Neon Tommy- A Glimmer of Hope in Palestine by Naomi Leight 4.10.10

A Glimmer Of Hope In Palestine
by Naomi Leight 

Contributor

Creative Commons Licensed (Rusty Stewart)

From stalled pre-negotiation discussions to the growing divide between the Obama administration and the Netanyahu government, the small area of land between the Mediterranean and the Jordan River is always in the news -- and not in a generally positive way. 

Time and again negotiations for a final status agreement on Israel and Palestine have failed. Armed resistance and military retaliation has caused nothing but suffering on both sides. Palestinian statehood and Israeli security are as far away as ever. 

However there has been one new glimmer of hope -- Palestinian self-empowerment and non-violent protest. The New York Times reported this week that senior Palestinian leadership have been participating in "unarmed protest marches" to encourage Palestinian self-empowerment in building a sovereign Palestine.

While there is some debate as to whether these protests are truly non-violent, as there have been reports of burning settler-made goods, and whether or not the non-violence movement is a new occurrence, passive resistance could be an important tool for Palestinians. Non-violent protest is a way for the Palestinian people to demonstrate their opposition to the occupation without weapons, violence or threats. 

A key to building a future Palestine is to work toward Palestinian self-empowerment. The development of a stronger Palestinian civil society through its economy, infrastructure and other components necessary for an independent state, allow Palestinians to take back the fate of their sovereignty. As Economic Minister Hasan Abu Libdeh said, "We want ordinary people to feel like stockholders in the process of building a state". 

While advocating a two-state solution through negotiations, a collective Palestinian movement for nonviolent resistance and self-empowerment is a positive step towards achieving a solution to the conflict. Palestinians need to be invested in the process of building Palestine and take ownership of their state; Israelis must feel that the Palestinian state being built won't threaten its security. 

The public that the Palestinians must try to reach in their shift towards non-violence is not the world, but the Israelis. Palestinians should not use this opportunity as an attempt to isolate Israel in global public opinion, but rather as a means to reach out to the Israeli people to build trust. When Palestine is indeed a sovereign nation, Israelis need to trust they will have a neighbor that will not engage in violence, but instead exist as a neighbor with whom they can live next to, side-by-side. And Palestinians must believe that Israel will act likewise.

Even if a peace accord is signed between the Israeli government and Palestinian Authority, the people of the two countries need to trust each other. Actions speak louder than words--and peaceful protest on both sides of the Green Line for a two-state solution could speak loudest.

Naomi Leight is a second year master's candidate in the Master of Public Diplomacy program. She is the Managing Editor of the USC Center on Public Diplomacy's periodical, PDiN Monitor and the Social Events Chair for the Association of Public Diplomacy Scholars (APDS).This op-ed is part of a partnership between Neon Tommy and the Association of Public Diplomacy Scholars.


http://blogs.uscannenberg.org/neontommy/2010/04/a-glimmer-of-hope-in-palestine.html