« Thematic Highlights

Civil Society

Rami Nasrallah
International Peace and Cooperation Center (IPCC) Portrait »
Interview Highlights »

“ The leadership is not able to think of creative ideas about how to make a just peace. They know what to demand but they do not know how to build systems to achieve peace. Part of my duty is to think of the system. Peace is a whole system. Everything should work together in an integrative way. Economy, education, democracy, culture, trade, infrastructure, etc., should work together smoothly as a part of a peace agreement. The leaders are responsible for signing the agreements and we should find ways to implement them. Peace agreements will not tell us how to do it, rather what piece of land we will get. I assume that if we get all that we demand, we will ask the question, "What are we going to do with what we achieved?" I want to answer this question, irrespective of when the Israelis are going to leave us to establish our state in all the areas occupied in 1967.”  [Source in Complete Interview]

Gidon Bromberg
EcoPeace/Friends of the Earth Middle East Portrait »
Interview Highlights »

“ Peace, and sustainable development. That's the mandate of the organization; we're working at creating peace between peoples. We're very much aware that if you only focus on the prime ministers or the presidents signing some sort of accord, it's meaningless. Israel and Jordan have had a peace treaty for ten years. There's no peace between Israelis and Jordanians; it doesn't exist, it's a fallacy. Most Jordanians are hostile toward Israel, and most Israelis are unaware of anything that's really going on in Jordan. It's not peace, and if it stays at that artificial, governmental level, with a change of government, it will all crumble, it will all disappear. The type of peace process that involves people, that involves communities and the shared environment, creates real foundations for peace, it builds understanding.”  [Source in Complete Interview]

Ali Abu Awwad
Bereaved Families Forum, Al Tareek (The Way) Portrait »
Interview Highlights »

“ We should have a good and respectful relationship between two countries, not between a people and their occupier. The creation of two countries is the solution. This is the final solution. The current solution is that both people sit down and decide that we have had enough killing and occupation. The people should decide upon this, not the governments. The governments can’t force upon us something we don’t want. We should convince each other of each others case. This is how people get married. They love each other before getting married; they can’t marry when they are enemies.”  [Source in Complete Interview]

Michal Zak
The School for Peace Portrait »
Interview Highlights »

“ [Our work] is not going to stop the bulldozers. It won't do that. But I researched the roots of the change in South Africa, and from a few articles I read I realized they mentioned nine causes for the transition to democracy. The first was the economic sanctions on South Africa. The second was that the security forces were exhausted and couldn't enforce the violence they initiated and used. And somewhere between 1 and 9 was the fact that there were always groups that engaged in dialogue and cooperation, and white people who joined in the black people's struggle.”  [Source in Complete Interview]

Rami Nasrallah
International Peace and Cooperation Center (IPCC) Portrait »
Interview Highlights »

“ Working on conflict resolution means we have to acknowledge that the conflict is not only political, but also social, economic and educational, regional and local. We need to figure out how to deal with all these conflicts within a single framework. Political conflict could be solved but the educational, intellectual, conflict will continue to exist, so the region should be in sync to be able to work it out.”  [Source in Complete Interview]

Adina Shapiro
Middle East Children's Association (MECA) Portrait »
Interview Highlights »

“ I would like to see a reality where every school is a place that can encourage and raise responsible citizens that see themselves as people that can contribute to building society. To see that play a significant role in a peaceful negotiation, eventually filtering down between the two peoples and allowing us not to live nonviolently side by side. For the next generation to be able to take on the challenges that are ahead of them in these changing times is something I think the educational institutions can provide some kind of guidance for.”  [Source in Complete Interview]

Michal Eskenazi
Young Israeli Forum for Cooperation Portrait »
Interview Highlights »

“ Young professionals are young people who have attained respectable positions, mostly due to their leadership abilities. At YIFC we claim that although they have achieved a lot for their age, it hasn’t amounted to that much, broadly speaking. These leaders are in the outer circles; for example, assistants to members of parliament. Occasionally, you hear of people who became members of Knesset at a very young age but usually you don’t. There isn’t a tendency to welcome young people [in politics], quite the contrary. So these people work as parliamentary assistants or student union leaders and relative to their age they are successful, but we believe that there is much more to be desired. These people are very open, they are creative and flexible thinkers and have fewer commitments than they will have ten years from now [...] We believe that these [young] leaders are situated between civil society and decision makers.”  [Source in Complete Interview]

Michal Eskenazi
Young Israeli Forum for Cooperation Portrait »
Interview Highlights »

“ Perhaps it is linked to their background and daily life, but they [Palestinians] come and very much want to make an immediate change. We hold our dialogue sessions yet nothing changes, as though for the Palestinians we Israelis are the representatives of the State of Israel and we are responsible for changing the situation. I would like to instigate change but I have yet to take up a post in the Prime Minister’s office, so right now I can’t…I am also just a civilian, I do have the power allotted to citizens but it isn’t the same power the state has, not yet.”  [Source in Complete Interview]

Shwanesh Maniov
Seeds of Peace, Children of Abraham Portrait »
Interview Highlights »

“ I think the [peace] process should be interpersonal. Hate often comes from ignorance - I'm afraid of what I don't know, when I don't know the other side I'm afraid, and I build a wall. I think that if you break the wall then peace can be achieved, much more authentically than a politician signing a peace treaty…”  [Source in Complete Interview]

Ester Golan
Interfaith Encounter Association Portrait »
Interview Highlights »

“ You have to be able to live with yourself and the other. The same way that I want to live with myself, he has to live with himself. So this encounter with the other enables us to see the other and to respect the other for what he is. He doesn't have to think the same way as I do, doesn't have to believe the same way as I do, but if I encounter him and I get to know him, I can respect him and hope that he does the same to me. And I think that the encounter with the other-- and living side by side-- is something that is irrespective of political decisions; whatever great hardships are caused by politicians should not prevent me from being able to encounter the other in his otherness.”  [Source in Complete Interview]

Dr. Ron Pundak
Peres Center for Peace, Peace NGOs Forum Portrait »
Interview Highlights »

“ 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]

Dr. Khuloud Dajani
People's Campaign for Peace and Democracy Portrait »
Interview Highlights »

“ Working for peace not only pertains to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict; we work for peace as part of cultural education or social education. Our society is reacting to the oppression, the suffering, the economic and social crises and the current problems. Psychologically, human beings unconsciously act as defenders. The lack of peaceful upbringing affects children’s daily behavior and their emotional and philosophical upbringing. […]Therefore, raising awareness about peace education is crucial. A culture of peace has to be practiced and lived daily, and to be embraced through behavior and speech.”  [Source in Complete Interview]

Riyad Faraj
Parents Circle-Bereaved Families Forum Portrait »
Interview Highlights »

“ We did not go there [to meet with Israelis in the Bereaved Families Forum] to compliment the Israelis or to complain to them. We went there so that their voice would be louder to their government--to let us have a good life, and to convey that it is our right to live. We also wanted to tell them that we are not here [at a seminar in a hotel in Jerusalem] to escape our stressful lives, but because we are looking for a better life for our children.”  [Source in Complete Interview]

Rami Nasrallah
International Peace and Cooperation Center (IPCC) Portrait »
Interview Highlights »

“ We keep thinking about occupation and its consequences, but we don't think about the ways that we can change it. For example, if Sharon got crazy one day and decided he was going to give us the West Bank and Jerusalem back, what would we do with it? This is our main concern: what is our role as Palestinians once occupation is over and how can we be prepared.”  [Source in Complete Interview]

Kitty O. Cohen
Folklore of the Other: The Institute for the Study of Religion and Communities in Israel Portrait »
Interview Highlights »

“ In politically bad times there is more need for grassroots work, and when the political situation is positive then grassroots can be co-opted into the system. Then they can contribute. Their think tanks, their activists and their people can be integrated into the political vision. But in times of need, in times of trouble, there is great need for grassroots organizations precisely to counter the violence, the hatred between our peoples. The new friendships and honest dialogues between Palestinians and Israelis have given me the hope and courage to continue. As one of our second century Sages said, I need not complete the task, but neither am I at liberty to desist from it (Rabbi Tarfon, Avot,2,16). ”  [Source in Complete Interview]

Tzvika Shahak
Association for the Commemoration of Bat-Chen Shahak, Bereaved Families Forum Portrait »
Interview Highlights »

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Abigail Jacobson
Hands of Peace Portrait »
Interview Highlights »

“ I don't support academic sanctions, but not only because I'm an academic. I don't think they can be a solution. I don't think that academic sanctions promote anything because much of the critical discourse comes from academia and I want to be involved in promoting this type of discourse at the academic programs I am part of. So an academic ban on Israeli institutions is counter-productive. I wouldn't be able to attend conferences and discuss academic matters that interest me, and I don't think that promotes anything. I do think that it's important to ban produce from settlements worldwide.”  [Source in Complete Interview]

Meir Margalit
Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions Portrait »
Interview Highlights »

“ I believe in the concept of a "critical mass." Every person actively participating will at some point become part of a critical mass, which will then take hold. I can't claim that by saving any one house I've greatly contributed to advancing peace. I do believe that our work, if joined by scores of people and other organizations, can achieve a critical mass, and that will lead to favorable political change.”  [Source in Complete Interview]

Kitty O. Cohen
Folklore of the Other: The Institute for the Study of Religion and Communities in Israel Portrait »
Interview Highlights »

“ Everybody [must be involved in the peace process]! Beginning with kindergarten teachers, parents, reporters, businesses, everybody; all sectors of the population, everybody needs to be involved, in a totally different way. It has to be through the media and in businesses and in education on all levels.”  [Source in Complete Interview]

Dimitri Diliani
People's Campaign for Peace and Democracy Portrait »
Interview Highlights »

“ If you look at past peace agreements or proposals for peace and reconciliation, you'll see that they are not even known by the names of the people that made them. Take Camp David. Oslo. Sharm El-Sheikh. Camp David II. Or there are agreements that bear names like "Tenet" or "Mitchell." None of these names are Palestinian or even Arab. Except for Sharm El-Sheikh, perhaps, which was only a security arrangement. So you find yourself thinking, where are the ordinary people? Why don't they speak their minds? The doctors and the bakers and the teachers and the scientists… why don't they voice what they want?”  [Source in Complete Interview]

Kobi Snitz
Anarchists Against the Wall Portrait »
Interview Highlights »

“ Even ten Israelis at a demonstration can make a real difference. We know from the army's own declarations that their open fire regulations change as soon as they think there are Israelis around. For example, they are not to use live fire when there are Israelis around, and they are not to fire rubber bullets in a direction where they think there are Israelis. So even a small number of Israelis can make a difference, and a large number obviously can make a big difference.”  [Source in Complete Interview]

Yehuda Stolov
Interfaith Encounter Association Portrait »
Interview Highlights »

“ Peace means harmonious relations between all the residents of the region. I don't think it is associated with any specific political model. I think that peace makes many political models possible, some of which seem like complete fantasies given the reality. Without constructing the human infrastructure, even the most conventional model - such as that of two states - seems pretty bizarre, too. An agreement can't hold up if it lacks human infrastructure. The Oslo Accords didn't fall apart because it was a bad agreement but because there was no trust between the two communities.”  [Source in Complete Interview]

Yana Knopova
Coalition of Women For Peace Portrait »
Interview Highlights »

“ Currently we're undergoing a process of disillusionment; our principles are expanding, as are our social views, and the radical aspect is growing and becoming more profound. It's our link to other struggles. I'm very excited about this process. I hope I've contributed to it in some way. I think that [the linking of our struggle with other struggles] is what is going to solve this conflict in the end. My views aren't based at all on the conflict with the Palestinians. That conflict is one of many symptoms of a badly put together world. It's simply badly put together. It's a patriarchal system, aggressive, horrible, based on specific economic interests.”  [Source in Complete Interview]