MISSION
TO ACHIEVE a JUST and LASTING PEACE in ISRAEL PALESTINE (It’s always good to aim high!!!)
INTERIM GOALS
- Take responsibility for our actions and those of our predecessors (and stop pointing fingers at ‘the other’)
- Improve education on all sides of this story
- Change from adversaries to partners
- Ensure compassion and respect for ourselves and others
- Honour universal human rights and dignity
HOW
INTERNATIONALLY
As Baha points out in the film there are a number of countries, including liberal democracies, which support Israel with military aid and licenses and or investment, while also giving humanitarian aid to Palestinians. Supporting two sides (and their myriad offshoots) of the same argument is self-defeating and has got to stop! Countries that do this include The United States of America, the United Kingdom, Australia and Germany, among others. If you are having trouble finding out if your country is on this list email us and we will try to help you. For letters very specifically addressing policy in Britain please do contact us, or take a look at www.balfourproject.org or www.caabu.org
1. We suggest writing the following letter to your Congressperson, MP, and or democratically elected representative. If you do not get a reply, keep sending this letter…
I am writing to you as my democratically elected representative to ask that my government acknowledge the role played by Britain and her WW1 Allies in the creation of the conflict in Israel and Palestine. Moving forward it is crucial that we acknowledge and address all of this history, taking a single position in our relations – supporting Israel with military and or development aid, and Palestinians with humanitarian relief is perpetuating the conflict. This is not why I pay taxes. Please make a clear policy decision and back this up.
(BRITONS ADD PARAGRAPH AT THE BOTTOM BEGINNING – PRIME MINISTER BORIS JOHNSON – HERE)
Since you have publically supported making a peace agreement, I assume that this is our national goal. Can you therefore please ensure that any aid and or contracts provided to either stipulates this position? I would further suggest that any aid we do give be focussed on the following areas:
Fostering Mutual Respect & Recognition – this is the necessary basis for any just peace.
Education – it is critical that all sides are taught history derived from first-hand verifiable sources.
Peace-building and Dialogue – It is also critical that everyone gets to know and understand their neighbours.
Responsibility – those from countries like ours, whose ancestors played a role in creating the circumstances that produced this current conflict must take responsibility for these actions and provide reparations where appropriate.
Humanitarian and medical aid
All of these efforts should be instilled with a common goal – that all parties involved learn to treat others the way they themselves wish to be treated – ensuring respect, compassion, and equal human rights.
Once we have lent our support to these goals and seen them made into reality, let’s negotiate that just peace.
Thank you for reading this.
Yours Sincerely,
ADDITIONAL PARAGRAPH FOR THOSE IN BRITAIN:
Prime Minister Boris Johnson has long argued in print for two independent and sovereign states: Israel and Palestine. To safeguard that outcome, which is under severe threat, Britain should now recognise the state of Palestine alongside Israel, the state we recognised 70 years ago. Britain recognised a state, not a government – a key distinction, maintained to this day: no factionalism, no favouritism.
1a. Also write to your local Israeli Embassy expressing your concern about the disparity of rights between Israelis and Palestinians within their international borders.
2. Host a screening – email us if you want to host a screening and discussion locally.
3. Host multi-denominational forums and discussion groups and speak up when media or government says or does something that hurts our chances for creating peace.
4. Demonstrate peacefully (in all liberal democracies) asking for the goals outlined above to be pursued meaningfully.
LOCALLY
All of the key characters in our film are protesting the situation, either with organised campaigns and protests, education, or by speaking out publicly. If you want to join them, here are a few suggestions about the ways you might be able to do this:
Apply any of the above where appropriate!
Letter from Israelis and or Palestinians to their representatives:
I am writing to you as my democratically elected representative. Since you have publicly supported making a peace agreement, I assume that this is our national goal. Can you therefore please prioritise the following areas:
Fostering Mutual Respect & Recognition – this is the necessary basis for any just peace.
Education – it is critical that all sides are taught history derived from first-hand verifiable sources.
Peace-building and Dialogue – It is also critical that we all get to know and understand our neighbours.
Responsibility – those from countries like ours, whose ancestors played a role in creating the circumstances that produced this current conflict must take responsibility for these actions and provide reparations where appropriate.
All of these efforts should be instilled with a common goal – that all parties involved learn to treat others the way we want to be treated ourselves – ensuring respect, compassion, and equal human rights.
Once we have lent our support to these goals and ensured they are made into reality, let’s negotiate that just peace.
Thank you for reading this.
Yours Sincerely,
- Civic Disobedience
Israelis – could make an effort to meet and get to know Palestinians, even if it means defying the Israeli ban on crossing the wall into the West Bank. It will be much harder to maintain separation if ‘the other’ has a face and a name.
Palestinians – women and young people could get involved and organise peaceful demonstrations through your towns and cities.
- Citizens Assemblies: a group formed from the citizens of a state to deliberate on an issue or issues of national importance. The membership of a citizens’ assembly is randomly selected. Citizens Assemblies have been used successfully in places like Ireland to settle controversial issues (such as their recent assembly which led to a change of law on abortion.)
We realise this is a long shot as they are normally run with government support, however, if you are interested please write to us and we will do our best to connect you with academics who are qualified to run these, and also with funders and media who can amplify this process, ideally, globally.