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.

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.

Daniel’s alma mater, Stanford Law, reconnected to see what their grad is up to these days. Read the full story of where Stanford led Daniel after the jump.

KIND is also offering Stanford students, alumni, faculty, and staff the opportunity to submit their own “Do The KIND Thing” idea to ideas@kindsnacks.com. Ideas must be received before January 1, 2014.

On January 8, Stanford Lawyer and KIND will choose one project to support with $10,000. The winning project will be featured in a future Stanford Lawyer online article.

Here’s what you need to know to submit:

• Rules for Do the KIND Thing Project
• Please submit your idea via email to ideas@kindsnacks.com before 12 a.m. EST on January 1, 2014.
• For a stronger submission, please include photos or video components.
• The project must be completed within six months.

by Julianna Storch

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OneVoice and the PeaceWorks Foundation have been working for several months now on a major new initiative to enable ordinary citizens as well as companies, groups and governments – Palestinian, Israeli, or international – to contribute towards building positive facts on the ground that will advance and cement a two state reality and create the environment necessary for political representatives to negotiate and achieve a permanent two state solution.  Part of the methodology involves finding creative solutions where international actors can be catalysts towards improved relations with both sides.  As an example, The Center for Middle East Peace had for years been working behind the scenes to support the Turkish construction of a hospital in Gaza, as a means towards rekindling relations between former allies Turkey and Israel, while doing something to advance the betterment of the Palestinian people and State.  Some were skeptical this could amount to anything.  Now some encouraging signs indicate progress on this path, as recently reported in the article below.

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An amazing OpEd in Israel’s Ha’aretz newspaper shows that OneVoice’s Imagine 2018 campaign is a bold and innovative one, and is quickly gaining popular attention.   Prominent Israeli politicians have been receiving a mock ups of an Israeli newspaper from the future, thanking the politicians for attaining peace by 2018.  Read more to see the extensive positive attention that Imagine 2018 has garnered already!

by Adeena Schlussel

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This past week, twenty OneVoice Youth Leaders participated in the annual Nablus Marathon, along with Prime Minister Salam Fayyad and approximately 5000 other participants.  At the end of the marathon, the Youth Leaders, clad in OneVoice tee-shirts, had collected visions of 2018 from their huffing and puffing peers along the course.

The marathon itself is a concrete sign of nation building, and the Youth Leader’s participation, is a sign of the peaceful nation that will hopefully continue to be built.

by Adeena Schlussel, spotted by Daniel Lubetzky

This TIME article about Palestinians, contained by the security wall is sad and poignant.  This article depicts that many Israelis and Palestinians simply do not understand each other, because they do not get to know each other, and just reaffirms the vital need for OneVoice’s Imagine 2018 Campaign.

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This article displays a silver lining in the midst of a tragedy: Palestinian firefighters participated in the humanitarian effort to extinguish the fires in the Carmel region of Israel.  (The firefighter’s admitted that their efforts were purely humanitarian and not indicative of any political statements, but one cannot help but feel moved and inspired by the cooperation between Israelis and Palestinians depicted here.)  Beyond the article itself being a mark of true hope, the talkbacks at the bottom of this article- which are usually just spurts of extremism and skepticism- show that people are filled with hope and ready for peace.

Spotted by Daniel Lubetzky, redacted by Adeena Schlussel.

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This awesome article in INC. Magazine, titled, “The Way I Work,” features Daniel and captures exactly how our CEO works! We are super proud that Daniel was featured in INC. and are even prouder that he is the fast paced, driven, successful worker that the article describes!

by Adeena Schlussel

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Read this great article by Salam Fayyad.  It represents the Palestinian mainstream of today and is very powerful and moving. [Read more →]