Good for Palestine, Good for the World

The Palestinian struggle for self-determination and statehood is by all accounts one of the least successful of the past century. The list of new and transformed countries since the early 1990s includes Kosova, Montenegro, Serbia, East Timor, Eritrea, and South Africa. In Palestine, close to 60 years of armed struggle, negotiations, mediations, international support movements, boycott campaigns and other forms of resistance have failed to deliver the promise of statehood. There are many explanations, both internal and external, for the repeated setbacks of this struggle. A different approach may be needed to chart a new trajectory for Palestine’s future.

Palestine would benefit greatly if it did more to help the world. You may ask how Palestinians can usefully help others when they are having such a hard time helping themselves. When I was a teenager, my father, who has been a professor and teacher all his adult life, shared a valuable insight with me: “one of the best ways to learn is to teach.” Palestinians could take a lead in starting new global and regional initiatives in the public interest, that address issues of international public concern. Although these initiatives would draw on Palestinian experiences, Palestine would not necessarily serve as a role model. Palestinians have been the victims of narrow-minded thinking for decades. Far too many international aid officials and foreign consultants offer to introduce, wholesale, their own experiences to Palestine, whether it is in legal arbitration, electoral laws, human resource management, etc. without taking into account the local needs, constraints and interests. Palestinians will be well placed to avoid repeating such mistakes when they work with others.

When helping other people the Occupation ceases to become an excuse. It is the unacceptable face of Palestine’s current reality. Palestinians can start their own initiatives to “learn by doing” – and they don’t need to obtain anyone’s permission to start this kind of work. These projects would be a modern concept of Zakat (charity) that recognises that “growth and purity”, sometimes require social and political transformation, not just alms giving. One idea would be an Arab Institute for Electoral Management, drawing on the lessons from the successes and failures of past Palestinian elections, widely recognised as the best run in the Arab world; Palestinians could invest to become world leaders in long-distance, low-cost e-learning for primary, secondary and higher education to address both their internal needs and those of other people; an international centre or summer school for nonviolent transformation drawing on past and present international experiences would be a valuable global resource. At least a dozen other ideas could be explored in the fields of children’s trauma support, inexpensive emergency healthcare, water conservation, the arts and culture, etc.

The natural place to locate such initiatives is Jerusalem, a world city to which more than half of humanity feels a strong emotional and spiritual bond. The physical location of these initiatives is less important than their potential benefit to Palestinians, however. The organisations can just as easily be located in Gaza, Nablus, Bethlehem, or even among the Palestinian Diaspora. The staff of these initiatives should be recruited internationally, including from the Diaspora.

Much will be gained from encouraging Palestinians and Jews to work together on other peoples’ problems. This may seem a far-fetched ambition initially, particularly under initiatives that are led by Palestinians, but such experiences would do a lot to put each people’s problems in perspective. It would create a new benchmark for cooperation. The question would no longer be whether a Palestinian and a Jew got along. It would be whether their work made any difference.

Palestine would benefit enormously from such initiatives. A new generation of leaders with a more cosmopolitan outlook and management experience would emerge. It would foster a second track of diplomacy with people around the world, on an entirely non-governmental and constructive basis. It could create several hundred jobs; it can inject tens and even few hundred million dollars annually of long-term funding into the Palestinian economy. Palestinian public institutions, businesses, and universities would all benefit from the sharing of insights and experiences with their peers internationally. They would do so on a basis of equity and mutual interest, not as recipients of charity. It will identify East Jerusalem with a positive agenda for change and cooperation and as a international centre for Palestinian action. The foundation of a vibrant and independent Palestine could be greatly influenced by the active engagement of the best and brightest to address some of the world’s major challenges.