For the field
If a critical mass of Israelis and Palestinians at all levels and across all sectors of their societies:
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develop a positive perception of the other
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see themselves as agents of change,
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develop a sense of shared interest,
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and have channels for taking action
and if sufficient capacity exists, such as:
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funds,
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infrastructure,
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mechanisms for bridging research with best practices,
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international support
Then that critical mass of Israelis and Palestinians will hope for, believe in, and work toward building a sustainable, more peaceful reality,
and then the cycle of violence and tension will be replaced by a sense of partnership rooted in mutual interest, leading to the conflict feeling:
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less intractable,
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actually solvable, and
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worthy of political capital being deployed toward peace at all levels.
For our role in the field:
If NGOs, donors, experts, academics, activists, and decision makers, work strategically and collaboratively as one field:
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sharing a common language,
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operating and using resources effectively,
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measuring and evaluating their work to ensure maximum impact;
Then the Israeli-Palestinian conflict will feel more resolvable and less zero-sum in nature to key and relevant stakeholders, which is a critical first step toward building a just and lasting peace defined by:
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less hatred, tension, and violence
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increased quality of life
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improved systems of interaction.
THE DIAMOND APPROACH TO PEACEBUILDING: A NEW FRAMEWORK
At Amal-Tikva, we've developed the Diamond Approach to Peacebuilding – a framework that acknowledges that most peacebuilders come from one side of the conflict.
The diamond has four points – the top representing political/diplomatic “top-down” peacemaking, the bottom representing grassroots peacebuilding efforts, and the sides representing each side of the conflict, i.e., Israeli and Palestinian societies.
The Diamond Approach to Peacebuilding encourages engagement both within and between societies to share observations and developing approaches, enabling each society to see the development of a new nonviolent construct from within their religious and national aspirations.
