The Foreign Service Journal, December 2012

18 DECEMBER 2012 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL After 20 years of feeling despondent about, and demoralized by, this situation, I am becoming more optimistic about a resolution. organized by the Interfaith Peace-Build- ers, I found the situation for all parties unimaginably worse. Continuous Traumatic Stress Disorder With determination, hard work and U.S. assistance, today Israelis enjoy a prosperous economy, high standard of living and a strong military. By contrast, Palestinians have one of the lowest per capita incomes in the world and a small police force, lack an effective government and have no military. In terms of conflict resolution, neither the Israeli nor the Palestinian strategy is succeeding. Both sides live their lives in a continuous state of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder—except there is no “post” in this conflict. It is continuous traumatic stress disorder: CTSD. Israel appears to be stuck in victim- hood, a perpetually defensive posture even though the country has the 22nd- highest gross domestic product per capita in the world (ahead of New Zealand, Finland, Denmark and Ireland) and is thought to have the 11th-strongest military in the world. For its part, the Pal- estinian “government” can hardly be said to govern, but the people work equally hard to remain “steadfast” to preserve what little remains for them in inhumane, intolerable conditions. As an American citizen, I have come to see efforts to resolve the Palestinian- Israeli conflict as my obligation, since my tax dollars and my government are help- ing to support it. From what I have seen over the years, I am convinced that the conflict could have been resolved years ago were it not for U.S. intervention. Our role has escalated and prolonged the agony of both peoples by providing Israel with funds and military equipment that not only free up resources to build settlements and walls but deploy military equipment against civilian populations in Lebanon and Gaza, violating both U.S. and international law. Causes for Hope So why, after 20 years of feeling despondent and demoralized by this situ- ation, do I now suddenly have hope for the future? First, from what I’ve seen over the past decade, the Palestinian people have developed some nonviolent strate- gies that are beginning to have positive impact. An excellent example is the West Bank village of Bil’in, where the Israeli-built wall took away 50 percent of the town’s farmland. When the people of Bil’in took their case to the Israeli Supreme Court, it ruled that the wall needed to be moved to give the farmers access to their land. That was five years ago and the ruling still has not been implemented. So every Friday, the people of Bil’in have orga- nized nonviolent protests. These dem- onstrations include Palestinians, Israelis and people from around the world and use art, song, dance, theater and poetry. But they usually end the same way, with the Israelis using tear gas and rubber bullets against the protesters. As a con- sequence of the townspeople’s activism, almost nightly Bil’in suffers raids, arrests and beatings by the IDF. But today most of my hope emanates from outside Israel and Palestine. In mid-August 2009, for example, Bil’in was visited by the Elders. Organized by former South African President Nelson Mandela, this distinguished group of former world leaders have pledged their collective influence and experience to build peace and to address the major causes of suf- fering in the world. These human rights champions—Mandela, Desmond Tutu, Gro Brundtland, Jimmy and Rosalind Carter, Mary Robinson, Martti Ahtisaari and Ela Bhatt—came to recognize the nonviolent efforts of the people of Bil’in and to bring international attention to the conflict. I am also encouraged that interna- tional civil society has taken a strong role in working to end the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Organized in response to a call made by the Palestinian National Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions Committee, BDS programs and networks of resistance against the occupation are multiplying around the world Several European Union countries are boycotting Israeli products, and there have been reports of produce rotting on shelves. In 2010 the Israeli Manufacturers Association reported a 21-percent drop in demand due to boycotts. Some European and international unions have become involved in BDS, as well. Several large investors, including the Norwegian government, have divested from the Africa-Israel firm owned by Lev Leviev that constructs settlements in the West Bank in violation of international law But the organization with possibly the