Jewish
"My community is not outraged against the Israeli government because of human rights violations perpetrated against the Palestinian and the Bedouin populations. I live in a community that is in some ways very satiated; those things are done to make me feel more comfortable when I get on the bus, when I go to university, so that when I'm with my partner at a café I feel safer. There is an element of justification in every conversation with my community, and it's very, very present."
Devorah Brous founded Bustan, an environmental justice organization working primarily in Israel's Negev region with Jewish and Bedouin communities, and was its executive director for nine years. The word "bustan" (fruit orchard in Arabic, Hebrew, and Persian) reflects traditional and diverse indigenous planting patterns of the region. Bustan plants and builds with low cost, sustainable technologies and advocates sustainable development that serves both Jewish and Arab populations, and promotes fair allocation of clean natural resources and community self-reliance.
Enough of the Jerusalem mantra, By Daniel Seidemann, Common Ground News Service, September 18, 2008.
Letting Israel Self-Destruct, By Daniel Seidemann, The Washington Post, August 26, 2004.
Corking the Volcano: Terror and Counter-terror in Jerusalem, By Daniel Seidemann, Opinio Juris, September 8, 2008.
Flirting with the apocalypse, By Daniel Seidemann and Lara Friedman, Ha'aretz.
"Things were not nearly as good as they appeared to be in the summer of 2000, but they're not nearly as bad as they appear to be today. There's a viable city here [in Jerusalem]. It's not a utopian city; it's politically achievable, but it's not going to happen tomorrow morning. We are years away from a genuine political process in Jerusalem I believe, but I also believe that we're not decades away."
In January 2010, Daniel Seidemann founded Terrestrial Jerusalem, an Israeli non-profit organization that works to identify and track developments in Jerusalem. Prior to founding Terrestrial Jerusalem, Daniel conducted legal work with Ir Amim, where he took on cases defending individuals, families and communities who were negatively impacted by the wall and the expansion of Jewish settlements in and around Jerusalem.
"It was important for me to know that there was a starting point for Israelis and Palestinians to talk to each other that was based on the possibility of mutual recognition, not one on the account of the other, and not one in the place of the other... I always believed that the basis for coexistence is existence, that you can't have coexistence if one side is wiped off the map."
Gershon Baskin moved to Israel from the United States in the late 1970s. He worked with Jews and Arabs within Israel until the first intifada, when he began promoting dialogue and opportunities for cooperation between Israelis and Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza. He is the founder of IPCRI, a jointly-run Israeli and Palestinian think tank that works with hundreds of Israelis and Palestinians in government and the private sector. IPCRI was first based in Jerusalem, and in the late 1990s moved its offices to Bethlehem.
"We know so much more about what is going on in America than in any given place on earth, and we don't know anything about those who really live next door. So for me that is really the number one task of what we are trying to accomplish."
When she was nine years old, Orly Noy immigrated to Israel from Iran during Iran's Islamic revolution. Now the spokesperson of Ir Amim, she was the Hebrew language host and producer at All For Peace radio, a station with a staff of Israelis and Palestinians. Before joining All for Peace radio, Orly worked providing care for mentally disabled people and the elderly. She and her husband have two children, and their oldest daughter attends the bi-lingual school, where Israeli and Palestinian children are taught in Arabic and Hebrew.
I forgave him
By Kobi Ben-Simhon, Ha'aretz
Former Palestinian prisoners, future peacemakers
By Robi Damelin
"Instead of channeling it into revenge, the people in our group have chosen another direction for their pain. The pain breaks down barriers very quickly between Palestinians and Israelis in the group. There's a sense of trust. It's not hummus and hugs— it's much deeper than that; it's acknowledgement and empathy, which happen much faster than in a normal meeting between a Palestinian and an Israeli because we recognize each other immediately through the pain."
Robi Damelin's son David was killed by a Palestinian sniper while he was guarding a checkpoint near a settlement during his army reserve service. Robi is an active member of a group of 500 Israeli and Palestinian families who have lost close family members and who work together for reconciliation and a just resolution to the conflict. She speaks with a Palestinian partner in communities and schools throughout Israel and the Palestinian Territories, as well as internationally.
“As a citizen, it is my responsibility to censure what I believe is wrong and to try to correct the situation . . . My whole family will suffer badly from a boycott, but if I have to weigh and measure the continued killing against suffering economic distress, I know where my fealty lies and what my job is.”
When the events of October 2000 caused Dorothy Naor to begin questioning her beliefs, she joined New Profile, a feminist Israeli organization that aims to “civil-ize” Israeli society and objects to its militarization. Today, Dorothy seeks to inform Israeli and international communities about the price Israelis pay as a result of the occupation.
"This conflict of oppositions is constantly true at checkpoints, too. We protest, yet we assist the Occupation’s existence. We stand by the soldiers and seek to modify their aggression, yet the soldiers perceive us as enemies, not as assistance. But, among us are mothers and grandmothers, whose sons serve in the army. So we encounter a conflict: I’m not against the soldiers, I oppose the policy.”
As the daughter of Eliyahu Golomb, one of the founders of the Haganah and a leader in the Zionist movement, Dalia Golomb’s adolescence was heavily influenced by the presence of the Haganah, the Labor Party and Mapai. For the past eight years, Dalia has worked with Machsom Watch, an organization of Israeli women who oppose the Occupation and advocate for the right of Palestinians to move freely.
"Public action is much more important, and in terms of democracy, even more powerful than legal means. The public is supposed to scream and the government should be afraid of that happening. That’s really what we’re trying to do."
Born in Jerusalem and raised in a politically-minded, Orthodox family, Hagit Ofran avidly studied and was concerned with the history and identity of the Israeli and Jewish people. Today, she is the Director of Peace Now’s Settlement Watch team, where she coordinates the most comprehensive independent database on settlements, collects and publishes reports regarding settlement development and policy and has been involved in providing evidence for several appeals, the majority of which deal with illegal settlement and outpost construction.
Havayati - a personal website
"I am responsible for creating change. Once I start working and stop sitting around complaining, that’s when significant change will occur."
Elad Vazana was born in the southern development town of Ofakim. Elad is an artist, an educator, an experienced mediator and facilitator; he develops curricula for facilitation, initiates and facilitates social change. He has been involved in dialogue for many years. His extensive experience facilitating Israeli-Palestinian dialogue meetings for youth led him to be one of the managers of the Sulha Peace Project, where Jews and Arabs, Israelis and Palestinians meet and build mutual trust.
"I don’t know what I would if I were in [the Palestinians'] shoes, if I experienced the humiliation they do at checkpoints. If you ask me, I think violence won’t lead us anywhere."
Amnon Sadovsky was born and lives in Jerusalem. His interest and experience in social involvement began in high school in the scouts, followed by a year of community service in Tel Mond. Amnon helped found the first non-professional high school in Beit Shemesh and later participated in dialog workshops for Israeli and Palestinian teachers in MECA. After 2000 Amnon joined Ta’ayush’s South Hebron committee and taught at the Hand in Hand Jewish-Arab School in Jerusalem. His various interests connect social, economic and political struggles.
