Dr. Ron Pundak
"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 is saying that it would really like to do it, you need a brave politician to master it and move forward."
Dr. Ron Pundak played an important part in starting the Oslo peace process in 1993. Through his work in the early '90s with Israeli-Palestinian economic cooperation, Dr. Pundak established relationships with Palestinian leaders. He became an intermediary between Palestinian and Israeli political leaders who had not yet held official meetings. Dr. Pundak is Executive Director of the Peres Center for Peace, which sponsors grassroots programs for Israeli and Palestinian peace and cooperation. Dr. Pundak was also part of the core group behind the Geneva Initiative, a non-governmental plan for an Israeli-Palestinian peace agreement written by Israeli and Palestinian civillian leaders and politicians.
