Editing Arab–Israeli peace projects (section)

== Co-existence foundations and groups ==
Organizations which promote a variety of efforts and projects aimed at promoting co-existence and dialogue between the two sides.

=== Roots/Judur/Shorashim: The Palestinian Israeli Initiative for Understanding, Nonviolence, and Reconciliation ===
{{Main|Roots – Judur – Shorashim}}
At the start of 2014, community activists [[Ali Abu Awwad]] and Rabbi Hanan Schlesinger,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.webyeshiva.org/staff.php?tid%3D9802 |title=Professional Faculty & Staff |access-date=2015-03-05 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150317102922/http://www.webyeshiva.org/staff.php?tid=9802 |archive-date=2015-03-17 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.myjewishlearning.com/blog/rabbis-without-borders/author/hschlessinger/ |title=Hanan Schlesinger &#124; Rabbis Without Borders - My Jewish Learning |access-date=2015-03-05 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150403095120/http://www.myjewishlearning.com/blog/rabbis-without-borders/author/hschlessinger/ |archive-date=2015-04-03 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://blogs.timesofisrael.com/author/hanan-schlesinger/|title=Hanan Schlesinger – The Blogs |work=The Times of Israel}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.rabbiswithoutborders.org/?q=alumni#alumni|title=Home|publisher=Rabbis Without Borders}}</ref> along with others, formed "Roots", a group based in the West Bank area of Gush Etzion to promote dialog and eventually trust between Israelis and Palestinian as a path to peace.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://friendsofroots.net/index.html|title=Friends of Roots|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150308153052/http://friendsofroots.net/index.html|archive-date=2015-03-08}}</ref> The group's full name is Roots/Judur/Shorashim: The Palestinian Israeli Initiative for Understanding, Nonviolence, and Reconciliation, and was initially situated on Awwad's family’s land near the village of Beit Ummar in the West Bank.<ref>[https://archive.today/20150309130319/http://daily.swarthmore.edu/2015/03/05/palestinian-ali-abu-awwad-speaks-about-nonviolent-resistance-in-israelpalestine/  Palestinian Ali Abu Awwad Speaks About Nonviolent Resistance in Israel/Palestine], By Lily Tyson, March 5, 2015.</ref>

The Roots project organizes meetings between Israelis and Palestinians who live near each other in the West Bank in order to create dialogue.  The project's outreach program includes monthly meetings between Israeli and Palestinian families, a women's group, work with school children, engaging local leaders, a summer camp, language learning, and cultural exchanges. In order to accommodate this wide variety of activities, a centrally-located site in the Gush Etzion area of the West Bank is used as a convenient meeting area.<ref>[http://friendsofroots.net/about-roots.html About Roots] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160505192650/http://friendsofroots.net/about-roots.html |date=May 5, 2016}}, group website.</ref>

[[Ali Abu Awwad]] is a [[Palestinian people|Palestinian]] activist and pacifist. He is the founder of ''Al Tariq'' (The Way) and a member of the [[The Parents Circle-Families Forum|Bereaved Families Forum]], and tours the world together with Robi Damelin, a [[Jews|Jewish]] woman whose son was killed by a Palestinian sniper, to encourage dialogue and reconciliation between Palestinians and [[Israelis]]. His life and work has been featured in two award-winning films, ''[[Encounter Point]]'' and ''Forbidden Childhood''. He lives in [[Beit Ummar]], near Hebron.<ref name="just">{{cite web |url=http://www.justvision.org/portrait/76100/interview|title=Interview with Ali Abu Awwad |date=12 June 2005|access-date=16 July 2012 |publisher=Just Vision}}</ref>

Ali Abu Awwad, whose brother died in the conflict, attends many meetings with local Jewish residents.<ref>[http://www.timesofisrael.com/ali-abu-awwad/#ixzz3TRZMjx8f In a settler’s living room, a Palestinian reaches out: Activist Ali Abu Awwad, who lost a brother to the conflict, uses nonviolence to challenge the prejudices of his Arab and Jewish neighbors.] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160827183303/http://www.timesofisrael.com/ali-abu-awwad/#ixzz3TRZMjx8f |date=August 27, 2016 }} Times of Israel, 3/4/15.</ref> One of the first such meetings of his occurred in July 2014, between local Israeli and Palestinians within one part of the Etzion bloc in the West Bank.<ref>[http://www.timesofisrael.com/settlers-and-palestinians-break-their-fast-together/ Settlers and Palestinians break their fast together. At the Etzion bloc intersection, an effort to find a joint dialogue over chicken and mejadra.] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160404042015/http://www.timesofisrael.com/settlers-and-palestinians-break-their-fast-together/ |date=April 4, 2016}} ''Times of Israel'', 7/16/14.</ref>

=== Rabbis for Human Rights ===

Rabbis for Human Rights is an Israeli [[human rights]] organization that describes itself as "the rabbinic voice of conscience in Israel, giving voice to the Jewish tradition of human rights".<ref name="Rabbis for Human Rights home page">[http://www.rhr.org.il/eng/ Rabbis for Human Rights home page] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161014135957/http://www.rhr.org.il/eng/ |date=October 14, 2016 }}, accessed 27 April 2011.</ref> Their membership includes [[Reform Judaism|Reform]], [[Orthodox Judaism|Orthodox]], [[Conservative Judaism|Conservative]] and [[Reconstructionist Judaism|Reconstructionist]] rabbis and students. According to their web site, the organization includes "over one hundred ordained rabbis and rabbinical students".<ref name="Rabbis for Human Rights home page" /> The organization received the [[Niwano Peace Prize]] in 2006.<ref>[http://www.prnewswire.co.uk/cgi/news/release?id=170568 'Rabbis For Human Rights' Gets Niwano Peace Prize] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110608090634/http://www.prnewswire.co.uk/cgi/news/release?id=170568 |date=June 8, 2011}} accessed 30 March 2007</ref>

RHR is best known for dispatching volunteers to act as [[human shield]]s to protect the Palestinian [[olive]] harvest from vandalism and assault by settlers living on nearby land; every year, clashes are reported between settlers and Palestinian farmers.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.jpost.com/NationalNews/Article.aspx?id=241115 |title=Settlers, Palestinian farmers collide in Itamar |work=[[The Jerusalem Post]] |date=10 October 2011 |access-date=20 January 2012 |last=Lazaroff |first=Tovah}}</ref> In 2008, the volunteer effort encompassed 40 villages.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.haaretz.com/news/settlers-clash-with-rabbis-guarding-palestinian-olive-harvest-near-hebron-1.254901 |title=Settlers clash with rabbis guarding Palestinian olive harvest near Hebron|date=3 October 2008 |publisher=[[Reuters]] |access-date=20 January 2012}}</ref> The effort was launched in 2002 when a Palestinian peace activist solicited RHR's help to protect olive pickers against attacks by settlers living near the village of [[Yanun]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2005/mar/25/israel |title=The rabbi who pricks Israel's conscience: Zionism is moral, not military, says activist convicted of blocking West Bank bulldozers |last=McGreal |first=Chris |date=25 March 2005 |access-date=17 January 2012 |work=[[The Guardian]]}}</ref>

RHR opposes the construction of the [[Israeli West Bank barrier]] in any place where it entails the expropriation of Arab-owned land, the division of villages, or cutting farmers off from their fields. RHR achieved a major victory in 2006 when it won a lawsuit to prevent the division by the fence of the village of [[ash-Sheikh Sa'd|Sheikh Sa'ad]].<ref>''Israel Today'', May 2006.</ref>

=== ''Ta'ayush'' Arab–Jewish Partnership ===
Formed in the fall of 2000, ''[[Ta'ayush]]'' (Arabic for "coexistence") is a grassroots movement of Arabs and Jews working to break down the walls of racism and segregation. It engages in daily actions of solidarity to end the Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territories and to achieve full civil equality for all Israeli citizens.

=== Coalition of Women for Peace ===
The [[Coalition of Women for Peace]] ({{langx|he|קואליציית נשים לשלום}}) is an umbrella organization of women's groups in [[Israel]], established in November 2000. It describes itself as "a feminist organization against the occupation of Palestine and for a just peace.".<ref name="cwp-a">{{cite web|url=http://www.coalitionofwomen.org/?page_id=340&lang=en|title=About CWP|publisher=Coalition of Women for Peace|access-date=12 May 2011}}</ref> CWP says that it is "committed to ending the occupation and creating a more just society, while enhancing women's inclusion and participation in the public discourse".<ref name="cwp-a" />

The groups that founded the Coalition of Women for Peace are [[Machsom Watch]], Noga Feminist Journal, [[Women in Black]], The Fifth Mother, TANDI, [[Bat Shalom]], [[New Profile]] and NELED.<ref>[http://www.coalitionofwomen.org/?page_id=2020&lang=en CWP History] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141014010844/http://www.coalitionofwomen.org/?page_id=2020&lang=en |date=October 14, 2014 }}</ref>

The Coalition of Women for Peace came to an agreement on their principles for a solution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict at a conference in Nazareth in November 2000.

=== The Parents Circle-Families Forum ===
[[The Parents Circle-Families Forum]] (PC-FF) is a grassroots organization of Palestinian and Israeli families who have lost immediate family members due to the conflict. Together, they transform their pain and bereavement into the catalyst for a joint mission of reconciliation and coexistence in the midst of ongoing violence.

PC-FF was founded in 1994 by Yitzhak Frankenthal whose son Arik was killed by the Hamas.<ref>[http://www.jpost.com/ArtsAndCulture/Entertainment/Article.aspx?id=150044 "Leonard Cohen concert proceeds to benefit reconciliation work"] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121018122157/http://www.jpost.com/ArtsAndCulture/Entertainment/Article.aspx?id=150044 |date=October 18, 2012}}, ''Jerusalem Post''</ref> Today, PC-FF includes more than 500 members, half Israeli and half Palestinian.<ref>[https://www.theguardian.com/world/2009/may/10/palestine-israel-peace-campaigners "She's Israeli, he's an Arab. War has made them like mother and son."] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120417235254/http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/may/10/palestine-israel-peace-campaigners |date=April 17, 2012}}, ''The Observer''</ref> The members conduct dialogue sessions, give lectures, and engage in projects to support tolerance and reconciliation.

Parents Circle creates innovative projects to spread its message of hope and reconciliation. The Forum firmly believes that without reconciliation, there will only be a cease fire and not peace. PC-FF members from Israel and the Palestinian Territories regularly meet even under nearly impossible circumstances such as right after the Gaza war of 2008–09.<ref>[http://www.theparentscircle.com/ActivitiesMain.asp?id=290&sivug_id=19 Parents Circle Newsletter] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110717022920/http://www.theparentscircle.com/ActivitiesMain.asp?id=290&sivug_id=19 |date=July 17, 2011}}</ref>

The PC-FF's flagship program for the general public is its educational program. High school "Dialogue Encounters" bring two forum members, one Israeli and one Palestinian to classrooms in Israel, East Jerusalem and the West Bank to talk to students about the possibility of peace and reconciliation. Close to 40,000 students are reached each year.<ref>[http://www.euromedalex.net/euromed-award/2009/runners-up Anna Lindh Euro-Mediterranean Foundation for the Dialogue Between Cultures] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120418014423/http://www.euromedalex.net/euromed-award/2009/runners-up |date=April 18, 2012}}</ref>

=== ''Ir Shalem'' co-existence program ===
In many ways the city of [[Jerusalem]] has been at the center of the conflict. The Israeli political movement [[Peace Now]] in 1994 has created an initiative called ''Ir Shalem'', the goal of which is to build a peaceful equitable and inspiring future for this city, with Jewish and Arab citizens working together to find solutions based on equity and justice. This program brings together volunteer architects, planners, lawyers and other professionals to analyze problems, and offer solutions. Among other efforts, ''Ir Shalem'' is developing the first-ever planning model for East Jerusalem that will equitably meet the needs of the Palestinian community.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.peacenow.org/programs/irshalem.html |title=Archived copy |access-date=2003-01-05 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20041217142823/http://www.peacenow.org/programs/irshalem.html |archive-date=2004-12-17 }}</ref>

=== Seeds of Peace ===
Founded in 1993, [[Seeds of Peace]] brings together hundreds of emerging young leaders and educators from conflict regions at the Seeds of Peace Camp in [[Otisfield, Maine]], USA, including thousands of Israeli, [[Palestinian people|Palestinian]], Jordanian, and Egyptian teens. The mission of Seeds of Peace is to inspire and cultivate new generations of leaders in communities divided by conflict. There are over 6,000 graduates of the Camp from 27 countries.

=== Children of Peace ===
[[Children of Peace]] is a UK-based, non-partisan, international conflict-resolution charity that aims to build friendship, trust and reconciliation between Israeli and Palestinian children, aged 4–17 regardless of community, culture, faith, gender or heritage through arts, education, healthcare and sports projects and programmes, so that a future generation and their communities might live in peace, side-by-side.

Founded in 2004 by the charity's President, Richard Martin, Children of Peace receives personal support from world leaders including [[Pope Francis]], American Vice-President [[Joe Biden]], Quartet Envoy [[Tony Blair]], British Prime Minister [[David Cameron]], British Deputy Prime Minister [[Nick Clegg]], British Labour Leader [[Ed Miliband]], [[Bill Clinton]], French President [[François Hollande]], former mayor of Hebron [[Khaled Osaily]] and Palestinian Envoy to the UK Dr [[Manuel Houssassian]]. Three UK parliamentarians from each major political party are Goodwill Ambassadors – [[Louise Ellman]] MP, [[Toby Ellwood]] MP and [[Ed Davey]] MP.

In 2012, one of the charity's Goodwill Ambassadors & Director of its [[youth ambassador]] programme, [[Sally Becker]] carried the [[Olympic Flag]] into the stadium at the [[Opening Ceremony of London 2012]], in [[Children of Peace]]'s name. Currently there are 20 Youth Ambassadors, from [[Armenia]], Israel, [[Palestine]], [[Qatar]], the [[UK]] and the United States.

The charity's approach is to build understanding between grassroots communities in the region. The charity works with more than 140 affiliate organisations in a unique Coalition of Peace in [[Gaza City|Gaza]], [[Egypt]], Israel, [[Jordan]], [[Lebanon]], [[Turkey]] and the [[West Bank]] (and in every continent).