Daniel Lubetzky

The article below by Ron Pundak contains at least two deep lessons.  The clearest one is of course what he shares: that “anti-normalization” efforts that seek to boycott any cooperative efforts and engagement among Palestinian and Israeli civil society organizations and people can only bring harm to the people of the region who want to resolve the conflict, to end the occupation, and to achieve a two state solution.

But there is a deeper lesson I must confess to.  Until reading this article, my attitude has been to defend efforts like those of OneVoice, which clearly works to end the occupation, to change the status quo, and to achieve Israeli-Palestinian agreement.  I have quietly acquiesced to, and empathized with, Palestinian concerns about “dialogue” groups whose effort is just to humanize the other, understanding that Palestinians may not want to “dialogue” with the enemy – they want to end the occupation and do not want to endorse the status quo in any way. I still of course understand this.  But I now also recognize that is a cowardly position, convenient to me because that is the approach I feel is worthy of support as that is what OneVoice does. But it fails to stand up to defend and recognize that those “dialogue” efforts are also vital to fostering understanding and respect of the “other”, and that often Israelis and Palestinians are first exposed to the other side through these socio-cultural groups and in a very direct way may then be inspired to get more involved in changing the status quo because of the human bonds that they have established. 

The same thing happened to me, if I go back to 1989, when I was a student at Hebrew University and I met Palestinian students whose humanity I began to appreciate more.

This reminds me of the old statement by pastor Martin Niemöller:

First they came for the Jews
and I did not speak out
because I was not a Jew.
Then they came for the Communists
and I did not speak out
because I was not a Communist.
Then they came for the trade unionists
and I did not speak out
because I was not a trade unionist.
Then they came for me
and there was no one left
to speak out for me.

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A new poll reaffirms the uphill battle to get Israelis and Palestinians to overcome their skepticism about each other, and to be able to visualize that a two state solution can come about. According to the Peace Index, we have our work cut out for ourselves. Here is a summary:

Poll: Israelis Want Peace Negotiations But Don’t Believe They Will Succeed (Peace Index)
    While 71% of the Israeli public favors holding peace negotiations between Israel and the Palestinian Authority, 67% do not believe that negotiations will lead to peace in the coming years, according to the April 2012 Peace Index survey of the Evens Program for Conflict Resolution at Tel Aviv University and the Israel Democracy Institute.
    58% said they did not believe there is a real chance to resolve the conflict in accordance with the "two states for two peoples" formula in the next ten years.

SS+K created a remarkably clever and effective campaign for a Korean-based Pizza chain that deserves recognition.   From their newsletter – make sure to watch their video:

Clifford May wrote an article worth reading for all those who are determined to truly address the refugee issue and resolve the Arab-Israeli conflict.  In addition to the points made in the article, it is important to track the real numbers of refugees, EVEN if I you count their descendants. Some of the estimates regularly shared are inflated beyond belief.  A way to confirm this is simply by tracking how many Palestinians were living in total prior to 1948, then tracking how many of them left and how many of them stayed at the time, and how many are there today, and compare to the estimated number who is considered a refugee today. Even if everyone who left, and everyone of their descendants were to considered a refugee, and even if their birthrate was far higher than the one in the West Bank and Gaza and within Israel, the discrepancies would still be quite apparent.

My father, Roman Lubetzky, was a rarity among survivors of concentration camps. Most of his fellow survivors either were immersed in the horror of the Holocaust and sadly embittered by it, or were determined to shut it out of their lives and never again talk about it.   My Dad would talk about it to anyone who would listen, and would reignite suffering as he recounted his experiences as a little kid from 9 when the war started to 15 when he was rescued from Dachau. 

And yet he always talked about it with humanistic positive hope for the future, emphasizing the importance of building bridges and preventing the suffering of any human being.  He taught me compassion for the Palestinian cause, just as he was a fervent believer in Israel as the one homeland of the Jewish people.

Ziad Asali, whose latest article is here, is among the very few people I have ever met who reminds me of the moral courage that my Dad had – to proudly wear his historic pain on his shoulders, not to recriminate and as a way to guilt others, but as a responsibility to forge a better way for his people and for humanity.

Most Palestinians and Israelis would want to move on with their lives and would accept a two state solution.  But not enough people take it upon themselves to bring it about.

In the meantime, passionate minorities with far more extremist perspectives – that would deny the right of the other side to freedom, dignity, respect, security, and a State of their own – take it upon themselves to speak loudly – as often evidenced by those who take the time to express mean comments on these boards, from either extreme side.

Only if people like Ziad Asali lead the way will this conflict and the suffering that comes with it come to an end.  Anything other than a two state SOLUTION is just an illusion that will condemn those who live there with continued hatred and war.

The greatest wisdom stems not from knowing a fact or another, but from being able to anticipate and visualize the future:

“Eize hu haham, haroe et hanolad.”

Roughly translated as:
“Who is the smart one? The one who can visualize what will be born.”

- Pirkei Abbot

This article fills me with sadness and anger at this deep injustice, including against the most defenseless in society. This is not behavior worthy of civilized society or consistent with Jewish & human values. It is also inspiring to see some community members who have so much courage to do the right thing. They deserve all our support.

The attached Arabic website links to an Israeli Channel 10 video revealing back-channel negotiations where Khaled Maashal from Hamas apparently offered Olmert a peace deal in exchange for permitting Hamas to lead and rule in Gaza, and presumably eventually across Palestine.  The offer never got off the ground. But just the plausibility that Hamas/Maashal offered such terms is causing enormous commotion within Palestine.  Beyond weakening Hamas and Maashal and strengthening Abbas and Fatah, it legitimizes the path of negotiations and reconciliation.  But more troubling, it may drive deeper divisions within Hamas and possibly isolate any moderating influences and prevent a reconciliation that would allow centrists in Hamas and Fatah to do a responsible coalition to negotiate a two state solution with Israel.

Prevention Magazine awarded KIND Healthy Grains Peanut Butter Whole Grain Clusters with its Healthy Food Award, affirming that KIND Healthy Grains provide a tasty snack that’s good for you too! Prevention prefers Healthy Grains over other granolas because this healthy snack contains more whole grains and less fat and sugar. Editors enjoyed the crunchy peanut butter clusters with nut milk and by the handful.

Spotted by Daniel Lubetzky, by Julianna Storch

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Check out this excerpt from Town & Country, honoring KIND as one of the hot items at TED!

Spotted by Daniel Lubetzky, by Adeena Schlussel