Daniel Lubetzky

War and horror tend to shake us out of complacency, to force us all to confront ugly realities and say what needs to be said, poignantly, once and for all, even if it is not pretty and requires nuance in an otherwise partisan puddle.

And so The New York Times writers who have been following the Hamas-Israel war seem to have been at their best this weekend, when they poignantly summarized three core themes that are required understanding for those who truly wish to end the conflict:

• Take-away from Ethan Bronner (full article below): Partisan Absolutism will only protract the conflict; for far too long each side has been speaking past each other and does not even understand the meaning of the words from the other side, let alone what historical sacrifices it will take if they want to resolve this conflict and build a future based on co-existence and respect rather than on denial of the humanity of the other side; if each side continues to believe itself the absolute victim and the other side the absolute perpetrator, we will be condemned to eternal war.
• Take-away from Tom Friedman (full column below): Time is really running out for a two-state solution; all parties must be brought to the table for negotiations that will bring about a solution, lest militants from Hamas and militant settlers permanently destroy the prospects for peace.  And we are not far off from getting there.
• Take-away from Scott Atran and Jeremy Ginges (full opinion piece below): it is not just about the substance of what the solution will look like but about the dignity with which the negotiations are approached; the existentialist fears and existentialist rights of the Israelis and the honor and suffering of (and injustice towards) the Palestinians need to be acknowledged by each other if a peaceful solution is ever to be agreed upon.

For OneVoice, too, time is running out.  The Movement was born to propel a resolution of the conflict, not to manage it or endure it with niceties.  We should be bold about the final efforts to make an impact, and either succeed or fail for trying, but not fail because time ran out and we did not try hard enough for fear that we’d fail.

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Some ad campaign ideas by OneVoice Israel to encourage people in the moderate but traditionally passive majority to remember that not voting is a proxy for those from the extremes to speak for them…

The caption translates to "it’s ok, don’t vote.  They will vote for you."

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.

Nazila Fathi reported in the New York Times that Iran recently executed a man it claimed was a "spy" and has arrested another one also for "spying." 

This second man, Hossein Derakhshan, is among the most famous Persian bloggers.  Hossein is jailed & threatened with the same fate of execution by the Iranian government.

His crime? Trying to humanize Iranians and Israelis towards each other.

A couple years ago, he apparently defied a ban on travel by Iranians to Israel in order to explode stereotypes about Iranians to Israelis, and to report from his blog about ordinary Israelis to Iranians.  As a Canadian-Iranian, presumably he figured he could get away with it – and visited twice, then dared to return to Iran.

According to Abraham Rabinovich who wrote for IHT:

The object of his visit, Derakhshan said, was to show his countrymen Israel’s human face and to detoxify relations between the two peoples after Ahmadinejad called for Israel’s elimination.

"I want to humanize Israel for Iranians and tell them it’s not what the Islamic propaganda machine is saying – that Israelis are thirsty for Muslim blood," he said. "And I want to show Israel that the average Iranian isn’t even thinking about doing harm to Israel. I want them to see Iranians who don’t look like Ahmadinejad."

The Iranian regime accused him of spying, as it conveniently does of any humanist who threatens the Iranian regime.

I felt a lot of anxiety when I first read about this story.  After all, if Hossein indeed took such risks for the sake of humanity (and particularly for the sake of Iranians and Israelis who are turned against each other by divisive politicians), shouldn’t we all (regardless of religion or political orientation) demand his release and stand behind him?

I read Hossein’s blog and was struck at how much it pandered to Ahmadinejad.  It has a weirdly pro-Ayatollah and pro-Ahmadinejad slant lately.

His last post, on October 6th, for example, states:

Ahmadinejad’s brilliant strategy of dismissing Israel and smiling to the U.S. has divided the the U.S. in all levels and that’s a big achievement comparing to Khatami’s weak anf failed U.S. strategy that led to Iran being part of the ‘axis of evil’. Now the same Bush administration has officially opened the diplomatic line. Please get over Ahmadinejad’s scruffy look, prayers, and plain language and see these achievements.

So I am a bit perplexed, with four possible explanations for this:

a) He knew he was visiting Teheran and wanted to ingratiate himself with the Iranian rulers before his arrival;

b) These posts were written under duress by him, or totally fabricated;

c) He is a complex individual who really admires Ahmadinejad and is certainly recognized as an Iranian nationalist, even if he also is a humanist;

d) Nothing is as it seems and there is something else going on.

Initially I thought it my duty (and that of anyone who believes in freedom and justice) to try to bring attention to Hossein’s plight.  To contact every Muslim, Arab as well as Western and non-aligned politician, dignitary, academic, and business leader who has any possible sway over the Iranian government and urge them to release him.  To reach out to Obama to ask him to ask the Iranian rulers for an act of good faith.  To prod the Canadian government to seek the release of their citizen.  To encourage human rights and peace groups to get behind a campaign which could not only achieve freedom for Hossain but also use his story to inspire others to disavow blind hatred of the other.

Does anyone have any thoughts or information?

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Years ago, terrorist attacks by pseudo-Islamic terrorists were not aggressively condemned by Muslim leaders.  Their position was, "why should we have to take a stance on this? We didn’t do it and do not need to go out of our way to deny such vicious acts."  Plus significant portions of the Muslim population did not feel ire against those acts, distant as they seemed.  Everyone remembers the tragic support that Osama Bin Laden used to have in Arab and Muslim countries. 

That has long changed, as the tide against terrorism has turned, moderate voices have exerted leadership, and Muslim leaders have learned to react swiftly against those who claim to speak in the name of Islam through violence.  Ordinary Arab and Muslim citizens increasingly recognize that vicious acts of murder against innocent civilians by terrorists who claim to speak in the name of Islam tarnish their religion and the image of its people and must be assertively countered.  They also realize that "creating a monster" comes back to haunt them, as has been exemplified by the brutal acts of Al Qaeda in Mesopotamia.

Yet the Western media gives scant attention to these condemnations. Showcasing the voices of moderates just doesn’t garner as high ratings.

For years OneVoice has been tracking and trying to publicize stances against violent extremism from mainstream leaders across religious, ethnic, and national spectrums.  More and more organizations and governments are taking a strong stance.  But the "other" audiences continue to miss the news, underreported as they are.

Below is a sample (by no means exhaustive) compilation of some of the Arab and Muslim nations and organizations across the world – from Saudi Arabia to the Arab League – who condemned the tragic and barbaric terrorist acts in Mumbai.  Everyone can always do better, but the below can be shared whenever you are asked "Why are Muslims not condemning terrorism?"

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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…

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Read the entire article pasted below or in this link about Hezbollah’s Boy Scouts – to appreciate the challenge before society: the institutionalized hatred and seriousness of the threat posed by Hezbollah, its backers, and other movements with such nihilistic visions.  It is chilling.  We have no alternative but to counteract this in a smart and tenacious way.

To defeat absolutism and terrorism, force is only a partial answer.  Far more important than force is a better ideology that can trump and expose dark movements as unworthy of the young people they prey upon.   It is not easy, but it can be done.

Like we are doing through OneVoice for millions of Israelis and Palestinians to reframe the conflict and understand the enemy is not each other but violent extremism and militant absolutism that denies the rights of both peoples to a State and Freedom and Security, we need to also build a countervailing movement and philosophy that moves the Mideast (and other regions) away from the us-vs-them hatreds and into the post-Obama world of globally shared human values.

If we are to tackle the challenges that the 21^st century will present to humanity – from climate change to nuclear proliferation, from resource scarcity to nihilism and militant absolutism – we need to ensure that new generations worldwide share this recognition that they have to work together – realizing their shared humanity. 

More on this soon – but in the meantime read this article…

Generation Faithful

Hezbollah Seeks to Marshal the Piety of the Young

New York Times, November 21, 2008, By ROBERT F. WORTH

RIYAQ, Lebanon — On a Bekaa Valley playing field gilded by late-afternoon sun, hundreds of young men wearing Boy Scout-style uniforms and kerchiefs stand rigidly at attention as a military band plays, its marchers bearing aloft the distinctive yellow banner of Hezbollah, the militant Shiite movement.

They are adolescents — 17 or 18 years old — but they have the stern faces of adult men, lightly bearded, some of them with dark spots in the center of their foreheads from bowing down in prayer. Each of them wears a tiny picture of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the Shiite cleric who led the Iranian revolution, on his chest.

“You are our leader!” the boys chant in unison, as a Hezbollah official walks to a podium and addresses them with a Koranic invocation. “We are your men!”

This is the vanguard of Hezbollah’s youth movement, the Mahdi Scouts. Some of the graduates gathered at this ceremony will go on to join Hezbollah’s guerrilla army, fighting Israel in the hills of southern Lebanon. Others will work in the party’s bureaucracy. The rest will probably join the fast-growing and passionately loyal base of support that has made Hezbollah the most powerful political, military and social force in Lebanon.

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As reported earlier in The Real Axis, a major threat that is not sufficiently explored or countered is the alliance between drug gangs, terrorists, and the authoritarian regime of Hugo Chavez.  Now Colombia has uncovered a Hezbollah-linked drug ring that was trafficking drugs and laundering cash.

Hezbollah-led drug stashes seized in Colombia

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Amr Hamzawi provided an unusually frank self-admonition in Al Ahram Weekly about writing what his audience wanted to read, rather than what he truly felt, resorting to common scapegoats (ie, the West) rather than piercing through tougher truths.  This problem is particularly acute amongst Arab academicians and commentators, but it plagues all societies to some degree, and the advent of the internet has in a sense actually exacerbated the phenomena of media sources that "affirm" rather than "inform" beliefs.

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