Sarah Yerkes, Natalie Triche
{
"authors": [
"Sarah Yerkes"
],
"type": "legacyinthemedia",
"centerAffiliationAll": "dc",
"centers": [
"Carnegie Endowment for International Peace",
"Malcolm H. Kerr Carnegie Middle East Center"
],
"collections": [],
"englishNewsletterAll": "menaTransitions",
"nonEnglishNewsletterAll": "",
"primaryCenter": "Carnegie Endowment for International Peace",
"programAffiliation": "MEP",
"programs": [
"Middle East"
],
"projects": [],
"regions": [
"Middle East",
"Israel",
"Palestine",
"Levant"
],
"topics": [
"Political Reform",
"Security",
"Foreign Policy"
]
}Source: Getty
50 Voices, 50 Years
Israeli and Palestinian civil society activists keep fighting to close the divide between their societies despite myriad obstacles.
Source: ADL, BICOM, Fathom Journal
Since the prospects for peace reached a pinnacle during the period shortly after the Oslo Accords, sadly, those prospects have grown dimmer. But since the high point of the peace process, the policies of the past 25 years have steadily widened the physical and psychological chasm between Israelis and Palestinians. Today, even those who live on top of each other – quite literally in some cases – do not know each other and have almost no interaction. As a result, smaller and smaller numbers of Israelis and Palestinians voice support for a two-state solution. For the first time, the idea of a one-state solution has become part of the normal discourse.
Most troubling, leaders on both sides are increasingly attempting to marginalize and repress local activists fighting for a peaceful resolution to the conflict. Israel has cracked down on human rights NGOs while a chorus of influential Palestinian voices are pushing an “anti-normalization” agenda.
Despite this, Israeli and Palestinian civil society activists keep fighting. It is tempting on this anniversary to look back at the past 50 years in despair, but I retain hope. I do because the youngest generation of Israelis and Palestinians, despite knowing only conflict throughout their lives, is choosing to close the divide between them. Where their parents and grandparents have given up, young people are taking risks to meet each other, and to understand each other and are building the fabric necessary to someday bring about a resolution to a conflict that has lasted far too long.
My hope is that in another 50 years, when these kids are writing their own reflections, the story they tell will be a story of how they finally overcame the myriad factors driving them apart; how they fought against leaders incapable of overcoming their own petty political interests; and how when they reached the pit of despair in 2017, they figured out how to claw their way back to the light.
This article was originally published by the ADL, BICOM, and Fathom Journal.
About the Author
Senior Fellow, Middle East Program
Sarah Yerkes is a senior fellow in Carnegie’s Middle East Program, where her research focuses on Tunisia’s political, economic, and security developments as well as state-society relations in the Middle East and North Africa.
- Senegal: An Island of ResilienceOther
- Amid Iran War, Gulf Countries Slow the Pace of ReformsArticle
Sarah Yerkes, Amr Hamzawy
Recent Work
Carnegie does not take institutional positions on public policy issues; the views represented herein are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of Carnegie, its staff, or its trustees.
More Work from Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
- At Stake in Armenia’s Election: Peace and Russian InfluenceCommentary
Regardless of the outcome, there’s another path to ensuring that progress doesn’t stall.
Zaur Shiriyev
- Trump and Xi Are Angling for Three Years of StabilityCommentary
But their "principal to principal" model will only be as effective as the political strength of each leader back home.
Damien Ma
- China’s Police and Security Cooperation AgreementsPaper
China’s Ministry of Public Security is often portrayed as a domestic law enforcement agency, but it is also a global security actor. This paper explores how MPS has used international law enforcement and security cooperation agreements—over 200 since 2006—to advance China’s vision of security in a changing global environment.
Sophie Zhuang, Sheena Chestnut Greitens, Cameron Waltz
- Could Migrants From India and Africa Solve Russia’s Labor Shortage?Commentary
The demands of the Kremlin’s war in Ukraine, demographic problems, and public hostility toward Central Asians mean Russia does not have enough workers.
Salavat Abylkalikov
- Europe Should Not Let Nuclear Nonproliferation DieCommentary
Amid uncertainty caused by the Iran war, the global drive for nonproliferation has stalled. With Europe diplomatically marginalized and countries reassessing their nuclear options, efforts to curb the spread of nuclear weapons risk becoming irrelevant.
Jane Darby Menton