Daniel Lubetzky

OneVoice Palestine participated in the Strengthening Nonviolence in Palestine, organized by Realizing the Dream, Inc. Middle East Nonviolence and Democracy Center, and The Center for Democracy and Community Development. More than 200 people attended the conference, in which Martin Luther King, III- the oldest son of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and the founder of [...]

For anyone who maybe losing hope that the Palestinians and Israelis will ever overcome their past to build a brighter future, here’s a story that should awaken the potential we all have to make a deep difference. Elias Khoury lost his land to Israel and his father and son to attacks by Palestinians, and now [...]

With extremism being particularly rampant among some religious followers who become increasingly zealous about their convictions and practices, and with the cartoonish tensions created by black and white contrasts set out by desensitized uber-capitalism vs. new age parsimoniousness, I was struck by the depth and timeliness of these contrasting messages: With regard to all human [...]

A new poll by Dr. Nader Said confirms that Palestinians are disenchanted with those who govern them.  Even though Palestinians are traditionally very loyal to one political faction or another, they are fed up with corruption and destruction and are increasingly favor independent technocrats.  Below are some of the highlights from the poll: A vast [...]

by Adeena Schlussel on behalf of Daniel Lubetzky Tom Friedman wrote an interesting article about a period that he sees as a turning point in Islamism.  He tells the story of Islamic Fundamentalism but strikes a hopeful tone. February 14, 2010 Op-Ed Columnist 1977 vs. 1979 By THOMAS L. FRIEDMAN Visiting Yemen and watching the [...]

I have noticed over the years that every incident, every data point, every fact, and certainly every news story is interpreted differently by Israelis and Palestinians, each time suspecting bias against them.  Here is a study that explains the psychology behind the perceived partisan bias towards the other side.

To those who wonder if the Israeli-Palestinian conflict will ever end and who think it is truly “intractable”, I thought I’d share a note from my colleague John Lyndon, Executive Director of OneVoice Europe: I know that this is off-topic, but just thought I’d draw people’s attention to a not-entirely-unrelated news story: The ‘final piece [...]

In a remarkable sermon, Syria’s highest Sunni religious authority spoke courageously and powerfully about religions requiring humanity and respect, including these statements: “If the Prophet Mohammed had asked me to deem Christians or Jews heretics, I would have deemed Mohammed himself a heretic." Sheikh Ahmed Hassoun also “said Islam was a religion of peace, adding: [...]

I have received about twenty forwards from proud Jewish friends about Israel’s humanitarian contributions to Haiti – most frequently this CNN video. It is sad how this humanitarian mission gets twisted by opponents (or extreme supporters) of Israel into a political issue.  Disregarding that noise and not connecting it to Mideast policies, a picture is [...]

My friend Naif Al-Mutawa is one of the best and most impressive social entrepreneurs, and greatest hopes for this century.  He created a compelling series of Comics, headquartered out of Kuwait and primarily aimed at Muslim youth – creating positive role models with a foundation from Islamic religion.  The 99 is a group of super-heroes, [...]