News and Announcments
More from Gaza: town hall meeting in Jabaliya
30 March 2008
OneVoice Gaza is continuing and expanding its town hall meeting campaign - launched a couple weeks ago with meetings in Dar el Balah, Beit Lahia, and Beit Hanoun. On Sunday, the Gaza team gathered people in Jabaliya to discuss Palestinian national aspirations and the imperative of a two state solution.
The team in Gaza is working to reach out to all communities in the Gaza strip, presenting to them the OneVoice approach and the opportunity to discuss the current situation in Gaza, the negotiations process, and the prospects for an independent, viable Palestinian state at peace with Israel.
OneVoice Movement Comes to U of A for Mideast Peace Talk
26 March 2008
By Sean Steels
Daroub Yacoub, a young Palestinian woman, remembers the moment she realized she wanted to speak out for peace in the Israeli/Palestinian conflict. Not that she could forget coming home to find the street in front of her house lined with military tanks.
The Alumni wall in front of which she and Maya Epstein, a young Israeli woman, are speaking to a small number of students might remind Epstein of a similar installment on her own campus. There’s only a small difference between the two exhibits: the wall on Epstein’s campus is decorated with the names of the seven students killed in her cafeteria by a suicide bomber, not with alumni.
Maya and Daroub have been brought together to speak at North American universities about their experiences by the OneVoice Movement, a non-partisan, grassroots organization dedicated to resolving the Israeli/Palestinian conflict in the Middle East. They are aware of the unique nature of their friendship.
“This,” Maya said, waving her finger back and forth between herself and Daroub, “does not happen everyday.”
The battle over the land in the Gaza strip has turned the two cultures into alien neighbours. They explained that the conflict, spurred on by a small minority of violent extremists, has cut traffic between the two states down to a paperwork-laden trickle. Most people don’t believe that the side opposing them would ever be willing to co-operate or keep promises that could lead to conflict resolution. At the same time, a poll conducted by OneVoice determined that 76 per cent of Israelis and Palestinians support a peaceful, two-state solution.
Laurel Rapp, OneVoice’s international education program manager, explained that through the use of its two branches, OneVoice Palestine and OneVoice Israel, the organization is coordinating state-unique efforts at the grassroots level to foster an atmosphere of trust and compassion between the silent and peaceful majorities of the two groups.
“What we have are two separate nationalist movements, OneVoice Palestine and OneVoice Israel, who are working for very different reasons but ultimately share the same goal of ending the conflict and establishing a two-state solution,” she explained.
“We do very few joint activities for two reasons. The first is logistical. Israelis cannot go to the West Bank or Gaza, and Palestinians […] require a lot of paperwork […] to get travel permits to Israel,” she said. “The second is we also realize that, at this point, we’re a bit of a ways from bringing Israelis and Palestinians together to love each other.”
But despite stumbling blocks created by over half a century of distrust and death, OneVoice has managed to break ground in the peace-making process. They’ve obtained over 650 000 signatories to their cause, with an equitable divide between Palestinian and Israeli participants. In the years since the organization’s 2002 debut, it has also expanded to stem the conflict on an international stage with their campus presentations in Europe and North America.
“It’s so clear that this conflict isn’t isolated to the West Bank,” Rapp said. “Coming to North America. you’ll find that this conflict replicates itself on university campuses. What we’re trying to do is bring moderate voices for resolution to campuses and show that Canadian students can be part of the solution rather than the problem.”
Jay Cairns, administrator of the Jewish Students Association (JSA) at the University of Alberta, fell short of directly endorsing OneVoice’s cause, but agreed that there should always be a venue for positive dialogue.
“There are many students that feel various ways about [conflict resolution], but the point for us is that we need to start focusing on peaceful solutions,” he said.
He explained that the JSA doesn’t take a political stance on the issue. The JSA’s first and foremost priority is the support it provides for university students and the security of the Jewish community on campus.
“Whether [the solution] is one-state or two-state, that gets into the political arena, and that’s something that we’re not prepared to do,” he conceded. “As it stands, we’re very happy with the situation on U of A campus. It’s very tame.”
OneVoice Gaza launches series of town hall meetings throughout Gaza
25 March 2008
Pictures from the town hall meetings
Despite the hardship which the Gaza strip is going through these days, last week OneVoice Gaza began a series of town hall meetings throughout Gaza, under the title, Palestinian National Aspirations & the Two State Solution to discuss and create awareness of the urgency of the negotiations process for the Palestinian people. The meetings brought together groups of 40-50 women, university students, and activists at each meeting, in Dar al Balah, Beit Hanoun, and Beit Lahia. The purpose of the meetings was to introduce OneVoice Palestine's vision of ending the occupation and establishing a viable, independent Palestinian state at peace with Israel.
At Dar al Balah, Ezzeldin Masri, Outreach Director of OneVoice Gaza, emphasized the need to break the cycle of violence, and adopt nonviolent means of ending the occupation and the conflict once and for all. Executive Director Mowaffaq Alami likewise talked about the need to present a different image of Gazans to the international community - one which is different from the violent stereotype. He emphasized the need to mobilize the silent majority in Palestine toward expressing its will to end the occupation through direct negotiations. The audience, comprised of 50 university students, was very interested in the message, even as it sounded new and strange in the context of the impoverished and stricken Gaza strip.
In Beit Hanoun, where OneVoice Gaza gathered roughly 50 university students and activists, Ezzeldin spoke about Palestinians national aspirations, asking the audience to respond. Many commented on the major changes in Palestinian nationalism over the past sixty years, and emphasized the importance of not allowing other countries or forces to hijack the Palestinian cause for their own purposes. The participants concluded that it is imperative for the Palestinian leadership and people to do all they can to achieve a two state solution. Mowaffaq asked the participants to imagine what Palestine would look like ten years from now, in 2018, if a peace agreement were achieved this year. His question elicited many positive comments - many focused on the fact that Palestinians love life, and simply want to enjoy living, with hopes of a bright future for their children. The participants likewise discussed the economic benefits for Palestinians in the context of a two state agreement.
On March 18th, Ezzeldin and Mowaffaq gathered 50 women from Jabaliya and Beit Lahia for a town hall meeting in Beit Lahia. Mowaffaq started the meeting by introducing OneVoice and its guiding principles, and then spoke about the stability and prosperity which only peace can bring to the Gaza strip. Ezzeldin spoke to the women about the talked about the need to support those who seek peace based on a two state solution - he emphasized that successful negotiations are the opportunity Palestinians want and need to end the occupation and establish an independent state. The women in attendance spoke of the many hardships they have faced - the jobs they and their husbands have lost and the difficulties for their families. They expressed a desire to end the violence and a better future.
Press Release:
PeaceWorks Foundation Receives Million Dollar Award
from the Skoll Foundation
Three-year Award to Support Grassroots Initiative
to End the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict
New York, NY – 11 March 2008 – The PeaceWorks Foundation today announced it is the recipient of a three-year, $1,015,000 award from the Skoll Foundation for its initiatives aimed at mobilizing the Israeli and Palestinian grassroots in support of a negotiated two state solution. The award is one of 11 Skoll Awards for Social Entrepreneurship presented by the Skoll Foundation to recognize the most innovative and sustainable approaches to resolving the most urgent social issues. PeaceWorks joins a prestigious global network of Skoll entrepreneurs, now numbering 59, who are working around the world on issues including tolerance and human rights, health, economic and social equity, peace and security, institutional responsibility, and environmental sustainability.
Since its inception in 2002, the PeaceWorks Foundation and its flagship initiative, the OneVoice Movement, has worked to bring the voice of the moderate majority of Israelis and Palestinians to the leaders and to the world stage, demanding a resumption of immediate and uninterrupted negotiations toward a two state solution guaranteeing the establishment of an independent, viable Palestinian state at peace with Israel. Via separate, parallel, nationalist movements in Israel and Palestine and an international movement of invested citizens worldwide, OneVoice has succeeded in signing on 650,000 signatory members to its call for a serious peace process to end the occupation and all forms of violence, and achieves international recognition, security, respect, peace, and prosperity for both sides.
“Our work is aimed at and centered on the lives and aspirations of ordinary people – it is based on the urgency of their right to live in a place free from violence and bloodshed and fear,” said Daniel Lubetzky, the organization’s Founder and President. “In the end, sustainable, meaningful change won’t come from boardrooms or statehouses; it will come from these ordinary citizens. We seek to empower grassroots agents of change, giving them the tools to wrest their lives from the grips of interminable conflict. The Skoll Foundation’s generosity will go a long way in helping us to have a real impact on the ground.”
“Daniel Lubetzky and his team at PeaceWorks are tremendous additions to the community of Skoll social entrepreneurs who have demonstrated, through their inspiration and creativity, courage and fortitude, that solutions do exist for some of the world’s most intractable problems,” said Sally Osberg, President and CEO of the Skoll Foundation. “We believe their work has the potential for transformational benefit to the area of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and we’re honored to support their continued commitment to systemic change at the grassroots level.”
Mr. Lubetzky will be presented the award by Skoll Foundation Chairman Jeff Skoll, Skoll Foundation President and CEO, Sally Osberg and special guest, former President Jimmy Carter, at a special ceremony on March 27 at the Skoll World Forum on Social Entrepreneurship at Oxford University. Lubetzky will be participating in the three-day World Forum along with over 700 attendees from the global social entrepreneurship community.
About the PeaceWorks Foundation & OneVoice Movement
Founded in 2002, the PeaceWorks Foundation works through a variety of initiatives to unite moderates in the Middle East to push for conflict resolution and a negotiated two state solution ending the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
The Foundation’s flagship initiative is OneVoice, an international movement of Americans, Palestinians, Israelis, Europeans, Muslims, Jews and Christians who are ready and eager to support a serious process, leading to a comprehensive peace agreement ending the occupation and all forms of violence. With 650,000 Israeli, Palestinian, and international signatories, we work to amplify the voice of the moderate majority of Palestinian and Israelis, empowering them to seize back the agenda for conflict resolution and to demand that their leaders work immediately and continuously to achieve a two state solution through comprehensive negotiations that will lead to the establishment of a viable independent Palestinian state living in peace and security with the state of Israel.
For more information, visit www.onemillionvoices.org.
About the Skoll Foundation
The Skoll Foundation was created in 1999 by eBay's first president, Jeff Skoll, to promote his vision of a more peaceful and prosperous world. Today the Skoll Foundation advances systemic change to benefit communities around the world by investing in, connecting and celebrating social entrepreneurs - individuals dedicated to innovative, bottom-up solutions that transform unequal and unjust social, environmental and economic systems.
The Skoll Awards for Social Entrepreneurship is the foundation's flagship program. There are currently 50 organizations represented by 59 remarkable social entrepreneurs in the program, working individually and together across regions, countries and continents to evolve the field of social entrepreneurship into a global movement for social change. The Skoll Foundation connects social entrepreneurs and other partners in the field via an online community at www.socialedge.org, and through the annual Skoll World Forum on Social Entrepreneurship. The foundation also celebrates social entrepreneurs by telling their stories through partnerships with the PBS Foundation and the Sundance Institute, with the goal of promoting large-scale public awareness of social entrepreneurship.
For more information, visit www.skollfoundation.org.
Stanford Daily: OneVoice bridges Israeli-Palestinian gap
February 14, 2008
By Brian Andrew
Israeli Noga Ron and Palestinian Wafa Nazzal are unlikely partners in the movement to end the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. But their differences just might work to their advantage.
Youth leaders Noga Ron and Wafa Nazzal spoke last night on behalf of OneVoice, a citizen activism movement working in Israel and Palestine to achieve a two-state solution to the crisis.
Ron and Nazzal are youth leaders of OneVoice, a citizen activism movement working in Israel and Palestine to achieve a two-state solution through non-violent means. The pair spoke at Stanford last night as representatives of OneVoice to discuss the organization’s goals and history since its founding in 2002 at the height of the second Intifada, a period of renewed violence between Israelis and Palestinians that began in 2000.
In the past six years, 650,000 Israelis and Palestinians have signed onto the OneVoice mandate that “recognizes the right of both people to independence, sovereignty, freedom, justice, dignity and respect.”
Rather than propose its own resolution to the crisis, OneVoice seeks to empower Palestinians and Israelis to demand that their leaders work toward a two-state solution.
“We believe it’s very important to honor our leaders,” said Nazzal, 21, in Building 420 last night. “We support the Palestinian and Israeli leaders in their quest for a peaceful conclusion to the conflict.”
Although OneVoice strives to reach all levels of the population, one of its main objectives is working with young political leaders and urging young people to vote. Both OneVoice Israel and OneVoice Palestine believe that involving the next generation is essential to achieving lasting peace.
“We believe in the young people,” said Ron, 28. “We need to encourage and educate the future leaders.
Ron was born and raised in an isolated Kibbutz in southern Israel. In describing her earliest memory of violence in Israel, she recalled a series of bombing attacks in 1995 that swept the country, including Tel Aviv, where her older sister was living.
After completing her mandatory service in the Israeli Defense Forces, Ron traveled to South Africa and the United States before returning to Israel to enroll at the University of Tel Aviv. She said that she finally realized that something was not right about the way she and her family had been living while she traveled abroad.
“There’s nothing normal about calling my sister at age 15 in tears,” she said. “There’s nothing normal about not going on the buses for eight years because I was afraid. There’s nothing normal about opening your bag every time you go to the cinema because someone may be carrying in a bomb.”
Nazzal was born in Saudi Arabia but was raised in Jenin in the West Bank. She said that she has wrestled with her Palestinian identity since her father moved the family from Jordan to Jenin in 1995.
In April 2002 one of the fiercest battles of the second Intifada occurred at Jenin’s refugee camp. During the ten-day invasion, a brother of Nazzal’s friend, a freelance reporter, was shot in the leg by Israeli forces and later died.
“The smell of death was everywhere in Jenin,” Nazzal said. “You didn’t feel safe walking in the streets because you might be shot.”
Nazzal became a strong believer in the OneVoice movement after attending a town hall meeting in Jenin City. Although her uncle told her that she was wasting her time by coming to the United States to talk to college undergraduates, Nazzal said she still believes a two-state solution can be obtained through non-violent means.
Laurel Rapp, the international education program manager for OneVoice, does not think that discussion of the conflict can be limited to the areas directly affected.
“So often you’ll find this conflict has spread throughout the area,” she said. “It’s spread throughout the Middle East, to the United States, to Stanford’s student groups.”
The OneVoice presentation was not organized by any groups affiliated with the Israeli or Palestinian movements; the event was co-sponsored by the year-old Students Promoting Ethnic and Cultural Kinship (SPEAK).
“Many are interested in the [Israeli-Palestinian conflict] from a political perspective,” said Sarah Kleinman ‘08, co-executive director of SPEAK. “But we’re looking at it from a standpoint of identity.”
Both Ron and Nazzal admit that there are challenges ahead, especially now that Israelis cannot enter Palestinian territories and Palestinians must get special permission to enter Israel. But both said they have experienced the darker side of the conflict — and neither wishes it to return.
Reuters: Senior Saudi prince offers Israel peace vision
January 20, 2008
By Paul Taylor
KRONBERG, Germany, Jan 20 (Reuters) - A senior Saudi royal has offered Israel a vision of broad cooperation with the Arab world and people-to-people contacts if it signs a peace treaty and withdraws from all occupied Arab territories.
In an interview with Reuters, Prince Turki al-Faisal, a former ambassador to the United States and Britain and adviser to King Abdullah, said Israel and the Arabs could cooperate in many areas including water, agriculture, science and education.
Asked what message he wanted to send to the Israeli public, he said:
"The Arab world, by the Arab peace initiative, has crossed the Rubicon from hostility towards Israel to peace with Israel and has extended the hand of peace to Israel, and we await the Israelis picking up our hand and joining us in what inevitably will be beneficial for Israel and for the Arab world."
The 22-nation Arab League revived at a Riyadh summit last year a Saudi peace plan first adopted in 2002 offering Israel full normalisation of relations in return for full withdrawal from occupied Palestinian, Syrian and Lebanese land.
Israel shunned the offer then, at the height of a violent Palestinian uprising in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.
But it has expressed more interest since the United States launched a new drive for Israeli-Palestinian peace at Annapolis, Maryland, last November, aiming for an agreement this year.
Prince Turki, who was previously head of Saudi intelligence, said that if Israel accepted the Arab League plan and signed a comprehensive peace, "one can imagine the integration of Israel into the Arab geographical entity".
"One can imagine not just economic, political and diplomatic relations between Arabs and Israelis but also issues of education, scientific research, combating mutual threats to the inhabitants of this vast geographic area," he said.
"ARAB JEWS"
His comments, on the sidelines of a conference on the Middle East and Europe staged by Germany's Bertelsmann Foundation think-tank, were some of the most far-reaching addressed to Israelis by a senior figure from Saudi Arabia.
The desert kingdom, home to Islam's holiest shrines, has no official relations with the Jewish state, although both are key allies of the United States in the region.
"Exchange visits by people of both Israel and the rest of the Arab countries would take place," Prince Turki said.
"We will start thinking of Israelis as Arab Jews rather than simply as Israelis," he said, noting that many Arabs historically saw the Israeli state as a European entity imposed on Arab land after World War Two.
Prince Turki, brother of Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal, holds no official position now but heads the King Faisal Centre for Research and Islamic Studies in Riyadh.
He said Israel could expect some benefits on the way to signing a treaty and making a full withdrawal, noting that after the 1993 Oslo interim accords with the Palestine Liberation Organisation, regional cooperation had begun and the Jewish state had achieved representation in several Arab states.
Those Israeli advances were reversed after the outbreak of the second Palestinian uprising in 2000.
Israel was wary of the Arab League plan partly because it would entail handing back the Syrian Golan Heights captured in the 1967 Middle East war, as well as re-dividing Jerusalem, of which Israel annexed the captured Arab eastern part in 1967.
But an Israeli participant at the conference, Yossi Alpher, co-editor of the Bitter Lemons Israeli-Palestinian Web site and a former senior intelligence official, welcomed the comments.
"I was delighted to hear Prince Turki's description of the comprehensive nature of normalisation as he envisages it within the framework of the Arab peace initiative," Alpher said.
"His remarks should encourage us Israelis and Arabs to deepen and broaden the discussion of ways to reach a comprehensive peace, implement the Arab peace initiative and reach the kind of cooperation that his highness described."
Alpher said he hoped that once there was a comprehensive peace, Israel's Arab neighbours would accept Israelis "as Jewish people living a sovereign life in our historic homeland" and not as "Arab Jews" or "European Jews". (Editing by Caroline Drees)
Job Listing: Finance & Operations Manager
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Description: The PeaceWorks Foundation is a US based non-profit working to foster conflict resolution and co-existence between Israelis and Palestinians. While there are a few projects and endeavors that PeaceWorks has seeded, the OneVoice Movement is the most significant. OneVoice is a grassroots undertaking with offices in Ramallah, Tel Aviv and Gaza (affiliate offices in London and Ottawa), empowering the grassroots moderate majorities of Israelis and Palestinians to take ownership and action toward a comprehensive negotiated resolution. Learn more about OneVoice by visiting www.onemillionvoices.org.
The Peaceworks Foundation is now hiring for a Finance & Operation Manager (FOM) to work out of the US office. The FOM will report to the US office Executive Director.
Additional Qualifications:
How to Apply: Please send resume and cover letter to Sheetal Daswani at sheetal@onevoicemovement.org. We are looking to fill this position ASAP. |
Press Release:
PEACEWORKS FOUNDATION WINS
FAST COMPANY MAGAZINE AND MONITOR GROUP’S
SOCIAL CAPITALIST AWARD FOR 2ND CONSECUTIVE YEAR
December 6, 2007 - New York - The PeaceWorks Foundation’s OneVoice Movement announced today that it has been selected by Fast Company magazine and Monitor Group to receive the annual Social Capitalist Awards for the second consecutive year. The organization is among a select group of non profits who use the tools of business to solve the world’s most pressing social problems and who have demonstrated a consistent and unusually large impact on society.
“This year we’ve seen an explosion of diverse experiments, many of them engineered by onetime Wall Street heavies, that attempt to bring new capital – and capital-market dynamics – to the realm of social good,” said Fast Company Contributing Writer Keith Hammonds. “Through these deals, social entrepreneurs and businesses are raising the stakes, creating both business and social impact, and changing old-style capitalism as we know it.”
OneVoice, a youth-led, grassroots movement that runs in parallel in Palestine and in Israel, has been awarded the Social Capitalist Award because of the organization’s demonstrated social impact, entrepreneurial and innovative approach, and potential for growth and sustainability. In the five years since its inception, OneVoice has worked to bring an end to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict by mobilizing the grassroots, in the past year has nearly tripled its membership – now boasting of over 600,000 Israeli and Palestinian signatory members, in roughly equal numbers on each side. The organization is based in Tel Aviv, Ramallah, and Gaza City, with international offices in New York, London, and Tel Aviv.
Darya Shaikh, Executive Director of OneVoice US, said, “OneVoice is proud to count itself among the winners of this award, and therefore among those using innovative tools and approaches to shape the world around them for the better. This has been an important year for us, in trying to mobilize the Israeli and Palestinian populations for a peaceful resolution of the conflict, and we are dedicating ourselves now more than ever to our mission.”
The goal of the Social Capitalist Awards is to advance performance measurement and accountability in the social sector in a highly rigorous, data driven, comparative approach. OneVoice is featured in Fast Company’s December/January 2008 issue and will be recognized at a ceremony at the Westin Washington D.C. city Center on January 8, 2008.
Excerpt from Q&A with US Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice at Aspen Institute meeting on US-Palestinian Private-Public Educational & Economic Partnership
December 3, 2007
QUESTION: Secretary Rice, one of the most encouraging things about Annapolis was the Leaders’ commitment to strike an agreement within a year, which demonstrated brave and courageous leadership. And we're very concerned about trying to not lose that window of opportunity. The red lines from each side are pretty clear. What is normally not said is that they're not incompatible with the red lines of the other side. So it's just about sitting down and just striking an agreement instead of endless Mideast bargaining. What can we in the private sector, business sector and the civil society and the citizens do to make sure that we really do try to accomplish an agreement within that year frame?
SECRETARY RICE: Yes. Well, let me start with what I think the broader community can do. And part of that is supporting leaders who have taken this broad -- this bold choice. And I know that there's a lot of skepticism and so forth. But you know, skepticism doesn't get you anything but skepticism. That's what it buys you. (Applause.)
Sometimes you have to, against all odds, be optimistic. And I would say to populations and to citizens and to the international community as a whole, this time let's try and give a sense of optimism to these leaders who have taken these bold steps.
It is going to require, and I see -- I know there are several members of the Diplomatic Corps, but I particularly see the Ambassador of Egypt is here. And Egypt was extremely helpful in the run-up to Annapolis in helping us, as was Jordan and others.
What we need to do is to say to the leaders, if you make difficult choices for peace, you are going to be supported, not criticized. People are not going to nitpick and say, well, you, Ehud Olmert, you gave up a little bit more here than you should have or you, Abu Mazen, you gave up a little bit more here than you should have. If people are willing to make tough choices -- everybody is going to have to compromise. Look, there's a reason that we haven't had an agreement. And some of it has to do with unrealistic aspirations that at the last moment crashed past efforts to make agreements. That's going to require at some point people saying, all right, these leaders have made realistic compromises and we're going to support those realistic compromises.
I do think that the time that President Abbas and Prime Minister Olmert spent in their discussions on the so-called political horizon have given them a pretty good sense that there is a place that everybody could land here. And I think that's why they eventually decided to move to actual negotiations. I will tell you that two months ago, maybe even six months ago, I did not think that they were going to actually launch negotiations. I hoped they would, but I didn't think that that's where they were going. I think it's only because they’ve had these conversations about some of the most difficult issues that they have a feel for where the other side is. But it's going to take persistence and, again, it's going to take the -- it's going to take the international community not nay saying everything that they do. (Applause.)
MODERATOR: Thank you.
Joint Understanding of Israeli & Palestinian Heads of State, Read by President Bush at Annapolis Conference
November 27, 2007
Buchanan House - United States Naval Academy
Annapolis, Maryland
[Emphasis added to highlight language nearly identical to that demanded in OneVoice Mandate]
PRESIDENT BUSH: The representatives of the government of the state of Israel and the Palestinian Liberation Organization, represented respective by Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, and President Mahmoud Abbas in his capacity as Chairman of the PLO Executive Committee and President of the Palestinian Authority, have convened in Annapolis, Maryland, under the auspices of President George W. Bush of the United States of America, and with the support of the participants of this international conference, having concluded the following joint understanding.
We express our determination to bring an end to bloodshed, suffering and decades of conflict between our peoples; to usher in a new era of peace, based on freedom, security, justice, dignity, respect and mutual recognition; to propagate a culture of peace and nonviolence; to confront terrorism and incitement, whether committed by Palestinians or Israelis. In furtherance of the goal of two states, Israel and Palestine, living side by side in peace and security, we agree to immediately launch good-faith bilateral negotiations in order to conclude a peace treaty, resolving all outstanding issues, including all core issues without exception, as specified in previous agreements.
We agree to engage in vigorous, ongoing and continuous negotiations, and shall make every effort to conclude an agreement before the end of 2008. For this purpose, a steering committee, led jointly by the head of the delegation of each party, will meet continuously, as agreed. The steering committee will develop a joint work plan and establish and oversee the work of negotiations teams to address all issues, to be headed by one lead representative from each party. The first session of the steering committee will be held on 12 December 2007.
President Abbas and Prime Minister Olmert will continue to meet on a bi-weekly basis to follow up the negotiations in order to offer all necessary assistance for their advancement.
The parties also commit to immediately implement their respective obligations under the performance-based road map to a permanent two-state solution to the Israel-Palestinian conflict, issued by the Quartet on 30 April 2003 — this is called the road map — and agree to form an American, Palestinian and Israeli mechanism, led by the United States, to follow up on the implementation of the road map.
The parties further commit to continue the implementation of the ongoing obligations of the road map until they reach a peace treaty. The United States will monitor and judge the fulfillment of the commitment of both sides of the road map. Unless otherwise agreed by the parties, implementation of the future peace treaty will be subject to the implementation of the road map, as judged by the United States.
President Abbas' Speech at Annapolis
November 27, 2007
From: PLO Mission - Washington, DC
President Mahmoud Abbas, Chairman of the Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization and President of the Palestinian National Authority
In the Name of God, the Most Gracious Most Merciful
President Bush
Prime Minister Olmert
Ministers and Representatives of Participating States
Distinguished Guests,
Peace and the Grace of God be Upon You
Allow me Mr. President to thank you in my capacity as Chairman of the Palestine Liberation Organization, the sole representative of the Palestinian people, and on behalf of the Palestinian people, for inviting us to this international conference. This conference symbolizes the crystallization of the entire world’s will in its march towards achieving a comprehensive and lasting peace in our region and in bringing long-anticipated justice to our country where oppression, wars, occupation and violence have prevailed in the previous decades.
Today, Your Excellency, you stress the need to make the most difficult choice-the choice of making peace and ending a dark era marked by hatred. It is an era for which the peoples of the region have paid a dear price with the lives of its youth, the future of subsequent generations and the prosperity, advancement and liberty of millions of us all.
Therefore, I thank you Mr. President. By calling this historic conference, you have sent a very clear and strong message to the peoples of the entire Middle East, who now watch with great hope as well as tremendous fear of losing yet another opportunity. The intent of your letter of invitation is not obscure: It expresses your personal commitment and the commitment of your great nation to attaching the highest priority to negotiations to achieve a long-awaited peace between both Palestinians and Israelis and the broader Arab world and Israel. We hope that this will be the culmination of your legacy for the world-a world more free of violence, persecution and fanaticism.
I must commend you, Your Excellency, on choosing this gorgeous city of Annapolis as the site for the conference. In addition to its beauty, Annapolis symbolizes liberty, the most exalted value of all. Freedom, for Palestinians is perhaps the most evocative word-the word that captures the collective hope of Palestinians and their aspiration for future generations. It is their sun and the light of their future. It is the last word of their martyrs and victims and the daily hymns of their prisoners.
I would also like to express my deep gratitude to Secretary Rice and her team. Without their persistence and perseverance-and without their ability to grasp all aspects of the conflict in our region-we would not have been able to gather here today. Secretary Rice took important strides in her quest to emphasize that the path to peace through negotiations is the only path-and that this path is irreversible.
I must also stress that the exceptionally broad participation of our brothers and sisters from Arab and Islamic countries, the Quartet, the G8 and the Permanent members of the United Nations, in addition to many European and Asian countries, as well as members from the Non-Alliance block and the African continent, in a conference unique in the conflict’s history is a driving force that helps imbue the conference with added legitimacy. This broad participation also demonstrates strong support for Palestinian and Israeli negotiators to persevere in their quest to reach the Two-State solution, which is based on ending the occupation and establishing a sovereign State of Palestine living side by side with the State of Israel by resolving all of the permanent status issues in the Palestinian-Israeli conflict and the broader Arab-Israeli conflict, which will prove indispensable to forging peaceful and normal relations in the region. I am proud of this broad Arab and Muslim contribution and the broad international participation because it shows the support of sister countries for the Palestinian people and their leadership to establish peace. Such support endorses our approach, which calls for an historic and balanced settlement that will ensure peace and security for our independent state, for Israel and for the entire region.
The Arab and Islamic presence also demonstrates that the Arab Peace Initiative was never a move without a definite goal but rather a courageous strategic choice aimed at changing the nature of relations in the region and beginning anew. This historic Arab and Islamic shift and quest for a regional peace should now be a similar willingness to engage by all as it will lead to ending the occupation in all the Palestinian territories occupied in 1967, including East Jerusalem, as well as the Golan Heights and parts of Lebanon and as it will also lead to resolving all the other permanent status issues. Chief among these is the plight of Palestinian refugees which must be addressed holistically-that is, in its political, human, and individual dimensions in accordance with UNGA resolution 194, as emphasized in the Arab Peace Initiative, and with the participation of sister Arab countries who have borne the heavy burden of hosting the refugees for decades.
It is no exaggeration to say, Your Excellency, that today marks a juncture in the history of our region-a juncture between two eras: The Pre-Annapolis era and its aftermath. In other words, the exceptional opportunity that the Arab, Islamic and international presence brings today coupled with overwhelming Palestinian and Israeli public opinion in support of Annapolis, must be seized in order to be a launching pad for a negotiations process. The possibilities offered by today’s conference must not be wasted. This window of opportunity might never open again and if it does, it might never claim the same consensus or momentum.
Mr. President,
What we face today is not only the challenge of peace but also a test of the credibility of all involved: The credibility of the United States of America, members of the Quartet, the entire international community, Israel, the PLO and the Palestinian National Authority, as well as the Arab and Islamic group. It is a test that will draw deep marks in the future of the region and the relations among its peoples on the one hand and on the international forces that care about the region’s peace and security on the other.
With this outlook, we come to Annapolis today. We therefore recognize the weight of responsibility upon our shoulders and the burden that we will have to bear. We recognize, and I believe that you share our opinion, that the absence of hope and the infiltration of desperation into the hearts of peoples is what feeds extremism. It is therefore our joint duty to allow for real hope to thrive. This way, we hope that with your full support and involvement we might achieve a complete transformation and that a genuine peace can be achieved soon, before the end of your term, Mr. President.
Tomorrow, we embark on a serious and comprehensive negotiations process on all the permanent status issues including Jerusalem, refugees, borders, settlements, security, and water, as well as others. We must support such negotiations with tangible and direct steps on the ground, which will be taken as proof of having embarked on an irreversible track towards a negotiated, comprehensive and full peace. Such steps must involve freezing all settlement activities including natural growth, reopening institutions in Jerusalem, removing settlement outposts, removing checkpoints, releasing prisoners and facilitating the mission of the Palestinian Authority in restoring law and order.
With all frankness and without any hesitation, I have to defend the right of my people to open their eyes to a new dawn free of occupation, settlements, apartheid walls, prisons full of prisoners, targeted assassinations, and the siege of checkpoints around villages and cities. I look forward, Your Excellency, to the day when our prisoners are free and to the day when they can assume their roles in supporting peace and building their homeland and state. It is also my duty to say that the destiny of Jerusalem is a key issue in any peace treaty we reach. We want East Jerusalem to be our capital-a capital where we will have open relations with West Jerusalem and where we will guarantee for believers of all religions the freedom to practice their rituals and to have access to the holy sites without discrimination and in accordance with international humanitarian law.
In this context, I would like to emphasize that we will continue to carry out our responsibilities in accordance with the Roadmap in fighting lawlessness, violence and terrorism and in restoring law and order. The government of the PA is working tirelessly in extremely difficult conditions to achieve this noble cause. We do this for our own people because we must, not because it is a political requirement imposed upon us in previous accords or the Roadmap.
Our people clearly understand the difference between the threat posed by terrorism versus using terrorism as a pretext to maintain an intolerable situation. Our civil, security and economic institutions must be given the opportunity to function and this process must be sponsored by the international community until our authority and government are able to fully assume their responsibilities. I must also stress that our determination to end occupation stems from our vision that by doing so we destroy one of the most important excuses for terrorism in our region and in the world. I say this without undermining the necessity to fight terrorism regardless of time, conditions or source because it is a danger that threatens the future of all peoples and can doom civilization and destroy its accomplishments.
Here, I would like to praise Mr. Tony Blair for his distinctive and meticulous role in building Palestinian institutions and promoting major economic projects to improve the conditions of daily life and consequently prospects of peace. He is amazing in presenting creative ideas that contribute to inspire political movement and promote security. In this regard, the role of the European Union, Japan and our Arab brothers who provide ongoing support for economic projects and institution building is also highly appreciated.
Mr. President,
I want to use this opportunity to speak to every mind, heart and conscience of every Israeli citizen, based on my full recognition that without undermining the importance of international and regional backing, the determining element for making peace and sustaining it are the public opinions in Palestine and in Israel and the commitment of their legitimate leaderships.
I would like to begin by saying that in spite of our differences over some of the most difficult issues in the Conflict, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has shown a desire for peace that I felt during our bilateral meetings. This desire for peace has genuinely contributed to our reaching this important step that we inaugurate today. Mr. Prime Minister, I would like to continue working closely with you until we are able to complete this historic long-awaited mission together. It is essential that each one of us uses his weight, experience and determination to overcome the difficulties that will face us and to bridge the gaps between our two positions so that we can achieve a resolution. This is how we will end occupation and long years of suffering for our refugees; this is how we will ensure neighborly relations, economic cooperation and people-to-people relations, all of which are the strongest guarantees for a sustainable peace.
I would also like to speak to the citizens of Israel on this exceptional occasion to tell them: Our neighbors on this small piece of land, neither you nor we are begging for peace from one another. Peace is a common interest of yours and ours. Peace and freedom are our rights just as peace and security are your rights and ours.
It is time that the cycle of bloodshed, violence and occupation end. It is time to look into the future with confidence and hope. It is time for this aching land that is called the land of love and peace to live up to its name. Peace is not impossible if we have the will and the good intentions and when each side realizes its rights.
He who says that making peace between Palestinians and Israelis is impossible wants only to prolong the duration of conflict and to propel it into the abyss of the unknown. This unknown is unfortunately very known to us: it is more decades of bloodshed, after which we will not arrive to a solution different from what is offered today-the contours and the essence of which is known to each one of us. The continuation of the conflict might also lead to the death of the idea of peace in our minds, hearts and consciousness. Peace is possible. It requires, however, a common effort to achieve it and to sustain it. Today we extend our hands to you as equals and the world is our witness and support. We must not lose this opportunity that might never be repeated. Let us make the peace of the brave and guard it for the sake of both our children and yours.
To our friends all over the world: members of the Quartet, participants in this conference, and other countries and nations who are not present here today who supported us in the past and who continue to be willing to help us, I would like to tell you that our people will not forget your support under the most difficult conditions. We are looking forward to your continued political presence with us after the conference is over to ensure the Israeli-Palestinian negotiations process achieves its goals. We hope that the work of this conference will be enhanced by the success of the Paris Economic conference that will be held in a few weeks.
The continuation of the negotiations and their success is the real key to changing the face of the entire region.
The Almighty God says in the Holy Quran: O Ye who believe! Come all of you into peace and follow not the footsteps of the devil. He is an open enemy for you. Al-Baqra 208
And if they incline to peace, incline also to it, and trust in Allah. He is the hearer, the knower. Al-Anfal 61
I also would like to recall what President John F. Kennedy said: "Let us never negotiate out of fear, but let us never fear to negotiate."
To my Palestinian people, to all Palestinians in Gaza, Jerusalem, the West Bank, and the refugee camps in the Diaspora, I would like to share these words with you: I recognize that each and every one of you has their personal pain and special tragedy stemming from this conflict and years of al-Nakbeh and bitter occupation. Do not lose confidence or hope. The entire world is extending their hands to us to help end the years of our everlasting Nakbeh. The world is trying to help us end the historic injustice that was inflicted on our two peoples. We will be ready as individuals and as a people to overcome the pain and tragedy when we reach a settlement that will give us rights that are equal to people elsewhere on this world: the rights to independence and self-determination.
And to Palestinian mothers who are awaiting the return of their jailed sons; to the children who are dreaming of a new life and a prosperous and more peaceful future; to our brave prisoners and to all of my sons and daughters wherever you are: Have faith in tomorrow and the future because an independent Palestine is coming. This is the promise of the entire world to you today. Trust that the dawn is coming.
To my people and family in the Gaza Strip: You are in my heart and the hours of darkness will vanish before your determination does and our determination to the unity of our people in the West Bank and Gaza as a unified and unbreakable geographic and political entity will overcome. Your suffering will end. Justice and peace will prevail.
Mr. President,
I would like to end with a quote from President Abraham Lincoln, which he wrote during one of the most difficult moments in American history: "Let us strive on to finish the work we are in, to do all that we may achieve and cherish a just and lasting peace among ourselves and with all nations."
Thank you Mr. President and Peace and blessings of God be upon you.
Prime Minister Olmert's Speech at Annapolis
November 27, 2007
Speech translated from Hebrew
The Honorable President of the United States, George Bush,
My colleague, President of the Palestinian Authority, Mahmoud Abbas,
Heads of delegations,
Distinguished guests,
I came here today from Jerusalem at your invitation, Honorable President, to extend, on behalf of the people of Israel and the State of Israel, a hand in peace to the Palestinian people and to our neighboring Arab states, many of whose representatives are here with us in Annapolis.
I had many good reasons to refrain from coming to this meeting.
The memory of the failures of the near and distant past weighs heavy on us. The dreadful terrorism perpetrated by Palestinian terrorist organizations has affected thousands of Israeli citizens, destroyed families and attempted to disrupt the lives of all the citizens of Israel. I witnessed it personally during my term as Mayor of Jerusalem, at times of bombings at cafes, buses and recreational centers in Jerusalem and other cities in the State of Israel.
The continued shooting of Kassam rockets against tens of thousands of residents in the south of Israel, particularly in the city of Sderot, serves as a warning sign — one which cannot be overlooked. The absence of governmental institutes and effective law-enforcement mechanisms, the rule of Hamas in the Gaza Strip, the ongoing activity of murderous organizations throughout all the territories of the Palestinian Authority, the absence of a legal system which meets the basic criteria of a democratic government — all these are factors which deter us from moving forward too hastily.
I do not ignore all the obstacles which are sure to emerge along the way. They are right in front of me. I came here, despite the concerns and doubts and hesitations, to say to you, President Mahmoud Abbas, and through you, to your people and to the entire Arab world: It is time. We no longer, and you no longer, have the privilege of clinging to dreams which are disconnected from the sufferings of our peoples, the hardships they experience daily and the burden of living under ongoing uncertainty, with no chance for change or hope.
We want peace. We demand an end to terror, incitement and hatred. We are willing to make a painful compromise, rife with risks, in order to realize these aspirations.
I came here today not to settle historic accounts between us on what caused the conflict and hatred and what, for many years, stood in the way of compromise and peace.
I wish to say, from the bottom of my heart, that I know and acknowledge the fact that alongside the constant suffering which many in Israel have experienced because of the history, the wars, the terror and the hatred towards us — a suffering which has always been part of our lives in our land — your people have also suffered for many years, and some still suffer.
For dozens of years, many Palestinians have been living in camps, disconnected from the environment in which they grew, wallowing in poverty, neglect, alienation, bitterness, and a deep, unrelenting sense of deprivation. I know that this pain and deprivation is one of the deepest foundations which fomented the ethos of hatred towards us.
We are not indifferent to this suffering. We are not oblivious to the tragedies you have experienced. I believe that in the course of negotiations between us we will find the right way, as part of an international effort in which we will participate, to assist these Palestinians in finding a proper framework for their future, in the Palestinian state which will be established in the territories agreed upon between us. Israel will be part of an international mechanism which will assist in finding a solution to this problem.
The negotiations between us will not be here in Annapolis, but rather in our home and in yours. It will be bilateral, direct, ongoing and continuous, in an effort to complete it during the course of 2008.
It will address all the issues which have thus far been evaded. We will do it directly, openly and courageously. We will not avoid any subject, we will deal with all the core issues. I have no doubt that the reality created in our region in 1967 will change significantly. While this will be an extremely difficult process for many of us, it is nevertheless inevitable. I know it. Many of my people know it. We are ready for it.
The negotiations will be based on previous agreements between us, U.N. Security Council Resolutions 242 and 338, the road map and the April 14, 2004 letter of President Bush to the Prime Minister of Israel.
On conclusion of the negotiations, I believe that we will be able to reach an agreement which will fulfill the vision of President Bush: two states for two peoples. A peace-seeking, viable, strong, democratic and terror-free Palestinian state for the Palestinian people. A Jewish, democratic State of Israel, living in security and free from the threat of terror — the national home of the Jewish people.
It is clear that the implementation of an agreement will be subject to the implementation of all obligations in the road map, on all its phases and according to its sequence, as concluded between us from the very beginning. We will abide by all our obligations, and so will you.
The agreement with you and its gradual implementation, cautiously and responsibly, is part of a much wider complex which will lead us, hopefully, to peace with all the Arab states. There is not a single Arab state in the north, east or south with which we do not seek peace. There is no Muslim state with which we do not want to establish diplomatic relations. Anyone who wants peace with us, we say to them, from the bottom of our hearts: welcome!
I am pleased to see here, in this hall, representatives of Arab countries, most of which do not have relations with Israel. The time has come for you as well. You cannot continue to stand by indefinitely and watch the peace train go by. It is time to end the boycott and alienation towards the State of Israel. It is not helpful for you, and it hurts us.
I am familiar with the Arab peace initiative, which was born in Riyadh, affirmed in Beirut and recently reaffirmed by you in Riyadh. I value this initiative, acknowledge its importance and highly appreciate its contribution. I have no doubt that it will be referred to in the course of the negotiations between us and the Palestinian leadership.
The Arab world represented here by many countries is a vital component in creating a new reality in the Middle East.
The peace signed between Israel and Egypt, and subsequently between Israel and the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, is a solid foundation of stability and hope in our region. This peace is an example and a model of the relations which we can build with Arab states.
My close relations with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and His Majesty King Abdullah II of Jordan are extremely significant for the process of building trust and understanding with the Arab states. However, these relations, as important as they may be, are not enough. We aspire for normalization with those Arab states which eschew, as much as we do, radical and frantic fundamentalism, and which seek to grant their citizens a more moderate, tolerant and prosperous world.
This is a common interest of all of us. There is a lot which separates us — memories and a heritage which do not emanate from the same historic roots, different ways of living, different customs, and our emotional, spontaneous sense of solidarity with our neighboring Arab countries, which have long been trapped in this age-old bloody conflict between us.
However, there is also a lot which brings us together. You, like us, know that religious fanaticism and national extremism are a perfect recipe for domestic instability, violence, bitterness and ultimately the disintegration of the very foundations of coexistence which is based on tolerance and mutual acceptance.
We are a tiny country with a small population, but rich in good will and with a significant ability to create a partnership which will lead to prosperity, growth, economic development and stability for the entire region.
The prospect of a new political horizon, and renewed hope, not only for Palestinians and Israelis, but also, together with you, for the entire region, can come from here, from Annapolis.
Honorable President of the United States, my colleague Mahmoud Abbas, distinguished guests, almost two years ago, under very sad circumstances, Prime Minister of Israel Ariel Sharon was no longer able to carry the heavy responsibility of leading the State of Israel, and this responsibility was passed on to me — first as a result of formal procedures, and subsequently on the basis of an election in Israel’s democratic system of government.
Prior to my election I stated that my heart’s desire and that of my people was to achieve peace, primarily with the Palestinian people. This is what I believed then and it is what I continue to believe in now, with all my heart.
The past two years have been difficult for all of us. The hardships have not been alleviated, the terror organizations have not weakened, the enemies of peace have not disappeared, and we are still anxiously awaiting the return of our missing and captive sons who are held by terror organizations. I long for the day when I can see Gilad, Eldad and Udi back with their families, and I will not falter in my efforts to achieve their release.
I believe that there is no path other than peace. I believe that there is no just solution other than the solution of two national states for two peoples.
I believe that there is no path which does not involve painful compromise for you Palestinians and for us Israelis. I want to thank you, President George Bush, an ally in the path of peace, for your willingness to assist in the historic process of peace and reconciliation between us and our neighbors.
I believe it is time. We are ready. I invite you, my friend Mahmoud Abbas, and your people, to join us in this long, tormenting and complex path, for which there is no substitute.
Together we will start. Together we will arrive.
Statement of OneVoice Movement on Annapolis Peace Process
November 26, 2007, Annapolis -- In the lead up to Annapolis, skepticism has abounded, and not without reason. After so many failed efforts and accords, what will make this time any different? However well-founded these fears might be, we have before us an opportunity. This is the first time in over 15 years that the vast majority of Arab countries are participating in a regional effort to solve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict; this is the first time in 7 years that the Israeli and Palestinian Heads of State are poised to re-launch formal and systematic negotiations.
As the leaders gather to try to take a step forward in negotiating a resolution, we – ordinary Israelis, Palestinians, and international citizens – have a role to play. We need to ensure that Annapolis is not a one-time only photo opportunity. Rather, it should be the initiation of a systematic, serious, ongoing, and uninterrupted process with professional negotiations teams committed exclusively to reaching a mutually-acceptable two state agreement. The agreement must guarantee a viable, independent Palestinian state within the context of a permanent peace agreement with Israel. We do not expect the leaders to leave Annapolis with all the answers, or with a finalized agreement. But we are here to demand that they leave with a process in place to continue negotiations until they do.
We have a rare window of opportunity. While majorities on both sides still overwhelmingly support negotiations towards a two state solution, the numbers opposing are going up steadily, and will eventually surpass moderate voices if no tangible progress is made. The leaders are coming to the table; the opportunity must be seized. Failure is not an option.
What are we hoping to come out of Annapolis? Many are trying to lower expectations about Annapolis. We see Annapolis as an important first step in a process that needs serious, continuous political and grassroots involvement to be successful. It is imperative that the leaders commit to an ongoing process to develop an agreement that will be acceptable to both sides.
Background on OneVoice
OneVoice is a non-partisan, grassroots movement of 300,000 Israelis and 300,000 Palestinians who, having signed the OneVoice Mandate, stand in support of an end to the conflict through a negotiated two state solution. The organization was founded six years ago in the collapse of the Oslo negotiations process and the outbreak of violence on both sides, with an aim to giving ordinary citizens the tools to seize back the agenda for conflict resolution.
By September 2007, when US Secretary of State Rice announced a Mideast summit would be organized, over half a million citizens had joined the movement, which has since grown to 620,000. OneVoice has sent a delegation of activists, youth leaders, and executive directors to Annapolis, on behalf of the hundreds of thousands who OneVoice represents, to demand immediate negotiations, uninterrupted till the conclusion of a two state agreement, no later than a year from now.
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