New Political Course in Ashdod
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After concluding a great political course in Afula, the Geneva Initiative is excited to launch a new course in the southern city of Ashdod. The course will run through November, and will culminate in a workshop with graduates of a parallel Palestinian course.
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Geneva Initiative meets with EU Foreign Policy Chief
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On September 28th, heads of the Israeli and Palestinian Geneva Initiative met with the High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Ms. Federica Mogherini.
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Palestinian-Israeli Seminar for Young Political Activists
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In mid September, we held a seminar for 10 young Israeli and Palestinian political activists. The Israeli participants included journalists, youth activists, and a parliamentary assistant, representing parties from across the political spectrum like Yesh Atid, Kulanu and the Zionist Camp. The Palestinian participants also included journalists, educators, youth and women's rights activists, as well as Palestinian Authority employees.
The seminar, which was held in partnership with the Konrad Adenauer Stiftung Israel, was designed to facilitate an open and constructive exchange, and so discussion items focused on existing, as well as new and creative solutions to the many challenges Israelis and Palestinians face today. For instance, Yehuda Greenfield-Gilat, an architect and urban planner who helped write the Geneva Initiative Annex on Jerusalem, showed participants how the city can look like under a two-state solution. The participants, some of which have lived or worked in Jerusalem, were all inspired by the presentation. "We keep thinking the issue of Jerusalem is too complicated or even unsolvable", said one of them. "It's remarkable to see how much thought had already been given to it - how to design a border that doesn't interfere with the residents' everyday life, where best to place border crossings… it's so much more feasible than we think!"
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New Poll: the Two-State Solution is Still the Preferred Formula on Both Sides
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A poll published in August by the Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research and the Israel Democracy Institute found that 59% of Israelis and 51% of Palestinians still support the two-state solution to the conflict. In contrast, only 20% of Jews in Israel and only 34% of Palestinians support a one-state solution with equal rights to all.
According to the survey, both sides underestimate the level of support for the two-state solution on their side: among the Palestinians, 47% said a majority opposes it; among the Israelis, 57% said the majority opposes it. Similarly, they underestimate the level of support for the two-state solution on the other side and think that there is a majority that opposes the two-state solution: 49% of the Palestinians believe a Jewish majority opposes it; and 44% of Israelis said a Palestinian majority opposes it.
The survey also found that 52% of Israelis would support a peace agreement that, in the spirit of the Geneva Initiative, includes the establishment of a Palestinian state in the entirety of West Bank and the Gaza strip, except for several blocks of settlements which will be annexed to Israel in a territorial exchange.
Interestingly, a quarter of the Israelis who oppose this solution are willing to reconsider their opposition to the peace deal if it was accompanied by a peace agreement with all Arab states according to the Arab Initiative's principles.
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The Israeli Newsletter
