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16:33
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click to enlarge - the $250M complex is supposed to look amazing..
14:40
Is it out of habit or mental lassitude that we continue to build the fence, which was begun many years ago? It continues on its weary way, meter by meter, costing billions, causing anguish to many, damaging private property, keeping the High Court of Justice occupied with the complaints it arouses, stirring demonstrations against it, and keeping the Israel Defense Forces busy. Does anyone still remember what the original purpose was of this physical obstacle, hundreds of kilometers long, stringing across the country? Who is taking a second look to see whether it really serves its intended purpose?
Many of us prefer to forget those terrible days when Palestinian suicide bombers were roaming through our cities and murdering Israeli citizens daily. It was in thosestressful days that the cry went out: "Keep them out! Build a fence, no matter what it costs! The fence around the Gaza Strip works, and we need a fence like it around Judea and Samaria!"
Then-Shin Bet head Avi Dichter said we needed such a fence, and Haim Ramon accused those who opposed it of being dinosaurs prepared to endanger human lives for the sake of their outworn ideologies. No politician could withstand this pressure. A human life is worth everything, and if it took hundreds of kilometers of fence to save one, so be it. Besides, this fence was supposed to separate Israelis from Palestinians once and for all. So this humongous, unprecedented project began, and it has continued on its not-so-merry way, winding over hill and dale, ever since. Palestinian terrorism from Judea and Samaria has in the meantime been defeated, our streets and buses have become safe again, but the fence project seems to have assumed a life of its own. Advertisement Billions are still being spent, our beautiful country is being defaced, great anguish is being caused to tens of thousands living in the vicinity of the fence, and it is high time that we ask ourselves whether this fence serves any useful purpose. Is it the fence, far from completed, that is keeping terrorism out of our cities, or is it the presence of the IDF in Judea and Samaria? There is good reason to believe that it was the IDF's entry into Judea and Samaria, after the Park Hotel massacre in Netanya on the night of the 2002 seder, that largely ended the terror, and that the IDF's continued presence in Judea and Samaria is still Israel's primary defense. Without that presence, terrorism would be striking cities in central Israel. If that is the case, the fence is worse than useless. It is no more than the product of momentary hysteria and a Maginot-line mentality that seized some of our politicians, who deluded themselves into thinking that terrorism could be "fenced out."
But what happens when the IDF's presence in Judea and Samaria is no longer necessary? Will we need the fence then, and should we therefore continue building it for that eventuality? That hardly seems a reasonable course of action. The IDF will not withdraw from the area until the danger of Palestinian terror has passed, and then no fence will be necessary. Continuing to build the fence is a waste of time and money, and only breeds anger and hostility. In this case, the fence does not make for good neighbors.
But some will argue that the fence around the Gaza Strip works. Well, hardly. The terrorists have found ways of outwitting our politicians. Terror is coming over and under the fence. That fence did not stop the Qassam and Katyusha rockets from raining on Israel's citizens in the south. The fence did not keep the Olmert government from finally surrendering to this terror and agreeing to a cease-fire with Hamas in Gaza. And the same thing will happen if the IDF withdraws from Judea and Samaria before the terrorists there finally have been uprooted. The fence will not keep terror away. If not controlled on the ground, it will return to Israel's cities - it will come over and under the fence.
Some of us want the fence not in order to keep terrorists out, but to keep Jews in. Or, in other words, in order to keep Jews out of Judea and Samaria ("the occupied territories"). But that will not work. The British tried to keep Jews out when they blockaded Mandate Palestine's shores and pursued the MacDonald White Paper policy to prevent Jews from purchasing land here. It didn't work. Nor will the fence.
The time has come to take a good look at this outlandish project. Does it make any sense to continue building it? And maybe we should begin considering dismantling what has already been built. Do our politicians have the courage to admit they made a mistake?
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poster saying: judea and samaria - the story of every jew..
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16:03
From: David Lehrer (AIES) [mailto:david.lehrer@arava.org]
Sent: Monday, October 20, 2008 14:16
To: 'foreign@sfchronicle.com'
Cc: Gershon Baskin; 'Libby Friedlander'; Hannah Schafer (AIES); Sharon Benheim (AIES)
Subject: Letter to the editor
To the Editor of the San Francisco Chronicle,
Your article entitled "Few results seen from Mideast teen peace camps" published on October 19th, does not represent the reality on the ground. There are numerous non-governmental organizations (NGO's) doing critical work here in the Middle East which allow Palestinians and Israelis the opportunity to work towards the common goals of an end to the military occupation in the territories and a peaceful resolution of the Arab Israeli conflict. The activities of the NGO's engaged in reconciliation are laying the ground work for trust and partnership in a renewed Middle East.
I cannot speak for all NGO's in the region but I can speak for my own organization, the Arava Institute for Environmental Studies. The Arava Institute is the premier environmental teaching and research program in the Middle East, preparing future Arab and Jewish leaders to cooperatively solve the region's environmental challenges. Together, faculty and students are advancing a critical common cause: a sustainable future for the region’s human and natural resources. The institute, located on Kibbutz Ketura in Israel, was founded in 1996 as a center for environmental leadership in the Middle East and since then has hosted Israelis, Palestinians, Jordanians and students from around the world in an academic study program now accredited by Ben Gurion University. There are over 500 graduates of our program. We are in contact with about 400 of them through our Arava Alumni Peace and Environmental Network (AAPEN). The alumni network hosts an annual alumni conference and sponsors workshops, internships and numerous grassroots trans-boundary environmental projects that the alumni themselves have created. At the Arava Institute, we are teaching students to speak a new language of trust and understanding between Arabs and Jews. Our alumni are carrying this message back to their home communities and given enough time and resources, will change the face of the Middle East.
The Middle East is not an easy place to work for peace. For every two steps forward, there is one step backward. Governments, both locally and world wide have failed to bring peace to the region. So far, neither have the non-governmental organizations but with enough time and resources, a true grass roots approach that trains and empowers future leadership on both sides can lead to the breakthrough we are all praying for.
David Lehrer-Executive Director
Arava Institute for Environmental Studies
Kibbutz Ketura, Israel
16:01
Dear Gershon,
Thank you for forwarding this.
I would be interested in seeing the actual study, how it was conducted, etc. I am currently writing my dissertation, a survey of long-term peace-building participation by hundreds of Israeli and Palestinian graduates of Seeds of Peace programs. I have work yet to do before releasing my findings, but I can certainly say even at this point that my findings are quite different from the results of this study, at least as represented in this article.
The article contains one important statement that is absolutely, verifiably, false. The article asserts that these programs have not produced a single "prominent peace activist." In fact, there are numerous graduates of SOP (and other international programs like Building Bridges for Peace, not to mention the many indigenous dialogue programs such as Neve Shalom/Wahat A-Salaam) who are, as adults, working as staff or trained facilitators for peace-building NGOs or volunteering in peace-building and cross-conflict initiatives. Graduates of Seeds of Peace and of Building Bridges for Peace have or are working or volunteering as adults for SOP, BBFP and similar programs, as well as for Peace Now, Search for Common Ground, Just Vision, IPCRI, student activist coalitions and dialogue programs at universities in Israel and abroad. Numerous graduates of these programs have gone on to obtain advanced degrees in the Conflict Resolution and International Affairs fields.
In addition--at least among SOP graduates, with whom I have worked and studied for many years--the rates of follow-up participation are starkly different than those cited from this study. I don't know how the study's authors managed to select a group of graduates in which 93% had no follow-up participation, but they would have had to be quite "selective" indeed. Over the first ten years of the SOP program's existence (1993-2003) approximately half of the program's 826 Israeli and Palestinian graduates participated in some of the many hundreds of follow-up activities, and more than 25% of them remained actively involved in 2003, years after their initial trips to SOP summer camp.
I am not attempting to present some sort of airbrushed portrait of unqualified success. The organizations I worked for and studied have repeatedly faced crises brought on by the ongoing occupation and escalating conflict, and by their own internal management issues. They also face a constant campaign of de-legitimization within both Israeli and Palestinian communities, but especially in Palestinian society. Just as there are numerous graduates involved in dialogue and cross-conflict activism, there are also numerous graduates who are not, and some who are stridently opposed. But the opposition is nowhere near the unanimous voice portrayed in this piece. While the study to which the article refers is correct in a general sense in its portrayal of significant resistance in Palestinian society to encounter programs and other forms of dialogue with Israeli Jews, its utterly bogus statistical claims make it seem more a part of that de-legitimization campaign, rather than any kind of scientific research.
Ned Lazarus
American
University
13:31
From: Erin Breeze erin@s-c-g.orgDate: Tue, 21 Oct 2008 13:42:55
-0600To: 'Melodye Feldman' melodye@s-c-g.orgSubject: SCG response to San Francisco Chronicle
ArticleDear Friends and
Colleagues, We wish to express to you our deep concerns about the article published October 19th in the San Francisco Chronicle by Matthew Kalman titled Few Results from Mideast Teen Peace Camps. Based on one unpublished report commissioned by an unidentified donor nation funding one specific Palestinian youth organization, (Pal Vision), the article makes the sweeping claim that programs bringing together Israeli and Palestinian teens have been “a waste of time and money.” We find the widespread claims this article makes about an entire arena of organizations and programs based on such limited evidence surprising, particularly from a newspaper of this stature, and we are concerned about the negative effect such an article may have on the important work being done by our organization and similar organizations around the world. We are therefore sending a letter to the editor to express our concerns and provide a much needed response to Mr. Kalman’s claims to set the record straight. Seeking Common Ground (note: not to be confused with the Washington D.C. based Search for Common Ground; www.s-c-g.org) is a non-profit organization based in Denver, CO, that works with teenagers from conflict regions worldwide. Our flagship program, Building Bridges for Peace (BBfP) brings together Israeli, Palestinian and American teens from diverse backgrounds from throughout Israel, East Jerusalem, the West Bank (Gaza prior to 2000), and the United States, through a yearlong leadership development and peacebuilding program. BBfP begins with a 2-week residential summer intensive (camp) held in Colorado followed by a follow-up program conducted in the region.
After 15 years of BBfP best practices and a wealth of anecdotal success stories, we have recently completed an unprecedented objective assessment of the program and its impact on participants. With a grant from the United States Institute of Peace (USIP), we have undergone a two-year pilot study, including evaluation conducted by outside evaluators from the University of Delaware and the University of Denver – the results of which clearly refute the claims Mr. Kalman makes in his article. This research, which is currently being compiled in a final report* that will be published and widely disseminated in December of this year, shows that as a result of their participation in the BBfP program:
Participants form friendships with the ‘other’ and alumni often maintain them over time (by email, phone, and, when possible, in person); Participants develop positive attitudes of the ‘other’ and alumni report influencing family members, peers, and colleagues to meet and work with the ‘other’ – including recruiting them to take part in BBfP or similar programs; Participants and alumni gain concrete communication and dialogue skills that they report using with friends, family members, and in their communities to build relationships and resolve problems; Participants and alumni report gaining a new way of thinking about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict including greater empathy for and understanding of the perspective and experience of the ‘other;’ Alumni report feeling more empowered to take action in their communities, pursue educational and professional goals, and apply what they had learned at BBfP in these pursuits; Participants value the follow-up program and alumni seek opportunities to stay involved with cross-community peacebuilding work after their participation has ended; Participants and alumni find hope that there is an alternative to the current status quo in the
region.
Clearly, all of these conclusions contradict Mr. Kalman’s assertions. Among the many damaging claims made Mr. Kalman, we take exception with the following points: It fails to acknowledge that there are many different types of programs with different approaches and methodologies, goals and outcomes. Nor does it acknowledge other research and evaluation in the field.
It faults what it calls this “peace industry” as not successful by the measure of failing to “produce a single prominent peace activist on either side”. Most people-to-people programs are not seeking to produce peace activists per se but instead to impart communication, leadership, dialogue and other skills and to build relationships, reduce negative stereotypes, and improve attitudes and understanding between adversaries. The article’s use of this measure minimizes the importance that these programs have had on imparting precisely these skills to many young people who are emerging leaders in various fields necessary to the construction a of healthy, vibrant and peaceful society: education, the sciences, business, media, etc.
It fails to identify the methodology of the research Pal Vision conducted stating only that the results the report claims are based on 400 ‘surveys’ of Palestinian participants and counselors. No details of the type of survey design and analysis and who conducted the surveys is shared.
Furthermore, only three organizations are named among those presumably evaluated: Seeds of Peace, Kids for Peace and Breaking Borders. It offers no evidence to support Pal Vision’s leader Mr. Rami Naser Eddin’s bold and potentially damaging assertions that these programs are “all for the publicity, for the media” and “that most Palestinian groups have used dialogue funds to finance other activities.” It has not been our experience working with Palestinian partners that money has been misused to finance other activities and we are sure that many of our colleagues in the region would agree.
It does nothing to examine the survey author’s criticisms that “that these programs expire with the end of the meeting” and that “organizations…refused to give any information regarding the participants and the type of programs introduced and other important information needed for this study” ignoring legitimate and complex challenges programs face on the ground in the region to conduct follow-up programs and protect the identity of participants. SCG recognizes the importance of follow-up programming and it has always been an integral component to the BBfP methodology. We know of many other programs who continue to do the same.
It states that ‘91% of Palestinians surveyed reported they were no longer in contact with any Israelis that they had met through the program’ – without acknowledging the very real barriers separating Israelis and Palestinians in the region that prevent contact. In addition, the article frames the fact that Palestinians reported not speaking about their experience at home as another failure without exploring why they may feel unsafe to do so.
These ‘results’ may reflect poor program practices but they may also reflect only the inherent difficulties of conducting programs in the region. SCG continues to conduct follow-up programming in the region bringing Israeli and Palestinian participants face-to-face for residential retreats as do other programs.
It cites only one quote that shows the successes of such programs – that of a 17 year-old participant of Seeds of Peace who did find her experience life changing. However, she is effectively discredited by Mr. Kalman due to her background of being from a “prominent Palestinian family” and attending an “elite girls’ school.” While it is important that program participants represent diverse backgrounds, suggesting that some backgrounds are more important or more valid than others is unfair and unhelpful. In addition, we have compiled data from more than 2 dozen past participants spanning the 15 years of our organization’s work which shows that BBfP does have a powerful long-lasting impact on participant’s lives and facilitates their relationships with and understanding of the ‘other.’
On the contrary, our research show that these programs, when well designed and implemented, can and do have significant impact in building relationships between Israeli and Palestinian teens and inspiring hope for a shared future. In addition, our
experience and that of many other organizations offering similar programs is that there is widespread support and interest from both the Israeli and Palestinian communities. Every year we have a waiting list of teens wishing to attend. We are troubled by the Chronicle’s presentation of Mr. Kalman’s claims as “news;” diligent reporting would demonstrate a wealth of positive outcomes from our programs and others. We are urging the Chronicle to publish a second article to fairly present the field’s successes as well as its shortcomings. Although our USIP funded report will not be published until December, we would be happy to share our findings and draft report with the Chronicle. SCG conducts ongoing research and evaluation of programs in order to provide the best possible program opportunities for young adults. It is our commitment to the field to create a forum where practitioners and scholars can openly discuss best practices and strategies for strengthening all of our programs. In closing, it is worth mentioning that we are in agreement with Mr.
Kalman on one point -- the dire need for follow-up programming for alumni of these programs is entirely accurate. Such follow-up requires substantial resources – resources from public and private funding which regrettably vanish when sweeping claims like those made in Mr. Kalman’s article are put into the public consciousness. Melodye Feldman, Founding Executive Director Erin Breeze, Associate DirectorSeeking Common Ground*If you are interested in receiving the final report which will be available in December, please contact us at Erin@s-c-g.org.
19:03
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17:39
so.. i am sick of it.. israel is not the modern nazi regime nor are WE apartheid.. its a lie and its wrong.. perpetrated by too many.. all the while darfur iraq lebanon and other muslim regimes/regions busy with mass perseuction are left untouched by arab criticism and marked only as conflict zones.. what the?!Lebanon barred Palestinians from 73 job categories including professions such as medicine, law and engineering. They are not allowed to own property. Unlike other foreigners in Lebanon, they are denied access to the Lebanese healthcare system. The Lebanese government refused to grant them work permits or permission to own land. The number of restrictions has been mounting since 1990.[25]
In June 2005, however, the government of Lebanon removed some work restrictions from a few Lebanese-born Palestinians, enabling them to apply for work permits and work in the private sector.[26]
In a 2007 study, Amnesty International denounced the "appalling social and economic condition" of Palestinians in Lebanon.[27] sourceand i have heard first hand from some lebanon based readers about some crazy atrocities that are committed against them on a daily basis.. but lets not go there.. frikkin war accounting..
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sounds familiar right? or at least like it could be about "us".. but its not.. its about the same people that two years ago staged a coup by throwing flowers.. yes thailand and its neighbour cambodia.. so we´re not the only ones but thats no excuse.."like many neighbours they share a deep hostility and distrust..
That distrust boiled over into a confrontation this week when a dispute over a ruined xxx temple escalated into bloodshed and exchanges of rocket and machine-gun fire that left two xxx soldiers dead, five xxxinjured and another 10 captured.
The clashes, lasting about two hours, broke out near the xxx temple, an xxth century shrine on the disputed border between the two
countries.."
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The other day I went to see Dirty Dancing- the musical downtown at the Royal Alex theatre. I'm in Toronto for a bit. Each time Lirun takes to his surfboard for relaxation time overseas, I get somehow pulled across the pond to Canada. True to form... here I am. For your viewing pleasure I dug up a little clip from youtube which is the opening sequence. It seemed like it fit today.
Enjoy!
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im in the canary islands surfing.. behold my new board.. pre waxed.. if your lucky shawna might decide to pick up the slack while im busy chillin.. thank you for the lively discussions..
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except his next door neighbour..
who decided to stage an impromptu play and decorate the tip.. or frog - as these big rubbish boxes are known to be called here in israel..
the street (once a totally jewish neighbourhood) is inhabited by both jews and arabs.. anyhow - this eccentric heavily accented artist proceeded to usher people to the back of his installation and sat a collection of the neighbourhood's finest on fold out chairs that seemed to just keep on flowing..
i admit i want in the mood to stick around.. its was hot and smelly and i couldnt be bothered.. in all honesty.. but my friend paid his neighbour the respect and went the distance..
apparently the one man band act proceeded to delve into thick and soggy zionist narrative.. about how we came and how we did this and how we did that.. semi hyde park milk crete style.. but at some stage then dove into a statement describing how in yaffo arabs and jews live together as good neighbours at which point an arab in the audience gave an ovation..
the act was filmed by a friend of the creator's and at some stage i suppose the micro crowd of probably not much more than 15 disbursed..
how strange is my town..
later last night we drove to jerusalem to a birthday party of a friend's girlfriend.. i met that friend at another friend's birthday dinner at hotel jerusalem.. the girlfriend is european - the other two are palestinians both of which have israeli passports.. it was an interesting night filled with great food and great company and cool music and a stack of political discussions emanating from the many NGO reps that were around..
having said that it was very casual and comfortable.. basically just a bunch of friends catching up for a friday night bbq..
i did learn from one of them (who has an office in gaza) that last week we only had two mortar shells thrown from gaza into israel and that there were no or three incursions only with no deaths directly related to the conflict.. and that hamas have apparently clamped down like crazy on renegade groups seeking to disturb the ceasefire in their bid to be taken seriously by the world..
שבת שלום
13:42
an image snapped from a scene that hit home..waltz with bashir is a heavy and tragic movie that basically attacks every sacred cow in israeli post army society.. scripted in brilliant modern colloquialist hebrew it flows like an animated documentary.. it doesnt take long to move beyond the animation to the essence and its chilling..
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holidays are such a wild card - you never know how they are going to turn out.. this post has been deleted and while i am confident that one of the aggregators will publish it verbatum - i feel the need to let it out now.. so im recreating it.. for anyone who has already read it in its original version - you have my blessing to refrain from this incarnation..
so obviously its rosh hashana we're talking about here.. the infamous jewish new years eve.. originally i was going to have a gefilte fish event.. one of the blessings of rosh hashana is to be a head and not a tail.. a bit weird sounding but do your own symbolism search and im sure you'll figure it out if you havent heard about it before.. but things dont always happen as you expect them..
our family didnt all come together for the festival and we expected to have a nuclear gathering which then expanded to include some friends and grew from 4 to 9.. its a mitzva (good deed/commandment) to take in people on the holidays.. i didnt really plan however for my house to sleep 6.. but alls good..
thank goodness for jewish grandmas who even when you only expect four people - including the grandma person - still cook for 20.. there was a lot of left over food believe it or not.. even though two of the guests (jewish) were co-celebrating ramadan and had fasted all day.. and another of the guests was a combat soldier with an appetite the size of the ramon crater..
after the dinner was over my family left and my to-be-lodgers were supplemented by a small collection of friends who came over for cake and tea.. thats when the music started and i think things wrapped up finally at around 2.30 am.. it wasnt quiet around here by any stretch of the imagination.. but the nice thing about yaffo is that people dont complain about celebrations.. i guess there is always someone celebrating and sooner or later its going to be you.. so people just flow..
the next morning - while everyone was busting the zzs i went to the gym.. suddenly a lady from the cafe next door came in and asked if i would go to the ancient yaffo synagogue (tiny) on fish street in the old city and complete a minyan.. i went home and woke everyone up and we all marched over there.. it was kind of funny.. the tourists snapping at us as we prayed in this minute place of worship that overlooks the 5000 year old port.. by the way all the alley ways of the old port city are named after the signs of the horoscope wheel.. the shofar was blown several times.. and all i could think of each time was the poor animal that was once attached to that horn..
once the service was over we strolled around the old city and soaked in its beauty for a bit.. i was so tired afterwards that i cancelled all plans and slept till the morning.. ive had a lot on recently and i think my body just gave in..
there was so much honey all over my house.. on the chairs and table and kitchen bench.. so much honey.. the cleaning seemed futile..
a view of telaviv from yaffo port with my guests fascinated by the water..
anyway - i didnt have a blessing book for the rosh hashana ceremony in my house so we kind of made it up and as part of our adlib attempt everyone around the table was asked to bless the new year.. my 79 year old sudanese grandma who blessed us 4th was the first to ask for peace.. i was proud of her.. she speaks from her soul.. always.. the others also wished us all nice things..
may the blessings of all 9 of us be echoed to all of you.. wishing you shana tova and happy eid as well..
btw - also want to say thank you for the nice words.. and also thought i'd share with you some photos of surfers from my beach..