Daniel Lubetzky

On Saturday night, Darkeu screened this video to tens of thousands of Israelis, gathered in Rabin Square, who watched in stunned silence. Twenty-two years ago to the day, at that very spot, Yitzhak Rabin was murdered after months of the sort of incitement, hate and violence that is once again rising in Israel. On Saturday, Israel’s moderate majority gathered in the square, united in determination to never again let extremists determine their country’s future.

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Ha’aretz – November 23, 2014 

Former Mossad Chief: For the First Time, I Fear for the Future of Zionism

By Shabtai Shavit
From the beginning of Zionism in the late 19th century, the Jewish nation in the Land of Israel has been growing stronger in terms of demography and territory, despite the ongoing conflict with the Palestinians. We have succeeded in doing so because we have acted with wisdom and stratagem rather than engaging in a foolish attempt to convince our foes that we were in the right.

Today, for the first time since I began forming my own opinions, I am truly concerned about the future of the Zionist project. I am concerned about the critical mass of the threats against us on the one hand, and the government’s blindness and political and strategic paralysis on the other. Although the State of Israel is dependent upon the United States, the relationship between the two countries has reached an unprecedented low point. Europe, our biggest market, has grown tired of us and is heading toward imposing sanctions on us. For China, Israel is an attractive high-tech project, and we are selling them our national assets for the sake of profit. Russia is gradually turning against us and supporting and assisting our enemies.

Anti-Semitism and hatred of Israel have reached dimensions unknown since before World War II. Our public diplomacy and public relations have failed dismally, while those of the Palestinians have garnered many important accomplishments in the world. University campuses in the West, particularly in the U.S., are hothouses for the future leadership of their countries. We are losing the fight for support for Israel in the academic world. An increasing number of Jewish students are turning away from Israel. The global BDS movement (boycott, divestment, sanctions) against Israel, which works for Israel’s delegitimization, has grown, and quite a few Jews are members.

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I’ve always thought Gideon Levy to be way out there and too extremist and biased against Israel. Now, in reading the article pasted below, I find myself thinking he will be precisely right if we don’t take all possible legal measures and do everything in our power to help Israeli moderates seize back the agenda in the upcoming existentialist elections.  

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Encountering Peace: Defining who we are
By GERSHON BASKIN
11/26/2014

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Two painfully poignant articles came across my email box indicating the resentment Palestinians have towards President Abbas for participating in a peace conference in Israel amidst the war with Hamas in Gaza, and Hamas’s fury that Abbas has not done more to support them.

It is true that Abbas is stuck in between, and weakened by, violent extremism on both sides – from the kidnapping and murder of there Israeli teenagers, to the live burning of the Palestinian teenager in Shuafat – and that he can exert little influence on, or neutralize, either the extremists from Hamas or the extremist Israelis from Habait Hayehudi who fan the flames of hatred and seek to annex the West Bank.

But that is only part of the analysis. The true losers from all of this are ALL OF US. Every Israeli, Palestinian and international citizen is worse off, whether they realize it (as moderates do) or they don’t (as some extremists may think).

This is a wake up call to all of us.

These articles provide further proof – as if any was actually needed- to the Jews and Israelis and Westerners who have been brainwashed to think that Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas is an extremist (!) or a ‘terrorist’ (!) by hateful edicts from Israeli Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon to Economic Minister Naftali Bennett, to even Netanyahu on some occasions – that President Abbas is the strongest partner for peace and non-violent means to achieve it, equal in those values and temperament to President Shimon Peres, as the departing statesman has said himself.

And unless moderates on all sides stand up to seize back the agenda for conflict resolution and buttress the heroic moderate leaders who show strength in their courage and principled determination to pursue a two state solution through non violent means and through acknowledgment of the other, as Abbas has, and as Olmert had, and as Tzipi Livni and Isaac Herzog have courageously and selflessly and steadfastly done also, all of us will share the blame for the Balkanization and Lebanonization of the Holy Land.

Time we wake up and mobilize.

On Sunday, the Knesset Caucus for Ending the Israeli-Arab conflict, which OneVoice Israel was instrumental in establishing, brought over 300 Israeli students to Ramallah  for a personal and candid meeting with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. The landmark discussion underscored that the centrist majority of Israelis and Palestinian supports an agreement on the core issues that is in the mutual interests of both sides. I’m so proud of the OVI team’s efforts. Read the New York Times coverage of the event after the jump. 

Spotted by Daniel Lubetzky, by Julianna Storch

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To the PeaceWorks Family,

With deep sadness I write to let you know that Mr. Richard Urowsky, founding Chairman of the Board of the PeaceWorks Foundation, passed away yesterday due to complications of cancer that spread out over his body. As some of you know, Mr. Urowsky had been struggling with some ailments over the last couple of years, but we were hopeful the treatment was showing promise and Mr. Urowsky was making plans for his retirement from the practice of law, which, besides time for recreation and rest, included increased involvement with OneVoice. Apparently over the holidays he took a significant turn for the worse and he had been in the hospital over the last couple of weeks. I feel really sad that I didn’t know about this till today when we received a call from his office.

The funeral was held today by his family members. A memorial service will be held on February 7th (we will share details once we receive them).

For those of you who got to know Mr. Urowsky well, you’d appreciate his piercing wit and intellect, his laser-like focus on the issues that truly mattered, and his loyalty and dedication towards his friends and colleagues. Mr. Urowsky was a very private and discreet man, and in public meetings he was a man of few words. But behind the scenes it was apparent that nothing escaped him and his discerning judgment was unfailing.

I first met Mr. Urowsky when he interviewed me for a summer job at Sullivan & Cromwell, a preeminent law firm of which he was a senior partner. Mr. Urowsky’s legal career spanned several decades and included, among many moments of distinction, his arguments before the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals sitting en banc on a seminal antitrust case where he represented Microsoft. I confess that for several years I used to be intimidated by Mr. Urowsky’s brainpower and the mastery with which he used the English language. Only once I started getting comfortable and teasing him here and there did I discover a man who was hilarious and irreverent and fun (not to mention painfully accurate) in his observations about life, work and beyond. My last visit with Mr. Urowsky was after a radiation treatment earlier this winter, and he taught me so much in just a couple hours on a range of topics. I got to know Mr. Urowsky over more than 20 years and I will carry a lot of his lessons with me with appreciation for his investment of time and his caring guidance.

Mr. Urowsky agreed to chair the PeaceWorks Foundation’s Board of Directors when it was only a concept. He guided a team at Sullivan & Cromwell in representing us on a pro-bono basis from the moment we incorporated and applied for status as a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, through challenging moments when we faced serious internal as well as external threats, and to moments when we could proudly celebrate our contributions to society. He was steadfast in his loyalty and dedication to the Movement, and he shared with deep conviction our vision and determination to achieve dignity, respect, freedom, security, peace and prosperity for Israelis and Palestinians alike, first and foremost in the form of two states for two peoples. From his invaluable advice, to his hosting of several Board meetings and fundraisers, to his financial generosity, on to, above all, his unwavering friendship and moral support, we are forever grateful and will never forget him.