Daniel Lubetzky

I went on CNN just an hour or so ago, just a few seconds after they aired Nasrallah’s threats against the Arab world not to participate in the November conference sponsored by the US. 

Why am I not surprised that Hezbollah, created and funded by Iran, is opposed to negotiations to end the Israeli-Palestinian conflict? This doesn’t serve the needs of their Iranian patrons, who seeks to use Israelis and Palestinians as peons in the ideological quest for hegemonic control over the region.

It was a good opportunity to juxtapose the will of the overwhelming majority of citizens that are FED UP with EXTREMISM, vis a vis. absolutist apocalyptic visions that are keeping all of us chained to violence and hatred for far too long.

The contrast is clear and people need to once and for all understand there are only TWO options.  You cannot say you are for peace but want the whole thing to yourself.  You cannot say you want peace but on your own terms only.  You cannot say you are representing the hopes of the Palestinian people but the Palestinian people have no right to negotiate or talk with their enemy.  You cannot say you are upholding the rights of the Israeli people but the Israelis have no right to negotiate with their counterparts.

There are only two options: a two state solution recognizing the rights of both sides to freedom, dignity, respect and security – along the lines of the Clinton parameters which 76% of Israelis and Palestinians polled support – OR ETERNAL CONFLICT.

There is no third option.  Let’s be clear about it.

OneVoice Palestine is facing some complaints from extremist radical groups that question OneVoice’s commitment to Palestinian rights.  We of course are totally in sync with the will of the overwhelming majority of Israelis and Palestinians that are fed up with these very extremists, but for the record, I shared the following with them:

“Statement from Daniel Lubetzky, Founder of the PeaceWorks Foundation which supports the OneVoice Movement internationally, to OneVoice Palestine and the People of Palestine, on the occasion of the October 18^th Peoples’ Summit”

OneVoice is a grassroots non-partisan popular movement; it is not a political party and does not have a political platform; it is a platform to amplify the voice of ordinary Palestinian and Israeli people who do not want their lives to be hijacked any longer by forces of militant absolutism on either side. 

The OneVoice Movement recognizes that the overwhelming majority of Palestinians and Israelis support a two-state-solution as the only way to end the conflict.

Ending the conflict through a two-state-solution is the ONLY real way to end the occupation that besieges the daily lives of the Palestinian people, just like it is the only way to achieve the security that Israelis crave.   A two-state-solution is the only way to bring freedom, dignity, respect, peace and security and a better future to the people of the region.

OneVoice empowers citizens to take action to propel and support their elected leaders to be accountable to the will of the people, to immediately return to the negotiating table and to not get up until the conclusion of a two state agreement.

Both the Israeli and Palestinian Heads of State (Prime Minister Olmert and President Abbas) were elected by their people on platforms to bring an end to the occupation and terror and to achieve a two-state-solution that will, once and for all, establish a vibrant Palestinian State in peace with all of its neighbors including Israel.  The OneVoice Movement, and I personally, are unwaveringly committed to attain this goal above all.

People that oppose a two-state-solution and are threatened by the fact that OneVoice is now giving a voice to the overwhelming majority of moderates on both sides may try unsuccessfully to undermine this movement.  But they cannot stop millions on both sides that are fed up with a tiny minority keeping all hostage because of their false bravado and empty rhetoric that ignores the only solution is a negotiated solution among both peoples.

What are the contours of a two state solution?  The answers are clearly outlined in the Clinton parameters, , same which Chairman Arafat endorsed in the Taba negotiations as he affirmed the path of the “peace of the braves.” 

The answers  are further enshrined in the OneVoice Pillars for Conflict Resolution, www.OneVoiceMovement.org/negotiate, CRAFTED WITH THE PARTICIPATION OF HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF PALESTINIAN AND ISRAELI PEOPLE, which confirm, among other things, that a two state solution can only be achieved by “two viable states, Israel the state of the Jewish people and Palestine the state of the Palestinian people, each recognizing the other as such, both democratic and respecting human rights, including minority rights,” that “1967 borders are the basis for an agreement, while border modifications will be used to accommodate the territorial and security needs of both sides,” that “Israel shall completely end the occupation, within the context of a comprehensive peace agreement and a cessation of all terror and violence on both sides, at which time all political prisoners will also be released,” that “Arab East Jerusalem will be under Palestinian sovereignty while Jewish areas will be under Israeli sovereignty, and each State shall have the right to establish its capital within its sovereign territory, recognized by the other and internationally” and that “the refugee problem must be resolved in a humane, fair, just and practical manner in the final Status Agreement.” 

The above pillars represent the WILL OF CITIZENS OF THE GROUND and as such have unassailable moral authority.  They are not perfect and require further work, which elected leaders now need to immediately take on to fulfill the wish of the Palestinian AND Israeli people.

The OneVoice platform is consistent with (and advances) the Arab Peace Initiative, same which extremists on both sides oppose.

The OneVoice Movement recognizes that prosperity and security for both peoples will not be achieved without ending the Palestinian-Israeli conflict and reaching a just and agreed upon solution to all issues, including the plight of the refugees, an end to the occupation, an end to terror attacks, and an achievement of freedom and security for all peoples.

The time has come for citizens that support these principles to stand up and be counted, to not be intimidated or suppressed by False Messiahs with absolutist visions who have brought nothing but misery and violence to people on both sides.

Daniel Lubetzky

Per my prior blog post, I could have placed my bet on who is behind the "boycott" of the OneVoice Summit…

…No one other than the "International Solidarity Movement."

This is a fringe movement of extremists that do not support the two-state-solution, of any kind.  It is not an issue of 67 borders, or Jerusalem, or refugee rights.  Don’t let them hide behind any of that – because all of those issues have answers the vast majority of Israelis and Palestinians support, embodied in the Clinton Parameters – and also in the Taba talks that Arafat himself fully endorsed.

If any one doubts that the ISM and all those opposing the OneVoice Summit are just ultimately the very extremists we seek to expose, just confront them and ask them.  You will get evasive politicized answers that only will confirm these people are the "false messiahs" that promise absolute solutions to the Palestinians, only to manipulate them and deliver nothing to them.

The "International Solidarity Movement" has been exposed and defeated at numerous college campus events.  Before, they could hide under the mantle of Palestinian nationalism, out of the comfort of their homes in Virginia.

But when OneVoice Youth Leaders from Palestine, from Gaza to Jenin, who are living with the consequences tell the public that they want a two-state-solution, they help unmask intransigent groups that rather eternal warfare than a historic compromise.

The problem does not exist among Palestinian extremist circles alone, who covet "all of Palestine" and will not accept the existence of a Jewish State by their side.  There are parallel Jewish groups that want a "Greater Israel" and will not recognize a Palestinian State by their side.

They too get unmasked by mainstream Israelis that are just fed up with absolutists messing their lives for far too long.

They will try to hide behind diatribe and formulations, but the bottomline question you must ask them to expose them is, do you recognize the right of both the Israeli and Palestinian people to live in freedom, dignity, and with security – for two states to co-exist side by side?

Anyone that does not accept this formulation is either uninformed or hiding their absolutism.

One-State-Solution may be beautifully-intentioned but both the Israelis and the Palestinians want a separate State of their own.  Eventually after peace comes you could hope for a confederacy agreement between proud independent states, but the fact is that the ONLY solution out there is the Two-State-Solution embodied in the Clinton Parameters – which the OneVoice Citizen Negotiations highlighted enjoy consensus among both sides.

There are just no other answers out there and it is time that we come to terms with that and not allow violent extremists to derail the hopes and dreams of millions for an end to the conflict.

The guy below is a 6 foot tall basketball player.  These are some of the OneVoice Mandates that Israeli citizens have filled out over the last couple months…

The Huffington Post published an article I wrote about the imperative of mobilizing to end the Israeli-Palestinian conflict once and for all, before it’s too late and before Ahmadinejad turns it into a truly intractable conflict.

A third particularly insightful and counterintuitive thought that Avraham shared:

Arab Israelis increasingly see themselves as Palestinian citizens of Israel and that can be a very good thing for Jewish Israelis.  It can help heal Israeli Jewish identity.

But it needs a Palestinian culture that can flourish and not be feared, so that Palestinian citizens of Israel will be a healthy minority, proud of their heritage and able to thrive in their culture without feeling disloyal, while Israeli Jews would also be happy that their fellow citizens can be proud of their ethnicity, religion and nationality, without a necessary
inconsistency – or less of one than if there wasn’t this healthy parallel.

Both Palestinians and Jews need to each have their own State for them to develop this healthy culture that each can be tied to, and then Palestinian citizens of Israel will ideally be both proud Palestinians and model contributors to Israeli society in the very same way that Jewish Americans can be proudly connected to both Israel as the homeland of the  Jewish people and to the their nation as patriotic Americans.

Avraham Infeld, the Chairman Emeritus of Hillel, is known as
a giant in Jewish circles. My friend, mentor and hero Rabbi Brian Lurie
(I’ll tell you about him another time) introduced me to Avraham earlier this summer. I was struck by his passion for Israel, and corollary passion for a Two-State-Solution, with the passion emanating from his enlightened recognition that this is the only way Jews will be able to have a peaceful homeland with Jewish values, and the only way Palestinians and Israelis will be able to achieve peace.

He pointed out that as a South African Jew, he fears for Israel and for the region.

He worries at the dying necessary intersection for the only possible solution to this conflict: a two-state solution:
Currently the majority of Palestinians want a two-state solution, but that majority is decreasing every day we see no progress towards it, even though there is no other alternative that will bring peace to the region.
Israeli Jews increasingly support the imperative of a two-state solution, but will they do so and act on it fast enough before it is too late and we are all doomed to eternal fighting?

The Palestinian parliamentary elections in 2006 gave Hamas a plurality
in all districts except one.

The only place where Hamas was soundly defeated and gained not one
seat was Qalqiliya. What is remarkable about Qalqiliya is that it is
also the only area where Hamas had gained total control in the prior
municipal elections less than a year before.

According to two different polls, if elections were held again today
15% to 25% would vote for Hamas, underlining that wherever Hamas has
governed, it has provided the roots of its own demise.

The BIG problem is that this lesson is not lost on Hamas itself and
they are unlikely to accept new elections.

Like Bernard Lewis once wrote, Islamist parties believe in the axiom
of ‘one man, one vote, one time.’

They will probably have to face the destiny of the Taliban.

Sent from my iPhone – pardon typos
.

  Today we met with Dr. Saeb Erakat in Jericho & he agreed to join the
OneVoice Honorary Board and to help us with the OV Summit.

Erakat is the tough but fair, pragmatic and constructive head
Palestinian negotiator.

(here he is in center with me on the left and Dr. Fathi Darwish on the right)

Last May at the WEF conference in the Dead Sea, Dr. Erakat stunned the
audience by publicly chastising Iran’s delegation for their negative
interference in Palestinian-Israeli affairs.

Iran’s Minister was waxing poetic about the Palestinian struggle and
the Zionist satan when Erakat called Iran for its hypocrisy and asked
the panelist, "please, don’t help us. You are hurting us with your
calls to annihilate Israel. Please don’t help us. I am telling you
now as a Palestinian. Stay out of our affairs."

Erakat recognizes the importance of public opinion and grassroots
efforts. He also serves on the board of Seeds of Peace. He committed
to speak at the Oct.18 summit.

Sent from my iPhone – pardon typos
.