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Friday, March 29, 2024
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PROMOTING PEACE - Miriam Asnes, Shadha Musallam and Yaniv Rivlin, representatives from OneVoice, discuss the need for worldwide support of efforts to promote peace between Israel and Palestine.

Israeli, Palestinian youth leaders call for support

Working toward conflict resolution between Israelis and Palestinians is the duty of young people across the world, including those at AU, said speakers from the OneVoice Movement at its presentation last night.

OneVoice was founded as a grassroots movement in 2002 in response to escalating violence in Israel. Since then, the organization's members have pursued and proven the theory that action is the most effective method to raise awareness for seemingly hopeless issues, said Miriam Asnes, the international education program manager at OneVoice.

Asnes said that traditionally, the majority of Israelis and Palestinians were moderates who wanted peace in the region, but many chose not to act.

Also, the international media depicted the region as a battlefield, an image that speakers Shadha Musallam, a representative from the Palestinian branch of OneVoice, and Yaniv Rivlin, a representative from the Israeli branch of OneVoice, said did not reflect their country.

In its first year, OneVoice got 25,000 Israelis and Palestinians to sign a mandate asking for a two-state system in the country, Asnes said. OneVoice proved that through grassroots action, its members could raise awareness and voice the interests of the Israeli and Palestinian majority, according to Asnes.

OneVoice is now taking this idea to the international scene.

The organization is holding a rally on Capitol Hill Oct. 18 in conjunction with demonstrations in Boston and Ottawa. The North American rallies, called OneVoice Echo, will be synchronized with two OneVoice summits in the Israeli city of Tel Aviv and in Jericho in the West Bank, according to the speakers.

In case the U.S media ignore the event, OneVoice counts on demonstrators to attract attention to the issue, Asnes said. A screen will connect the North American rallies to those in the Middle East, she said.

Rivlin said after the presentation that support from young Americans is essential to the organization's success.

"We need people to hear about us," Rivlin said.

Asnes expressed hope that OneVoice will help AU students and other people learn how to resolve their own conflicts.

"It's important for there to be an umbrella where opposing groups can work on issues together," Asnes said.


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