OneVoice Glasgow is a purely-volunteer-driven chapter that has risen above the rest of the international support efforts to such degree that it is worthy of attention. They receive zero funding from OneVoice, yet deliver so much in their community and beyond. If we can decode what has made them so extraordinary, international support for Israeli-Palestinian conflict resolution will really take off. Witness what a few committed volunteers have done:
Over the last few weeks I have been receiving emails from all sorts of organizations trying to inspire fear about the Obama Administration’s policies towards Israel. From Obama’s efforts to drive towards a two-state solution, to Jordanian King Abdullah’s effort to expand the Arab Peace Initiative to encompass all 57 Muslim nations, it is disturbing to see those threatened by these overtures try to manipulate them to look bad for Israel. How can peace with its neighbors and acceptance and normalization of relations with the Arab and Muslim world be against Israel’s interests? Nobody is trying to sell out Israel’s interests. And the best way to confirm this is to read Obama’s words, rather than the interpretations and manipulations by others. So here below is the transcript of the press conference with President Obama and Prime Minister Netanyahu.
Transcript of press conference with President Obama and PM Netanyahu
May. 18, 2009
SPEAKERS: PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA
PRIME MINISTER BINYAMIN NETANYAHU
[*] OBAMA: All right, everybody. Just tell me when everybody’s set up.
Great. Well, listen, I — I, first of all, want to thank Prime Minister Netanyahu for making this visit. I think we had a (sic) extraordinarily productive series of conversations, not only between the two of us, but also at the staff and agency levels.Obviously, this reflects the extraordinary relationship, the special relationship between the United States and Israel. It is a stalwart ally of the United States. We have historical ties, emotional ties. As the only true democracy in the Middle East, it is a source of admiration and inspiration for the American people.
I have said from the outset that when it comes to my policies towards Israel and the Middle East, that Israel’s security is paramount, and I repeated that to Prime Minister Netanyahu.
It is in US national security interests to assure that Israel’s security as a (sic) independent Jewish state is maintained.
His face is so calm
Full of love and tranquility
How blessed we are
to have warm shelter and peace for him.
How hard and how painful
for the millions upon millions
who lack peace, or water or heat,
who may not have bread or milk to give their children.
How hard and how painful
for the parents who’d lose a baby to a missile
or the babies who’d lose a parent to a bomb
and the nations who’d lose their innocence along the way.
That juxtaposition gives me anxiety:
the peaceful nap of our little baby
against the horrors and hatred brewing around our world,
whether a few blocks up, or 7,000 miles away.
For my baby’s peace cannot be guaranteed
his Spring cannot be counted upon
so long as babies anywhere else in our globe
are suffering, being targeted or killed.
It is for our baby here
that peace must be waged there.
Whether you are an Israeli who supports the IDF’s defense of Israeli civilians and faults Hamas not just for raining 10,000 missiles at Israel over the last 8 years but also for also for booby-trapping civilian homes and forcefully setting rocket launchers in homes of Palestinians who beg them to leave…
…or whether you are a Palestinian who feels the Israeli army indiscriminately attacked and ended up killing 1,000 innocent Palestinians and who feels the source of the conflict is the continuing occupation of Palestine and subjugation of Palestinian people,
…or whether you are an Israeli, Palestinian or international citizen who recognizes the only way out of this conflict is to once and for all achieve a peaceful agreement between two proud peoples and two proud States - Israel and Palestine - to live in peace and respecting the rights of freedom, security, dignity and respect of both sides…
…the words and attitudes of Dr. Izzeldin Abuelaish at this moment of devastating loss -where 3 of his daughters were killed by an Israeli mortar attack on their home - should resonate with you. Let his tragic loss be the end of it, the signal to all Palestinians and Israelis to stand up and say, enough, let’s ensure that this tragedy does not repeat itself again, let’s ensure that we lead our political representatives to achieve a historic compromise, to ensure that nobody sells either side with delusional visions of vanquishing the other side and achieving an absolutist victory over the other, to ensure that outside forces do not use Israelis and Palestinians as pawns in their geopolitical games, to ensure that we build a better future for all the children of the region.
Dr. Izzeldin is a respected medical doctor from Gaza who for years has practiced at the Soroka Hospital in Israel. He worked with OneVoice out of Gaza for a period, and he always exemplified devotion to peace and humanitarianism.
[Addendum: Even Prime Minister Olmert shared publicly that he saw this report and he cried at learning of Izzeldin’s loss.]
Here is a message I got from Mowaffaq Alami from OneVoice Palestine, who co-directs the Gaza office, and who learned of our baby’s birth amidst the beginning of the war in Gaza:
Habebi Daniel Mabrook.
Thank you Darya for lighting my dark night.
You know what Daniel; yesterday I was counting when you informed us that your wife is pregnant and I told my wife I think it’s the time for Daniel to have a baby.
Congratulation Dad. welcome to the real life.
Roman, you have a great Dad and wonderful Mama, they will take best care of you, listen to them but don’t allow your Dad to engage you in politics, live your life in peace, your Dad and me and all mothers and fathers of our team and our friend working hard for peaceful future for you and our kids.
We love you all.
Mowaffaq and the Family
Indeed, let us all work hard now so the children of those who are working in OV, and the children of the region, and the children of the world, should ideally not have to burden themselves having to fight for peace. Let respect and moderation take reign today so that tomorrow a durable peace can be enjoyed by all.
I got a note from a friend in Gaza a couple weeks before the latest breakdown of the cease-fire, which means what you read below has only gotten worse.
"you can hear the people complaining about the situation and cursing the day that Hamas was voted in. The people say that Hamas had tricked them into voting for it and after that Hamas had destroyed their lives."
Full letter…
Hamas has started oppressing Gazans to a deeper degree. It is ferreting out freedom of assembly - even for innocuous civil society groups that are non-partisan and non-political. Here are emails from other groups of friends that circulated what they encountered:
The town hall meeting in [city name removed for protection] scheduled for today had to be canceled. [Name], the Director for the [host organization], the NGO which invited us to do the town hall meeting, informed me that Hamas Executive Force came into his office and asked him if he is planning on having any activities today, since he brought chairs & drinks and people are gathering around the office. [Name] told them that [Y] is scheduled to have a town hall meeting around 4:00pm. Hamas Executive Force told him to cancel the meeting; and he had to sign a paper stating that in the future if he wants to schedule any activity he needs Hamas approval in advance. I will update you if any new thing happen.
