The report below, put together by Alex Stein, comes in the midst of Israel Apartheid Week organized in London by the SOAS Palestine Society and also taking place in Oxford, Cambridge, New York, Toronto, Montreal, and Ottawa. The SOAS Palestine Society recently sent out an email with a message of support from Ronnie Kasrils, a South African parliamentarian who wrote:

'This year sees the sixtieth anniversary of the UN Partition Plan (Resolution 181 of 29 November 1947) that set in train the monstrous Zionist plot to violently dispossess the Palestinian people of their land and rights, and their dispersal through serial ethnic cleansing that has continued in one form or another to this day. To any fair minded person this process of colonial-style dispossession is the fundamental cause of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict and is certainly akin to the racist-style humiliation and brutality of the notorious Apartheid system under which South Africa’s landless and dispossessed people suffered. It is ironic to note that Israel’s unilateral declaration of independence of May 1948 took place in the very year that the Apartheid regime came to power in South Africa. The Palestinian people have been allowed to suffer far too long.'

Putting Kasrils' gravely misinformed and ahistorical account aside, we hopefully all agree with his final sentence. But is 'Israel Apartheid Week' an event that will lead to the end of Palestinian suffering? Does it further the cause of co-existence and mutual understanding between Israelis and Palestinians? It doesn't, but fortunately there are groups in Israel/Palestine working to this end who have far more of an impact.

Co-Existence Groups in Israel/Palestine

Israel

The Abraham Fund

-"The Abraham Fund Initiatives works to advance coexistence, equality and cooperation among Israel's Jewish and Arab citizens by creating and operating large-scale initiatives, cultivating strategic grassroots projects and conducting public education and advocacy that promote its vision of shared citizenship and opportunities for all
Israel's citizens."
-The 'Police-Community' initiative works towards an improvement of the relationship between the police force and communities.
-Mirkam in the Galilee' aims to transform the Beit Hakerem valley into a 'coexistence zone', a leading region in Israel driven by social and economic prosperity, safety and fruitful cooperation between the two communities.
-It provides government training and advocacy to make government agencies and employees more aware of and responsive to the needs of the Arab population.
-There is also a project to instigate mandatory spoken Arabic and Arabic cultural studies in all Jewish elementary public schools.

The Bridge – Jewish and Arab Women for Peace in the Middle East:

-Founded in 1975, to promote the status of women, and peace in the Middle East. It "is a women's organisation whose members originate from Israel's various ethnic and religious communities, and who work together for the promotion of the status of women, and the attainment of peace in the Middle East."
-It puts on monthly lectures, presentations and discussions.
-There are exchange visits of Israeli and Arab pupils in schools.
-Radio programmes The Bridge in Arabic, Hebrew, English and French.
-Arabic and Hebrew courses.
-Picnics, outings, weekends with the families.
-Seminars and international conferences.

Givat Haviva:

-Givat Haviva, near Hadera, was founded in 1949 as the national education centre of the Kibbutz Artzi movement, a federation of 83 kibbutzim throughout Israel. "Our overriding goals are to educate for peace, democracy, coexistence and social solidarity; to resist racism and all forms of discrimination; and to foster greater understanding between different groups in Israeli society and among nations."
-The Jewish-Arab Centre for Peace was established in 1963, in order to bring Jews and Arabs in Israel closer and to educate for mutual understanding and partnership between the two peoples. It has a staff of 20, Jewish and Arab, who annually serve more than 15,000 people.
-The Institute for Arabic Studies was established in 1963 to teach Arab language and culture to its students. It offers day and evening classes for youth and adults to study spoken and literary Arabic, as well as numerous other classes.
-The Peace Library at Givat Haviva was dedicated in March 2001. It is one of the vastest repository of materials about Israeli-Arabs, as well as material dealing with Zionism and the Holocaust.
-The international department was founded in the mid-1980s. It provides programmes dealing with background to the Middle East conflict, the different components of Israeli society, as well as meetings between international students and Israeli-Arabs.

Hand in Hand

-In 1997, the Hand in Hand Centre for Jewish-Arab education in Israel was founded to build peace between Jews and Arabs in Israel through development of bilingual and multicultural schools.
-Elementary schools were founded in Jerusalem, the Galilee and Wadi Ara.
-Each school is co-directed by Arab and Jewish co-Principals; each classroom is co-taught by Arab and Jewish teachers. Students at each level are balanced between Jewish and Arab children. All classes are taught in both Hebrew and Arabic.
-More than 600 students are enrolled in pre-kindergarten through eight grade. Every school has a waiting list.

Negev Coexistence Forum:

-Arab and Jewish residents of the Negev founded the Negev Coexistence Forum in 1997. "Its aim is to provide a framework for Jewish-Arab collaborative efforts, in the struggle for civic equality and the advancement of mutual tolerance and coexistence." The forum is made up of a core of 30 volunteers, Jewish and Arab, with an additional two hundred people regularly joining activities.
-The group offers monthly tours to visit the Negev Bedouin communities, as well as regular meetings related to current issues.
-They produce three newsletters annually, in English, Arabic and Hebrew.
-The NCF lobbies internationally on behalf of the Bedouin.
-There is also direct action in the 'unrecognised villages' – for example, organising water convoys, renovating kindergartens, connecting unrecognised villages to the national water supply network, constructing access roads to villages and more.
-There is a legal aid project providing legal assistance as required.

Palestine

Arab Educational Institute:

-AEI is an NGO affiliated to Pax Christi International. It was established in Bethlehem in 1986. "Working with youth, women and educators, it is engaged in the field of community education to contribute to the general causes of participation in public life and in peace and justice; the building of a free, democratic and culturally pluralistic Palestine, and the sharing and communication of the daily life reality of Palestine with broader audiences."
-The 'Living in the Holy Land' project is designed to promote understanding between Israelis and Palestinians by exposing pupils to each-other's religions. With this goal in mind, a draft teacher manual has been developed. Fourteen schools in the Bethlehem/Ramallah area have begun using the materials.
-'Sharing Stories' is a Palestinian-Dutch educational exchange, which includes regular internet communication between Dutch and Palestinian students.
-It runs an annual 'Peace Pilgrimage' for students from around the world.
-There is a 'Non-Violence and the Land' project, which engages youth from the Bethlehem and Hebron districts in small-scale non-violent actions related to land problems.
-AEI runs regular letter campaigns to raise awareness of the Palestinian situation in the US.
-It also organises regular fieldtrips for students, teachers and families.

Holy Land Trust

- This was established in Bethlehem in 1988 "with the aim of strengthening, encouraging and improving the Palestinian community through working with children, families, youth, and the non-governmental organisation community. This goal is achieved on three levels: the creation of comprehensive community awareness programmes, working on local and international advocacy initiatives, and building local and international networks and partnerships."

International Peace and Cooperation Centre:

-It was established in 1988 in Jerusalem as an independent Palestinian NGO. "IPCC's mission is to develop proactive initiatives which support the social, cultural, political, and economic processes essential to a peaceful, democratic, and prosperous future for the Palestinian people."
-IPCC created the first multidisciplinary Palestinian team to deal with strategic and action planning in Jerusalem. This has led to three volumes worth of research.
-It conducts capacity building training for labour groups, youth, and women's organisations. This centres on the skills and knowledge required for empowerment of civil society.
-There is a youth forum to train future leaders "with the necessary tools to become constructive and non-violent advocates for Palestinian goals."
-Other activities relate to 'Conflict and Peace', as well as 'Media and Image of the other'.

The Palestine Centre for Conflict Resolution and Reconciliation:

-The Palestinian Centre for Conflict Resolution and Reconciliation was established "to help change the approach to conflict resolution within the Palestinian community and among the people of the region."
-They have created a programme for teaching peace in schools. This is a 40 hour course, beginning with 10th grade students.
-The Psychological Counselling programme provides counselling to youths between 15 and 20. Each meeting has between 20 and 25 participants, and lasts between two and four hours. In total, they form a 30 hour workshop.
-The Police Training Programme trains police, security men and government employees how to deal with the public. Workshops are held in Hebron, Bethlehem, Abu Dis, Jericho and Ramallah. The workshops last a total of 30 hours.
-In 1999 there was a training programme for Palestinian and Israeli security men at Allenby Bridge (40 hours), which worked on conflict resolution. There was a similar programme at the Karni crossing with Gaza. There are other regular conflict resolution activities with Israelis.
-There are also regular lectures for the general public.

Palestinian Centre for Peace and Democracy

-This NGO is "devoted to all issues related to democracy, civil society and the protection of human rights for the Palestinian people as stipulated in the Declaration of Palestinian independence issued in 1988."

Ta'awom Youth Foruma:

-It was founded in March 2002 in Jerusalem. "Our aim is to promote a higher level of Palestinian mankind for the third millennium. From our inception, we focus on peace and democracy within the Palestinian society, also we are dedicated to providing humanitarian aid, spreading solidarity and developing new ideas for the creation of a
peaceful, just and equitable world."
-It provides youth projects, training services, workshops and humanitarian aid. It relies mainly on volunteers.

Israel/Palestine

Israel-Palestine Centre for Research and Information:

-IPCRI, founded in Jerusalem in 1988, is the only joint Palestinian-Israeli public policy think-tank in the world. "It is devoted to developing practical solutions for the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. IPCRI deals with the cardinal issues in the Israeli-Arab conflict, issues where the two sides find themselves at loggerheads,
and where cooperation is necessary."
-The Strategic Analysis Unit (SAU) deals with issues such: the future of Israeli settlements, security, sovereignty, borders, Jerusalem, and refugees.
-The Environment and Water Department (E & W) deals with environmental standards in agriculture, environment and public health, water pollution, the allocation of water, the development of new innovative models for joint management of natural resources.
-Peace Education - focuses on developing text books in peace education for Israeli and Palestinian schools and on teacher training.
-Current activities:
o Economic working group: Joint team of economists, business people, civil servants from all of the economic ministries on both sides, devoted to expanded economic cooperation, opening blockages in the movement of goods and people, defining priorities for development, and advocating policies that can advance peace through economics and business with economics and business with the government officials.
o Jerusalem Network Forum: A network forum of all Israeli, Palestinian
and international NGO efforts to create a positive agenda for Jerusalem as the future capital of two states, an open city shared under principles of equality and prosperity.
o IPCRI Peace & Democracy Education Conference: On November 19th – 23rd, 2006 in Turkey, this conference brought together Israeli, Palestinian and international participants specialising in education for peace and democracy, both academics and practioners.
o OPTIMA: A joint EUROMED project in which IPCRI has joint Israeli-Palestinian team studying models of water management.
o Wednesday afternoons with IPCRI: IPCRI's public seminars raising issues for public debate and creating opportunities for Israeli-Palestinian public dialogue.

Parents' Circle:

-The Parents' Circle is a group of around 500 families that seeks to solve the ongoing conflict between Israelis and Palestinians through dialogue and mutual conciliation.
-It is made up of Israeli and Palestinian bereaved families who have lost, as a result of the Israeli-Arab conflict, a first degree family member and accepted the principles and objectives of the forum.
-The forum members believe "in putting an end to occupation; termination of hostility and in achieving a political settlement agreed upon by all sides by means of reconciliation and communication between the two peoples and through mutual consideration and respect of each others' national and legitimate aspirations."
-The group also holds meetings between members and high school students.

Seeds of Peace:

-Seeds of Peace was founded in 1993. It is "dedicated to empowering young leaders from regions of conflict with the leadership skills required to advance reconciliation and coexistence."
-In 1993 the programme started with 46 Israeli, Palestinian and Egyptian teenagers, and has now expanded to include programmes in South Asia, Cyprus and the Balkans, although its primary focus is still on the Middle East.
-The main focal point of Seeds of Peace is the International Camp at Maine, the follow-up programming at the Seeds of Peace Centre for Coexistence in Jerusalem, international youth conferences, regional workshops, educational and professional opportunities, and an adult educator programme.
-Each year more than 300 teenagers from the Middle East are chosen from 2000 applicants.
-Since 1993, over 2500 teens from 25 nations have graduated from Seeds of Peace.

Alex Stein, False Dichotomies
alex.stein@talk21.com