I’m guessing by now most of you have heard about the OneVoice initiative to collect a million Palestinian and Israeli signatures (or something like that) and then hopefully bring peace between the two sides by mobilizing the moderates.
My first reaction was “awww, how wonderful. Yes, and meanwhile my grandmother and I will go plant some flowers on the moon.” Eventually though, I watched the videos here and I liked what I saw. They shut up the cynic in me.
As much as I doubt this will actually bring peace in the political sense, it has (to a certain extent) already brought about peace on a social level. Seeing Palestinian and Israeli mothers under one roof interacting peacefully with each other and attempting something involving mutual sincere goodwill puts a big smile on my face.
At least these hundreds of thousands involved from both sides aren’t inclined to choke each other to death. You can’t deny it. It’s good to see and it’s a testament to the power of grassroots activism.
In the meantime, as most of us are caught up in the euphoria of the movement, OneVoice is under attack from both sides. Electronic Intifada on one side, and an angry Jewish lady leaving emotionally charged comments on the other.
Ah, nobody said peace was going to be easy. What’s important is that we strive towards practicing it on an individual level with each other. If only someone, anyone, in a position of power simply tried implementing my great plan for world peace, the “crazy” Middle East shall see centuries of tranquility.
As for OneVoice, apparently it’s a farce.
Oh well, the Drama continues and the best part?
No matter how cynical you want to be, there will always be a part of you hoping for a better tomorrow.
SudaneseThinker
SudaneseThinker
{ 25 comments… read them below or add one }
All of Israel is “moderate” in the sense that very few want a Jewish one-state solution or are against an independent Arab state for Palestinian Arabs.
It’s not difficult to find Israeli moderates.
But where are the Arab moderates in Canaan?
I know there are some, but it’s not a mass movement in the sense that no Palestinian government elected could possibly be one that pursues an Arab one-state solution. “Moderate”, on the Arab side, means “might have given up plan to kill all the Jews”.
I don’t think we can look for a compromise before the Arab side distances itself from Nasser/Arafat/al-Husayni and all those other Nazis.
Israeli nationalists have never demanded a country from the Euphrates to the Nile.
Arab nationalists, on the other hand, frequently did and do.
“But where are the Arab moderates in Canaan?”
Dude, watch the video. You make it seem as if they are hardly existent.
Not naive and not useful. It’s just complete and utter bullshit, a feel-good pill.
There is as much misconception and simplification about this issue as there is about Darfur… albeit with less massively lethal consequences.
BTW… peace in the Middle East is a pipe-dream. There is no peace here, never was and never will be. Too many cultural, geographical, historical, political, religious, demographical and social factors working against peace.
What we can have, however, is a long-term truce. Which’ll happen when there is complete separation between Arabs and Jews, enforced by Israeli military might (since no other military might will have the desire to enforce it.)
Or maybe our cousins will get their wish and Jews will be genocided again. That’s also an option.
No mental stretching, no obfuscation, no cunning demagoguery will change the facts on the ground. All this talk of “handful of extremists on both sides” is such a load of crap, I just feel like bringing Orwell back from the grave to give these doubleplusgood duckspeaker fucks a good bashing.
As a political force, they are hardly existent.
Raccoon has a few points. While I disagree with his pessimistic outlook, I do agree that the issue of genocide still looms over the region and makes peace, currently, impossible.
Once Arab leaders denounce Nasser, Arafat, Al-Husayni, Hussein, and all the other Nazis, Israel might become convinced that her army is no longer postponing a second Shoah.
But as long as Arabs regard those who wanted to kill all the Jews as heroes, there can be no peace.
“Hussein”
That’s Saddam Hussein, of course, not King Hussein.
I don’t realistically see peace coming about in my lifetime, or probably my children’s either, but it is still a comfort to know that there are more Arabs wanting peace (through means other than the elimination of the opposition completely off the map) than I thought there were… I’ve never lived in Palestine, so I can’t fathom their perspective, but I’m Arab and I hope for peace.
Reminds me of the various initiatives during Oslo era. That didn’t get us far, I’m afraid.
I’ll believe in change when it is evident in the field, and not just in gestures. I hate repeating past mistakes, Drima.
I take issue with Raccoon’s assessment:
“Not naive and not useful. It’s just complete and utter bullshit, a feel-good pill.”
I would make the following changes:
“Mildly naive but better than the alternative. If it doesn’t bring peace, at least it’s a feel-good suppository.”
I am quite cynical myself…but not quite as bad as raccoon. I still do not think the Palestinian “street” is going to let the moderates have a free voice. They never have. Let’s face it, Drima knows it well that saying something hopeful or decent about Israel can land a Muslim in a whole hell of a lot of trouble…As long as the “moderates” will be threatened, or much worse, there just is not much chance.
No person with a brain on the Israeli side really thinks that average Joe Palestinian is a wild-eyed terrorist…but I think most of us feel most of them hate us…I feel that way. I also recognize that there are many decent folk among them…but we won’t hear their voices very often and not with any freedom.
I think there is a chance for peace…Raccoon says a cease fire…but hell, that is what many countries have…I would take that, but not at any cost.
Frankly…I do not trust the other side…overall I do not trust them. I did not say “hate”, some I hate, but most I deeply distrust. And that is not without reason, not without cause and not without great sadness.
I’m very much with Howie on this one. I share his perspective.
Raccoon, I think that’s way too cynical man.
“No person with a brain on the Israeli side really thinks that average Joe Palestinian is a wild-eyed terrorist.”
Thank you. I resent the portrayal of Palestinians as savages.
To say the Palestinians are genocidal maniacs is hyperbolic. If there is a lot of anything then it’s huge distrust followed by hate (in some cases very intense, leading to violence).
Therein we can find hope.
There have been countless conflicts with the same basic traits which finally gave way too peace.
This one is a little complicated due to one difference. It has an emotionally charged religious twist to it.
By the way, since Raccoon brought this up:
“All this talk of “handful of extremists on both sides” is such a load of crap”
What did you all think of CNN’s God’s Warriors? Jewish and Muslim?
It confirms my assessment that those who bring the political complications to a whole new level are the religiously inspired crazy folks.
I thought Christiane Amanpour did a good job on all three.
You?
Oh and I should add…
Israeli’s and Palestinians getting together on a grassroots level…I am for that any and every chance…
But remember the Maxim…which to me is symbolic of the problem. This was resturant in Haifa, built and owned by Arabs that was a huge hang-out for just the folk we are discussing here…Arabs and Jews used it all the time and met on a regular basis…
And some fuck walked in with a suicide belt…how cynical is THAT?
But this is a metaphor…a Muslim or even Christian Arab that tries to be chill with an Israeli…better watch your back
So much for free dialouge
“a Muslim or even Christian Arab that tries to be chill with an Israeli…better watch your back”
And that fact right there is why there will most likely never be peace. Until the Arab speaks his own mind without fear or heck, be a hero and do it even with fear, the M.E. will get nowhere. That is the best thing that I see from this OneVoice program. Arabs need to see that there are fellow Arabs that believe as they do, They don’t need to be afraid to voice their opinion on peace because they are not alone.
About the God’s Warriors program on CNN. I thought it was pretty good. Did you catch the part about the Jews that were getting kicked out of a certain area they had set up in (sorry I can’t remember specifics). They were saying they had purchased the land legitimately but the Arab that they had bought it from could not admit to it or speak up for them for fear of reprisals from their fellow Arab? What does that say about the integrity of the Arab? How much of that has gone on in the last 60 years?
“That is the best thing that I see from this OneVoice program. Arabs need to see that there are fellow Arabs that believe as they do, They don’t need to be afraid to voice their opinion on peace because they are not alone.”
An excellent observation Lynn.
I second that. I think internal dialogue gets horribly suppressed among Arabs, and not by governments. It’s as if there is a certain dogmata that Arabs cannot stray from without being dubbed traitors. And then we have the second problem, which is the short lifespan perceived traitors have…
“And then we have the second problem, which is the short lifespan perceived traitors have…”
LOL
I think another huge problem if the definition of what a traitor is…
I have talked to many Muslims who have had that defined for them
Like even talking to an Israeli on the Internet is treason and potentially severely punished.
I mean dude…I am not talking about giving away the locations of Nasrallah’s bunkers…I mean things like basic opinions can’t even be shared…
These blogs are a miracle and help defy those kinds of oppressors. They fear this kind of light.
“Like even talking to an Israeli on the Internet is treason and potentially severely punished.”
Yikes!
*hides under his bed*
Drima - something that might interest you.
And I am still not at all sure this is a good idea.
It can only be good to show that there are some Arabs who don’t want to kill Jews.
What would give me hope is that the French and the Germans hated and distrusted each other just as much as the Arabs and Israelis, right through from the Napoleonic wars to 1946. Yet they did finally settle down in peace, after three horrific wars.
“What would give me hope is that the French and the Germans hated and distrusted each other just as much as the Arabs and Israelis,”
While the Germans at one point wanted to exterminate the Jews, just like the Arabs, neither the Germans nor the French ever wanted to exterminate each other.
In fact, German nobility spoke French in the 19th and the early 20th century.
What gives me hope is that Germany absolutely and completely stopped trying to exterminate the Jews, apoligised for trying, and now supports Israel, despite the old emnity.
So I know it is possible.
There’s been launched a boycott campaign against onevoice based on complete lies and misunderstandings that suggested OneVoice was negotiating on behalf of refugees. This is categorically untrue and misses the key point about the organization that it is specifically designed to empower the process to find answers not dictate them itself. Only the leaders can come to an agreement and then it is up to the people to ratify – that is what OneVoice is pushing for. Groups who want to see no agreement are attacking this with lies and conning the Palestinian population just using the refugees as a political pawn.
We should never let lies stop everyone from knowing that this situation is resolvable and the people at the grassroots on both sides support it - long live onevoice!
The refugees have always been, and probably always will be, used as political pawns. Why else are they still ‘refugees’ instead of Jordanians or Syrians or Iraqis? I know some Palestinian ‘refugees’ that came to the U.S. back in the 70’s and do you know what they, and their children, go by now? Yep, American, full rights, same as every other American citizen. Do you think that anyone is thinking about them when they picture a ‘Palestinian refugee’? Do you think that they are sitting around waiting to get a Palestinian state so they can go back to their beloved homeland? No, they were given an opportunity at life and they are busy living it. We wouldn’t have these refugees to use as pawns if the countries that encouraged them to leave had given them homes and lives and accepted them as full citizens in their countries.
The plot thickens: http://www.sandmonkey.org/2007/10/15/one-voice-vs-the-ism/
It would seem that some NGOs can be quite nasty when their ideology is threatened.
Israel and the Palestians will be at peace in two years. 2009 we will finally see a Palestinian state live peacefully alongside Israel.
Salaam
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