Daniel Lubetzky

A revolution inside the human brain is taking place far beyond our capacity to understand.

What we call "A.D.D." or attention-deficit-disorder will become the norm rather than the exception, if it hasn’t already.

Our brains used to de-construct and decompress during leisurely walks between work and home, but if you see people walking nowadays, odds are they are speaking on a cell phone.  No time to waste: we crave more input.

Email processing makes us "efficient" (though it can also invade our management time) but changes the very way we organize ourselves and communicate.  The constant feedback mechanism turns us into creatures desiring a flow of data and messages.

Instant-messaging, social network platforms, the way we seek news over the internet, and email reminders, are all transforming the way we think, process, relate to other human beings, and relate to our brains.

The impact of this constant-feedback/short-span model of communications is already felt in entertainment platforms, where Youtube’s short-clips are becoming more the rage than long-format movies. 

When we design a video presentation for OneVoice or PeaceWorks, of course we forget about the 1 hour or 20 minute pieces, but now even the 5 minute piece which was acceptable a few years ago is a total eternity.  You have 1 minute max to convey your message, no matter how deep or complex.  After that you’ve lost your audience.

I will not be surprised if the next generation of human beings is radically different in the way people relate to one another.  We have no idea what we are going to become.

And I have a fleeting feeling (as feelings and thoughts increasingly are) that it is not going to be pretty.

It’s funny how you tell yourself you will avoid some of the rites of passage that people go through from living in NYC, thinking you of all people will be impervious to them, and then, before you know it, you realize you have succumbed…

When you first move to NYC, one of the first things you notice is that people walking on the streets don’t look at or greet each other, let alone smile. 

You think to yourself, I will look at people’s eyes, I will say hello, I will make them all smile, I will single-handedly transform NYC into the friendliest of cities. 

And you experiment for the first year or two, even if people think you are crazy – or can tell you are just new.

Then somewhere along the way, it just happens, gradually, till you stop staring into the walker-by’s eyes with a smile.  It’s not that you are rude or mean.  You just go about your business.

You get to NYC thinking you will always have time for everyone, you will always be polite and open doors and be relaxed.  But 15 years later, you are always in a rush, and you sometimes catch yourself in your own bubble.

Then there is NY REAL ESTATE.  Reading the Real Estate Section in the NY Times is a sport in NYC, and everyone talks about it.  Yet you think you will avoid it altogether and won’t be bothered with such obsessions. 

Alas, one day you find yourself reading the Real Estate section, following the market, wondering when it will adjust, becoming an "expert" in square footage, valuations, and all sorts of trends and considerations.  Eventually you are drawn like a magnet to any new piece of input on the real estate.

And then there is the Wall Street Journal, though more than a NY thing, this is more a rite of passage from youth I guess (and regret).  When I was in college, and even during law school, reading the Wall Street Journal was such a bore, while the NYT was so fascinating.  WSJ was numbers.  NYT was people.  WSJ was dry.  NYT was passion. 

I don’t know if it’s that the NYT has gone so down editorially and the WSJ has improved so much, or that as you get older your way of thinking changes, or that the WSJ is more sophisticated or complex, but something about the NYT increasingly bores me, and I find the WSJ far more stimulating…

What are some of the lessons from the painful postponement of the OneVoice Summit?

· to stand strong on our principles, and not let anyone define who we are;

· to anticipate threats and challenges and plan better to prevent anyone from derailing non-violent actions that are consistent with the Will of the People;

· to brief all constituents directly, even those who may be suspicious of or threatened by OneVoice, to clarify the sincerity of purpose and nobility of the goals of the Movement;

· to not be swallowed by hatred or contempt, and to not attack anyone as an individual, but rather to point out that the ideology of absolutism must be overcome;

· to be exceptionally clear and transparent about all we say and do;

· to work more strategically

· to avoid centralization of authority;

· to empower youth leaders;

· to strengthen alliances and emphasize partnerships;

· to demand the highest standards of transparency and professionalism from all of us;

· to never lose sight of why we are doing what we are doing.

More and more
The darkness haunts me
The memory of before I was
The stone sinking deeper into the sea
The inevitability of evil
Will it never change?

More and more
The sleepless nights
The failure to bring light
The stone sinks deeper, a rope attached around:
A noose around humanity

More and more
The breathing gets harder
The tears are dry, crude salt
A grayer soul has seen the tombs
A frayed body finds its limitations

Maybe he was right that knowledge burns and hardens the heart.
Maybe he was right that only Generals can set the tone.
Would a final offering, foregoing life’s sustenance itself, awaken?

Last night, I had a painful nightmare.  My Dad was having convulsions, pain in his chest and stomach, and I was helpless, unable to help him.  He was dying of what seemed like a heart attack, and I was paralyzed with fear.

The image has haunted me all day.

My Dad passed away four and a half years ago, and not a day goes by that I don’t think about him, but never this way.  I remember his kindness, his love for life, his good sense of humor, his treating every human being with respect.

I think the nightmare must have emanated from the subconscious but deep frustration I’ve experienced this last week with encountering so much pain, fear and ignorance, all transformed into hatred and anger, from vocal minorities that do not recognize the imperative of resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict by recognizing the humanity and rights of both sides.

I think the helplessness in the dream was a metaphor for the deep feeling of disappointment that I shared with all my team and all our volunteers for the setbacks in showing the voices of moderation on both sides, as we had intended. 

The fear I sensed is probably the fear of not being able to carry out our ultimate vision of bringing peace to the region, a mission I set for myself to do what I can so that others will not have to suffer the way my Father did in the Holocaust, which to me translates as the imperative of resolving the conflict so that the Israeli and Palestinian people will both have a future of freedom, security, dignity, and respect, not to mention to build prosperity and progress and light for the world.

What my Dad had to go through, I don’t want anyone again to go through.  I know I can’t help in all the areas where people ARE going through this (like Darfour!), but at least I want to make what little contribution I can to help the Israeli and Palestinian people.  And yet the utter dehumanization and self-righteousness that has overtaken some small but vocal segments of the population makes this an even harder task.

I don’t want to give up, as much as it is tempting to just say, "I’ve had enough." 

But too much is at stake.

I don’t want to be overtaken with anger and hatred myself, as increasingly hard as it is.  I need to resist the impulses, to try to understand, and to channel frustrations to constructive action.

I don’t want to disappoint the memory of my Father, as much as I fear doing so.

I’ve been so inspired by the resilience of our staff and activists.

In Ramallah earlier today, Ibrahim, our Director of Leadership Outreach, mentioned a lot of the activists (we have a network of 1,800 youth leaders across Palestine) were complaining why we were not being more assertive with the campaign by fringe groups trying to slander OneVoice Palestine, and why we allowed threats from the fringes to derail the will of the majority.

I was inspired.

OneVoice Palestine is planning a very important response on Thursday.  Stay tuned.

OneVoice Israel similarly wants to re-group asap and indeed is also planning a strong response for this very Friday.  Again, please stay tuned.

OneVoice Canada is also proceeding with a solidarity event on Thursday, not music, but a strong show of forces of political supporters across all party lines, including the Prime Minister.

On Thursday, at 7pm Jerusalem time (1pm EST, 10am PST) we will broadcast a special message in partnership with Yahoo! – a videocast at http://video.yahoo.com/onevoice.

We are also renewing our signature drive campaign across Israel and Palestine to reach one million members urging Immediate Negotiations, Uninterrupted Till the Conclusion of A Two-State-Agreement.  600k here.  400k to go (actually less b/c we haven’t tallied all the new signatories over the last 3-4 weeks, which from a rough count are over 40k).

A lot of activists seem upset that we are not being more aggressive against those extremists who attack us, and my initial instincts have always been never to let anyone punch and to punch twice as hard.  I have always been quite aggressive against those who seek to undermine us, and I particularly get very angry if people mischaracterize who we are in order to try to win an argument.

My sense after these last couple weeks is that I’ve realized we definitely need to be firm, strong and assertive, but instead of punching with anger, we will respond with reason – we will further increase the nobility of the movement.

For years we’ve been growing under an "angry" contempt against extremists.  Moderates, after all, are fed up that this group of radicals have kept the people and the region hostage for too long.

Our challenge now that we have such a growing movement is to continue growing and continue affirming the imperative of moderation, with the same attributes that have always defined us – grassroots, non-partisan, mainstream, separate nationalist efforts on each side in parallel, sincerity of purpose, conflict resolution as opposed to conflict management, action-driven – but to now add a new component – to do so with nobility.

As I wrote in my prior post, this last week I grew so much from this challenge, realizing that I could not continue on this journey if I become filled with hate, even if my hate is towards radicals that are denying someone else’s right to existence. 

I will have to fight my internal evils and so will all people that work with OneVoice.  We will be strong, but kind.  We will be steadfast, but noble.  We will be assertive and firm, but empathetic towards those who unfortunately have not gotten there.

We will fight absolutism and extremism, rather than absolutists and extremists.

Earlier this morning I was really down.

Then I got up and realized how lucky I am, and how much so many people are suffering on both sides.

And I realized that OneVoice has never been stronger.

And I realized that the more extremists attack our Israeli and Palestinian offices, the more they gain supporters and the stronger we become.

And I remembered why we do what we do.

And I remembered all the amazing friends and partners and alliances we’ve made along the way.

And I recalled that in the end, almost nobody in this world seems themselves as the problem and will not be the reason why we fail, and so most people end joining the movement.

And I remembered that the enemy is not a person or an individual or a group, but any ideology that denies the humanity of the other side.

And I remembered that in the end the force of light and friendship and love is so much more powerful than anger and revenge and recrimination.

And I realized I am slowly starting to adopt some of the anger that these dark extremists have.

And I realized I can get rid of it, of that anger.

And I did.

Now let me continue doing what I believe in, with the same steadfast determination, but with no hatred towards anyone, not even those who hate me.  For if I hate them, I have lost and become like them.

Here is something I really have to work on.

This won’t be easy, but as I work on fighting extremism and absolutism and violence, I must not become that which I fight. I must be more noble.  I must be more patient.  I must stay the course not just in discouraging violent extremism in the world, but also in preventing it to infect me from within.

There, I’ve mourned.  Now we move on.

And we prevail.

Weird how amidst all the pressures and turmoil to pull off a feat against violent extremism, amidst little sleep and 20 hour work days, I feel so at peace.

Is it because I know I am giving it everything I’ve got and can do no more than that?

Is it that I feel something far more powerful than any of us is guiding us to do the right thing?

Is it the inspiration of being surrounded by such extraordinary team and such steadfast friends and board members?

Is it the impact of witnessing leadership from everyone from Saeb Erakat and Qadoura Fares to Brian Lurie and Shuki Weiss?

Is it the clarity of purpose?

Is it the dignity of action?

Or is it that my body is so tired and drained and punchy that at 4:31am everything looks more peaceful?