In August of last year I presented a blog entitled ‘Time For a Three State Solution’ in which I suggested that there was absolutely no time to be lost in Israel making a peace deal with the Palestinian Authority of Mahmoud Abbas’ Fatah party who govern in the West Bank from the city of Ramallah.
I suggested that the terrorist regime of Hamas in Gaza was for the most part far enough removed from the rest of the Palestinian world that to completely marginalize the Gaza-based Islamic group and proceed with a peace deal with Fatah in the West Bank would prove that Israel is serious about peace when they have a serious partner to make peace with. Nothing that has happened in the interim has changed my mind. Indeed, with reports suggesting that many of the Al Qaeda terrorists that escaped from prisons during the chaos that ensued in Egypt recently following the collapse of the Mubarak regime have been welcomed as heroes in Gaza, it only strengthens the argument that here is a truly terror-based entity that Israel has no chance of reaching a peace deal with in the foreseeable future.
The real truth (as I see it), is that the only people that can now remove Hamas from power are the actual good people of Gaza who should take courage and rise up against the regime in the same way other Arab peoples have so successfully in Tunisia and Egypt in the last few weeks. It would be the hardest revolution of all. It may cost lives, but is the only chance for Gazans to save themselves at this point in time.
In recent years the relationship between Israel and the Palestinian Authority however has moved forward some considerable way. One of the benefits of the leaking of the ‘Palestine Papers’ recently was that it showed just how close (out of the public gaze) Israel and the PA had come to reaching a genuine peace deal, only to be scuppered in the end by internal pressures on the Palestinian side. The revelation that the PA is serious about peace and was prepared to meet half-way has fuelled resentment in some Arab quarters, but proves to the rest of the world that a deal is possible.
Behind the scenes everyday Israelis and Palestinians are interacting on a more and more regular basis. Aside of significant economic co-operation going on between Israeli and Palestinian companies in the West Bank, the Peres Centre for Peace, set up some years ago by Israel’s current President Shimon Peres, has done tremendous work in bringing the two sides together through imaginative youth projects, and is just one of many organizations that promote Jewish/Arab and Israeli/Palestinian co-existence. These are the kind of stories that rarely make the news as they don’t sell as many papers as bad news from the region, but more and more good things are happening.
Recently the Jerusalem Post ran a special feature on a new youth sporting project, Cricket4Peace. Israel is one of the few countries where the imprint of British rule has failed to leave behind a tradition of cricket. But now, through the combined efforts of the Peres Foundation, the Israel Cricket Association, and the Palestinian Al Quds Association for Democracy and Dialogue, a new youth cricket scheme that is made up of Jewish children from the development towns of Dimona and Yeroham in the northern Negev desert, and Palestinian children from Yatta and Samua near Hebron, are learning to play cricket - together.
The inspiration for the idea came from the effect that cricket had in normalizing to a greater degree, the tensions between India and Pakistan. Many of the kids in the project have already learned the rudiments of the game through an organisation dedicated to equal opportunities for children from both sides, called Cross Border Cricket. Matches are regularly played between the two sides now that all the children have learned catching, batting and bowling skills together, and of course, the sometime baffling (to the uninformed observer) rules of the game. I’m looking forward to hearing the kids’ get their combined teeth around silly mid-on’s, a full toss, and googlies!
Last year the ICC Development Award was given to the Cross Border Cricket Association for their efforts in promoting tolerance and understanding between Israeli and Palestinian children, and with the game having been slightly adapted to be played over a shorter period of time (so kids don’t get bored), schools and youth organizations across the southern half of Israel and in the Palestinian Authority are beginning to get a grip on this most British of pastimes.
I truly believe that sport can play a massive role in promoting understanding and tolerance on both sides. During my time with the Israeli Jockey Club our most exciting raceday was when we managed to arrange for the Palestinian Racing Authority to join us at our track at Pardess Hanna. They came from Jericho, Hebron and East Jerusalem to join us in a sporting atmosphere that gave hope to the many of us who yearn for peace between the two sides. The trophies were kindly presented by my guest, Mr Ramiro Cibrian, the EU Ambassador to Israel, (a keen racing fan), who was delighted at the tolerance and friendly sporting rivalries displayed and cited the atmosphere experienced and the co-operation shown as an example for others to follow.
Despite the best efforts of the Israeli Jockey Club, horse racing has failed to develop here for a multitude of complicated political reasons, but horses remain a key common passion of Israelis, Palestinians and Arabs throughout the region. I was excited to read of a unique event set to take place on March 26th on Mount Gilboa in rural Israel where Israelis, Jordanians and Palestinians will gather together to ride across the stunning countryside of the Jezreel Valley (much of which is below sea level) and ride high on Mount Gilboa nearby, side-by-side in solidarity for peace between the peoples of the region.
I challenge the BBC, CNN, and the many other international news networks who so consistently fail to reflect the optimism that exists in many quarters in this part of the world, to cover this event and prove that they are capable of broadcasting positive news from Israel and the Palestinian Authority, even if it might go against the preconceived ideas and misconceptions to which so many of their viewers and listeners have become accustomed.
I suggested that the terrorist regime of Hamas in Gaza was for the most part far enough removed from the rest of the Palestinian world that to completely marginalize the Gaza-based Islamic group and proceed with a peace deal with Fatah in the West Bank would prove that Israel is serious about peace when they have a serious partner to make peace with. Nothing that has happened in the interim has changed my mind. Indeed, with reports suggesting that many of the Al Qaeda terrorists that escaped from prisons during the chaos that ensued in Egypt recently following the collapse of the Mubarak regime have been welcomed as heroes in Gaza, it only strengthens the argument that here is a truly terror-based entity that Israel has no chance of reaching a peace deal with in the foreseeable future.
The real truth (as I see it), is that the only people that can now remove Hamas from power are the actual good people of Gaza who should take courage and rise up against the regime in the same way other Arab peoples have so successfully in Tunisia and Egypt in the last few weeks. It would be the hardest revolution of all. It may cost lives, but is the only chance for Gazans to save themselves at this point in time.
In recent years the relationship between Israel and the Palestinian Authority however has moved forward some considerable way. One of the benefits of the leaking of the ‘Palestine Papers’ recently was that it showed just how close (out of the public gaze) Israel and the PA had come to reaching a genuine peace deal, only to be scuppered in the end by internal pressures on the Palestinian side. The revelation that the PA is serious about peace and was prepared to meet half-way has fuelled resentment in some Arab quarters, but proves to the rest of the world that a deal is possible.
Behind the scenes everyday Israelis and Palestinians are interacting on a more and more regular basis. Aside of significant economic co-operation going on between Israeli and Palestinian companies in the West Bank, the Peres Centre for Peace, set up some years ago by Israel’s current President Shimon Peres, has done tremendous work in bringing the two sides together through imaginative youth projects, and is just one of many organizations that promote Jewish/Arab and Israeli/Palestinian co-existence. These are the kind of stories that rarely make the news as they don’t sell as many papers as bad news from the region, but more and more good things are happening.
Recently the Jerusalem Post ran a special feature on a new youth sporting project, Cricket4Peace. Israel is one of the few countries where the imprint of British rule has failed to leave behind a tradition of cricket. But now, through the combined efforts of the Peres Foundation, the Israel Cricket Association, and the Palestinian Al Quds Association for Democracy and Dialogue, a new youth cricket scheme that is made up of Jewish children from the development towns of Dimona and Yeroham in the northern Negev desert, and Palestinian children from Yatta and Samua near Hebron, are learning to play cricket - together.
The inspiration for the idea came from the effect that cricket had in normalizing to a greater degree, the tensions between India and Pakistan. Many of the kids in the project have already learned the rudiments of the game through an organisation dedicated to equal opportunities for children from both sides, called Cross Border Cricket. Matches are regularly played between the two sides now that all the children have learned catching, batting and bowling skills together, and of course, the sometime baffling (to the uninformed observer) rules of the game. I’m looking forward to hearing the kids’ get their combined teeth around silly mid-on’s, a full toss, and googlies!
Last year the ICC Development Award was given to the Cross Border Cricket Association for their efforts in promoting tolerance and understanding between Israeli and Palestinian children, and with the game having been slightly adapted to be played over a shorter period of time (so kids don’t get bored), schools and youth organizations across the southern half of Israel and in the Palestinian Authority are beginning to get a grip on this most British of pastimes.
I truly believe that sport can play a massive role in promoting understanding and tolerance on both sides. During my time with the Israeli Jockey Club our most exciting raceday was when we managed to arrange for the Palestinian Racing Authority to join us at our track at Pardess Hanna. They came from Jericho, Hebron and East Jerusalem to join us in a sporting atmosphere that gave hope to the many of us who yearn for peace between the two sides. The trophies were kindly presented by my guest, Mr Ramiro Cibrian, the EU Ambassador to Israel, (a keen racing fan), who was delighted at the tolerance and friendly sporting rivalries displayed and cited the atmosphere experienced and the co-operation shown as an example for others to follow.
Despite the best efforts of the Israeli Jockey Club, horse racing has failed to develop here for a multitude of complicated political reasons, but horses remain a key common passion of Israelis, Palestinians and Arabs throughout the region. I was excited to read of a unique event set to take place on March 26th on Mount Gilboa in rural Israel where Israelis, Jordanians and Palestinians will gather together to ride across the stunning countryside of the Jezreel Valley (much of which is below sea level) and ride high on Mount Gilboa nearby, side-by-side in solidarity for peace between the peoples of the region.
I challenge the BBC, CNN, and the many other international news networks who so consistently fail to reflect the optimism that exists in many quarters in this part of the world, to cover this event and prove that they are capable of broadcasting positive news from Israel and the Palestinian Authority, even if it might go against the preconceived ideas and misconceptions to which so many of their viewers and listeners have become accustomed.
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