We need to make partners for Israeli-Palestinian peace - opinion
Israeli-Palestinian peace is not on the agenda of either society and it is not even part of the public discourse.
By GERSHON BASKINA Palestinian woman walks past a mural against Israel's plan to annex parts of the Israeli-occupied West Bank, in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip July 14, 2020.(photo credit: IBRAHEEM ABU MUSTAFA/REUTERS)
In June 2007, after years of the Second Intifada, marking 40 years since the beginning of the Six Day War, the occupation and Israeli control over the Palestinian people, IPCRI – Israel Palestine Center for Research and Information conducted an in-depth public opinion study in Israel and Palestine to determine what would be required to return to a genuine peace process.Everything had broken down. We were just beginning to turn the corner from the horrors of death and destruction. The Palestinians were beginning to reconstruct and rebuild governance and law and order in the West Bank, but Hamas was about to complete its full takeover of Gaza.The Second Intifada ended the peace process, and the hopes for peace among most Israelis and Palestinians all but died. Palestinian terrorism against Israeli civilians and the military force and violence used by Israel against the Palestinians put an end to the belief on both sides that there were partners for peace on the other side.The Israeli and Palestinian peace movement and peace organizations were decimated. The Israeli and Palestinian publics moved far away from the belief that peace would ever be possible. In IPCRI’s study we wanted to know what the publics thought would be necessary to believe that there were in fact partners for peace on the other side and then move back into serious negotiations.What we found then in 2007 seems still relevant today. The overwhelming majority of Israelis and Palestinians, from all parts of society, indicated that they lost trust in the peace process. They asserted that they wanted peace but did not believe that there were people on the other side who honestly supported peace.We asked them if they believed that there were serious partners for peace on the other side, would they be willing to make substantial compromises in order to achieve an agreement. The overwhelming majority answered positively.We then wanted to determine what would convince Israelis and Palestinians that there were serious partners for peace on the other side. We received similar answers from both sides. They said: If “they” (the leaders of both sides) would speak about peace seriously in public; if they began to teach peace in their schools; if their religious leaders and clergy preached peace in mosques and synagogues. It was amazing how both sides viewed each other so similarly. It is even more amazing that after all of these years, not much has changed.We have been stuck for so long with no positive political horizon on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict issue. There is little reason to hope that the incoming Biden administration will make much of a difference in seriously improving the reality on the ground. Perhaps some more money from the international community will flow into the West Bank and maybe even into Gaza.But the politics of no negotiations is not likely to change and the political options for resolving the conflict are shrinking with each passing year. The large majority of Israelis and Palestinians still believe there is no partner for peace on the other side. Building the belief in partners for peace will take a long time but there are some steps that are in the interest of both sides to take even now.There is a lot that can be done by Israel and the Palestinian authorities in the West Bank and Gaza to improve the economic situation, and there is no doubt that it should be done. There should be absolutely no reason why Israel should want poor neighbors and if the general security situation remains stable then steps should be taken to relieve the economic despair in the West Bank and Gaza. The steps that can and should be taken do not have a large price tag for Israel, but they could have a significant impact on the day-to-day economic reality on the other side of the conflict lines. Improving the economic climate should also improve the security climate.We should not expect for Israel or Palestine to seriously begin to teach peace in the classrooms, to change their textbooks and to begin thinking about the importance of teaching the young generation that peace between Israel and Palestine is a possibility. It would also be wise not to believe that suddenly Muslim and Jewish clergy are going to give convincing sermons to their communities about the importance of making peace with the other side. It is also unlikely that we will hear many political leaders on both sides making charismatic appeals to the public to support Israeli-Palestinian peace, but they should do that because that is the responsibility of leaders.So then, what else can be done?Israeli-Palestinian peace is not on the agenda of either society and it is not even part of the public discourse. But I do believe that a majority of Israelis and a majority of Palestinians sincerely believe that they want peace.We must be able to begin a process of rebuilding the belief that there are partners for peace on the other side. In the absence of dramatic acts that leaders could take, but probably will not, we must understand that what we as citizens say and do can have an impact on people on the other side of the conflict.Therefore, if we could raise enough voices from ordinary citizens in Israel and Palestine, perhaps the echo effect of hearing enough people on both sides endorsing the principles of peace, we could begin to rebuild the belief that we do in fact have partners for peace.I suggest that we adopt something like an Israeli Palestinian Moral Majority Code of Principles of Peace based entirely on mutuality and reciprocity. These principles could include the following:We Israelis and Palestinians agree that we should all have and respect: The right to live; The right to live on this land; The right of respect and recognition of connection to the homeland; The right to security; The right of self-determination; The freedom of worship and religious practice; The right for human security especially education, health, welfare and opportunities for prosperity; The right of freedom of movement; The right of freedom to organize politically; The right to live in democracy.There is nothing here regarding the permanent status issues of how many states, borders, refugees or Jerusalem. Those must be settled in negotiations. What we can do is obligate ourselves to adhere to these important principles, and that is what I propose that we do. Perhaps in this way we can begin to rebuild the sense that we do have partners for peace.The writer is a political and social entrepreneur who has dedicated his life to the State of Israel and to peace between Israel and her neighbors. His latest book, In Pursuit of Peace in Israel and Palestine, was published by Vanderbilt University Press. It is now out in Arabic as well.
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