Iky Salinas
The enduring conflict that has persisted for over almost a century between Israelis and Palestinians casts a profound shadow over the daily lives of all those who call that land home. For the past year and a half, we have borne witness to one of the most devastating escalations of violence in the entire history of the conflict, exacting a heavy toll on civilians from both sides. Possible solutions seem elusive in this protracted conflict, making it imperative to approach it from an academic standpoint, with the objective of providing activists and agents of peace with new insights to combat violence and advance the cause towards a peaceful reality.
I am Itzhak (Iky) Salinas, a Mexican-American-Israeli activist and analyst dedicated to the pursuit of peace between Israelis and Palestinians. I have a long history of professional and academic involvement in the field, I completed a bachelor’s degree in political science from the University of Haifa and a master's degree in nonprofit management from The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, where I focused extensively on organizations engaged in peacebuilding. This academic training significantly enriched my path as an activist and peace practitioner, equipping me with valuable knowledge of organizational management, understanding in strategic planning, political acumen, and a deep grasp of the Israeli-Palestinian peacebuilding field.
In the professional field, I recently completed a three-year tenure at Middle East Entrepreneurs of Tomorrow (MEET), an organization committed to bringing Israeli and Palestinian youth together through computer science education. I have further experience in similar nonprofit organizations and have also acquired experience in political campaigning. Due to my familiarity with the field, I have come to realize that, although most peace-seeking organizations work with a lot of commitment, they generally lack sufficient evidence-based data and models to guide their efforts. There is a critical need for research that can have a significant impact on the necessary scale to effect real change.
I intend to conduct studies that will, in various ways, address one overall question: What impact do the Israeli-Palestinian peacebuilding CSOs have on the conflict? The research can delve into such questions as how can impact be measured effectively within the Israeli-Palestinian peacebuilding field? And how can we use impact measurement and other available tools to empower the field and improve its performance?
My goal is to utilize the analysis of the effectiveness of NGO peace interventions to help steer the field towards more impactful peacebuilding. This academic pursuit will involve a multidisciplinary study deriving concepts and research from fields such as NGO management, organizational behavior studies, conflict management and resolution, and international relations. Many tools to empower the peacebuilding field already exist, as researched by such scholars as Johan Galtung, Jody Hoffer Gittel, Michelle Gawerc, Cedric de Coning, Pamina Firchrow, Peter Frumkin, John Paul Lederach and more— some of whom are affiliated with UMB, such as Karen Ross and Jeffrey Pugh.
My approach encompasses three levels: the strategic, the impact, and the organizational. On the strategic level, the intent is to align the field towards a joint mission and to scale up impact on an aggregate level rather than through the individual organizations. At the impact level the emphasis lies on improving impact towards beneficiaries, communities, and partnerships through the strategic implementation of scaling-up strategies. The organizational level addresses internal challenges faced by organizations and the field, including organizational capacity, burnout, low compensation, underrepresentation of key stakeholders and more.
The aforementioned researchers have provided an array of tools that can be built upon and synthesized to create a holistic strategy to measure and improve impact in the field. On the strategic level, impact measurement could build off research from Firchrow and MacGinty, who through their Everyday Peace Indicators project have established guidelines towards creating real indicators that measure change while bridging between bottom-up and top-down indicators. This approach would give more agency over the peacebuilding process to those living in the region as opposed to international actors. Furthermore, the topic of partnerships has seen research conducted by Strichman, whose perspective on Adaptive Capacity highlights the importance of becoming learning organizations. Hoffer Gittel provides a similar understanding through the concept of Relational Coordination as it conceptualizes a framework for building partnerships within the field. One last aspect of research that is worth mentioning here is from De Coning, who emphasizes flexible, evolving impact measurement through iteration in evaluating the impact, allowing for this strategy to adapt to the changes in the field.
Partnerships can be seen from within and without, beyond the established process to create a centralized field and framework within it, it is important to establish partnerships with the stakeholders of the field as well. These stakeholders include the beneficiaries themselves and their communities, for which a model of establishing key characteristics in the selection process is provided by Pugh’s Catalytic Network Model. Beyond the beneficiaries, the practitioners should also be considered. Gawerc’s suggestions for how to sustain long term commitment by building an affective attachment to the field should be further investigated to turn practitioners into committed professionals.
My personal, academic and professional experience positions me as someone who can potentially contribute to the field of peacebuilding. My multinational background, as one who speaks 3 different languages and has adapted to 3 different cultures, has prepared me for cross cultural communication. My activism has enhanced my ability to undertake unique projects to further the peacebuilding community. Most recently this commitment materialized in my work as a political campaign manager to get the first Palestinian elected to the Jerusalem City Council. (Owing to the Gaza War, the initiative was postponed)
As daunting as the current escalation may appear, it signals a potential turning point for the peacebuilding field. I am steadfast in my belief that the research I aspire to undertake will serve as a cornerstone for a rejuvenated approach, paving the way for a tangible reality of peace. Echoing JFK's sentiment delivered at the UN in 1963, 'Peace is a daily, a weekly, a monthly process, gradually changing opinions, slowly eroding old barriers, quietly building new structures.' Despite the enduring challenges, I remain resolute in my commitment. I see this moment as an opportunity to contribute meaningfully to the ongoing pursuit of peace in Israel and Palestine. I am eager to embark on this journey and be an active part of shaping a future where peace thrives and transforms lives.
In addition to my current work, I contributed to MEET’s USAID-funded Northern Innovators program (2020–2023). I have attached the program’s second-year Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning (MEL) plan, which outlines key measurement tools and strategy. Of particular interest are the Results Framework and the Performance Monitoring Plan.
For insight into how USAID structures its measurement indicators, see Section 3.2 of the plan. The first three metrics in the performance indicators table were mandated by USAID, while the remaining were submitted by MEET as additional, self-defined indicators.
View the MEL plan:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1gGyCg8Bn7F_0UpS-8HkOuFPns-BspSdp/edit?usp=sharing&ouid=111033924517633597069&rtpof=true&sd=true