Those of us that spent hours sitting through the Divestment proceedings at UC Berkeley were uniformly dismayed at the bitter decisiveness of the issue. Good people on both sides, convinced of the justice of their position engaged for hours without accomplishing a thing. Many of us wondered- How can we take the energy and passion of these acticvists and channel it towards positive change?
Students at Stanford may have developed a workable stategy. Why not channel efforts to help the organizations in the Middle east that work to build co-existence? Why not work to strenthen the organizations that promote economic, social and cultural bonds between the people of the region? There are many. In Hadassah Hopital nominated for a Nobel Prize in 2005, Arab doctors treat Jewish Patients. Jewish doctors treat Arab patients. Consistent with its philosophy of equal treatment and equal employment opportunities for all, the Hadassah Medical Organization has always embodied the concept that medicine serves as a bridge to peace. Save a Child's heart an Israeli-based international humanitarian project, whose mission is to improve the quality of pediatric cardiac care for children from developing countries including Palestinian children. The Arava Institute for Environmental Studies is a regional center for environmental leadership. With a students from Jordan, the Palestinian territories, Israelis, and around the world the Arava Institute encourages environmental education nad cooperation between all peoples.
Students at Stanford Unniversity have taken this concept a step further, with their innovative "Invest for Peace " program.
One powerful line from the hours-long debate at Berkeley came from the Cal Chabad Rabbi. He made the point that you cannot fight darkness with darkness; you must fight darkness with light. A negative campaign against alleged abuses will only bring more negativity and damage. And, it will not address the issues or solve the problems – it will only cause further polarization and make peace even more elusive. In my experience with divestment when applied to this conflict, damage is wrought, but nothing positive comes of it. In the past, divestment campaigns helped combat apartheid in South Africa and genocide in Darfur. However, the divestment campaign against Israel is a crass bludgeon, which reduces an incredibly complex situation to euphemisms and demonizations.
Therefore, the Stanford Israel Alliance chooses to invest, and we hope you will join us. We agree that the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is deep, complex, and painful. We support the Palestinian people in their desire for an independent state alongside the State of Israel. To that end, we wish to help the Palestinian people build up their infrastructure and economy, which will be the basis for a future state.
In the coming weeks, Stanford Israel Alliance will be raising awareness and support for two NGOs that are working to improve Palestinian and Israeli society. Lendforpeace.org is a microfinance organization based in the Palestinian Territories, inspiring entrepreneurship among Palestinians. The Peres Institute for Peace is an Israeli organization that builds connections between Israeli and Palestinian businessmen, environmentalists, and civil leaders to forge common frameworks between the two peoples.
Our goal is to move past the venomous rhetoric that divestment inspires and attempt to tackle the Israeli/Palestinian conflict from a positive perspective. It is our responsibility as Stanford students to help foster a more nuanced understanding of the issues, and to deal with the legitimate grievances that exist.
The Stanford model can be used by caring students across the country. Invest in Peace. Find and support organizations that work to bring people together, not ones that tear people apart. More co-existence, more interaction, stonger cultural and economic ties are the path to peace.
6 comments:
Dear Sir,
I respect your goals.
However, I wonder if all the time spent at college assemblies to prevent "divestment" votes are worth it?
After all, are the vote results mandatory or suggestive on the investors?
People sit for hours talking themselves hoarse to a bunch of ideological college kids?
The goal of the Divestment people isn't Divestment at all. Thats just yet another ruse. The goal is to demonize Israel in the minds of impressionable young people who will become tommorow's leaders.
Precisely!
That is why the funds and encouragement of outside actors keeps up. That is why certain groups maintian the pretence of being a student movement.
It's a way of advocating a destructive cause without playing in the bigger social sandbox, and thus without attracting the attention of the political Jews or the authorities. Fortunately, the FBI is investigating some of the relationships.
I wonder if here in the Bay Area Lily Haskell realizes that.
She's become a "known" quantity.
That is why the funds and encouragement of outside actors keeps up. That is why certain groups maintian the pretence of being a student movement.
BDS is not a grass roots, student initiated campaign. That was documented a few months back at teh Al Awda Conference in la Mesa, where the extremist group explained their plan for foisting BDS onto california campuses.
http://homelandsecurityus.com/archives/3590
"Lina Othman...explained how the UC Divestment program had developed a campus-wide network in California tailored for each campus community. For example, she explained, the climate at UC Berkeley might be different than the one at San Diego State when it came to divesting from the Jewish state.
Othman told us how SDSU had already three SJP members on the Student Council and they were gunning for ten including the Student Body Presidency. Once they had control of the campus, she explained, they would then institute a campus-wide policy. It was bemoaned during this session that an earlier resolution by her campus against the genocide in Darfur had made a point of saying that it did not include Israel. To get around this, Othman explained that future boycott and divestment actions at SDSU would single out “human rights violations” as the cause of pointing out certain companies and individuals to boycott. It was to be specifically about boycotting and divesting from Israel—the Jews—but they wouldn’t say that so as to deceive people."
THE PALESTNIAN CONTINUE THEY EFFORT TO DESTROY ISRAEL . THE
TALKING ABOUT PEACE. BUT ACTUALLY THE WENT WAR . WE WILL GIVE
THEM THAT . THIS ARAB COMING EVERY DAY TO WORK IN ISRAEL
GETTING BENFIT FRO US . IN ISRAEL LIVING 800.000 ARAB
WE ISRAELI HAS THE RIGHT TO LIVE THERE. IN WEST BANK . THE ARAB
REJECT . OUR RIGHT TO LIVE . USA TRY TO BROKER PEACE SIDED WITH
ARAB .
THIS ARAB DON’T WENT PEACE . THE LIKE TO STEAL FROM US WORK IN
ISRAEL GET FREE ELECTRICITY . AND OTHER SERVICE . THEY CONTINUE
WITH THEY IDEA HOW TO DESTROY ISRAEL . THE SAME TIME THAT WE
RESPECT THEY BEING .
THE ARAB ARE SMART KNOW HOW TO LIE AND USE USA . THE GROWTH OF THE POPULATION IS RAPID . AND UNBALANCE .
THERE WILL BE NO PEACE WITH THIS PEOPLE NEVER . WE REJECT THE
ABSURD IDEA THAT WE CANNOT SETTLE IN WEST BANK . THE ARAB LOST
ALL THE WAR . CONTINUING THE EFFORT TO DESTROY ISRAEL WITH HELP OF
USA .
NO TALK WITH THIS CONDITION . OR OTHER HAND THIS PEOPLE NOT
ALLOWED TO ENTER ISRAEL . THE WENT TO EAT THE CAKE AND ALSO
HAVE THE CAKE. ITS SAD AFFAIR THAT ARAB CONTINUE WITH WAR
PLAN ONE WAY OR OTHER .
YES WE ISRAELI SUFFER 2000 YEARS . BUT NOW THE COLONIZING BY USA AND EUROPE FROM FAR AWAY .
LETS SEE WHAT NEW IDEA THIS PEOPLE HAS TO MURDER KILL AND DESTROY US NEXT WEEK
ITS VERY LIKELY THAT ISRAEL GOING TO BE DESTROY OUR LEADER AS SIMON PERSS AND OTHER . DESTROY AND BROUGHT TO US HOLOCAUST BEFORE . THE IGNORING THE SET OF MIND THAT ARAB HAS . THEY IGNORING THAT THEY AREA IS SMALL . THAT ARAB CANNOT TAKE CARE OF THEMSELVES . IN SOUTH AFRICA USA BROUGHT PEACE WHICH IS MORE CRIME AND MURDER
MEIR GREENFELD
"save a child's heart" is an outstanding organization
There is a cardiac ward in a hospital in Tel Aviv where children lie on cots as doctors and nurses check charts and adjust advanced medical equipment. It is busy here. Some of the children sit up on stretchers in the halls, watching, playing with toys or taking spoonfuls of cereal from their parents.
These children are not Jewish. Indeed, none hold Israeli citizenship. Many come from China, Russia, Hungary, Yemen and other nations far from Israel. On closer inspection, you will discover that half of the children being treated here are Palestinians from the West Bank. All of these kids are receiving some of the best medical care available in the world, to heal their broken hearts.
The Save A Child's Heart program was started by Dr. Fred Amir, born in Brooklyn. He moved to Israel in 1992 to work at the Wolfson Medical Center in Holon. Three years later, he was asked to operate on two Ethiopian children suffering from heart disease. With that, the Save a Child's Heart foundation was born. Since then, the hospital has saved the lives of more than 1,100 children. It is privately funded, though indirectly subsidized by the Israeli government.
read more, here:
http://daledamos.blogspot.com/2010/05/childrens-cardiac-ward-near-tel-aviv.html
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