UNSC must invest in grassroots Israeli-Palestinian peace, activist says

• Published date: 30 September 2021
• Author: TOVAH LAZAROFF
• Publication title: Jerusalem Post, The: Web Edition Articles (Israel)

"I'm a Jewish-Israeli," said Rothbart, co-founder and CEO of the grassroots group Amal Tikvah that promotes civic society peace-building between Israelis and Palestinians. "I am a religious Zionist speaking to you from Jerusalem," she explained.

"The UN has passed resolution after resolution," Rothbart said. "But in order to build peace between Israelis and Palestinians, I ask you to consider investing in social peace. Commit to investing in the infrastructure needed for real peace. Help us build a multilateral inter-entity."

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Rothbart said that UN investments could transform small-scale projects such as those focused on climate change, food security, female entrepreneurship, or adjacent community centers.

It was no coincidence, Rothbart said, that she had been invited to speak by the Irish Ambassador because that country knows the "power of civil society peace-building. It is clear to all who are observing our political reality that negotiations at the highest diplomatic levels would not result in substantive peace right now.

"The Oslo Accords failed because the agreement came from a secret process between elite leaders with no women, no religious leaders, and no representative of those wishing to disrupt the process with violence. Let's not do that again.

"We know that civil society peace-building is not only an affirmative step, but it also works and it is a required precondition for a negotiated peace agreement, especially in an intractable conflict."

The "intractable nature" of the conflict must be broken "into manageable parts" that can be tackled "one by one," said Rothbart.

"We must build a popular belief that peace is actually possible, and that all people, Israelis and Palestinians, have an integral role and a responsibility in its pursuit," she said.

Palestinian activist Mai...