Martha's Vineyard Hebrew Center

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HaGefen Spotlight

In its 17th Middle East Program since 2002, the Social Action Committee brought back Shula Gilad of the Israel-Palestinian Negotiating Partners (IPNP). IPNP is a program of the Mercy Corps Conflict Management Group that is affiliated with Harvard. IPNP's brings together Israelis and Palestinians to learn negotiation skills.

Some 65 people squeezed into the Hebrew Center's Social Hall on Sunday, November 1, for an intense two hours. The presenters were:

  • Nizar Farsakh, who was an advisor to the Palestinian prime minister's office and currently a Master's
    student at Harvard's Kennedy School of Government.
  • Shula Gilad, a fellow at Harvard's Negotiation Project.
  • Wassim Kahzmo, who was communications advisor to the PLO's support unit and currently a Master's
    student at the Kennedy School.
  • Ilai Saltzman, an Israeli with a doctorate in international relations from Haifa University and currently
    at the Kennedy School.

Modeling civil discourse among themselves, the panelists talked about ways that the conflict between Israelis and Palestinians might be approached below the "top of the pyramid" of senior officials through conflict management techniques and through the development of young and mid-level professionals on both sides-many of whom already know one another. These relationships take place against the backdrop of polls showing that 70% of Israelis and Palestinians say they want peace-but they see only 25% of their own people and 25% of the other side wanting peace.

Mr. Khazmo presented maps and statistics showing the increase in Israeli settlement activity in the West Bank and around Jerusalem, the path of the security fence into the West Bank, and the fragmentation of the West Bank by checkpoints and roadblocks. The result is a crippling of the Palestinian economy and less land available for a future independent Palestinian state. Mr. Farsakh emphasized that the asymmetry in power between the Palestinians and Israelis limits Palestinian options. "We are not against Israel," he concluded, "We are against Israeli policy."

Mr. Saltzman referred to the European Union as the most important economic force in Israel, which gives the EU some leverage in pressing for a solution to the conflict. He described the rapid development of the Young Israeli Forum for Cooperation (YIFC), which is preparing young professionals to advise their respective leaders and to take over leadership positions in government, business and non-governmental organizations.

In a lengthy question and answer session, the highly engaged audience raised a variety of questions from different perspectives.