June 1, 2007

Forty years after the 1967 Six-Day War and the beginning of the occupation of the West Bank and Gaza, Israelis still live in fear, and neither they nor Palestinians have been spared bloodshed, destruction and heartbreak.

Last summer's war in Lebanon clearly demonstrated that military solutions alone are usually not effective. Rather, only dialogue with strong U.S. leadership and genuine, ongoing diplomatic engagement leading to a mutually acceptable, two-state solution can create a future marked by peace and promise.

While it's unlikely that there can be significant progress in this regard prior to next year's U.S. presidential and congressional elections, we need to encourage and assist in empowering the many qualified, fair-minded Palestinians who can take responsibility for conducting negotiations, be involved in establishing requisite institutions of a viable government and then actually govern a newly formed Palestinian state. Although today too few have any real power and many of them are intimidated from taking responsible leadership posts, this can change.

How? An excellent way to learn some alternatives being considered is to attend the National Grassroots Leadership Training Institute and National Advocacy Days June 16-19 in Washington, D.C., sponsored by Brit Tzedek v' Shalom, (the Jewish Alliance for Justice and Peace). For more information about Brit Tzedek, the June 16-19 programs, and/or to sign up for them, go to their website. Alternatively, please e-mail us so that I can also provide information on the programs and activities of our local chapter, Kansas City Brit Tzedek.