Daniel Lubetzky

The most recent act of leadership by Canada’s legislature came from Dr. Bernard Patry, Vice-Chair of the Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Development, who shared these words at the House of Commons on October 25th:

Mr. Bernard Patry (Pierrefonds—Dollard, Lib.):

Mr. Speaker, I have the honour of informing this House that on October 18, here in Ottawa in front of the Peace Tower, the One Voice Movement‘s Canadian section, which was recently created by University of Ottawa students, organized a multipartite meeting to call for an end to the conflict that has gone on for too long between the Israeli and Palestinian peoples.

OneVoice is an NGO that calls on the leaders of the international community to work steadily and without further delay to find a fair and equitable solution to this conflict. The members of OneVoice have promised to keep going until the only victory that matters to them—the victory of peace, reason and humanity—is fully achieved.

May even more Canadians work actively for peace in the Middle East. That is my fondest wish and the hope of Canadians.

*   *   *

Bernard Patry, Vice-Chair

Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs

and International Development

Here is a not untypical message we got from one of our amazing supporters – a rare amalgam of Christians, Muslims and Jews, Palestinians, Israelis, Americans, Europeans and Mexicans – who grow more loyal and more determined with every attack extremists and absolutists make against the mainstream moderates who want to break the shackles of hatred…

I know you must be feeling a little down after putting so much effort into the Oct. 18 event. You’re entitled to feel a little down, but don’t be down for too long because shit happens and what you are trying to do makes sense; I wanted you to know that even though this hasn’t come off right now, that I want to be very much supportive of your efforts going forward. I thought that maybe this would be a good time to make an additional $10,000 contribution to walk that talk. Feel free to use this money to defray any of the exceptional costs of the cancellation. I just want to help you move through all this stuff and put it behind you so that you can do your important work.

Keep the faith.

A quarter million people have seen this thus far…

[Jason Alexander, who everyone knows for his acting but few know is exceptionally knowledgeable about international affairs and an exceptionally kind and loyal friend, wrote me a note that was very strong; I asked and received his permission to post] 

Danny, my friend –

I am so sorry to hear of this postponement and to read your blog and hear the travails that you have all been going through.
i am also encouraged by the 600,000 signatures and the fact that One Voice is now a threat to those who only wish to hold to a false sense of power by manipulating the hate of those who struggle.

several years ago i befriended an amazing man named tom leyden. tom spent 15 years of his life as a working, prosthelytizing neo-nazi white supremacist. once he had his epiphany and realized there was no value to his life, he removed himself from that movement and has dedicated his life to educating those people he previously would have targeted in order to warn them against the hatemongers.

the amazing thing is, tomorrow you get to try again. keep going.

your work will prevail.

jason

[Note, from my understanding, the releases that OneVoice Palestine sent in Arabic and the English release sent internationally are pretty much identical, except for one paragraph at the end of the Arabic one that explains to the Palestinian people why OneVoice Palestine has international partners and a parallel movement across the other side, as it is imperative to end the conflict to engage people on the other side also - something that should be obvious to anyone that truly wants to end the conflict, but which extremist factions have pointed to as a reason why they claim OVP is not advancing the Palestinian cause]

Press Release

President Abbas Affirms OneVoice Mandate Corresponds with his Platform

Saeb Erekat Explains OneVoice Palestine’s Goals Align with President’s Vision for Palestinian State

Singer Ilham Al Madfai Denounces False Reports, Emphatically Supports OneVoice

www.onemillionvoices.org

Ramallah – 18/10/2007 – In a press conference today, Dr. Saeb Erekat, Chief Palestinian Negotiator and Spokesperson of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, explained that President Mahmoud Abbas asked him to clarify that OneVoice Palestine is a non-governmental organization committed to upholding the vision of President Abbas. Dr. Erekat delivered his remarks in a press briefing on the recent visit of U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to the Middle East.

“The president would like to say that OneVoice organization is an NGO that has every right to work,” said Dr. Erekat.  Erakat explained the organization had sent invitations to a OneVoice Summit under the auspices of the President without receiving an official endorsement, but added that the OneVoice “political program, after Abu Mazen read it, reflects the President’s platform and the Palestinian objectives.” 

Erakat added, “[President Abbas] would like to reiterate his full support to those NGOs and civil society organizations that work for democracy, a culture of peace, and ending occupation on the basis of a two-state solution.”

Dr. Erakat explained that a lot of “misleading information” had been provided about OneVoice.  He said contrary to what was widely spread, “[President Abbas] read the document of OneVoice and this document corresponds with his political program of ending the occupation that began in 1967 by having two states: a Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital next to an Israeli state along the 67 borders and solving the issues reserved  to the permanent status negotiations: Jerusalem, borders, refugees and settlements consistent with  relevance to the security council international resolutions.”

Today, renowned Iraqi recording artist, Ilham al Madfai, also re-affirmed his support for OneVoice, contrary to reports circulating that he had pulled out of the October 18^th Summit in Jericho. “I have been very clear to all those who have been calling that I regretted not being able to participate in OneVoice Palestine’s effort to raise the voice of the Palestinian people for an end to the occupation, and for peace in the region.” Mr. Madfai added, “I call upon all boycott groups to stop threatening and intimidating artists and to respect the freedom of all.”

Mr. Madfai explained he had received a lot of “threatening phone calls and warnings” from groups opposed to his visit but he cherished the day when all logistical and travel challenges, including procuring visas for al his crew and band, could be resolved to enable him “to sing with the Palestinian people and with the people of the world, a song of peace, justice, dignity, respect, and hope.”

OneVoice Palestine is part of a movement of ordinary citizens that now surpasses 600,000 signatories not just in Palestine and the Arab world, but with citizens in solidarity across America, Europe and Israel, who agree on the imperative of ending the conflict and propelling and supporting their Heads of State to immediately commence negotiations, uninterrupted till the conclusion of a two state agreement.  The international movement does not take specific positions on the agreement that the Heads of State must deliver, emphasizing that is a duty of the political representatives, but it does empower citizens to propel and support their Heads of State towards the negotiating table.  In efforts to mobilize the moderate majority in Palestine and Israel, the OneVoice Movement has trained over 3,000 Palestinian and Israeli youth leaders.  Specifically, OneVoice Palestine has trained 1,800 Palestinian youth leaders and has offices in Gaza and Ramallah.

OneVoice Palestine’s Honorary Board includes the Chief Islamic Justice, Sheikh Taysir al Tamimi, the son of President Abbas, Yasser Mahmoud Abbas, Dr. Saeb Erakat, and a dozen more Palestinian dignitaries, scholars, and religious leaders. www.OneMillionVoices.org

[Also note, Dr. Erakat was quoted verbatim and the language he explains reflects President's Abbas's positions]

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 received this email from Bill Ayyad, who together with a stalwart and amazingly courageous leader Thaer Mukbel, and their partners at OneVoice Canada, including JJ Schneiderman, mobilized people and political leaders to send a message of support towards the OneVoice Movement in the Middle East - to not be discouraged by the postponement of the OV Summits - quite the opposite - to redouble efforts]

Canadian Government Pledges Support to OneVoice Canada as
Hundreds Gather on Parliament Hill

OTTAWA, OCTOBER 18TH, 2007 – Hundreds of supporters gathered on Parliament Hill today to support OneVoice Canada and witness the Canadian Government’s acknowledgement of the importance of this movement. On behalf of the federal government, the Honorable Jason Kenney – Secretary of State for Multiculturalism and Canadian Identity – pledged his support to OneVoice Canada and its efforts to help bring an end to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, saying “I’m proud to be here today and I encourage you to continue the promotion of peace for everyone in Canada but also for the regions of Palestine and Israel.”

The grassroots conflict resolution organization officially launched its independent Canadian branch today with an array of speakers including community and religious leaders, peace workers and Israeli and Palestinian youth. The Head of the Palestinian Delegation to Canada, Amin Abou-Hassira, and a representative from the Israeli Embassy were in attendance. Close to twenty politicians, representing all 5 major parties, attended today’s event in support of the OneVoice Movement, including:
Representing the§ Canadian Government and Prime Minister Harper: Hon. Jason Kenney

Liberal§ MPs Hon. Dr. Bernard Patry, Hon. Mauril Bélanger, Hon. Keith Martin, Hon. Glen Pearson, Hon. Anita Neville, Hon. Carolyn Bennett, Hon. Irwin Cotler, Hon. Ken Boschoff and Eleni Bakopanos  (Assistant   to the Official Opposition Leader).

§ New Democratic Party MPs Hon. Paul Dewar and Hon. Peter Julian
Bloc§ Québécois MPs Hon. Pierre Paquette and Hon. Christiane Gagnon
Green Party§ candidate Dr. Qais Ghanem

Khaldoon Bushnaq, a young Palestinian man studying in Canada, addressed the crowd saying “We have been occupied for 60 years. The mental strain caused by the effects of this occupation is unimaginable. It’s enough. It’s time for the occupation to end and for us, the Palestinians, to start fully living.”

While [Name Withheld], a Canadian-Israeli who served in the Israeli Defense Forces, spoke about his experiences and explained how his perspective on the conflict changed greatly during his service. The imperative to achieve permanent and lasting security for Israel can only be attained through a two-state-solution, he explained.

Today’s program also included compelling remarks by Mark Persaud, CEO of the Canadian International Peace Project; Abdul Rashid, Christian-Muslim Dialogue Group/Capital Region Interfaith Council; Sister Mary Ellen Francoeur, President of Religions for Peace Canada; and Cantor Benlolo, Congregation Beth Shalom.

[Note from DL: This is a Very Important Development that I heard from our partners in OneVoice Palestine!  This press conference mentioned below was aired on Al Jazeerah, Al Arabiyah, and several other stations]

In a press conference earlier today, October 18, 2007, in Ramallah, where Dr. Saeb Erakat was briefing the media about the Rice visit, he concluded with a clarification that Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas asked him to give regarding the OneVoice Movement. 

Below is the transcript of his words in English, which correspond almost verbatim to his words in Arabic [brackets provide differentiation]

I want to say one another thing, there was supposed to be an event today by an organization called OneVoice and the President asked me in my press conference to clarify the following:

- This organization sent invitations under the auspices of the President without consulting him [the Arab transcript also adds that "the organization has apologized for this"]

- Nevertheless the President would like to say that OneVoice organization is an NGO that has every right to work and that its political program, after Abu Mazen read it, reflects the President’s platform and the Palestinian objectives, and Abu Mazen would like to reiterate his full support to those NGOs and Civil society organizations that work for democracy, , culture of peace and ending occupation on the basis of two states solution.

- And he said, contrary to what was widely spread, he read the document of OneVoice and this document corresponds with his political program of ending the occupation that began in 1967 by having two states: a Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital next to Israeli state at 67 borders and solving the issues reserved  to the permanent status negotiations: Jerusalem, borders, refugees and settlements  consistent with  relevance to the security council international resolutions.

I was forwarded this article which, while it criticizes a couple things about OV, does a pretty good job of explaining OneVoice and dissecting the positions of extremist groups like PACBI and Another Voice

Besides the fact that we have no alternative but to get this thing resolved, the other source of energy from which I derive my continued commitment to push to end the conflict in spite of the sobering challenges is the incredible resilience and commitment from ordinary citizens and members of the movement.

Tomorrow at 7pm Jerusalem time, Yahoo will show something not seen before at http://video.yahoo.com/onevoice.

We had to move fast to provide this, given that it was different from our original vision.

A new friend of OneVoice Israel, a filmmaker named Avi, stayed till dawn the night before helping us compile some files, as did the FTP transfer internet company team that had to stay up till 4 am uploading a file.

This reminded me of last January, when Naim stayed up till 5am in the morning to ensure that certain files were ready for the Davos presentation to 1,000 world dignitaries, together with President Abbas, President Peres, Tzipi Livni, and Professor Klaus Schwab.

As we are moving at such fast pace and growing at such fast pace, we often face fast-approaching deadlines and seemingly impossible timetables.  And always ordinary citizens rise up to give the movement a boost.  They always are so committed and energized to do their part – this is the ONLY reason why this movement has mushroomed to 600,000 people and to such influence on the minds of so many – because it can channel the frustrations and energies from the millions who cherish an end to the conflict into some concrete positive steps that bring us closer.