Daniel Lubetzky

I just learned that Dov Lautman passed away this weekend.  Dov was one of the foremost Israeli business leaders.  More important, Dov was one of the biggest supporters of Arab-Israeli economic cooperation and of resolving the political conflict between Israel and all of its neighbors.  Dov was a true pioneer in this space – I learned a lot from him and am so grateful to him for all he taught me and all the doors he opened for me. I am also grateful for Dov’s encouragement and support at every step of the way.  Dov’s apparel company – Delta Galil – was a global player.  And Dov used much of his market power to foster joint ventures with Egyptian, Jordanian, Turkish and Palestinian companies.  Internally, he also worked hard to promote Arab citizens of Israel and to build a multicultural environment that celebrated differences and respected all equally.

More important than all of Dov’s business gifts and socio-political leadership, Dov was a real mentsch. He was kind to all. He was positive, reflective, resourceful, hard-working, and had no ego and no bad bone.  He was just such a sweet, wonderful human being.  Even as he faced a debilitating illness in his last decade, he carried himself with dignity and provided leadership and inspiration till the last day.

I will deeply miss him.

I’m amazed by Israel’s many breakthrough scientific and medical contributions.

Gershon Baskin share’s an honest note with Palestinian readers.

He proposes: “The Palestinian leaders, with the support of the people, should state the following: When Israel is prepared to recognize the rights of the Palestinian people for a nation-state of their own, based on the June 1967 borders with agreed-to minimal territorial swaps, with the Palestinian capital in Jerusalem and an agreed-solution to the refugee issue (as stated in the Arab Peace Initiative) and with adequate guarantees for the individual and collective rights of the Palestinian minority in Israel, then we, the Palestinian leadership and people will be prepared to recognize Israel as the nation state of the Jewish people.”

Read his full piece after the jump.

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Yesterday, a delegation of Israeli politicians from the Caucus for Ending the Israeli-Arab Conflict traveled to the Mukata, the Palestinian Authority’s headquarters in Ramallah, to meet with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.

OneVoice helped organize the meeting, which followed the successful July 31 visit, where Palestinian officials came to the Israeli parliament as a sign of good faith and support of the negotiations.

“The OneVoice Movement was honored to take part in the making of this unique and historic meeting at the Mukata,” said OneVoice Israel (OVI) Executive Director Tal Harris. “Each side’s commitment to engage in a meaningful dialogue highlights the reality that we are another step closer to making the dream of ending the conflict and the vision of the two-state solution a reality. As we move past this event, the OneVoice Movement will continue to leverage our regional grassroots networks to help mobilize civil society and amplify the voice of the moderate majority on both sides.”

“We are pleased to see the progress being made by the OneVoice Movement’s Caucus for Ending the Israeli-Arab Conflict,” said OneVoice Palestine (OVP) Executive Director Samer Makhlouf. “Although headway is being made, both sides must recognize that there are still significant issues to be addressed, primarily the freezing of settlements activities. Our organization will continue to support the joint work of our government and civil society partners and work with OneVoice youth leaders to support the efforts of President Abbas and lead us on a substantive path toward a two-state solution.”

I strongly recommend this one hour feature documentary that my uncle Jorge shared – about a violin, two violinists, and a continent in ashes. Heartbreaking and redemptive at the same time. So much inhumanity. And so much humanity to counteract it. So much darkness in our human race. And so much light to stand up to it. So hard to bear, so poignant to watch.

This is yet another pitiful example of extremists disparaging one another. Moderates must vocally stand up to extremism on both sides of the divide. Otherwise, we are stuck with a relentless zero-sum fight between anti-Israeli and anti-Palestinian groups trying to delegitimize the identity and the humanity of the other. Any group that does not accept the fundamental right of each nation to a state, to freedom and to dignity and peace is part of the problem.

If we do not stand up firmly and resolutely against these extremists on both sides, they will continue feeding and strengthening one another and eventually turn both Israelis and Palestinians into international lepers. It is already happening. The question is whether enough of us will stand up before it’s too late.

I am in the Middle East on a OneVoice mission, and today I had a number of engaging meetings with Israeli leaders (to be followed by 4 more intense days with Palestinian, Israeli and international leaders). One of my most remarkable meetings today was with Yuval Diskin, the former head of Shin Bet, the Israel Security Service (kind of like the FBI of Israel). This was my second meeting with him, and I am extremely impressed with his grasp of the political issues confronting Israel, with his understanding of Palestinians (actually rare for most Israelis who almost never actually get to interact with them, given the physical and virtual separation they face), and with his down-to-earth and practical persona. Below is an article recently published on the Israeli Walla website and a day later in The Jerusalem Post, which details quite accurately the conundrum Israelis must face now.

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Amidst all the winds of change in the Middle East, this week I read these 3 pieces that are worth perusing for any student of the region:

• John Kerry’s vision for economic and socio-political development in Palestine, and for rekindling negotiations between Israelis and Palestinians: http://www.state.gov/secretary/remarks/2013/05/209969.htm

• Ben Caspit’s warning about the possible repercussions of the Syrian conflict and the country’s disintegration: http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2013/05/israel-versus-the-russian-syrian-alliance.html

• Dore Gold’s historical perspective on how the borders in the Levant settled by the British and the French in 1916 may be about to change: http://www.israelhayom.com/site/newsletter_opinion.php?id=4441

Anyone who is unconvinced on why it is imperative to work harder to resolve the Arab-Israeli conflict need only review the data in the most recent global PEW poll, reprinted below.  The longer this conflict is unresolved, the more that Israelis AND Palestinians will be disliked, resented and eventually ostracized by other countries.  The challenges to get to a two state solution are quite serious – only 14% of Palestinians feel that “there is a way for Israel and an independent Palestinian state to coexist peacefully” – but that should only give us all more conviction to invest into educating both sides that without a resolution, both peoples will be condemning each other to an eternal battleground.

Read more after the jump, or check out the full survey here.

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