Brown Conference: New Hope for Israeli-Palestinian Peace?
Wednesday, March 16, 2011
A conference at Brown University last weekend dived into the thorny issue of Israeli-Palestinian relations.
David Jacobson, a professor of Judaic Studies and lead organizer of the event, said he hoped the conference would help offer a new perspective on what the overly polarized discourse that surrounds the topic.
Organizers of the event—billed as the “Israelis and Palestinians: Working Together for a Better Future”—deliberately set out to invite a varied group of activists whose work, while highly influential, is widely unknown. By bringing the collaborative efforts of these individuals to light, the event aimed to challenge the widespread assumption of uncompromising conflict between the two groups.
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLASTAmong the speakers were Wassim Bashara, the leader of an Israeli-Jewish band which performs throughout the Middle East; Mossi Raz, the Israeli director of the Palestinian Israeli Peace Coalition; Eyal Naveh, a professor of History at Tel Aviv University, and author of seven Israeli textbooks; and Hanna Siniora, the first Palestinian representative to meet with the Regan administration, and an instrumental figure in Israel’s recognition of the PLO.
One noteworthy speaker was Maysa Baransi-Siniora, one of only three women invited to the conference, and the Palestinian Co-Director of All for Peace Radio—the only fully collaborative Israeli-Palestinian media outlet operating in the Middle East today. The station broadcasts in Arabic and Hebrew 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and serves as a key communication platform for peace advocates and regional reconciliation efforts.
In addition to the numerous lectures offered by the participants, the conference also featured a theatrical performance by the Galilee Multicultural Theater entitled “Neighbors,” which details an encounter between a Jewish actor and a Palestinian musician. The Galilee Theater (pictured right), which is based in Jerusalem, bills itself as an organization which seeks to recruit members “who form a human mosaic representative of the diverse population of the region’s Jews and Arabs.”
A Controversial Capstone
The culminating event of the conference was the Monday night panel discussion, which brought all the participants together to have a shared discussion regarding the future of Israeli-Palestinian relations. While the previous events tended to be colored with optimism, the panel debate was at times contentious—a testament to just how complicated the issue truly is.
The discussion was moderated by Jacobson, who opened the debate by asking the participants a series of general questions concerning the plausibility of a two-state solution, and the potential impact of the recent revolutionary movements.
Gershon Baskin, an Israeli Zionist who has worked closely with numerous peace organizations, challenged the question by emphasizing just how difficult it is to predict the future of such a tumultuous region.
“Recent events should make us humble in our predictions,” he warned, “if people believe these revolutions will stop at the gate of the West Bank or Gaza they are greatly mistaken.” Baskin went on to declare that while he felt a two-state solution was currently possible, it may not be for long, and that both parties should act soon if they are to prevent the conflict from devolving into another Bosnia.
“I’m frustrated…we’re going backwards instead of forwards”
While most participants expressed at least mild support of a two-state solution, Hanna Siniora, a long-time Palestinian peace activist, raised eyebrows with his contentious suggestion of a three-state solution. “I would like to be controversial tonight, but also constructive,” Siniora stated wryly. He then went on to sketch out a hypothetical scenario in which the proposed two states were joined by a third state, one subsumed in Israel intended for Palestinians who are also Israeli citizens.
“It is the first time I have brought such an idea out in the open,” admitted Siniora, “…but I’m frustrated. I’ve been working on this for almost 40 years, and it seems like now we’re going backwards instead of forwards.”
Eyal Naveh, a professor of history at Tel Aviv University, echoed this tone of disillusionment, suggesting that people should stop using the term conflict “solution” because “there is no solution to the human condition.” Accepting conflict and disagreement as inevitable, Naveh went on to state “the issue is now how to manage the conflict—to move from a paradigm of conflict solution to conflict management.”
Still Hope, For Now….
But not all were so cynical in their predictions. Maysa Baransi-Siniora, a Palestinian radio director and one of only two women on the panel, remained adamant in her optimism. “Perhaps it is because I’m so young,” she acknowledged, before expressing her hope in the youth movement. “What I see happening is an awakening of the youth,” exclaimed Baransi-Sinora, “I would like to see that happen in Israel—for the youth to say ‘enough, I’ve had it with this occupation!’”
In the end, all the panelists managed to agree that there is an urgent need to act soon. They also all recognized the importance of American involvement in the peace process, but similarly acknowledged, as Siniora put it: “The U.S. cannot do this for us.”
When asked sum up the overall feeling of the conference, Gershon Baskin told GoLocalProv “our collective message is that this conflict is resolvable and that its resolution can be now…the two states for two peoples solution is possible now, but not for much longer. There is a great urgency for our leaders to act now!”
