Palestine-Israel Journal
Encyclopedia
The Palestine–Israel Journal is an independent, non-profit, Jerusalem-based quarterly that aims to shed light on and analyze freely and critically, the complex issues dividing Israelis and Palestinians. Half of every issue is devoted to exploring a major theme on the joint Israel
i-Palestinian
agenda, while the other half contains regular departments relating to Culture, Economics, Viewpoints, Book Reviews, Documents and a Chronology of Events. The Journal’s goal is to promote rapprochement and better understanding between Palestinian and Israeli people, and striving to discuss all issues without prejudice or taboos.
The Journal is a unique joint venture promoting dialogue and the quest for a peaceful resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict
. The Journal operates on the basis of cooperation, understanding and equality between the Israelis and Palestinians who comprise its joint staff. All decisions and work are shared and managed equally and in cooperation between a joint staff of Palestinian and Israel co-editors, managing editors and other staff. The fact that decisions are made together through dialogue and understanding is a matter of principle as well as a working strategy of the Journal.
The editors of the Journal are Palestinian journalist and former Minister Ziad Abu-Zayyad and veteran Israeli journalist and commentator Hillel Schenker. The editorial board is composed of an equal number of Israeli and Palestinian academics and journalists. Every issue contains an equal number of articles by Israeli and Palestinian contributors, with the addition of a few international articles.
The first issue was entitled "Peace Economics", analyzing the economic problems and opportunities arising from the structural changes taking place after the Oslo Accords
came to light in autumn 1993. Other issues have dealt with “Jerusalem,” “Right of Return
,” “National Identity,” “Violence and its Alternatives,” “Narratives of 1948,” “Media and the Second Intifada,” “Women and the Conflict,” “Youth,” “Two Traumatized Societies,” “The Role of the International Community
,” “The Quest for Regional Security,” “Education in Times of Conflict,” “Anti-Semitism
and Islamophobia
,” “People-to-People: What went wrong and how to fix it” and “Going it Alone? Unilateralism vs. Negotiations.” The four most recent issues have dealt with: "1948: Sixty Years After", "Human Security", "The Refugee Question", and "A Nuclear Free Zone in the Middle East: Realistic or Idealistic?".
Many prominent academic experts, political figures, journalists and activists have written for the Journal. Among them are Prof. Shlomo Ben-Ami
, Mohammed Dajani, Shlomo Gazit
, Manuel Hassassian
, Shimon Peres
, Rashid Khalidi
, Ghassan Kanafani
, Benny Morris
, David Newman, Sari Nusseibeh
, Yoav Peled, Don Peretz, Desmond Tutu
, Khalil Shikaki, Prof. Daniel Kurtzer, Johan Galtung
, Salim Tamari
, Moshe Amirav
, Jimmy Carter
, Kofi Annan
and A.B. Yehoshua.
When Cygelman retired, he was replaced by Prof. Daniel Bar-Tal
of Tel Aviv University
, who served as the Israeli co-editor from 2001-2005.
On June 8, 2010 Palestine–Israel Journal held a conference in conjunction with the Veneto Region under the auspices of the Peace Education through Media Project and with the support of the European Union's Partnership for Peace Project. The conference, entitled, "Peace Education Through Media", examined the role of the media and journalists in encouraging or discouraging violence, particularly in the context of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Most recently, on June 18–19, 2010 Palestine–Israel Journal and the International Dialogues Foundation held a conference in The Hague, Netherlands on the subject of, "Jerusalem: Dialogues for Justice and Peace". Speakers included Ziad AbuZayyad, Menachem Klein, Walid Salem, and Moshe Maoz.
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
i-Palestinian
Palestinian people
The Palestinian people, also referred to as Palestinians or Palestinian Arabs , are an Arabic-speaking people with origins in Palestine. Despite various wars and exoduses, roughly one third of the world's Palestinian population continues to reside in the area encompassing the West Bank, the Gaza...
agenda, while the other half contains regular departments relating to Culture, Economics, Viewpoints, Book Reviews, Documents and a Chronology of Events. The Journal’s goal is to promote rapprochement and better understanding between Palestinian and Israeli people, and striving to discuss all issues without prejudice or taboos.
The Journal is a unique joint venture promoting dialogue and the quest for a peaceful resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict
Israeli-Palestinian conflict
The Israeli–Palestinian conflict is the ongoing conflict between Israelis and Palestinians. The conflict is wide-ranging, and the term is also used in reference to the earlier phases of the same conflict, between Jewish and Zionist yishuv and the Arab population living in Palestine under Ottoman or...
. The Journal operates on the basis of cooperation, understanding and equality between the Israelis and Palestinians who comprise its joint staff. All decisions and work are shared and managed equally and in cooperation between a joint staff of Palestinian and Israel co-editors, managing editors and other staff. The fact that decisions are made together through dialogue and understanding is a matter of principle as well as a working strategy of the Journal.
The editors of the Journal are Palestinian journalist and former Minister Ziad Abu-Zayyad and veteran Israeli journalist and commentator Hillel Schenker. The editorial board is composed of an equal number of Israeli and Palestinian academics and journalists. Every issue contains an equal number of articles by Israeli and Palestinian contributors, with the addition of a few international articles.
History
The Palestine-Israel Journal was founded in early 1994 by Ziad Abu-Zayyad and veteran Israeli journalist Victor Cygelman (1926–2007) who was former deputy-editor of the Israeli peace journal New Outlook. The Journal was established, concurrently with the first phases of the Oslo peace process, as a response to a much-needed avenue for dialogue among the opinion and policy-makers of the region. It was obvious from the start that, alongside the institutional efforts of Palestinians and Israelis, channels of communication had to be opened for academics and other experts; opinion, decision and policy makers, as well as grass-roots organizations and activists, to voice their views, promote and take part in the public debate for a democratic and just solution to the conflict.The first issue was entitled "Peace Economics", analyzing the economic problems and opportunities arising from the structural changes taking place after the Oslo Accords
Oslo Accords
The Oslo Accords, officially called the Declaration of Principles on Interim Self-Government Arrangements or Declaration of Principles , was an attempt to resolve the ongoing Palestinian-Israeli conflict...
came to light in autumn 1993. Other issues have dealt with “Jerusalem,” “Right of Return
Right of return
The term right of return refers to a principle of international law, codified in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, giving any person the right to return to, and re-enter, his or her country of origin...
,” “National Identity,” “Violence and its Alternatives,” “Narratives of 1948,” “Media and the Second Intifada,” “Women and the Conflict,” “Youth,” “Two Traumatized Societies,” “The Role of the International Community
International community
The international community is a term used in international relations to refer to all peoples, cultures and governments of the world or to a group of them. The term is used to imply the existence of common duties and obligations between them...
,” “The Quest for Regional Security,” “Education in Times of Conflict,” “Anti-Semitism
Anti-Semitism
Antisemitism is suspicion of, hatred toward, or discrimination against Jews for reasons connected to their Jewish heritage. According to a 2005 U.S...
and Islamophobia
Islamophobia
Islamophobia describes prejudice against, hatred or irrational fear of Islam or MuslimsThe term dates back to the late 1980s or early 1990s, but came into common usage after the September 11, 2001 attacks in the United States....
,” “People-to-People: What went wrong and how to fix it” and “Going it Alone? Unilateralism vs. Negotiations.” The four most recent issues have dealt with: "1948: Sixty Years After", "Human Security", "The Refugee Question", and "A Nuclear Free Zone in the Middle East: Realistic or Idealistic?".
Many prominent academic experts, political figures, journalists and activists have written for the Journal. Among them are Prof. Shlomo Ben-Ami
Shlomo Ben-Ami
Prof. Shlomo Ben-Ami is a former Israeli diplomat, politician and historian.-Biography:Ben-Ami was born in Tangiers, Morocco, and immigrated to Israel in 1955....
, Mohammed Dajani, Shlomo Gazit
Shlomo Gazit
Shlomo Gazit is a retired Major General in the Israel Defense Forces and was in the past head of the intelligence service of the Israeli army, 1974–1978....
, Manuel Hassassian
Manuel Hassassian
Manuel Sarkis Hassassian is an Armenian-Palestinian professor who serves as the Palestinian Territories' diplomatic representative to the United Kingdom after being appointed to his position by Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas in late 2005.-References:...
, Shimon Peres
Shimon Peres
GCMG is the ninth President of the State of Israel. Peres served twice as the eighth Prime Minister of Israel and once as Interim Prime Minister, and has been a member of 12 cabinets in a political career spanning over 66 years...
, Rashid Khalidi
Rashid Khalidi
Rashid Ismail Khalidi , born 1948, a Palestinian-American historian of the Middle East, is the Edward Said Professor of Modern Arab Studies at Columbia University, and director of the Middle East Institute of Columbia's School of International and Public Affairs.-Family, education and...
, Ghassan Kanafani
Ghassan Kanafani
Ghassan Kanafani was a Palestinian writer and a leading member of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine. He was assassinated by car bomb in Beirut, allegedly by the Mossad.- Early years :Ghassan Fayiz Kanafani was born in 1936 in the then Acre , British Mandate of Palestine...
, Benny Morris
Benny Morris
Benny Morris is professor of History in the Middle East Studies department of Ben-Gurion University of the Negev in the city of Be'er Sheva, Israel...
, David Newman, Sari Nusseibeh
Sari Nusseibeh
Sari Nusseibeh , and raised in Jerusalem, is a Palestinian professor of philosophy and president of the Al-Quds University in Jerusalem...
, Yoav Peled, Don Peretz, Desmond Tutu
Desmond Tutu
Desmond Mpilo Tutu is a South African activist and retired Anglican bishop who rose to worldwide fame during the 1980s as an opponent of apartheid...
, Khalil Shikaki, Prof. Daniel Kurtzer, Johan Galtung
Johan Galtung
Johan Galtung is a Norwegian sociologist and the principal founder of the discipline of peace and conflict studies. He founded the Peace Research Institute Oslo in 1959, serving as its Director until 1970, and established the Journal of Peace Research in 1964...
, Salim Tamari
Salim Tamari
Salim Tamari is the director of the Institute of Jerusalem Studies and is an associate professor of sociology at Birzeit University, near Ramallah in the West Bank. Rashid Khalidi, Edward Said Professor of Arab Studies at Columbia University, has called Tamari "the preeminent Palestinian historical...
, Moshe Amirav
Moshe Amirav
Moshe Amirav is widely considered by Political Science and Middle East academics and international media as one of the world experts on the conflict in Jerusalem.-Overview:...
, Jimmy Carter
Jimmy Carter
James Earl "Jimmy" Carter, Jr. is an American politician who served as the 39th President of the United States and was the recipient of the 2002 Nobel Peace Prize, the only U.S. President to have received the Prize after leaving office...
, Kofi Annan
Kofi Annan
Kofi Atta Annan is a Ghanaian diplomat who served as the seventh Secretary-General of the UN from 1 January 1997 to 31 December 2006...
and A.B. Yehoshua.
When Cygelman retired, he was replaced by Prof. Daniel Bar-Tal
Daniel Bar-Tal
Daniel Bar-Tal is an Israeli academic, author and Branco Weiss Professor of Research in Child Development and Education at School of Education, Tel Aviv University.-Early life:...
of Tel Aviv University
Tel Aviv University
Tel Aviv University is a public university located in Ramat Aviv, Tel Aviv, Israel. With nearly 30,000 students, TAU is Israel's largest university.-History:...
, who served as the Israeli co-editor from 2001-2005.
Public events and Journal Outreach
After each issue is published, the Journal holds public discussions aimed at promoting widespread public debate on the topics raised by the issue. For each issue, three discussions are organized: one in Arabic for Palestinians, one in Hebrew for Israelis and one joint Palestinian-Israeli event run in English.Conferences
On January 27, 2010 Palestine–Israel Journal held a conference on Jerusalem entitled Israeli Settlements, Palestinian Refugees, and Gaza & the Two-State Solution. The conference coincided with the release of three position papers on these subjects, which were commissioned by the European Union. Speakers included Isaac Herzog and Ziad AbuZayyad.On June 8, 2010 Palestine–Israel Journal held a conference in conjunction with the Veneto Region under the auspices of the Peace Education through Media Project and with the support of the European Union's Partnership for Peace Project. The conference, entitled, "Peace Education Through Media", examined the role of the media and journalists in encouraging or discouraging violence, particularly in the context of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Most recently, on June 18–19, 2010 Palestine–Israel Journal and the International Dialogues Foundation held a conference in The Hague, Netherlands on the subject of, "Jerusalem: Dialogues for Justice and Peace". Speakers included Ziad AbuZayyad, Menachem Klein, Walid Salem, and Moshe Maoz.