Following on the above formulations, I propose “the Oslo Accords-U.S. President Trump’s ‘Deal of the Century’ ” period. It extends Salem and Kaufman’s historical phases while combining Lazarus’s fourth and fifth turning points. During this period, some Israelis and most Palestinians moved from the initial hope of Oslo to the dismay with Trump’s approach to Israeli-Palestinian relations. In the first half of this period, the momentum of peace and international funding generated by Oslo were countered by internal and external realities, including (1) rightist Israeli governments after Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin’s assassination by an extremist Jew in 1995 and a huge increase or expansion of Israeli settlements in East Jerusalem and the West Bank; (2) concerns over leadership and good governance in the Palestinian Authority; and (3) lack of resolve and vision in the international community ←10 | 11→to bridge the gap between the Israeli government and the Palestinians, thus leading to a feeble peace process and stalemate.
In the second half of this period, Israel enhanced its settlement enterprise, thus endangering the two-state solution. The Palestinians suffered from infighting and division, which were caused by conflict between the Fatah-led Palestinian Authority in the West Bank and the Islamic Resistance Movement Hamas in the Gaza Strip. In addition, three major confrontations flared up between Israel and Hamas in 2008–2009, 2012, and 2014. Peace negotiations or agreements—Oslo II (1995), Hebron Protocol (1997), Camp David Summit (2000), Taba Summit (2001), “Road Map” for Peace (2003), and Sharm el-Sheikh (2005), among others—helped a little but did not substantively advance peace or slow the birth of peacebuilding entities or projects. During this period, 130 peacebuilding initiatives were founded or 79.3% of the current field (Lazarus, 2017, p. 31). In my own study of peacebuilding initiatives, 67.8% of the current field started in 1993. Contrary to expectations, when the ebb and flow in the peace process ran out of waves, peacebuilding in and between Israel and Palestine intensified.
The Structure of the Book
This book contains separate analyses that focus on both individual and collective efforts to build peace, as is presented in Chapter 3 and in Chapters 4, 5, and 6, respectively. Most of the peacebuilding organizations mentioned in this book are listed chronologically in Appendix: Peacebuilding Entities and Initiatives in Israel and Palestine, 1949–2016. Moreover, this book highlights peacebuilding in Israeli-Palestinian relations by examining it at the individual, pair, and entity levels. The rationale is to explore how those involved at each level view the relationship with the other and act to bring about coexistence, a shared society, or peace in a sustained way amid major challenges and an uncertain future. It is also to discover the commonality or common ground at each level and how that can enhance the potential for peace.
In focusing on peacebuilding in Israeli-Palestinian relations, this book first argues for the need to think of Israeli-Palestinian relations instead of Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Conflict is usually only part of a relationship. More and more attention in daily living and research must consider the human dimension, not only the political, military, and strategic. Humanizing the other will motivate individuals and communities for sustained commitment to peacebuilding. That is why there is considerable attention given to ←11 | 12→peacebuilding at the individual, pair, and group levels. Second, this book expresses the need to synchronize top-down peacemaking with bottom-up peacebuilding. When a peace agreement is signed, it is the people who must live the peace … together! Third, this book urges Israelis and Palestinians to take peace more seriously, as their present and future depend on it, and to do so in an intentional and strategic way. Fourth, if peace and reconciliation are to materialize and be sustained, memory must extend beyond the thoughts of suffering to enable the restructuring of identity, regaining of humanity, and embracing of constructive relationships. Fifth and last, this book calls upon people and groups of good will, as well as national governments, the United Nations and other international institutions, nongovernmental organizations, and foundations to increase their support of peacebuilding efforts.
With the above in mind, this book consists of this Introduction and seven other chapters. Given that Israeli-Palestinian relations are an extension of Jewish-Arab relations that date back for centuries, Chapter 1 elucidates the past or the historical and current contexts of peacebuilding. It provides a quick overview of Jewish-Arab and Israeli-Palestinian relations, using both a top-down “official” narrative and a bottom-up “people” narrative. This is meant to point to the gap between the two, thus alerting governmental decision-makers and security officials to consider more carefully how their actions have consequences on ordinary people and to limit violence so as to create understanding and enhance the potential for building bridges of peace. Lastly, this chapter gives a brief history of peacebuilding efforts in Israel and Palestine, clarifying how events have increased or reduced the number and value of such efforts.
Chapter 2 goes beyond competing narratives and contested histories by raising issues relevant to thinking about peacebuilding and peace in Israeli-Palestinian relations. Among these are the agreement on the language we use, the time periods we emphasize, the boundaries and maps we follow, and the ideological perspectives and narratives we espouse. In addition, the chapter checks the pulse of Arab-Jewish/Israeli-Palestinian relations by reporting the results of Israeli and Palestinian surveys in an attempt to discover how people feel about contending issues and under what conditions peacebuilders live and work.
Chapter 3 examines peacebuilding at the individual level. It presents five peacebuilders in Israel and Palestine—Gershon Baskin, Robi Damelin, Sami Awad, Yehuda Stolov, and Huda Abu Arqoub. Although they represent ←12 | 13→differing backgrounds and interests, they are joined by a strong commitment to positive change in their own national communities. The chapter brings to light common characteristics of peacebuilders, which are beneficial to understanding peacebuilding at the pair and entity levels.
Chapters 4 and 5 analyze how it takes special people to work together, challenge the status quo, and speak the simple truth of mutual respect and peace. The focus is placed on peacebuilding leaders from opposite sides of the divide who have found the courage to team up as “uncommon pairs” and engage in joint actions for the benefit of their respective communities. While Chapter 4 presents three case studies: the late Israeli Jewish psychologist Dan Bar-On and Palestinian educator Sami Adwan, Israeli Palestinian Ibtisam Mahameed and Israeli Jewish Elana Rozenman, and Israeli Jewish Yaniv Sagee and Israeli Palestinian Mohammad Darawshe, Chapter 5 expands the circle of analysis by showcasing five peacebuilding entities—Neve Shalom-Wahat al-Salam, Just Vision, Hand in Hand, Combatants for Peace, and Women Wage Peace—within Israel and Palestine. It explains how these have progressed over the years and struggled to find best ways toward coexistence, tolerance, peace, and reconciliation.
Chapter 6 looks at the challenges and opportunities of peacebuilding in Israeli-Palestinian relations. It points to how Israeli and Palestinian peacebuilders find or fail to find value in peacebuilding. It touches upon the challenge of funding, especially from the Western world. It concludes by going beyond peacebuilding with recommendations on how to move peace forward.
Finally, Chapter 7 argues for seekers of peace to start cultivating “the habits of peace,” which are a wider perspective, a long-term view, dialogue, compassion, forgiveness, nonviolence, and reconciliation. If internalized and properly practiced, these habits can spell hope and bring people closer to peace. The chapter ends with an open letter to Israelis and Palestinians, urging them to reconsider their past and present and imagine a better tomorrow for themselves and future generations.
References
Barnett, M., Kim, H., O’Donnell, M. and Sitea, L. (2007). “Peacebuilding: What is in a name?” Global Governance 13(1): 35–58.
Boulding, E. M. (1999). Peace culture: Living with difference. Keynote address at the Boston Research Center for the 21st Century, Boston, M.A. Retrieved