Virtual peace

It’s been a while since I last posted something here, but many things have been going on, and in fact, there are a number of posts already in the making. Meanwhile, here are some snippets from what’s been on my mind recently.

Under construction
While most Israeli media have been obsessed with the timing ‘faux-pas’ of approving 1600 new housing units in East Jerusalem (though not for the first time in this kind of context), I think  this poor decision is still the wrong thing to do, but at the best timing possible.

It’s about time the US realizes, that if it wants to see some progress in the Middle Eastern playground (and this pre-assumption is questionable), it cannot keep the same attitude towards the Israeli government.

It would be to the best of everyone – including Netanyahu himself, who’d be happy to have his name registered under some agreement with the Palestinians – if the Obama administration starts speaking in terms of sanctions and ultimatums, rather than clarifications and condemnations.

Instead of addressing the fundamental issue of yet another settlement activity in the very heart of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, correspondents and commentators have been busy analyzing whether it was the result of a deliberate act or mere negligence.

On an interview to IDF radio, much appreciated Channel 2 analyst Amnon Abramovich stressed the political channeling of resources. These 1600 new housing units in what people mistakenly think to be Israeli Jerusalem, he said, are 1600 new housing units not approved in Israel’s weak, rural towns such as Yeruham or Kiryat Shmona.

While Abramovich is certainly right, in this case, working out a way to end the occupation is actually somewhat more urgent than constructing new buildings in Israel’s development towns. And for a very simple reason. While both issues should indeed be at the highest priority level on the Israeli agenda, supporting these towns in the current government’s crippled approach has obviously nothing to do with resolving the conflict. Peace with the Palestinians, however, will finally allow tackling Israel’s truly pressing socio-economic concerns (along with countless other benefits, starting with reassessing our collective moral values), and consequently allocating the appropriate resources for Yeruham, Kiryat Shmona and many others.

But since there’s no reason to think that this current affair would end with Israel rethinking its settlement policy – but instead only re-orchestrating its masquerade diplomacy – one can only hope that the US would be wise enough to translate Joe Biden’s affront in Israel into decisive action in line with the world’s expectations.

Playing with fire
Checking the map of my city of Giv’atayim I noticed a small, black dot with the caption “The first well”.

It was evening time when I arrived at this local heritage site, so I couldn’t see the interior of the building. However, a large sign on the fence offered an elaborate description of what used to be the Hagana’s first secret weapons stash (Slik): A wall used to hide a grenades workshop, with the noisy water pump on its other side covering up for the assembly of the munitions in what was eventually the first Ta’as arms factory – and an art gallery today.

I couldn’t escape the similarity to today’s Qassam rocket labs in Gaza cynically placed beneath, or behind, civilian facilities. And the past-present linkage, I realized, is not only my twisted imagination. Just opposite the First Well building, a mailbox still carries a blue-pale blue bumper sticker reading “We will win!” that had been circulated by one Israeli bank during last year’s war in Gaza.

But, apparently, it’s again not just a single person’s craze nor a temporary trend. Adjacent to that first arms factory, as stated on at least three different signs, a children’s playground bears the name Ta’as Garden and decorated with a variety of machine guns and mortars.

Having been brought up and raised in Israel I’m not very surprised. Parents and grandparents who were subjected to the very same militaristic indoctrination themselves essentially see it as natural thing, and fail to see how they endow it to the next generations with no-one actually questioning this totally distorted mindset. They’re probably planning a similar playground in Ramat Shlomo.

On the (cyber-) record
I recently got to pick up a truly fascinating Twitter talk. The interlocutors were Nasser Judeh, Jordan’s foreign affairs minister, and Mina Al-Oraibi, a senior reporter at Asharq Alawsat newspaper.  The virtual conversation is certainly interesting, but I found it a particularly intriguing example of the use of new media by journalists and politicians alike.

There’s quite a number of policymakers around the globe who make active use of Twitter themselves (and in contrast to those accounts operated by politicians’ aides), such as Judeh’s British counterpart, David Miliband or Australia’s premier Kevin Rudd. But it also made me wonder whether this could be possible, or already happens, in Israel.

Drying up my Green Ink

It’s been 27 months since I first came up with the idea of an environmental journalism seminar. I was taking part in the M100 Youth Media Workshop, practically overwhelmed with that basic idea of bringing together young people sharing a common interest from a number of countries to work together for a few days.

It was probably the first time that I was struck with the continuous narrow-minding process back home. After a few backpacking trips, it certainly wasn’t my first time meeting up with people from different countries. But it was that sense of cross-border cooperation – networking, if you will – that made me realize how badly this kind of multi-national gatherings are needed, and especially when it comes to issues like environment.

So, I sat to formulate the general guidelines, the core concept of The Green Ink and emailed it to the then Secretary General of the European Youth Press who, back at the M100 workshop, had called for ideas for such projects.

But I never heard from her. It took quite a while until I got a response from one guy “appointed by EYP” to join me in developing and implementing the Green Ink, and so we did. During all this time I had the chance to work on this project with a number of people from either the EYP or its member organizations – and I’m totally thankful for their truly kind help on this adventure.

But I also gradually realized that once I’m out of the picture – the Green Ink fades away. The EYP and the project’s other partners, I came to understand, are apparently not really as enthusiastic as I’ve been – for a reason still unclear to me.

Nevertheless, other trainings I’ve attended through the course of these two years strongly enhanced my feeling that this kind of project is not only needed, but also very possible. And keen enough on it, the Green Ink has been shaped and reshaped time and time again.  The concept paper went through ten drafts until its final form as an “Environmental journalism seminar for young Euro-Med journalists” aside the Trondheim Conference on Biodiversity, planned to be held in the Norwegian city in early February.

It took several hundreds of emails and phone calls across four continents: to UNEP headquarters in Kenya, Conservation International in the US, the Budapest office of CEEweb, the Cairo-based Arab Media Forum for Environment and Development and many others.

In fact, the majority of the organizations we contacted (not including those mentioned above) never responded. Those who did were indeed supportive and encouraging, but in none of the cases it was translated into the vital financial contribution. I’m tempted to say it somehow reflects the global lack of interest in the deteriorating state of our environment. The economic meltdown (or its virtual echoes) might also be a reason. But that would be too easy. Even if these two contexts had some part in the outcome, I take full responsibility for simply not making it.

After spending countless days, energy as well as my own private money, this journey now comes to an end. Failing to mobilize the funding required to materializing this project (31,700 Euro), I came to the decision that even though I still sincerely believe this is an utterly important initiative, it’s time for me to conclude this phase and move on.

But I can’t say it was for nothing. This journey led me to meet some truly dear people who left their unique mark on the project (I’d like to particularly thank Maria for being super helpful and ultra-optimistic through the past few months). I also got to learn a great deal about numerous organizations worldwide working on environment, journalism, youth, Euro-Med and various combinations of these. Additionally, I had my lesson about knowing my own capabilities (and fundraising is apparently not one of them) and about volunteering (which cannot serve as a base of operations).

Frankly, in the course of these two years I’ve already announced twice before that I’m abandoning this project. There won’t be a fourth time, but I’d still be glad to see this seminar happening. Anyone willing to stand up to the challenge can find the last draft of the concept paper here [PDF].

Totally naïve, plain stupid – you decide – but I’m head on for the next project, whatever that would be. Maybe just a bit more modest this time.