importance of reaching a peaceful solution to the conflict after the failure of the military attempt. He went to visit Jerusalem along with his peaceful efforts, but the Palestinian terror was waiting for him. He was assassinated inside Aqsa mosque, so that the first peaceful Arab effort be assassinated towards Israel.

After 60 years of assassinating king Abdallah, we ask ourselves: did Abdallah’s benefited Palestinians? Of course not, because Jordan was dragged to a conflict with Israel which didn’t end except after the agreement of Wadi Arabah in 1994, while the West Bank was subject to Israeli occupation and still to that day suffering of a spread of the Israeli army and Israeli settlements in. If king Abdallah hadn’t been assassinated, the West Bank would have now been without settlements and Jordan wouldn’t have lost in its economy and its youth in a conflict for 40 years with Israel. Once again, Arabs lose because of their inclination toward violence and their objection to the peaceful means.

The fifth scene: the Egyptian peace treaty – 1979
In the year 1977, Sadat realized the importance of what king Abdallah was doing in the year 1951, so he decided to start an Arab peace initiative. He visited Jerusalem in November, 1977 and afterward, immediately the Egyptian-Israeli peace talks started. All the Arab parties in the conflict were invited to to join the peace talk, but the Arabs found it hard to make a peaceful work. They launched the “The Three No’s of Khartoum”, objecting any peaceful solution to the conflict, adhering to militarist settlement.

Today, after 32 years of signing the Egyptian-Israeli peace treaty, we ask ourselves: what if Arabs accepted the peaceful negotiations in Sadat era? What would the Arabs have lost if they negotiated at that time without a result? Was what Jordan take in 1994 more than what it would have taken if it joined Sadad initiative in 1979? Was what the Palestinians take in Oslo, 1993, more than what would they have taken in 1979?
Once again, Arabs waste the chance because of their adherence to the armed solutions not the peaceful solutions.

The sixth scene: Camp David 2 – year 2000
In the year 2000, many positive circumstances gathered. President Bill Clinton was at the end of his presidency and wanted to end the conflict in the Middle East before he leaves office. At the same timing, Israel was lead Ehud Barak of the Labor Party of Israel – Labor Party is a leftist political party known by its support to peace process. Israel was on the eve of parliamentary elections, so Barak needed a success facilitating obtaining many seats in the next Knesset.
The talks had actually started at Camp David, Yasser Arafat, Ehud Barak, Bill Clinton, and who views what Israel offered at that time, would realize that Israel offered an offer in which Palestinians won’t obtain a similar offer forever. A state on the borders of 1967, Eastern Jerusalem the capital city, dismantling of settlements and the return of a percentage of refugees. Palestinians will go after two month from now (in September 2011) to the United Nations too declare a Palestinian state and they know well that they won’t obtain what Israel offered them in Camp David 2.

Yasser Arafat signature was only required and the United States guaranteed the agreement, in other words America would compel Israel to implement. However, Mubarak was annoyed of his absense in the talks, so as, he realized that it is of his interest that the conflict continues, so the relationship between Yasser Arafat and the Egyptian Intelligence was exploited, and he was pressured into objecting to sign the treaty. Emotionally provoking vocal phrases were raised, of the type: resistance, occupation, martyrs, uprising, treason, agents, Zionists. Arafat apologized and didn’t sign the treaty saying to Bill Clinton, “if I signed the treaty, you’ll walk in my funeral soon”.

What happened later on? George Bush, the son, came to White House, he wasn’t a man of peace of any kind. In the Israeli elections, Israelis felt that what Labor Party says is useless with Arabs, so Labor Party together with Meretz lost most of their seat and the Israeli right rose to authority, represented by Likud of the militarist background, allying itself with religious political parties of type of “Shas” and “The Jewish Home”. It objected to Camp David 2 and almost destroyed Labor Party, to the extent it’s now a very weak political party in Israel which isn’t influential in political life. Ehud Barak who used to be a hero of peace, didn’t forget at all the Arabs destroyed his strength and transformed him from a strong leader to a chief of a weak political party, so, Barak became an impeder to peace more than a supporter to it.

So, what do Arabs benefit of objecting Camp David 2? Did the Palestinian uprisings give the Palestinians 1% of what would have Camp David 2 give them? What would Arabs do now after the partners of peace in Israel have been destroyed and the governance there was took-over by fanatics and religiously-biased? Do Arabs imagine that they would get more than what was offered to them? What would happen now to any peace agreement after half of what Israel offered in 2000 became unacceptable and not possible to be offered in 2011? What did the Palestinians benefit of being the “sons of stones”? Wouldn’t be better for them to be the “sons of peace”?

Seventh scene: Arab Spring – 2011
When the Tunisian revolution started in December 2010, everyone looked at it as an exceptional case specific to Tunisia, and everyone dealt with the approach of “Egypt isn’t Tunisia” and “Libya isn’t Tunisia”. But, when the revolution succeeded in Egypt in overthrowing Mubarak and when the revolutions in Libya, Yemen, Syria and Bahrain erupted, everyone realized that the Arabic-speaking peoples knew the strength of the peaceful revolutions.

The Israeli right stood confused in front of a fateful question: “what if the Palestinians started a peaceful revolution”? Israel was accustomed to that the Palestinian resistance is militant, because using violence against Israel allows it to use its army in the framework of self-defense and no one would blame Israel when it chases child-kidnappers or killers of civilians. But, if the Palestinians started a peaceful revolution, Israel won’t be able to use its army, so what would it do? No one in Israel (and specifically the Israeli right) found an answer on that question, and the fear remained to them of a Tunisian revolution.
But, as one of Israel leaders said that “Israel’s success doesn’t depend on its smartness, but on the stupidity of its enemies”. The Palestinians wasted the chance in the second uprising in 15 May 2011, contrary to the rest of the Arab peoples, the Palestinians didn’t look for a Palestinian Tahrir square to protest in peacefully. Palestinians didn’t realize that the peacefulness has no relation with penetrating the borders, infringement on the territorial waters of Israel and chanting racist words. A peaceful sit-in disseminating racist ideas is exactly as the sit-in of Mostafa Mahmoud square, where peaceful protestors chanting shit thought, and of course that won’t lead to a result. The chance is still available for Palestinians to adopt the peaceful method of Tahrir before it’s too late.

(A picture of the biggest demonstrations in the history of Israel, Tel Aviv, 6 August 2011)

Peaceful Strategies toward Israel
- Why won’t we start trying peaceful strategies with Israelis and see if it would succeed as the peaceful Egyptian revolution succeeded? We tried violence for 6 centuries, so why don’t we try the peacefulness for 6 months?

- Before the eruption of the Egyptian revolution, the Egyptian demonstrators were at the beginning of their demonstration giving flowers to police officers and tell them “we’re not demonstrating against you,but against the regime”… So, why don’t we send flowers to Israelis and tell them “we are not antagonize you as individuals, but we are against your policies toward us and Palestine”?

- Also, before the Egyptian revolution, one of the opposition groups published on the internet a list with telephone numbers of Egyptian police officers and we started a campaign of calling those officers, trying to convince them to stop assaulting demonstrators… That campaign succeeded in attracting numerous police and army officers and ex-officers and their families, and they participated in our revolution.

So, why don’t we start in the same thing with Israelis? Why don’t we start communicating with ordinary Israeli individuals and tell them that the Mossad and the Israel Defense Forces actions are unacceptable, inhumane and obstruct peace in the region? Why don’t we convince try to them with the justice of our cause, if we really believe-in its just.

What if we each Egyptian person started adding two Israelis on his friends list on Facebook? If there were million Egyptians, each one of them can only affect two Israeli citizens, that means that we are affecting 2 million Israeli citizens (or a quarter of Israel census)… So, what if we put in consideration that Egypt has approximately 10 million Facebook users, and that each on of them has the ability to add 5000 friends to his friends list. The soft force is much stronger than any other violence you imagine.

It’s of my interest, of your the interest and the whole world’s interest that the conflict ends in Middle Easy, therefor I wish that we start a true beginning in Arab peaceful attempts for the sake of putting an end to the conflict and blood-shedding, and to establish a fair warm peace built on coexistence between the peoples of the region.

Maikel Nabil Sanad
El-Marg general prison
2 ع [‘ayn]
2011/7/29

It starts with water and ends with a Debka dance: Friends of the Earth Middle East, a trilateral Israel-Palestine-Jordan non-profit organization has launched an unbelievably hopeful project based on water in the West Bank village of Auja, about 10 minutes from the city of Jericho in the Jordan Valley.

Probably not since the Roman times when an aqueduct ran through the village, has something this exciting came to Auja (said oo-jah), a rundown and dusty Palestinian village of about 5,000 people of local Arab tribes and Bedouin stock. Today, the locals are getting ready for the guest of honor: American Consul General to Palestine, Daniel Rubinstein, is set to arrive in the next hour. He’s an American Jew, who speaks fluent Arabic.

“Oh good, the lions have arrived,” says Gidon Bromberg excitedly, as we wheel into the dusty parking lot in his rental car, staff scurrying around us, including the local mayor, putting the finishing touches on the new building that houses the Auja EcoCenter. Everything is spic and span, polished, swept and dusted. A tent is ready to host Rubinstein and his entourage.

As we get out of the car and slide a glass of water over the dust in our throats we head outside for a tour, with Gidon the Israeli director of the organization caressing the brightly painted airbrushed lions. “They are stuffed with garbage,” he points out proudly, as we walk around the center’s yard coming to life with local herbs such as za’atar, mint, thyme and sheba.

Luckily it’s still early and the furnace of heat that will hit you in the face hasn’t hit us in the face. It’s so hot in the Jordan Valley in the summer, that you can literally fry an egg on the pavement. Since the Jordan River ran dry, fresh water is scarce, making every drop count. Auja is lucky to have a spring of its own, but now the villagers feel cursed and lucky to see water in it for a few months of the year.

We embark on our tour starting with the two lions, flanking the parking lot of the center. Gidon’s enthusiasm is evident. The yard is big and plentiful, about an acre in size, and workers tend to a bountiful vegetable garden already offering its first fruits –– kohlrabi, cabbage, lettuce.

There is a lot to take in, but the epicenter of the magic in Auja is the water treatment stations, open plastic water tanks that funnel water through a series of levels, sifting it with stones and sand. The water comes from the guest center, and when treated will return to the kitchen as fresh produce.

Various stops around the garden teach people about the importance of saving water, recycling and composting. It is water advocacy in action if I have ever seen it.

The visionaries have also built a compost toilet, a squat variety which looks like an outhouse from the outside, although the locals aren’t yet keen on using it. Probably a modesty issue.

Who’s water right?

Auja used to have a natural spring running through it. Every winter a magical waterfall appears nearby, if only briefly, as rainwater runoff collects in the mountains and wadis, replenishing the shallow well that flows to the town. Not since anyone can remember has the spring stopped running for so many months –– more than half a year. It’s bone dry today.

Some blame the Israelis and their water company Mekorot for pumping deep below Auja’s shallow well, below the ancient spring of Auja – a half kilometer down from the spring. The Israelis – given permission to do so as part of the Oslo Accords, deny the connection, says Gidon, and point to a 7-year drought.

“As to the dry Auja Spring it is not the wells being under each other but the ground water,” Gidon points out. “There are two layers – a shallow layer that holds the water for the spring and a deeper layer of groundwater. The Israeli water authorities claim that their pumping from the deeper groundwater has no impact on the groundwater above it. Palestinian researchers claim the opposite – that Israeli drilling impacts both layers of groundwater.”

Auja’s water well isn’t made from Tupperware.

Arguing over water, if you’ve ever talked to Israelis and Palestinians, is useless. You can speak with all the experts you like, and I have –– with both sides: water engineers, consultants, heads of towns and municipalities, members of the government, water authorities, university professors, princes. You name it. The most powerful group for now, the Israelis, win the lion’s share. The Israelis have enough for agriculture, and three showers a day in Tel Aviv. The people of Auja need to keep extra in tanks in case their taps stop working. Forget about showers.

Using different records, accords and agreements signed in different years, and a deep emotional connection to the land, with scars that run deep, you won’t find the truth about who owns the water in the Holy Land. Keep trying. But the truth is like water and you won’t catch it: Water moves and flows. Dependent on prayers, rainfall, and how much is used in agriculture, water isn’t predictable like the sunrise: God only knows the boundaries of where a water well begins and ends.

Probably meant to bring people together and not apart, if I was God, I’d be smiling over what’s happening in Auja: instead of putting their hands to the sky in vain, the people have Auja have taken a bold step. Working with Friends of the Earth Middle East, which also means working with an Israeli partner and effectively the “enemy”, the people of Auja have taken a leap of faith in their future, and built the Auja EcoCenter, a living pilot site to show other Arab towns like it, in the West Bank, Jordan and beyond, on how to be a water educational center in theory and practice.

Today was a special day. Rubenstein from the American Government would be rolling in soon with his security personnel and tinted black windowed truck. Waiting for him, and his address, the people of Auja, including the mayor, and local tribal leaders, and police were passing small black cups of coffee, drinking from Jericho bottled water, waiting in the tent for the official inauguration. Rubenstein would also plant a tree, a eucalyptus, along with elders from the village.

The excitement in the air was more than tangible. The people of Auja were smiling and the laborers pouring cement in a next-door schoolyard were singing.

It only starts with water: Gidon’s organization had convinced the American aid arm USAID to help fund the dream, and along with American dollars came a sleek, new road which winds through Auja right to its heart at the water center and guest lodge.

“Most importantly what we convinced USAID to do was to invest in replacing the old and leaking water network of Auja so that once installed it will double the amount of water that is supplied into people’s homes. The road was just an added benefit,” says Gidon.

The center has been opened and operating since last year, and now much of the village’s dream of creating peace through water has changed the outlook and prospects for an entire community, a dream which can be replicated throughout the entire Levant region.

In the coming years, the people of Auja hope to welcome schoolchildren and groups from the region, showing them how to build water treatment plants in their own backyards –- with the results irrigated to vegetable gardens. Such practices could greatly alleviate the extreme water shortage the region is facing.

Instead of wasteful measures like creating more desalination plants, Gidon argues that smarter ways of using water is the key to ensuring enough goes around for everyone. His partners feel the same. The Friends of the Earth include three directors –– Israeli, Palestinian, and Jordanian and they argue they are the only peace group of its kind in the region that works together without a western interlocutor.

In their vision, the Auja EcoCenter was built with accommodations that can house about 30 people, with meals, creating a self-sustaining model for the center, and community.

You want to see Middle East peace in action? go to visit Auja.

Interviewing Gidon’s Palestinian partner Nader Al-Khateeb, he tells Green Prophet that he welcomes guests, and will happily show groups authentic ways to experience sustainable eco-tourism in Palestine.

Being mindful of the local and modest culture is important for guests to consider: no beer, no rowdiness, no sunbathing or changing clothes in front of an open window. If you keep a few basic rules in mind, you will be embraced by the people of Auja who are curious and excited to see visitors from other countries:

“We’d be happy to arrange traditional cooking lessons with the women in Auja, or teach traditional Debka dancing,” says Al-Khateeb referring to the Levantine dance done by Bedouins and local Arabs on the roofs of newly built stone houses, as they once did, arms locked, with feet stomping down the straw into the freshly laid roof.

The dance has evolved to include music, and special movements.

Anyone who visits Auja will plainly see, and experience, a little bit of Arab hospitality and culture. The icing on the cake is the message you’ll bring home on how they can make peace with a little water, in an otherwise conflict-ridden parched Middle East. Did I mention the dust?

::Auja EcoCenter website
::Friends of the Earth Middle East (EcoPeace) website

Karin Kloosterman is the founder and editor of Green Prophet.