Believing that a solution to the conflict between Israel and Palestine is the key to peace in the Middle East, CPNN has carried many articles on this subject. Increasingly it is recognized that the situation resembles the apartheid of South Africa.

The overcoming of apartheid was accomplished by a combination of struggle within South Africa and international pressure through boycotts, divestment and sanctions. In this regard, a number of important developments have occurred since the beginning of this year.

SANCTIONS

A report released by Human Rights Watch : Abusive Israeli Policies Constitute Crimes of Apartheid, Persecution Human Rights Watch on April 27 states that the Israeli oppression of Palestinians has reached a “threshold and a permanence that meets the definitions of the crimes of apartheid and persecution.” According to HRW director Kenneth Roth, “Those who strive for Israeli-Palestinian peace, whether a one or two-state solution or a confederation, should in the meantime recognize this reality for what it is and bring to bear the sorts of human rights tools needed to end it.”

The HRW report confirms previous reports, such as that of January 12 by the Israeli human rights group, B’Tselem labelling Israel as an “apartheid state.” According to Richard Falk, who served from 2008-2014 as the  United Nations Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the occupied Palestinian territories, B’Tselem is Israel’s most respected human rights organization. He states that the report “confirms earlier UN reports and allegations that the Palestinians are victimized by an apartheid regime that seeks to impose policies and practices that ensure the supremacy of Jews by victimizing the Palestinian people.”

Perhaps the most important development is the decision of the International Criminal Court on February 5, 2021. By a 2-1 vote the Chamber’s decision affirmed the authority of Fatou Bensouda, the ICC Prosecutor, to proceed with an investigation of Israeli war crimes committed in Palestine since 2014. Richard Falk considers that ICC decision may turn out to be a turning point in the struggle against Israeli apartheid, not unlike the 1960 Sharpeville Massacre in South Africa.

According to Michael Lynk, the present United Nations Special Rapporteur for the situation of human rights in the occupied Palestinian territory, the ICC decision “offers profound hope to those who believe that consequences, not condonation, must be the answer to the commission of grave crimes . . . Ending impunity and pursuing justice can only bring us closer to peace in the Middle East.”

BOYCOTTS AND DIVESTMENT

Boycotts and divestment continues to develop around the world, especially from religious and academic institutions, as reviewed in the website of the BDS movement.

STRUGGLE WITHIN PALESTINE

Pressure continues to grow for elections in Palestine in order to arrive at a unified struggle against apartheid, since elections previously scheduled for May have been postponed. Palestinian activist Mazin Qumsiyeh reports on key points towards a electoral program for the needed social change, as agreed to in recent discussions with Palestinian activists. These include, among other points :

– Support for human rights including a) the right of return for refugees to their homes and lands and to be compensated for their suffering, b) the full equality to women (in all aspects of social, educational and economic rights, c) the right to education to all, d) the right to due process of law, e) the right to clean and healthy environment, d) right to food/sustenance and shelter;

– Complete freedom of expression through all communication media;

– Mechanisms created to weed out corruption, nepotism and other unethical behaviors in all levels of society;

STRUGGLE WITHIN ISRAEL

Israel has not seen mass demonstrations for justice for Palestine since 2017 when some 15,000 Israelis attended a Tel Aviv rally to demand progress for a two-state solution to the conflict.

However, there continues to be a movement among young Israelis to refuse to serve in the armed forces. In January of this year sixty Israeli teenagers published an open letter addressed to top Israeli officials declaring their refusal to serve in the army in protest of its policies of occupation and apartheid.

WHEN WILL IT END, AND HOW?

Quoting Richard Falk, “the African majority waited more than 30 years for their emancipation from apartheid. The Palestinian people have already endured the hardships and humiliations of racist subjugation and Jewish supremacy for more than 70 years. When will it end, and how?”

The Red Cross: “For more than 75 years, almost half of the ICRC’s 158 years of existence, we have been advocating for the elimination of nuclear weapons for one simple reason: We do not believe they can be used without inflicting significant death and suffering among civilians. That is why January 22, 2021, is such a momentous day for us. It is the day the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) comes into force. This day is nothing short of a victory for humanity.”

This month, many others joined with the Red Cross in celebrating the Treaty.

UN Secretary-General António Guterres commended the States that have ratified the Treaty and welcomed the “instrumental role of civil society in advancing the TPNW’s negotiation and entry into force , , , Nuclear weapons pose growing dangers and the world needs urgent action to ensure their elimination and prevent the catastrophic human and environmental consequences any use would cause . . . The elimination of nuclear weapons remains the highest disarmament priority of the United Nations.”

The Foreign Minister of the Vatican, speaking on behalf of the Pope, welcomed the Treaty as a step toward a “nuclear weapons-free world,” saying that nuclear deterrence gives a ‘false sense of security,’”

Members of the World Future Council and Right Livelihood Laureates issued a joint statement celebrating the Entry-into-force of the Treaty and listing further steps that are needed towards the goal of the complete elimination of nuclear weapons.

On January 13, the organization Ploughshares Calgary (Canada) held a webinar explaining the treaty featuring Earl Turcotte, the Chairperson of the Canadian Network to Abolish Nuclear Weapons.

On January 21, a Global Health Webinar was held by health professionals to mark the Treaty, co-sponsored by the International Council of Nurses, International Committee of the Red Cross, International Federation of Medical Students’ Association, International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War, World Federation of Public Health Association, and World Medical Association.

On January 22, the International Peace Bureau held a celebration for the Treaty, calling on members of the IPB family, our friends and all peace lovers to celebrate this historical step, and deliver this great news with noise and fun in your countries all across the globe, as the road to a world free of nuclear weapons is now wide open!

On January 25, a webinar was held with discussion by experts and activists on the political openings for global nuclear disarmament and the vital roles being played by the United Nations and civil society. It was sponsored by the Basel Peace Office, Parliamentarians for Nuclear Non-proliferation and Disarmament, Right Livelihood Foundation, UNFOLD ZERO, World Future Council and Youth Fusion.

In France, demonstrators gathered near the French National Assembly and in front of the embassies of the 4 other nuclear-weapon States and permanent members of the United Nations Security Council (Russia, USA, Great Britain, China) to celebrate the Treaty and demand their adherence.

As the Red Cross concludes, “But it is only the beginning of the world’s journey to eliminate nuclear weapons. The end comes when those 13,000 nuclear weapons no longer exist.”

Many of the organizations above make demands of the nuclear states to begin the process of nuclear disarmament. And people are invited to sign appeals to these governments such as the Appeal for a Nuclear-Weapon-Free World.

But there is no indication that the nuclear powers are listening., We must do more than that, as argued in the blog, APPEALS ARE NOT ENOUGH.

Six years ago we carried in CPNN an article about Mexico by the great peace researcher Johan Galtung. He said, among other things, “At the national level an overarching program to prevent violence has been designed and enacted . . . grounded in a legitimate peace philosophy –one in which peace is constructed through the satisfaction of basic human needs- and is well equipped in scope and with enough budget and personnel to achieve transcending results by construction of peace infrastructures (i.e. mediation centers, academic degrees in peace for civil servants, etc.)  and the buildup of a mediation-dialogue-conciliation culture. . . ”

Recent articles in CPNN show that the peace programs described by Galtung are continuing to develop.

Many initiatives are underway in the educational systems of Mexico.

At a national level, the Ministry of Education is training teachers, students and parents in violence prevention and school mediation. Recently the Council for School Coexistence (Convive) convened a virtual seminar with teachers to discuss Gender Equality, Human Rights, School Coexistence and Peaceful Conflict Management

In Baja California, more than 1,500 preschool, primary and secondary school teachers participated via zoom in the seminar called: “Socio-emotional education, child and adolescent participation and the culture of peace in Mexican schools”, convened by the Ministry of Public Education,

In San Luis Potosi, Training workshops and conferences for the elimination of violence against women., both face-to-face and digital, were carried out for 16 consecutive days for all personnel in the educational system.

At the Maguen David Hebrew School in Mexico City, high school students took part in a workshop on the natural relationship between the concept of Peace and Education and the importance of their own commitment to take actions in order to build peace. They collaborated in small groups to analyze thoughts and phrases of Martin Buber, Hanna Arendt, Paulo Freire and María Montessori,

At the level of higher education, the Benito Juárez Autonomous University of Oaxaca and the Honorable Congress of the State, have ratified a framework collaboration agreement to strengthen the Culture of Peace. And the University Family Development Center of the University of Colima, through the University Program for Culture for Peace, held the virtual forum “University Students Fostering a Culture of Peace”.

Other recent initiatives in Mexico include a General Directorate of Culture of Peace and Human Rights, an international congress on culture of peace by women, a festival of culture of peace, activation of networks of women peace builders, an initiative called “100 actions for peace” and the use of the principles of the culture of peace to prevent violence and care for its victims.

The Government of Veracruz has established the General Directorate of Culture of Peace and Human Rights in order to contribute to institutional strengthening through the design, implementation, conduct, strengthening and consolidation of public policies on culture and education for peace.

In Sinaloa, the III International Congress “Culture of peace by women: various worldviews; women and men for positive masculinities” involved prominent specialists in these issues.

A fifth edition of its Culture of Peace festival was announced to take place on December 20 in Valle Dorado, to support neighborhood youth, “as it is one of the neighborhoods with a high rate of violence” in Mexico City. Culture of Peace workshop were planned, focused on children, and the festival was to conclude with a concert of the Imperio de la Cumbia musical group.

217 members of the Networks of Women Peace Builders took part in a meeting convened by the Secretariat for Security and Citizen Protection in order to inform them about the progress in the fight against discrimination and gender violence.

The project “100 actions for peace” has been initiatied on a national level by the National Council of Civil Organizations for the Culture of Peace, in coordination with the International Committee of the Banner of Peace and the Center for Studies for Peace, Security and Development. The campaign aims for individuals to promise to carry out for each of 100 days, a conscious action that promotes the construction of Peace, with your partner, your family, or in favor of your community and country.

The principles of a culture of peace are being used to assist victims of violence and prevent its recurrence in Mexico. To help communities of people who live on the streets and who consume psychoactive substances, students and researchers from the National School of Anthropology and History and the Metropolitan Autonomous University have formed the “Colectivo Psicocalle.” The mental health of journalists, human rights defenders and / or their relatives who have been victims of violence is being addressed by the Mechanism for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders and Journalists in Mexico City. And in the context of the National Strategy for the Prevention of Addictions, the National Commission against Addictions and the Chair for Peace at the Guerrero Autonomous University have held more than ten workshops and free online conferences.

The culture of peace, as a way to counteract violence and addictions, confirms Galtung’s analysis quoted at the beginning. As he himself explained: “massive structural violence can only be addressed with massive peace policies.”