Paralysis Over Palestine: Questions of Strategy
Jeff Halper, an anthropologist and coordinator of the Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions (ICAHD; www.icahd.org), part of Israel's critical peace movement, has published "Paralysis over Palestine: Questions of Strategy" in the Winter 2005 issue of the Journal of Palestine Studies.
(PRWEB) March 16, 2005 -- The death of Yasir Arafat and election of Mahmud
Abbas as president of the Palestinian Authority have revived prospects for a
negotiated settlement to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, but the difficult
issues of occupation, security, borders, refugees, settlements, and Jerusalem
remain to be resolved. The fresh start offered by Abbas's election also presents
new opportunities for international supporters of a negotiated, peaceful
settlement to reinforce and encourage the peace process.
In a new article
from the Journal of Palestine Studies (JPS), Jeff Halper offers searching
reflections on appropriate strategies for the international peace
movement.
“A middle range approach that generates a proactive strategy of
advocacy has the potential to become a global movement akin to the
anti-apartheid struggle. Under Palestinian guidance, but in coordination with
the Israeli peace movement and international activists, such a movement must
provide direction, effective forums for strategizing, reframing and the
formulation of focused and strategic campaigns. It must impart a vision,
principles, red lines, and alternative scenarios. These are critical steps at
this historical moment. As the old slogan has it: ‘When the people lead, the
leaders follow.’”-- Jeff Halper
Intended as a starting point for debate,
this essay explores the possibilities of a "middle range" strategy that would
articulate the essential “red line” elements crucial to any just and sustainable
settlement, provide a coordinated strategy of advocacy, and explore a range of
“endgames,” including a regional approach to resolving the conflict if the
“two-state solution" is found to be impossible because of irreversible "facts on
the ground.”
Anyone concerned with the just resolution of the
Israeli-Palestinian conflict should consider these thoughtful and necessary new
approaches by one of Israel's most courageous peace activists.
To preview
or purchase the full text of Halper's "Paralysis over Palestine" visit http://caliber.ucpress.net/doi/abs/10.1525/jps.2005.34.2.055
or for further information contact JPS Managing Editor Michele Esposito at
202-342-3990 ext. 16.
About the Journal of Palestine Studies
http://www.californiajournals.com/jps/
For over thirty
years, the Journal of Palestine Studies has continued to bring readers timely
and comprehensive information on the region’s political, religious, and cultural
concerns. With an emphasis on peaceful resolution of conflict, the journal
unites sound research and analysis with a variety of well-informed perspectives
by academics, policymakers, and diplomats.
About The Institute for
Palestine Studies
http://www.palestine-studies.org/
The Institute for
Palestine Studies (IPS) is a private, nonprofit Arab institute unaffiliated with
any political organization or government. Established in 1963 in Beirut, IPS
promotes research, analysis, and documentation on the Arab-Israeli conflict and
its peaceful resolution. IPS publishes quarterlies in three languages and
maintains offices in Beirut, Paris, London, Nicosia, Jerusalem, and
Washington.
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Source : http://www.prweb.com/releases/2005/3/prweb218203.htm