Healing IsraelPalestine Rabbi Michael Lerner

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Healing Israel/PalestineRabbi Michael Lerner

• World Peacemaking Mission Team
• Alison Elder
• Linc Spaulding

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Chapter 5 Difficulties Sustaining Peace

• 1993 - Oslo Accords
• Mutual recognition of each states right to exist
• Staged negotiation gradual transfer to build
  confidence
• Recognizes PLO to represent the Palestinians

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Chapter 5 Difficulties Sustaining Peace

• Paths available after Oslo
• Build on 2/3 popular support for Oslo
• Implement prepare the public for what a final
  settlement would mean
• or
• Avoid civil war with the right wing
• I havent given much away still dont trust
  Palestinians

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Chapter 5 Difficulties Sustaining Peace

• What happened after Oslo in Israel
• Withdrawal from Palestinian cities
• Check points
• Allowed continued settlement expansions
• Closing borders collective punishment for
  attacks
• Importing foreign workers to replace Palestinians
  who could not get to their jobs

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Chapter 5 Difficulties Sustaining Peace

• What happened after Oslo in Palestine
• The Palestinian Authority (PA) established
• PA rife with corruption
• Promised aid to the PA? Failed to arrive from
  donor countries
• PA failed to act as the jail keeper failed to
  stop Hamas

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Chapter 5 Difficulties Sustaining Peace

• What happened after Oslo Rabin starts
  negotiating withdrawals from West Bank Gaza
• Change in rhetoric begins to accommodate Arafat
• Israeli right wing civil disobedience (start of
  Civil War)
• Discourse of hate from right wing
• Rabin assassinated by right-wing fanatic

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Chapter 5 Difficulties Sustaining Peace

• After Rabin
• Could a strong enough leader pushed for peace
  after Rabins murder by a right-wing fanatic?
• Was there such a leader available?
• or
• Peres work for Jewish unity, accommodate the
  right-wing
• Vengeance against Palestinians (not a wimp)

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Chapter 5 Difficulties Sustaining Peace

• Palestinian Dynamics
• Palestinian Authority secular, corrupt,
  responsible to prevent violence police the
  people. Would cede land to Israel that should
  remain Islamic
• vs
• Hamas et al. committed to creation of Islamic
  state in all of Palestine
• Hamas attacks ? Israeli retaliation against
  Palestinian people ? weakened Palestinian
  Authority

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Chapter 5 Difficulties Sustaining Peace

• Wye River Accord (Clinton, Netanyahu, Arafat)
• Supposed to withdraw troops from West Bank
• Partial withdrawal, then Netanyahu backpedaled
• Right-wing criticism new elections ? Barak
  elected.

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Chapter 5 Difficulties Sustaining Peace

• Baraks election
• Barak vowed to fulfill terms of Oslo.
• Election achieved with votes from Arabs living in
  Israel
• After the election
• Zionist view that a legitimate Israeli government
  cant be based on Arab votes
• No Arabs appointed to Baraks cabinet.
• Many promised peace moves, but no coalition
  partners would accept ? no action

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Chapter 5 Difficulties Sustaining Peace

• Baraks Generous Offer
• Camp David summit to help Clinton Barak back
  home. Arafat pressured to attend
• What was the real offer? (see pp. 118)
• Acceptance by Arafat political suicide?
• Arafat no acceptance, no counter-offer never
  miss an opportunity to miss an opportunity
• Clinton Barak there is no partner for peace

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Chapter 5 Difficulties Sustaining Peace

• Barak/Sharon Election
• During election visit to the Temple Mount
• Intifada II
• Negotiations at Taba close to agreement?

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Chapter 5 Difficulties Sustaining Peace

• Sharon
• Your great grandchildren will be born on this
  land
• Collective punishment, bulldozing, curfews,
  detention without charges, destroying Palestinian
  infrastructure.
• Growth of the refusenik movement in the IDF
  the occupation is just too horrendous.

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Chapter 5 Difficulties Sustaining Peace

• Intifada II How would you feel?
• See page 132 if you were Israeli, would you
  describe yourself as surrounded? How would you
  feel?

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Chapter 5 Difficulties Sustaining Peace

• The Road Map
• Political cover for Tony Blair?
• Gained Sharons cooperation in Iraq war
• No partner for peace ? The PA created Prime
  Minister (Abbas)

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Chapter 5 Difficulties Sustaining Peace

• The Road Map
• Performance based
• At the end of the process negotiations for
  statehood
• Violence by any fringe party can prevent the next
  steps in the Road Map

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Questions for Group Discussion

• Given recent events (Arafats deathPalestinian
  electionSharons withdrawal plan), how hopeful
  are you?
• What universal truths did you discover in these
  two chapters?

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More Discussion Questions