New Efforts Sow Hope in Mideast

NEW EFFORTS SOW HOPE IN MIDEAST
Author(s): GEOFFREY H. LEWIS AND ALAN D. SOLOMONT Date: September 21, 2002

Nine years ago, we stood on the White House lawn to witness and celebrate the signing of the Oslo Agreement. Until the Fall of 2000, when the Camp David summit ended without an agreemetn, we were convinced tha the Israeli-Palestinian conflict was in its final days. After all, who would have dreamed that either side would want to go back?

By the fall of 2000, Israelis were enjoying an economic boom, growing acceptance around the world, and close to a terror-free existence. Palestinians, in addition to improved economic prospects, were able to celebrate the almost certain establishment of an independent state.

Nevertheless, following the Camp David failure and the outbreak of the Al Aksa intifada, the bad old days returned with a vengeance. And we, like most American Jews and our Israeli brethren, had difficulty maintaining our faith in a peaceful future for these again embattled peoples. However, today there is evidence that progress can be made in the upcoming year. After almost two years of violence, Israelis and Palestinians are clearly desperate to find a way to end the violence. This is not necessarily something that comes through in official pronouncements and governmental communiques. This may be a case where the people will lead and the authorities will follow. However, on the official level, the pot is stirring as well

Take the official level first. On Sept. 5, a single page of The New York Times featured an article in which Prime Minister Ariel Sharon said that for the first time in two years, he sees "the opportunity for a diplomatic arrangement." Just above this article was one about Muhammad Dahlan, security chief to Yasser Arafat, who predicts that "Peace is on the way. A year or two, something like that. This is the last round."

Earlier this month, the official Palestinian newspaper in Ramallah printed an article from a former Palestinian Cabinet minister excoriating Arafat for turning down Prime Minister Barak's offer two years ago. He wrote that "after two years of bloodshed, we are now calling for what we rejected."

A new poll of the Palestinian populace indicates that the calls for reassessment might fall on fertile ground. Search for Common Ground released a survey in late August which found that 62 percent of Palestinians believe a new approach is needed and that 80 percent of all Palestinians would favor the adoption of nonviolent tactics like civil disobedience to achieve statehood. On the Israeli side, the poll concluded that 78 percent of Israeli Jews believe that the Palestinians have a legitimate right to statehood, provided they use nonviolent means to achieve their objective.

Exploiting this revived openness on both sides of the divide, former Israeli security chief Ami Ayalon has joined the Palestinian Authority's Jerusalem representative, Sari Nusseibeh, to launch the "People Vote" movement, with a goal of gathering 200,000 signatures - 100,000 Israelis and 100,000 Palestinians - for a joint accord which will set forth the principles for the future relationship of the two peoples. The effort may not succeed but the effort alone is heartening.

Efforts to achieve Israeli-Palestinian reconciliation are also flourishing here in the United States. This past summer 22 young women from Israel, the West Bank, and Gaza participated in a 21-day communications workshop at the "Building Bridges for Peace" retreat center in the Colorado mountains, where they attempted to get beyond hatred to a more hopeful future.

Then there is "Seeds for Peace," which has been bringing Israeli and Arab teenagers together for 10 years at its camp in Maine. This year, with its largest Palestinian delegation ever, Seeds welcomed its 2,000th camper, each of whom goes back to their homes determined to break through the walls of hatred and misunderstanding. The bottom line is that, after two years of night - after two years of unspeakable violence and stalemate - there are signs that we may be approaching dawn. It is our responsibility - the responsibility of all who care about Israel - to convert these signs into the kind of energy that will end this conflict once and for all.

Enough looking at the darkness; enough telling each other how terrible things are. Our mission must be to follow the example of Eleanor Roosevelt who, in the words of her eulogist, Adlai Stevenson, always preferred "to light a candle rather than curse the darkness."

The candles are there. Our mission is clear.

Geoffrey D. Lewis is President of the Jewish Community Relations Council of Boston, MA. Alan D. Solomont is a Vice Chairman of Combined Jewish Philanthropies of Greater Boston, and is formerly National Finance Chairman of the Democratic National Committee.