Daniel Lubetzky

I set out to help Doc and David find Mohammed and Ahmed, who Doc and David want to help get free surfing equipment and “just surf” as a way to establish a “Surfing for Peace” initiative. 

I called Dr. Fathi Darwish, our older statesman General Director of OneVoice Palestine, based out of Ramallah. 

“Doctor,” I said, “do you know what is surfing?”

“Uh?”

“Surfing.  The sport where people get on big boards and glide on the sea, propelled by the waves.”

“Uh?”

“Do you know Baywatch?”

“Uh?”

“You know Hawaii?  With the guys with the nice tans and long hair, who ride the waves?”

“Well, Daniel, to be honest, I don’t know what you are talking about.”

Who am I to wonder? I didn’t know who “Kelly Slater” is – or Dorian “Doc” Paskowitz for that matter.

But there is certainly something very powerful in the philosophy that surfers bring to our world. “Just have fun, surf, focus on your connection with the moment, and leave everything else behind.”

During our meeting, I also remembered that we have been explaining that the OneVoice Summit is designed to be a massive mobilization of moderates that creates an unprecedented shared reality – the first time that Israelis and Palestinians will participate in a historic moment with the same perspective and understanding.  Unlike the 1948 “Independence” for Israelis or “Naqba”  (catastrophe) for Palestinians, or unlike the Lebanon war where Israelis thought Nasrallah a vicious criminal and Palestinians by and large considered him a valiant hero, here we have an opportunity to create a special moment in the region’s consciousness, where Israelis and Palestinians in parallel stand up and say, Enough, we are going to end this conflict once and for all.

 And as in surfing, the goal is that the WAVE OF MODERATION will be so massive, that it will potentially drown out violent extremism and help attract the mainstream majority to ride the positive wave.

It is a narly undertaking, yes.  But a ride we cannot afford not to take – or prevail on. 

Earlier today I had one of the most fun, bizarre and fascinating meetings in a while – and I’ve been having a lot of these lately!

SAKAL, one of the largest retailers in Israel, heard about our OneVoice Summit: One Million Voices to End the Conflict to happen on October 18th, and the CEO got in touch because they had had a similar vision and we are exploring cooperation.  Impressive guy and operation. 

 But the funnest part is that with him were two colorful characters.  The first turned out to be the famous Dorian “Doc” Paskowitz, an 86-year old surfer, one of the fathers of surfing – who has been surfing for 74 years.  The man embodies goodness and healthy living – hasn’t eaten sugar in 50 years.  He founded the famous “Paskowitz Surfing Camp” that has trained some of the best surfers.

His son, David Paskowitz, is a producer and performer – and showed us a very cool song he had created and sang – ominously titled, yes, OneVoice!

Besides partnering with Sakal and OV on the OneVoice Summit to mobilize moderates against extremism, David and Doc, who introduced surfing to Israel, are now determined to do the same in Palestine.

You may think this is  crazy – but then check out this story by Louise Roug of the Los Angeles Times: Gaza Surfers Find Freedom In The Sea:

http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/la-fg-gazasurf29jul29,0,5906618.story?track=mostviewed-sectionfront

 Here is a glimpse of the article, describing Mohammed Jayab, “the top dog on the beach” who “developed his tricks and technique by imitating surfers on TV. …Like the other Gaza surfers, he watches reruns of ‘Baywatch’ episodes. But he doesn’t ogle the bikini-clad lifeguards on the show, he said.  ‘I close my eyes and watch through my fingers.’”

Hamas is at it again, spending small but strategically significant funds on social services designed to engender appreciation from the poor populations where it seeks to establish trust and loyalty.  Most recently it sponsored a mass wedding for 60 Palestinian couples in a refugee camp in Syria.  The total cost was relatively modest, including $1,500 for each couple, but it paid off handsomely in the hearts of the people.

See: http://www.kuwaittimes.net/read_news.php?newsid=MjA5NDgxNjIy 

 Moderate movements need to provide social networks and visible and tangible support to provide an alternative in the destitute communities where apocalyptic visions otherwise reign unchallenged.

A business entity that explicitly and practically sets out to not just make money but also achieve some positive societal impact.

Archane tax systems have forced upon our minds and our legal structures the assumption that an entity has to either have profit-making as a goal OR be dedicated to benefiting society.   While there are many cases where positive social impact cannot be engineered or organized in a self-sustaining market-driven business model and requires a purely non-profit structure, this is not necessarily the case.  There are many positive ways to impact both the bottom line and the world at large.  Indeed, it is sometimes optimal to be able to help advance societal goals in a sustainable way that relies on market mechanisms to advance social goals also.

PeaceWorks is the first example I dabbled in to try to prove this concept.

There are many other companies (preceding and succeeding PeaceWorks) that are similarly structured.

This is a far more apt name than ‘Islamic’ or ‘Muslim’ or ‘Islamist’ or ’Islamic Fundamentalist’ Terrorists.  All these other terms give a mantle of legitimacy to those that do not deserve it and that have been rejected by mainstream Muslim authorities (even if many of us don’t know about it b/c these condemnations are not frequently enough broadcast by the media and less-forceful than they should be).

 Militants that kill innocent civilians in the name of religion should not be allowed to cower thereunder.  Instead, they should be exposed as the false messiahs that they actually are.

 By calling them “Pseudo-Islamic” Terrorists, we acknowledge the link they proclaim, but we explicitly deny the validity of that link, rob them from any legitimacy, and actually highlight their falsity and harm.

Resorting to violence to attain an absolutist vision which denies the
humanity of the other. See also Militant Absolutism.

We use this term at OneVoice to define in neutral non-partisan terms
that which the overwhelming majority of people (mainstream moderates)
need to counter to seize back the agenda for peace.
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Doing something out of ‘self-interest’ but defining self-interest in a
broad enough and sufficiently long-term &/or sufficiently
consequential way that bears in mind societal impact.

Example: working to end the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is not
‘altruistic’ at all. It is based on the imperative to prevent a
tragic world for our offspring. It is based on the recognition that
if the conflict doesn’t get resolved, it will impact all of OUR lives
- and that if WE don’t take steps to end it – nobody will do it for us.
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Someone who overwhelmingly prefers vegetarian dishes but who will
choose a rare meat or poultry dish when it looks exceptionally tasty.
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Just saw the provocative and extraordinary documentary, Deliver Us From Evil. 

It documents the pathological institutionalization and cover-up of sexual abuse and rape of children by priests in the California Diocese of the Catholic Church.

What is most infuriating is the well-documented cover up of these crimes, motivated by the desire of higher-ups to safeguard their careers, and resulting in an exponentially greater number of victims.  

It is shocking that Cardinal Roger Mahoney may still be serving as a high level official of the Church when it is so clear he is directly responsible for covering up abuses he knew about.  And “Father” Oliver O’Grady, alone responsible for destroying scores of lives and families, is roaming free in Ireland because of machinations by the Church in spite of overwhelming proof that he raped vicitims as young as 9 months old and continued this pattern unobstructed for three decades with the knowledge of his superiors, who would just transfer him from parish to parish – to hide the problem.

Clergy abuse is so rampant that over 100,000 victims have risen up in the US alone in recent years.  The numbers are staggering when bearing in mind that statistics indicate 80% of children who are raped and abused never report the crimes to the authorities.

The documentary also persuasively explains how this problem is institutionalized into the structure of the Catholic Church since celibacy was imposed on the priesthood for financial reasons (to prevent children from inheriting their priest parents’ possessions, and instead ensure that this property remained in the hands of the Catholic Church).

Of course not all Priests are pedophiles, and the vast majority of figures connected to the Church are remarkable spiritual leaders.  Pope John Paul II was such a holy and deeply benevolent soul and example to our world and to ALL religions, as well as to the secular.

It is all-the-more tragic that one of the world’s great religions has not come to terms with this. 

It is ironic that the Catholic Church will condemn so many victimless actions as abominable and unnatural sins, but doesn’t address the abominations within, and the unnatural structures that lead to them.   

The assumption that one person or group is above the law (of earth and of heaven) can only lead to bad results. 

A friend today wondered aloud if Rabin even left a legacy. I agreed it
remains to be seen – & pointed out it is up to us, the people, to
ensure one.

Sent from my iPhone – pardon typos
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