Dr. Ron PundakPeres Center for Peace, Peace NGOs Forum |
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“ Well, I believe that at the end of the day, what is needed is to create a strong bond between civil societies. If we do not convince the peoples of the two sides and if we do not utilize the structures of civil society for the process of peace, reconciliation, knowledge, and understanding, etc, we can continue signing agreements forever, but they won't stick. ” [Source in Complete Interview]
“ Today, the biggest challenge is to make it happen. It's much easier today to say it's impossible because almost every activity is like crossing the ocean. With permits, with allowing them [Palestinians] to enter [Israel], with communication, every activity today is really full of hurdles, expected and unexpected. In spite of this we find that we are able to do it and even where we are not successful, we try again on the same issue, and in most cases we are eventually able to break the ice. ” [Source in Complete Interview]
Political Peace Processes/Political Leadership and Jerusalem and Self Determination:
“ We [the Israeli leadership] were stingy [during the Oslo process] on the issue of prisoners, the economy, and almost everything-- not because we wanted to sabotage the process, but because from our point of view, all this might have led to a Palestinian state, which we did not dare to say out-loud-- for example, partition of Jerusalem, which is a must for any agreement. If we continue to say during negotiations that Jerusalem will always be under Israeli control, we are pushing aside Palestinian legitimate activities and sending the wrong message in regards to what we want to have. So to sum it up in a nut-shell, I think we screwed it up. ” [Source in Complete Interview]
“ We should promote the wider picture of peace, not my peace, or their peace or this government's peace. I believe that peace is dictated by the masses. You always need the politicians to carry it one step forward, but politicians listen to the public. And if the public, in the good sense of the word, is calling for it, you need a brave politician to master it and move forward. ” [Source in Complete Interview]
“ A peace agreement with the Palestinians doesn't mean that there won't be extremists on each side who will try to sabotage it. And it doesn't mean that immediately the borders will be open and I will be able to build my home in Nablus and that Palestinians will be able to build their homes in Tel Aviv. Eventually, peace can lead to something which is not a utopian world, but something realistic; it is something that we see happening elsewhere. If you examine the history of wars in Europe, our wars are almost nothing in comparison. ” [Source in Complete Interview]
“ As an Israeli, I think the international audience should differentiate between Israeli government policies and the existence of Israel [….] Any government should be criticized or supported, that’s legitimate. But criticizing the government of Israel should be differentiated from criticizing the legitimacy of the State of Israel or the existence of Israel. ” [Source in Complete Interview]
“ I would like to see the international players become more involved in trying to advance our ability to use our own tools. All our activities are based on donations. NGOs like ours-- non-political, non-governmental organizations-- don’t get one dime from the Israeli government, and we are dependent on assistance coming from other governments, or foundations, or individual donors. ” [Source in Complete Interview]
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