Connecticut's Role in the Circle of Peace
Can a local Federation Can a local Federation become a catalyst of peace in the Middle East? Robert Zwang believes it can. As the Executive Director of Jewish Federation of Western Connecticut, Zwang was the driving force behind a recent series of events that brought together a trio of government leaders from historically divergent sides of the Israeli-Palestian conflict. Israeli Mayor Daniel Attar of Gilboa, along with his deputy Mayor Ead Saleem, joined with Governor Qaddoura Moussa of Jenin in Southbury to publicly embrace their cities' peaceful coexistence and to promote their solidarity.
"After reading a front page article in last September's "NY Times" which highlighted Tony Blair's ambitious economic and political plans for the region, I called Danny Attar and asked to arrange a meeting with the governor of Jenin," recalls Zwang, who was coincidentally composing a letter to Blair before taking my phone call.
Federation posters hailed the joint appearance of the three Mideast officials as "Expanding the Circle of Peace." Specifically, there were several groundbreaking sessions that included a public forum in Southbury, a major donor event in Wash ington, CT a New York City press conference and closed meeting with prominent leaders from major national Jewish Organizations (The Conference of Presidents).
Attendees watched history unfold before their eyes. At the NYC gathering, Israeli and Jenin officials met with a variety of Jewish community and business leaders, who in turn were greatly encouraged by the positive energy that permeated the proceedings. Promises of shared projects, proclamations of 'shared understandings,' 'continued partnerships,' 'ongoing cooperation' and 'a common language,' were interrupted on ly by applause and handshakes.
"Without hyperbole, not a person at the press conference left without feeling optimistic about what might happen in the future," notes Sydney Perry, CEO of the Jewish Federation of Greater New Haven. She felt positively buoyed by the symposium.
"While Israel and the Palestinian Authority wrestle with issues of settlements, of refugees, of Jerusalem, the trio of Attar, Saleem and Qaddoura are making peace on the ground, from the bottom-up. To sit in a conference room at the Jewish Agency for Israel, and listen to the Israeli Arab Deputy Mayor quote
Theodore Herzl's saying, 'If you will it, it is no dream,' and declare 'I am a proud Israel i' - was a rea l experience. To hear Jeni n's Governor declare 'Now is the time for cooperation,' was extraordinary. Danny Attar's statement - that he goes to Jenin, every day, without security guards, and works with colleagues there, makes one believe that the once impossible is possible."
Perry was won over by the three leaders' commitment to maintaining a new paradigm; or as she labeled it, "a tripod of restored order: to bolster security, create a joint Israel-Palestinian industrial zone to provide economic security and employment for 15,000 Palestinians and 2,000 Israelis, and the educational tools to teach co-existence.
"All three elements are necessary for success; a three-legged stool will collapse if one leg is removed," she adds.
Their ultimate goal is to build a strong infrastructure which will serve as a model for the entire West Bank. A tall order, to be sure. But Zwang is confident that the resound ing success of a Connecticut forum could have a ripple effect. "To bring the principle players here together is to introduce the concept of cooperation and coexistence to the North American Jewish Community," he affirms.
Jenin was once a hot bed of terrorism and violence; its past rife with civil unrest and a breeding ground for militants. However, as Perry pointed out, "The choice of Jenin as a model for security, for coexistence between Israelis and Palestinians, as a site for economic development along the seamline of the West Bank and Gi lboa, may be counter-intuitive, based on the level of violence which emanated from that city during the second intifada," she stated. "Yet it is precisely here, in a city which lies cheek by jowl with our Partnership 2000 community of moshavim (agricu ltural settlements) in the Gilboa that we may see the real glimmer of peace."
Partnership 2000 (P2K), a program of the Jewish Agency for Israel, has created "a Living Bridge," one that links Connecticut to corresponding Israeli communities.
"The reason that we are involved in th is peacekeeping mission in the first place is because of our area's ongoing partnership to Alula-Gilboa in Israel," Zwang offers. Our Southern New England Consortium (SNEC) comprises a collaborative effort between 13 communities in Connecticut, Rhode Island and Massachusetts with those cities. SNEC's outreach efforts continue to have a huge impact in Alula-Gilboa, where 60 percent of the population (30,000) lives in harmony with other 40 percent of Arabic decent. Social service, economic and educational programs have flourished. New Haven has jointly benefited from this "twinning" process.
"Our personal relationships with Danny Attar and his deputy that goes back many years," Zwang mentions. "What we just did in Southbury is an ongoing initiative," he says. "On our next Federation mission (October 16 - 24), there will be an event at which the people of Gilboa will hand the people of Jenin 2000 blankets that the Southbury Federation funded. This Winter, we want to insure that the Pa lestinians in refugee camps will have Israeli made-coverings to keep them warm."
Barbara Green Orell, a SNEC representative, and a member of our community, was particularly th ril led to attend the Southbury forum.
"Our family hosted Mayor Attar's son, Adam, when he was a Young Emissary," Orell said. She feels lucky to have been a part of this flagship SNEC program, which brings Israeli youth ambassadors from Afula Gilboa to New Haven. Orell draws parallels between the Young Emissary experience and the Federation's landmark initiative.
"It's about relationships ... about education and kids learning about other kids," she begins. "The three leaders who came here want the same things for their ch ildren, fami lies and communities that we all want... for them to live healthy productive lives. Everything they are doing just makes sense. I found their message really inspiring. It gave me hope that a solution can be reached without bloodshed."
For more information about the mission, programs and events of SNEC and Project 2000, log onto snecp2k.org/index.php