What Arabs Can Do to Support Peace
James Zogby
Huffington Post: July 10, 2009
In 1991, as part of its overall approach to post-Gulf War peace-making, the
Administration of George H. W. Bush secured an Arab agreement to suspend
their secondary boycott against companies doing business with Israel, in
return for an Israeli commitment to freeze settlements.
Three years later, in 1994, as Co-Chair of Builders for Peace, a US private
sector initiative launched by then Vice-President Al Gore, I made the first
of many visits to Israel/Palestine accompanying Mr. Gore, Secretary of
Commerce Ron Brown or delegations of Arab American and American Jewish
businessman.
We had just arrived in Ben Gurion Airport and were heading to a meeting in
Tel Aviv. I was riding with an American Jewish colleague, who, it turns out,
had in the past, been a frequent visitor to Israel, but who had not been
there in three years. As we approached Tel Aviv, looking at the city's night
lights -- neon signs aglow, advertizing a broad array of products, my
companion noted with delight "these signs are the first fruits of peace.
Because of the boycott, many of these businesses weren't here three years
ago. Now they are."
The next day, we left our hotel in Jerusalem travelling north to Ramallah.
On our way, we passed massive construction sites of new housing up and down
the hills surrounding the Holy City, encapsulating tiny Palestinian villages
now trapped in their shadows. "Are these new settlements?" I asked. "No,"
was the reply, "this is just an extension of Ramot"--pointing to another
large aggregation of homes, on an entirely different hill.
These were impressions. Here is the hard data.
In 1991, Israel's per capita GDP was $14,000. Three years later, after the
ending of the secondary boycott and Madrid and Oslo, Israel's per capita GDP
had risen to almost $16,000. Palestinians did not fare as well. In 1991,
their per capita GDP was $900. Three years later, new Israeli restrictions
on Palestinian labor and continued control over all access to and egress
from the territories, resulted in the Palestinian per capita GDP only
increasing to $1,100.
Meanwhile, at the beginning of 1991 there were 243,000 settlers in the West
Bank and Jerusalem. By the end of 1994, they were nearing 300,000. (Note:
most recent figures show Israel's per capita GDP at around $25,000, in
contrast to a stagnant $1,300 for the Palestinians. And there are now almost
500,000 settlers in the occupied lands!)
This history bears repeating if only to understand why some Arab states may
be reluctant to offer new concessions to Israel in return for the same
settlement freeze that was to have been implemented 18 years and 250,000
settlers ago.
This being said, I believe that there are good reasons for the Arab side to
find a careful but creative approach to elaborating on their 2002 and 2007
Arab Peace Initiatives.
It is clear that the Obama Administration is making a real effort to press
Israel to suspend all settlement construction -- using, at times, language
not heard since the time of President Carter. In this context, positive Arab
gestures should not be seen as a reward for Israel (which they have not
earned and do not deserve), but rather as a sign of support for the US
effort and as a further Arab commitment to peace-making.
Secondly, it is clear from the frequent statements coming from the US, and
now being echoed in Israel, urging Arabs to take new steps, that the
pressure (both public and private) will not let up. Given this, a new Arab
initiative can be useful and important, if only so as not to be boxed in and
portrayed as presenting an obstacle to peace.
Thirdly, up until now, with only the US and Israel doing the talking, the
nature of the expected Arab response is being defined by them. Given all
that has transpired in recent years and given, as well, current regional
tensions, many of the ideas proposed may be viewed as problematic in much of
the Arab world.
Nevertheless, should the Obama Administration succeed in securing a complete
and verifiable halt in all construction, a positive response, by those Arab
states able to do so, would be in order, both to support the US effort, as
well as to ensure that no further so-called "facts on the ground" are put in
place. Stopping E1, before it starts, and aborting other expansion and
"thickening" projects, are goals worth supporting. But the Arab gestures
offered must be carefully considered, so as to be calibrated (not turning
the Arab Peace Initiative on its head by providing recognition and
normalization before peace) and conditioned on Israeli performance (unlike
with the end of the secondary boycott, which produced benefits for only one
side).
While these limited steps may be taken by some Arab states, there are other
avenues open to the Arab consensus that would both make clear their
intentions to seek peace, while not inflaming their publics or compromising
the only remaining leverage available to them.
Here's what the Arab states could propose. First, there should be the
insistence Israel meet the following initial conditions (all of which are
either called for in the Roadmap and/or supported by the Obama
Administration): a total freeze on all settlement construction; removal of
outposts, internal check points and roadblocks; an end of the blockade on
construction goods and other needed supplies to Gaza; and the beginning of
serious negotiations with the Palestinian Authority. With these conditions
met, the Arab League could authorize a representative delegation to
participate with the Israeli and Palestinian teams in a series of Track II
negotiations on critical issues of regional importance: water, energy,
Jerusalem, refugee resettlement, and the establishment of an economic
development fund/plan for a future Palestinian state.
These talks and the plans they develop should run in tandem with the Track I
Israeli-Palestinian, Israeli-Syrian and Israeli-Lebanese talks, and be
implemented, as agreed by the parties, at times deemed appropriate to
support the implementation of the Track I talks.
Such an Arab consensus effort, complimentary to the more immediate and
limited gestures made by some, will support US peace efforts, allowing the
Arab States to define, for themselves, their elaboration of the Arab Peace
Initiative, while making clear their intention to participate as full
partners in a comprehensive Middle East peace.
***
Seats remain for Sunday's show! $25 at door, no one turned away.
Ash Grove Summer Intra-National Event, Sunday, July 12
Featuring Michelle Shocked, Bernie Pearl, Roy Zimmerman, Sheila Nicholls, S. Pearl Sharp,
Conjunto Los Pochos, Get Lit players, S.H.I.N.E. Mawusi drummers
The kickoff of Ash Grove Summer, an Intra-National series, is Sunday, July 12th on the beautiful grounds of a private home at 939 San Vicente Boulevard (at Larkin Place) in Santa Monica, 1:30 – 5:30. The event is an Ash Grove Foundation fundraiser for its Summer Festival in August (date/location TBD). Performances start at 1:30 p.m. and include Michelle Shocked, blues guitarist Bernie Pearl, pianist/songwriter Sheila Nicholls, musical humorist Roy Zimmerman, poet/writer S. Pearl Sharp, S.H.I.N.E Mawusi women's drum alliance, Get Lit players – teenage wizards with poetry from the sonnets of Shakespeare to hip-hop, Conjunto Los Pochos and Richard Montoya of Culture Clash. Tickets are $25 per person. For information: (310) 391-5794 or AshGroveMusic.com. You can also mail ticket requests and/or donations to Ash Grove, Box 661--037, Los Angeles CA 90066.
The fundraiser is one of a series of community events that has been held at various cultural centers around Los Angeles since the November election and billed as "Beyond November – Party with a Purpose" - bringing together an assortment of artists, advocacy and social action organizations, to entertain, to inform and to enthuse by tapping into the vast energy for positive change sparked by the Obama campaign. The culmination this year will be a large free Summer/ Fall Festival, 2009 that will feature musical guests, community artists and speakers, in addition to an area where health, housing and other service organizations will provide direct counseling, referrals and aid to people in need. Visitors can learn about and join groups and/or actions around these critical issues.
The Ash Grove (1958 – 1973) on Melrose Avenue in Hollywood was a pioneering musical and political venue. The performance standards and creative interplay among musicians, young and old, produced many great artists, enriched the lives of audiences, and gave the club a leading role in the culture of a generation. Archived Ash Grove concerts from that era are available for listening or download at WolfgangsVault.com: http://www.wolfgangsvault.com/sv/ash-grove/AS7.html .
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For additional information or images of the performers, please contact:
Teresa Conboy P.R.
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