Last week, we were very pleased to welcome Syrian born Palestinian peace activist and former political prisoner Manar Al-Sharif to Canada.
Her ordeal, which began in solitary confinement in a Gazan prison, is over, and a new chapter can begin.
About Manar Al-Sharif
Al-Sharif is a Syrian-born journalist and peace activist who attended university in Gaza. While there, she became involved with the Gaza Youth Committee, a dynamic group of young Gazans working to create a better life for the people of Gaza, including through grassroots peacebuilding initiatives for Israelis and Gazans.
She and her colleagues regularly hosted small online video chats with Israelis under a bridge-building initiative they called “Skype with Your Enemy.” After a particularly well-attended online gathering in April 2020, Hamas arrested the youth committee’s leadership and charged them with “holding a normalisation activity” with Israelis. Most organisers were sentenced to six months in prison.
After spending three months behind bars, some of that time in solitary confinement, Al-Sharif was released but forced to stay in a “home for women” under 24-hour supervision. Labelled a “dangerous person” by Hamas, she was then deported from Gaza to Egypt in October, 2020. Her situation remained precarious and vulnerable.
Our Centre’s Role
Our team became involved in advancing Al-Sharif’s immigration case and facilitating her safe and smooth arrival to Canada, where she is now pursuing further studies.“In a time marked by increasing polarization and tragedy, finding moments of inspiration can be challenging. Welcoming Manar to Canada and to freedom is one of those moments. I look forward to witnessing her light shine brightly in her new home.”
- Gila Cotler, RWCHR CEO
We are deeply grateful to community members who asked us to assist in bringing Manar to Canada. We express special thanks to Minister of Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship, Marc Miller, to Citizenship Canada, and the collaborators inside and outside this country who helped secure this life changing (and quite possibly life saving) opportunity for her.
“My overarching mission goes beyond merely amplifying the voices of the disenfranchised in light of diverse social and political challenges. It extends to actively resolving long standing conflicts, curbing the pervasive loss of life, and propelling the establishment of enduring freedom and stability across the region.
Upon my arrival in Canada to pursue my education at Concordia, I am one step closer to achieving my goal. The journey to get here was arduous, yet it was made possible by the support of numerous individuals.
I sincerely thank Irwin Cotler and his team for collaborating with my immigration lawyers. My heartfelt thanks extend to dozens of others who have been instrumental in my journey.”
- Manar Al-Sharif, peace activist
Manar’s goals align with our values and hopes for her region. We have no doubt that her important voice will be heard by many in the years ahead, and we wish her every success.
For more on Manar’s ordeal and activism, read this feature in Forbes or this New York Times story.
Convisero Mentor Rachel Svetanoff Leads UNA-USA Program
Through the UNA-USA Global Goals Ambassador Network, members can leverage their passion for issues within an SDG and engage local and national communities around programming and other activities. During this yearlong program, the Ambassadors receive training from UNA-USA and United Nations Foundation staff to help support their engagement plans, blog posts, workshops, speaking with various audiences, and all other efforts around their SDG. Rachel Svetanoff takes on the leading role to coordinate, collaborate, and partner with mission-aligned organizations to promote and advocate for achieving the 2030 SDGs. Please refer to this link for more information!
HRF submits joint petition to the United Nations on behalf of Iranian dissident rapper Toomaj Salehi
Last week, the Human Rights Foundation (HRF) submitted an individual complaint to the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention (UNWGAD) in the case of Iranian dissident rapper Toomaj Salehi in conjunction with Doughty Street Chambers and Index on Censorship.
The groups requested the UNWGAD declare Salehi’s detention arbitrary under international law and urge Iran to immediately and unconditionally release him. Salehi has been tortured, has gone long periods without contacting his family or his lawyer, and has spent more than 300 days in solitary confinement.
Salehi has faced continuous judicial harassment for his songs advocating for democracy in Iran. The latest series of charges stemmed from a song supporting the protests following Mahsa Amini’s murder at the hands of the morality police in September 2022. Salehi was first arrested in October 2022 and faced eight charges, among them “corruption on earth,” which automatically carries a death sentence. In November 2023, the Supreme Court overturned these charges, only for him to be rearrested 12 days later after posting a video detailing the torture he endured in detention.
“Salehi is serving sentence after sentence with no end in sight. The Iranian regime knows the impact he has on the Iranian people and is willing to do whatever it takes to keep him in detention. The countless charges against Salehi show that they will go to extreme lengths to squash dissent,” HRF Legal and Program Officer Claudia Bennett said. “But enough is enough. Art is a human right, and supporting gender equality is not a crime.”
On April 23, 2024, Branch 1 of the Isfahan Revolutionary Court sentenced him to death. And on June 22, the Supreme Court once again overturned his death sentence, which HRF welcomed. But just last week, two new cases were opened against Salehi with two new charges for another song, “Typhus,” which was released while he was detained. These new charges are “propaganda against the regime and incitement of the public to murder and violence” and “insulting sacred values, and spreading falsehoods.” These new baseless charges have been sent to different courts in an attempt to continue oppressing and silencing Salehi.
The groups state Salehi’s detention resulted from exercising his fundamental right to freedom of expression. His songs are his voice. The petition also details numerous other violations, such as the denial of a public hearing before an independent and impartial court, the vague and overly broad charges against him, the excess time in pre-trial detention, and the denial of communicating with his lawyer and family.
We urge the international community to keep highlighting Salehi’s case but also raise awareness for the numerous other prisoners of conscience in Iran who are detained for demanding human rights.
Supported by a grant from the John Templeton Foundation.
HRF Submits Petition to United Nations on Egyptian Human Rights Activist Ahmed Amasha
This month, the Human Rights Foundation (HRF) submitted a petition to the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention (UNWGAD) on behalf of Ahmed Amasha, an Egyptian veterinarian, environmentalist, and human rights activist. Amasha has been arbitrarily detained for more than three years without having been convicted of any crime. Amasha’s detention results from his work highlighting torture, detention conditions, and enforced disappearances in Egypt, as well as the lack of freedom of speech.
In 2020, Amasha was arrested at his home in Cairo without an arrest warrant and without being informed of the reason for his arrest. He was interrogated about his human rights work and blindfolded, stripped naked, electrocuted, beaten, handcuffed, and hung from his hands — torture that resulted in broken ribs. Following his arrest, he was forcibly disappeared for 26 days and held incommunicado for nearly three years, without medical care.
“Ahmed Amasha’s case is an emblematic example of Egypt’s use of arbitrary detention to target individuals for their activism. It mirrors the experiences of countless others who have faced similar treatment at the hands of Egyptian officials,” HRF Chief Advocacy Officer Roberto González said. “Egypt’s use of arbitrary detention as a tool to silence dissent and suppress opposition is an alarming example of the regime’s disregard for the rule of law and basic human rights. Urgent international intervention is needed to secure his release after enduring over three years of detention on trumped-up charges, including torture and inhumane prison conditions.”
Amasha is a member of the Coordination Committee of the Kefaya opposition movement, also known as the Egyptian Movement for Change, and is known for campaigning against the Agrium petrochemical factory in his hometown of Damietta. He also founded the League of the Families of the Disappeared, which raises awareness of enforced or involuntary disappearances and provides domestic and international legal assistance to victims’ relatives.
Amasha was charged with crimes of terrorism in August 2022 and sent to one of the most dreaded prisons in Egypt: Tora high-security prison, also known as Scorpion 2. Amasha was denied gallbladder surgery, an adequate amount of food, and sunlight for an extended period of time and has been held in a cell with 24-hour video surveillance.
Today, Amasha remains in prison, in deteriorating physical and psychological health, and without information regarding when the court will issue its decision. He has been denied any form of due process, including not being brought promptly before a judge to rule on his detention and being denied proper access to an attorney.
HRF calls on the UNWGAD to investigate Amasha’s case, determine that his detention is arbitrary and in violation of international law, and request that Egypt release him immediately.
Supported by a grant from the John Templeton Foundation.
B Ventures – Liftoff!
I have been asked by Brian Abrams to join a taskforce to think about in how philanthropy can be used to reconstruct the societal and infrastructural devastation of Gaza.
From Brian — I'm thrilled to announce that we have officially completed the first closing of the new B Ventures fund! This is a first-of-its-kind in the world, applying the venture capital model to the age-old problem of war with a mission to both generate top-tier returns and make the world incrementally more peaceful and less violent. We're now off to the races, and we expect to announce our first couple of investments by the end of next quarter.
For those who joined the first “friends and family” round, I'm immensely grateful. For those who weren't able to join yet or are just hearing about this for the first time, it's not too late. We're now looking ahead to our second closing around year end.
Exiting a portfolio company before you launch the fund falls in the “good problems to have” category. ODR.com was an online dispute resolution (ODR) company whose mission I often described as “disrupting Judge Judy,” moving thousands of small claims from the courtroom to the smartphone. It had what I believed to be a huge domestic US market opportunity that could generate an exceptional return. Once expanded internationally, I envisioned how it could also help resolve the 10,000 small conflicts that underpin the big ones. While my personal investment generated a stellar return (74% IRR) in May when it was acquired by the American Arbitration Association (AAA), I wish we could have made it a fund-level investment in B Ventures. At a minimum, it offers an excellent proof-of-concept of how we intend to both generate top-tier returns and simultaneously resolve conflict.
Fortunately, we think we've got the next great investment already in the queue! More on that next time…
We sponsored a live online event featuring seven peacetech founders organized by our dynamic new team member, Shane Ray Martin. If you haven't already, please make sure to follow B Ventures, Brian, and Shane on LinkedIn and stay tuned for more great events and podcasts in the months ahead.
Since October 7th, I've been working to advance a “Marshall Plan” for post-war Gaza in the belief that it could benefit all parties: greater security for Israel, hope and opportunity for Gazans, closer alignment with the Gulf states for regional cooperation, etc. After an extraordinary meeting a few months ago in Helsinki of high-level Israelis, Palestinians, Egyptians, Jordanians, Europeans, and Americans, we're now working to knit together the various plans as per the Ethiopian saying, “When spider webs unite, they can tie up a lion.” I hope to share more in the weeks and months ahead.
We'd like to give a quick, spread-the-word shoutout to our new friends at the Peace and Security Funders Group (PSFG), which connects and supports a network of foundations and individuals across six continents with expert insight on conflict dynamics, evidence-based peace approaches, and investing in the future of humanity. For more information about PSFG, feel free to contact their executive director, Alex Toma.
RWCHR Senior Fellow Vladimir Kara-Murza freed in prisoner swap
In response to confirmed reports of the largest prisoner exchange since the Cold War, we are elated to share that our dear friend and Senior Fellow, Russian pro-democracy activist Vladimir Kara-Murza, is among the 24 prisoners released.
We are proud that our team - along with our partners - played a small role in advancing this deal and in ensuring that Kara-Murza was included on the prisoner list, which also includes Canadian-US citizen Paul Whelan, American journalist Evan Gershovich, and several other Russian political prisoners.
Every day since Kara-Murza was arrested in April 2022 for publicly condemning the Putin regime and its war in Ukraine, we have feared for his life. His 25-year sentence on baseless charges of high treason, which he served in a harsh Siberian penal colony for over a year, were meant to send a message to any who would stand up for truth and justice in Russia.
Our sustained advocacy for his release over the past two years, including our podcast on his harrowing ordeal, our efforts to ensure he was granted honorary Canadian citizenship, our recent joint efforts with the Free Russia Foundation (FRF), Human Rights Foundation (HRF), and the McCain Institute, as well as our sanctions recommendation to the Canadian government, have finally borne fruit.
We extend our deepest gratitude to all who supported our campaign for his release.
This news is a tremendous relief to all those who know and love him- none more than his wife and fellow activist Evgenia Kara-Murza and their three children.
This is also a victory for all who believe in the principles of human rights and justice to which Vladmir has dedicated his career and risked his life.
Each of the 24 prisoners released from Russian state custody today represents freedom restored and a family reunited. We wish each one a full recovery from their horrific ordeals.
As we celebrate their release, we also renew our commitment to advocating for political prisoners, prisoners of conscience, hostages, and all those unlawfully detained worldwide, including the thousands still unjustly behind bars in Putin’s Russia.
Welcome back to freedom, Vladimir!
Your unwavering spirit and dedication to democracy shine brighter than ever.
We look forward to hosting you in Canada as our honorary citizen soon, and to resuming our work together to build a world in which justice prevails.
Joint Situation Report #2 The Platform – Israeli NGOs for Human Rights
For more on the State of the Occupation by Israeli NGOs for Human Rights, please refer to this link.
Completion of the Ideation 50:50 Program organized by Convisero mentor Amir Grinstein
After an intensive three months of dedication and hard work, our entrepreneurs have successfully transformed their ventures into real startups.
We are proud to have hosted the Ideation 50:50 Demo Day 2024, in collaboration with 50:50 Startups and the AtoBe Startup Accelerator. Following an intensive three-month ideation program, six teams showcased their innovative ideas.
A special thanks to our fascinating panel of judges and keynote speakers:
Hanan Brand, VP and Head of Startup Division, Israel Innovation Authority
Gidi Etzion, Vice President of Innovation and External Relations, Azrieli Jerusalem College of Engineering.
Mahmoud Khweis, CEO of JIINNOVATE Jerusalem Innovation Health-Tech Center.
Aiman Abu Ammar, Senior Lecturer at Azrieli College of Engineering Jerusalem.
Taleb Idkeidek, CEO of Ishraka, Consulting and Training.
We extend our heartfelt gratitude to all attendees, investors, venture capitalists, and angel investors who participated in the event.
Congratulations to the winners
1st Place: Lazman Team -Ruba Sbeih, Aseel Farrah, with a central online platform for discovering and enrolling in local extracurricular programs tailored to your interests.
2nd Place: Wurkit Team - Irina Ditiatovskaia, Ahmad Abu Gosh, and Saleh Abdeen - Wurkit instantly connects employers with on-demand workers, ensuring secure payments, flexible work, and fair compensation.
3rd Place: Cartly - Hanan Himoni - Cartly helps customers compare grocery cart prices and provides supermarkets with valuable pricing analytics.
A special thanks to the Israel Innovation Authority רשות החדשנות, for sponsoring this program.
Join Our Next Monthly Session
Don't miss the chance to register for the next monthly session about Why Ventures Don’t Get Funded, scheduled for August 15th at 18:00.
This session will be led by T. A. Brysch, With more than 23 years of organizational leadership experience in innovation & exponential growth management and strategic business development across various industries, including security applications, behavioral biometrics, IoT, and CyberSecurity.
This invitation is extended to you, your partner, and anyone else who might benefit from it. Register Here
CYPRUS BOOTCAMP
Applications are open!
Apply today to the Startups BootCamp, designed for early-stage teams, taking place from October 27 to November 9, 2024, in Nicosia, Cyprus.
In collaboration with the Social Tech Lab, we offer young entrepreneurs the best resources and expertise to build successful startups. Throughout the program, you will be guided by industry-leading mentors, meet diverse entrepreneurs, and participate in workshops designed to propel you and your ventures forward. To learn check our website: Cyprus Bootcamp.
Moneshia zu Eltz
Moneshia is passionate believer in our latent power to bring more kindness and justice into the world as the "more" and "something better" that we are desined for. She thrives in bringing together and building communities of individuals to remove obstacles, address complex problems and recognize spiritual truths as the means to achieve our full societal potential across the socio-economic spectrum. A New Yorker of Indian heritage, she leads by example to execute against winning strategies for business and society for the benefit of all stakeholders, leveraging her experience in M&A, strategy, value creation, mentorship, leadership and inclusion.
A graduate from Smith College in Economics and Humanities, Moneshia was a Management Consultant at Monitor/Deloitte in the Forestry/Non profit, Telecommunications, Healthcare and Banking sectors across Latin America, Africa, Japan and India before attending Wharton for her MBA. Thereafter, Moneshia played a pivotal role as Director of Corporate Development at IBM, evolving across 60 transactions across the globe how employees and leadership development could be made instrumental in supporting higher business performance. She established industry best practices for incoming CEOs and integration executives for long term sustainable growth and monitored performance and outcomes across the portfolio.
In 2015 she moved to Europe as the Vice President of Collaboration & Strategic growth for Philips in Amsterdam, infusing her ability to integrate technology into healthcare to make it more efficient, personalized and profitable with digital and cloud, working across start ups, and the Pharma and Medical Device industries.
In 2018 Moneshia moved further in the direction of human development, taking on roles that empowered a business as a force for good mind-set among peers and collaborators. As interim CEO of Volunteer Vision, a mentoring platform for career readiness and leadership, she propogated an expanded notion of self leadership and learning by doing that was embraced by like minded networks such as NOW Partners, the Bahai international Community and the BMW Foundation Responsible Leaders.
She continues to advise investors and CEOs in healthcare, technology and sustainability on fundraising and M&A as companies evolve in their journeys to optimize their mission, while hosting retreats and colloquiums for professionals from all backgrounds to leverage business acumen and compassion into how we can collaborate for a better tomorrow. She established an INSEAD alumni Business as a Force for Good chapter in Germany that serves 3000 business professionals, and developed a pedagogy of leadership learning experiences that includes group coaching on life design for women leaders, generational gatherings on regenerative processes, and mentorship to further the work of social entrepreneurs (Tallberg Foundation) and Finance (Global Alliance for Banking with Values). Her programs range from tree planting in biogas, organic and regenerative farms to spiritual study/meditation and yoga in the hills of Tuscany, Italy under the themes of reducing food waste to AI/tech for good.
Moneshia is honored to serve the Consivero community and grateful to be on this journey together.
Combatants for Peace wins 2024 Organizational War Abolisher Award
World BEYOND War has given the 2024 Organizational War Abolisher Award to Combatants for Peace (CfP), a joint community of Palestinians and Israelis working in solidarity to end the occupation and all forms of oppression in Palestine and Israel.
The timing of the awards ceremony will be July 22, 2024, at 16:00 UTC, which is 6 a.m. in Honolulu, 9 a.m. in San Francisco, 10 a.m. in Mexico City, 12 noon in Washington D.C., 5 p.m. in Dublin, 5 p.m. in Yaoundé, 6 p.m. in Berlin, 7 p.m. in Rafah, 7 p.m. in Jerusalem, 7:30 p.m. in Tehran, and 9:30 p.m. in New Delhi.
The event is free and open to the media and the public. Register for the Zoom link here.
Dr. Pumla Gobodo-Madikizela, Convisero mentor, receives 2024 Templeton Prize
Pumla Joins Past Laureates Desmond Tutu and Jane Goodall to Receive One of the World’s Largest Individual Lifetime Achievement Awards.
We are so proud to share the wonderful news that our dear friend and colleague, Pumla, has received this prestigious award. My wife Iris Adler and I will be with Pumla this year at her invitation conducting workshops at her Stellenbosch University center.
Quick bio: Dr. Gobodo-Madikizela is a professor and South African National Research Foundation’s Chair in Violent Histories and Transgenerational Trauma and the Director of the Centre for the Study of the Afterlife of Violence and the Reparative Quest at Stellenbosch University.
At home with Convisero mentor Pumla (link to Trebuchet) holding a gacaca reconciliation bowl from Rwanda (2024).
Convisero Mentor Patrick Schmidt wins Kansas Democratic Primary for State Senate
In the November general election upon winning the Democratic Primary, Patrick will face Republican Party nominee Tyler Wible, a Topekan who defeated moderate Cynthia Smith in the primary. He is running for Kansas' 19th State Senate district as a sixth-generation Kansan, coming from a family of farmers, miners, and teachers. Patrick is currently working in the Naval Reserve and returned to Kansas with his wife, Megan, to fight for rights in the Kansas Legislature.
I am also honored to say that I have been awarded the 2024 Moms Demand Action Gun Sense Candidate distinction. MAD has recognized me as a candidate that advocates for gun violence prevention and will govern with gun safety in mind. I'm committed to passing legislation that saves lives.
I have also been endorsed by Sheet Metal Air Rail Transportation (SMART). I am honored to have the endorsement of these union workers!
Convisero Intern Nitya Srinivasa performs her Arangetram
David Rose
David Rose is an MIT lecturer, inventor, and five-time entrepreneur who envisions future products and businesses enabled by design and new technology. His work spans various domains, blending creativity with cutting-edge innovation to transform how we interact with the world.
In his first book, “Enchanted Objects,” David explored how everyday items can be imbued with intelligence and connectivity. He founded and sold several companies, including Vitality, which introduced the GlowCap, a cellular-connected pill cap, Ambient Devies, and Ditto Labs, an AI-driven computer vision company.
As VP of Vision Technology at Warby Parker, he led the use of AI to improve eye tests and virtual try-ons.
David is known for translating complex technologies into intuitive products, helping businesses thrive during digital disruption. His innovative approach has earned him recognition in both academic and commercial sectors.
David’s work has been featured at the New York Museum of Modern Art, and covered in The New York Times, WIRED, and The Economist. His home was showcased in a New York Times video titled “The Internet of Things,” highlighting inventions, such as a Google Earth coffee table, Skype cabinetry, and a Mrs. Weasley’s clock-inspired doorbell. He even made John Stewart laugh during his appearance on The Daily Show.
Currently, as the CEO of LOOKOUT, where his team is using AI and augmented reality to reinvent safe marine navigation. He has taught at the Harvard Graduate School of Design, the MIT Media Lab, and the MIT School of Architecture, and contributes to Forbes, sharing insights on technological advancements.
David is an accomplished singer, sailor, and proponent of micromobility commuting on an electric cargo-bike.
I first met David playing pickleball at my local Brookline Coolidge Park court - where else does one meet people these days? I had earlier noticed his parked cargo bike while walking Remi and was intrigued. I always thought that when I would finally meet such a rider it would be an MIT guy. Confirmed! A wonderful eclectic conversation ensued. He knew MIT's Media Lab remarkable Michael Hawley, who helped inspire and encouraged me to create Convisero and I was certain this would become a promising relationship. David might finally even be the person to enable me to create the graphic visualization I've dreamed of to make our increasingly complex Convisero network accessible, Phase one, I've introduced LOOKOUT to another of my wonderful network friends, Jim Gilbert, who is very interested in a conversation with David to learn more.
Can this conference inspire a new Israeli-Palestinian peace movement?
Maoz Inon (left) and Aziz Abu Sarah (right), Israeli and Palestinian peace activists. (Uri Levy)
For activists Maoz Inon and Aziz Abu Sarah, reviving a joint peace effort that learns from past obstacles is ‘the biggest antidote to extremism.’
By Oren Ziv
Maoz Inon and Aziz Abu Sarah are an unlikely pair. Inon, 49, is an Israeli tourism entrepreneur and the founder of Abraham Hostels. He lost both of his parents, who lived on Kibbutz Netiv HaAsara, during the Hamas-led assault on October 7.
Abu Sarah, 44, is a Palestinian peace activist, journalist, and tourism entrepreneur who founded MEJDI Tours, and a resident of East Jerusalem (and a former +972 contributor). When Aziz was 9 years old, his older brother Taiseer was arrested and held in prison for nearly a year; shortly after his release, Taiseer died of internal injuries he sustained while being tortured in prison.
The two met after Abu Sarah wrote to Inon in the days after October 7, expressing his condolences for Inon’s murdered family. Since then, they have been leading a personal and public campaign against revenge and in favor of reconciliation. They have spoken in media interviews, conferences, and home circles, held an open conversation at a TED conference, and met with diplomats and, recently, with the Pope.
Together with dozens of organizations, Inon is now leading an event titled “It’s Time — The Great Peace Conference,” which will take place on July 1 in Tel Aviv, and is expected to be the largest formal left-wing gathering in recent decades. Delegations representing vast swaths of Israeli and Palestinian society will be in attendance, with artists, politicians, and intellectuals expected to speak. The event will screen a video message from Abu Sarah, who is currently abroad.
In an interview with +972 and Local Call, Inon and Abu Sarah discussed the new peace process they are promoting, the goals of the conference, and how they plan to convince their respective general publics to support their work. The conversation has been edited for length and clarity.
Israeli security forces guard while Muslim worshippers arrive for the last Friday prayers of the holy month of Ramadan, in Jerusalem’s Old City, April 5, 2024. (Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)
Where did the idea for the conference come from?
Inon: It all started in Geneva in March. Aziz and I were there with 70 other Palestinians and Israelis. We wrote a charter for a common future and started thinking about a road map to achieve peace between the river and the sea. This is the first step, to make the calls for peace and to build legitimacy for the peace process and for us — the leaders of the future.
The conference is the first public event in Israeli society in which Jewish and Palestinian citizens will come out publicly and begin a peace process that derives from the people. This is the first time, at least from what I remember, that more than 50 civil society organizations are working together to build the infrastructure for such a process. Since we aspire to build legitimacy, it will take place in the Menorah Hall and not in demonstrations in the streets. This is just the first event in a series of events we plan to organize.
We have seen protests against the war in recent months, as well as demonstrations calling for a ceasefire. What is the difference between that and the conference?
Inon: We are not against anyone; the demonstrations are important, and some of us participate in them. But this is not a demonstration. We’re changing the framing and talking more about hope and the future. The idea is to build a coalition and work together.
Abu Sarah: I look at when I was a child in East Jerusalem, and, honestly, I never saw or heard from the Israeli peace movement, and there are Israelis who have never seen a Palestinian peace movement. The inability to see these movements has established a perception that there is no one on the other side who wants to bring peace, who cares about human rights, and so on. This event, which is making a lot of noise, will have thousands of people say they want to live together, to find a way to end the bloodshed, and to work with partners on the other side. This declaration itself is very strong and will be an important message to the Palestinian side.
This is something new. The only way we will have an impact is with a sort of unity, even if we are not exactly the same and there are differences here and there. A meeting of thousands of people will not end the bloodshed and will not bring peace tomorrow, but it is an important step. And if we continue on this path, and organizations learn to work together, everyone’s power will double.
Israelis take part in a protest calling for the end of the war and the release of the hostages, as they march through the streets of Tel Aviv, May 09, 2024. (Arie Leib Abrams/Flash90)
One of the major obstacles to a ceasefire is the Israeli government, which refuses to make a deal. Is the event also a message to the government, meant to pressure them to agree?
Inon: That’s a good question, but I won’t answer it directly. We have been kidnapped by extremists, on both sides, and those extremists thrive on bloodshed, revenge, and killing. Now is our time to draw up an alternative — ideological and political — that will change the discourse, and that’s what we’re doing.
I lost both my parents and so many childhood friends on October 7. I felt angry, and a desire to punish and take revenge on the Israeli government, which repeatedly promised my parents security and protection. After every cycle of bloodshed, they continued to make this promise to us. Of course, they failed, and my parents paid the price. But I decided to forgive them. I’m not interested in punishing them, they’re irrelevant to me.
We will open the event with a reading of the poem ‘Revenge’ by Taha Muhammad Ali. [The speaker of the poem initially imagines how he will take revenge on his father’s killer]. This beautiful poem ends by saying that the revenge on his father’s killer will be to ignore him as he passes by on the street. In the same way, I decided to ignore the government. They are part of the past. I prefer to focus on the future, not on one government or politician or another. Whoever wants to join, the door will always be open. Even to those who now choose violence.
Abu Sarah: I don’t think many attendees support the Israeli government’s policies or what Hamas has done. If the event had focused on either, it would have been bad; we could focus on governments that have failed for decades and got us to where we are today, or we can focus on how to move forward and work together despite those obstacles.
One of the things that Israeli governments have been saying for decades is that there is no Palestinian partner on the other side. You can argue and yell that they’re wrong, or you can show that it’s bullshit, that there’s a partner, that we’re here. The existence of Maoz and me is the greatest threat to the extremists, who claim that war, bombing, and killing are the only way. We are demonstrating what the alternative is, what the road to peace will look like. When people find a meeting point, it’s the biggest antidote to extremism.
Maoz Inon and Aziz Abu Sarah meeting Pope Francis in Verona, Italy, May 18, 2024. (Vatican Media)
You call for making an “All for All” deal, meaning the release of all Palestinian prisoners and all Israeli hostages. At the beginning of the war, this call was heard in Israel as well, but it has since been marginalized.
Inon: We have to go back to the ‘All for All’ deal that was on the table. Prisoners can play a significant role in reconciliation and peacebuilding.
Abu Sarah: If you look at who are the people who can speak on behalf of the Palestinians, who have power and legitimacy, they are all prisoners. I understand that people say, “But how is it possible, given what they did?” But in conflict, everyone involved has blood on their hands, and they are the people who can legitimize an agreement that will last, as in Northern Ireland and South Africa. Without the prisoners, there would be no agreement.
[Former U.S. President] Barack Obama said we have to admit that everyone is to blame for not acting before October 7. When there is a ceasefire, we don’t want to say, “Everything is good” and not do anything else, like before October. We don’t want to say that the status quo is sustainable; we hope to push for the status quo not to be maintained.
I was in Northern Ireland earlier this month. It seems that before the Good Friday Agreement there, there was a feeling on all sides that they had had enough. In Israel, there is a feeling that the public, or at least some of it, is still not tired of war and violence, and perhaps even the opposite, that people want to continue with all their might.
Inon: There was a poll conducted by “aChord” showing that 74 percent of Israeli citizens support a diplomatic agreement. The poll shows that maybe we’re not reading the map correctly. Besides, no one is currently offering an alternative, and that’s where we come in. For the first time in many years, we are proposing a solution to the unsustainable status quo and the ongoing bloodshed. That’s our mission.
Jews attend a prayer for the return of the Israeli hostages held by Hamas in the Gaza Strip, at the Western Wall, in the Old City of Jerusalem, March 21, 2024. (Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)
Abu Sarah: I worked a lot in Northern Ireland. I met soldiers and members of organizations, police officers and military personnel. At some point, they realized that peace was coming. They understood that what they did would only prolong the war and suffering, and they saw friends and family paying the price for what they had done. It took time, but once the understanding of the depth of impact on families and lives was internalized, it helped create the transformation.
To this day, the society in Northern Ireland is very fragmented. About 92 percent of schools are segregated. Nevertheless, they understood that even though the Good Friday Agreement was not perfect, the alternative was much worse. Everyone I met there said it wasn’t the agreement they dreamed of, but that it was better than the alternative. We need to get the people here to see this too.
Dialogue meetings between Palestinians and Israelis have been held since the 1990s, and there has been much criticism of them, including that they maintain the imbalance of power and serve only the strong side.
Abu Sarah: I’m a little more cynical than Maoz. I was very critical of the idea of “people to people” work. I felt it wasn’t enough, that there was a lot of talk but not much happened. This is something the peace movement needs to be careful about.
I remember in the late 1990s, when I came to the peace movement, there was a lot of hope. I remember a huge meeting of Israelis and Palestinians in Gaza in 2000, before everything exploded. But that peace movement eventually delegitimized itself, and that’s why, as Maoz said, one of our goals is to create legitimacy ourselves.
In the past, they were unable to advance beyond dialogue. What’s different now, at least for some, is that there’s more than just talk. You see it in movements like Standing Together, Combatants for Peace, Rabbis for Human Rights. You see that it’s not just dialogue, but also working together, building stronger bridges, seeing what is needed and how we can fill those needs. This movement is much stronger, and it learns from the past.
Inon: We are dreaming, but with a plan – to make peace by 2030. We need to constantly check that our actions are effective. This is exactly the formula to create hope, imagine a better future together, and make that future a reality. We have already been very effective and we are growing. The dialogue is just one phase of the plan. The goal is not dialogue, but peace.
Left-wing activists protest against the war, calling for ceasefire in Gaza, in Tel Aviv, January 18, 2024. (Itai Ron/Flash90)
Regarding a peace plan toward 2030: do you intend to publish a concrete plan, which includes steps and demands from the parties?
Abu Sarah: This is not the time to say exactly where the borders will be; in my opinion, that was never the problem. The problem was mustering the will, a critical mass that would support an agreement. The problem was that people hijacked the political process. In the field of ideas there is, for example, A Land for All [which promotes a confederation], the Geneva Initiative [which promotes two states], and more. Ideas are not what’s missing.
Do you intend to deal with core issues in dispute, such as the right of return?
Abu Sarah: I think we will look at all the issues. The basic principle we are talking about is equality, dignity, and security. It doesn’t matter if that’s in one country or two. There will be no peace with occupation or injustice. We are delusional if we think it is possible to talk about peace and not talk about all these issues. The question is what are the basic human values on which we agree.
People across the world have expressed their sympathy and support for your project. Do you think that at this point in time, the project can be accepted here as well, given the current political situation — in Gaza, in the West Bank, in Jerusalem, in Israel, and in light of all the criticism of the peace process in the past?
Abu Sarah: I think so. People are still very pragmatic, despite the pain and anger. One of my dearest friends from Gaza, 50 members of his family were killed, his whole family was wiped out — uncles, aunts, cousins, everyone is gone. I wanted to talk about this friend’s story at the event, so I asked him how he felt about me doing so. He didn’t even hesitate, and replied: “One hundred percent, that’s what we need.”
Yulia Navalnaya is Elected Chair of HRF
The Human Rights Foundation (HRF) is pleased to announce the election of Yulia Navalnaya as its new Chair, succeeding Garry Kasparov after the conclusion of his third term as chairman.
“As someone who has personally witnessed the threat dictatorships pose to our loved ones and the world at large, I am deeply honored to take on the role of Chair of the Human Rights Foundation,” said Yulia Navalnaya. “In these challenging times, defending fundamental rights and freedoms is more crucial than ever. The mission of HRF is close to my heart, and I look forward to helping advance it.”
Yulia Navalnaya, renowned for her unwavering commitment to democratic principles and human rights and for her steadfast support of her husband, the late Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, brings a wealth of experience and a passionate vision to HRF.
“I believe in term limits. Unlike the dictators that we fight,” said Garry Kasparov, who has chaired HRF since 2012. Kasparov, who endorsed Navalnaya, expressed enthusiastic confidence in her leadership: “I look forward to supporting Yulia and HRF in this new chapter. It has been a privilege to serve as Chairman of the Human Rights Foundation. Yulia’s courage and commitment to justice are inspiring. HRF will continue to thrive and make an ever-growing impact in the fight for human rights.”
“This leadership transition continues HRF’s proud tradition of advocacy under the guidance of notable leaders, following in the footsteps of former chairs Václav Havel and Armando Valladares,” said HRF Chief Executive Thor Halvorssen. “Garry Kasparov has provided exceptional service to HRF and it’s reassuring that his successor can match his energy, courage, and moral authority.”
HRF President Céline Assaf-Boustani also praised the appointment: “We are thrilled to welcome Yulia Navalnaya as our new Chair. Her personal experiences and advocacy work make her uniquely qualified to support HRF. We are grateful to Garry and look forward to building on the many achievements of the last decade.”
The Human Rights Foundation (HRF) is a New York-based nonprofit organization that promotes and protects human rights globally, with a focus on closed societies. Founded in 2005, HRF unites people in the common cause of defending human rights and promoting liberal democracy.
SDE Teiman and Beyond: A Dive into Israel's Detention of Palestinians in the Shadow of War
Dear friends
As the world's eye is turned to Gaza, a parallel, sinister crisis has unfolded for the past 9 months. Dozens of incarcerated Palestinians from both Gaza and the West Bank have died in Israeli detention centers. Hundreds have suffered medical neglect, and many have been subjected to abuse and torture at the Sde Teiman military base and other facilities.
Join Physicians for Human Rights Israel for an English-language Webinar that will delve into these and other issues, including the Israeli medical system's complicity in some of these rights violations, the latest updates on Sde Teiman, and the denial of medical treatment in the Israeli prison system.
Tuesday, July 2nd at 7 PM Jerusalem time/12 PM EDT
Speakers:
Ms. Oneg Ben Dror, Project Coordinator, PHRI's Prisoners and Detainees DepartmentMs. Hadas Ziv, Director of Medical Ethics at PHRIDr. Lina Qassem-Hassan, Chairperson of PHRI's Board and a family physician with experience treating incarcerated Palestinians
Hosted by Ms. Lee Caspi, Director of Resource Development at PHRI
Sign up here
Best regards,
Lee Caspi
Director of Resource Development
Physicians for Human Rights Israel (PHRI)
A ‘Free Russia’ Passport Could Undermine Putin
Welcoming Those Who Want To Break With The Russian Leader’s Regime Would Mobilize A Key Community To Help Ukraine To Victory.
By Garry Kasparov and Mikhail Khodorkovsky
The war in Ukraine is now well into its third year, and Western support for the country has faltered dangerously.
While the U.S. Congress did pass an aid bill after months of fitful negotiations, the assistance came late — and at great cost. In the interim, Russia took advantage of Kyiv’s shortfall in munitions, dramatically intensifying the shelling of key cities. The EU, for its part, did pass a multibillion-euro defense package in March, but the bloc remains deeply divided over the scope and type of military assistance.
In light of all this, commentary has rightly focused on the need to provide adequate support that would allow Ukraine to defend itself on the battlefield. This must remain a key area of attention. However, the West has other avenues at its disposal to help Ukraine win — and these can and must be explored too.
We speak on behalf of all the Russians who believe in the potential for a free and democratic Russia. Neither of us have been able to return home for decades because of our opposition to the regime. Thankfully, with the resources available to us, we’ve been able to establish new homes and lives for ourselves and our families in the West. But the same opportunities aren’t available to the millions of Russians who, like us, don’t support Putin’s criminal system.
At this critical juncture in the struggle for Ukraine’s sovereignty, we have an opportunity to give these Russians the chance to make the same moral choice to break with the Putin regime — and, in doing so, mobilize a key community to help Ukraine to victory.
Let us be clear about what is at stake: the freedom and self-determination of millions of Ukrainians and their government’s right to territorial integrity. But the consequences extend far beyond one country’s borders. A victory for Putin’s regime would be a clear sign that the world’s democracies aren’t able to stand together in a firm coalition to uphold their core values and support their members in need.
But we still have an opportunity to change the outcome — if we act now — and affirm that democratic institutions and values are stronger and more sustainable than what authoritarians offer.
Thus, as a vital step in the international fight for Ukraine and against Putinism, we propose the creation of a single, harmoniously operating community of pro-Western Russians, which would serve as a crucial link in the broader Western web of opposition against the regime.
Practically speaking, Russians who wish to join this group would be required to sign the Berlin Declaration, which sets out the key principles for a Ukrainian victory and a Russia without Putin. After passing the necessary checks, signatories would then be issued documents recognizing them as members of a “Free Russia,” which would allow them to obtain visas and enter all countries participating in the agreement.
This would create a powerful incentive for more Russians to disavow Putin and emigrate. Many of the over one million citizens who have already departed the Russian Federation are highly educated. And the more that leave Russia, the greater the “brain drain” Putin’s regime suffers, leaving fewer intellectual resources for him to develop new deadly technologies and fewer soldiers to send to the front.
Unfortunately, Russians who have left their country behind often find themselves in a state of limbo and at risk of politically motivated extradition, living, for the most part, in Georgia, Armenia, Turkey or Central Asian countries, unable to seek refuge in Europe. Many would gladly join in the fight against Putin openly. However, with expiring passports, uncertain residency and no representation, this is an impossibility.
These individuals aren’t in need of economic assistance — they’re fully capable of supporting themselves. The system we propose would give them the opportunity to help themselves, their families and the West by supporting the international struggle against Putinism openly and without fear.
If the idea sounds far-fetched or impractical, we point to a historical example that suggests otherwise: Nansen passports, developed for stateless persons in the political chaos following World War I, were issued by the League of Nations after the Russian government officially revoked the citizenship of hundreds of thousands of Russians abroad. Named after Norwegian politician Fridtjof Nansen, their chief promoter on the international stage, nearly half a million Nansen passports were issued during their nearly two-decade existence. And the office responsible for their operation was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for its work in combating this massive displacement crisis.
While the parallel is imperfect — as historical analogs always are — the growing number of Russians disaffected with Putin’s rule today similarly stand to have their lives transformed by such international recognition. In recent days though, Norway, along with Finland, banned the entry of Russian tourists (with few exceptions for essential travel and humanitarian reasons). And while the measure signals a strong stance against Putin’s war, it offers no way of distinguishing between Russians who fall in line behind him and those who seek to disavow him. It only further points to the urgent need for an international juridical mechanism for making precisely this kind of distinction.
As the war staggers on, we must use all the resources at our disposal — military, economic and legal — to help Ukraine prevail. The establishment of an extraterritorial free Russia, so to speak, with international recognition, would mark a crucial step toward Ukraine’s victory, dramatically shifting the balance of power in the struggle between democracy and dictatorship.
We cannot shy away from the truth that victory for Ukraine entails the full defeat of Putin’s regime. The steps we take to ensure Ukraine’s future are also steps that pave the way for a free, fair and democratic Russia aligned with the West. We urge the leaders of the free world to take this proposal seriously: to bring like-minded Russians to their side of the current fight and, as a result, integrate them into the international democratic fabric.
This month at Abraham Initiatives
Keeping the Peace in Mixed Cities Since October 7th
Last month, Yoni Arie, our Safe Communities Director, participated in an important meeting of the State Audit Committee in the Knesset. Presenting data collected by The Abraham Initiatives and partners, Yoni explained that in order to sustain positive relations between Jews and Arabs in mixed cities, cooperation between the police, the municipality, and civil society is imperative. Our advice to the government and public officials is informed up by careful research and the relationships our shared cities coordinators in the field build.
Our work in mixed cities during this emergency period has helped prevent a recurrence of the intercommunal violence of May 2021. We have repeatedly called on the police and municipalities to strengthen cooperation with civil society and local residents. You can read more in our most recent policy paper examining the state's response to the May 2021 violence and lessons learned for today.
On June 24th, Yoni will make a public presentation of The Abraham Initiatives' study of the government's implementation of its policy commitments to Arab communities. You can read a summary of the findings here.
Strengthening Civil Society in Ramla
Co-Executive Director Shahira Shalaby opened the first training session for local organizational and grassroots leaders in Ramla. Shahira's presentation focused on strategy for community work in mixed cities and formulating a shared vision for everyday life.
This is just part of the work our local coordinator, Kholod Alzinati, has done in developing civil and political partnerships in Ramla. The dynamic group was composed of local leaders full of motivation and clear potential. Our work in mixed cities and regions, which was essential in controlling tensions and preventing violence since October 7th, is moving beyond emergency coordination to build capacity for long term day-to-day needs in mixed cities and regions.
Countering Racism and Extremism in Schools
Our team recently attended a daylong roundtable discussion organized by the Ministry of Education, the National Institute for Research and Development in Education, and the Center for Educational Technology.
In front of an audience of policymakers, academics, and educators, we raised concerns of growing extremist attitudes and racism prevalent in high schools since October 7th.
Dr. Shany Payes, Director of Research & Evaluation, and Galia Bazak Hilger, Director of Education for Shared Society, discussed our most recent survey results showing alarming levels of hatred among Jewish and Arab youth; the challenges that principals and educators are facing; and the model we have developed and implemented in high schools since October 7th.
Narrowing Gaps in Digital Access
Yaacob Ibrahim, our co-Director of Public Affairs, sits on the Forum to Promote Internet and Digitization in Arab Society. This month, Yaacob addressed the Forum and discussed gaps in access to technology, including in schools and the workplace.
While certain socioeconomic gaps have recently seen improvement in Arab society—including the number of university students and level of women's employment—there are areas still desperately in need of address. Access to digital resources in Arabic is one of them. The government has committed to making sure content and forms on Ministry websites will be available in Arabic by the end of 2026, and we intend to monitor progress toward this goal.
Introducing Shahira Shalaby
Last week, The Abraham Initiatives hosted a webinar conversation between Shahira Shalaby, our new co-Executive Director, and board member Josh Arnow. You can access the recording below:
Webinar recording: Click here
Passcode: Abraham1!
We are excited about our upcoming programs and initiatives, including preparing for the next national election in Israel, and hope hold more of these conversations in the future!
Rachel Svetanoff keynote panelist for UN Foundation's Intergenerational Townhall
Convisero mentor Rachel Svetanoff sits alongside two UN youth leaders, Ose Ehianeta Arheghan and Sophia Kianni, on the National Visions for 2100 Intergenerational Townhall for the UN Foundation’s Our Future Agenda program in collaboration with United Nations Association of the USA at the 2024 Leadership Summit. Each panelist shared lessons learned about youth activism that came from lived experience, demonstrating their diligence and passion for solving issues that face current generations today and future generations. This townhall is part of Our Future Agenda’s intergenerational action initiative where participants also crafted solutions surrounding 12 ideas for future generations. Rachel and her colleagues facilitated round table discussions who shared their ideas for creating pathways pathways forward towards a shared vision of intergenerational unity.
The United Nations Association of the USA (UNA-USA) was selected to serve as the main implementing partner in the United States for the Intergenerational Town Hall Series. This initiative, underpinned by the United Nations Foundation and supported through the Unlock the Future Coalition, provides the opportunity for 16 UN member states to host Town Halls that are designed to engage, empower, and elevate voices of young people and future generations.
The Intergenerational Town Halls are designed to convene a diverse assembly of participants and speakers, ranging from visionary young leaders and activists to seasoned policymakers, experts, and global thought leaders. UNA-USA encourages and welcomes non-members to participate in these Town Hall elements, so that their voices are heard and represented within the cumulative report that will be developed from the consultations.
