Who We Are e PeaceWorks Network Foundation’s OneVoice Movement is a grassroots organization that amplifies the voices of mainstream Israelis and Palestinians. We are a 501(c)(3) international nonprofit with offices in New York City, Tel Aviv, Ramallah, and London. Since 2002, our youth-led movement has engaged more than 750,000 voices and counting. Our programs empower Israelis and Palestinians who support two states, enabling them to hold their elected officials accountable and thereby ensure an end to the conflict. rough OneVoice, young grassroots activists in Israel and Palestine are equipped with the knowledge and skills to educate and mobilize their respective populations to become better, more vocal advocates for the two-state solution. The Challenge e collapse of negotiations and escalating violence in the region has spurned cynicism and resentment by large swathes of the Israeli and Palestinian populations. We aim to counter this environment of hopelessness with an expansion of our programming, harnessing our existing organizational ability to build grassroots support for a return to negotiations and capitalize on the promise of the upcoming Israeli elections. Achievement of a peaceful resolution to the conflict necessitates the empowerment of the moderate majorities, as an actively supportive civil society is a fundamental element for success in the peace process. President Obama underscored this point when addressing the Israeli public in March 2013, stating, “Political leaders will not take risks if the people do not demand that they do.” The Solution OneVoice offers a distinctive approach to address the conflict – using parallel grassroots activism to promote the two- state solution as the path to resolution. We apply our skills in two main areas: • Developing new advocacy skills and initiatives for two states by training youth activists with OneVoice’s grassroots and outreach programming to educate and mobilize public support for the two-state solution, and; • Actions that build positive facts on the ground, including our legislative work to put direct pressure on political leadership and meetings between Israeli and Palestinian leadership in the Knesset and Muquata, respectively. While these two program areas are distinct, in combination they create powerful synergy as agents for change. OneVoice’s grassroots and outreach programming harnesses the momentum of the citizens in the region, while its positive facts on the ground build a path of peace and trust between the two sides. OneVoice Strategy OneVoice’s grassroots and outreach programming provides a data-driven organizing approach that strengthens the presence of the moderate majorities in both societies who are in favor of a two-state solution, thereby representing the will of the people. Over the past year, we have streamlined our programming through a partnership with 270 Strategies (270), a consulting firm founded by the duo that orchestrated the grassroots field operation of President Barack Obama’s 2008 and 2012 Presidential campaigns, Jeremy Bird and Mitch Stewart. Together, they have been working directly with OneVoice staff in Israel and Palestine to evaluate, recommend, and implement a fresh approach to the organization’s grassroots organizing model on both sides of the Green Line. e methodology executed by OneVoice and 270 in Israel and Palestine is premised on capturing the power of the Snowflake grassroots organizing model, which acts systematically to build a ladder of engagement for each volunteer as they come into contact with the organization. e model is informed by best-in-class thinking on using smart data to inform the practice of leveraging existing volunteers, inspiring and activating additional volunteers, and integrated grassroots and communications campaigns which amplify and compound the reach and effectiveness of the organization and its grassroots activists. HEAR the movement @OneVoice SUPPORT A TWO-STATE SOLUTION 10,000 Youth Leaders
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Who We Are
The PeaceWorks Network Foundation’s OneVoice Movement is a grassroots organization that amplifies the voices of mainstream Israelis and Palestinians. We are a 501(c)(3) international nonprofit with offices in New York City, Tel Aviv, Ramallah, and London. Since 2002, our youth-led movement has engaged more than 750,000 voices and counting. Our programs empower Israelis and Palestinians who support two states, enabling them to hold their elected officials accountable and thereby ensure an end to the conflict. Through OneVoice, young grassroots activists in Israel and Palestine are equipped with the knowledge and skills to educate and mobilize their respective populations to become better, more vocal advocates for the two-state solution.
The Challenge
The collapse of negotiations and escalating violence in the region has spurned cynicism and resentment by large swathes of the Israeli and Palestinian populations. We aim to counter this environment of hopelessness with an expansion of our programming, harnessing our existing organizational ability to build grassroots support for a return to negotiations and capitalize on the promise of the upcoming Israeli elections. Achievement of a peaceful resolution to the conflict necessitates the empowerment of the moderate majorities, as an actively supportive civil society is a fundamental element for success in the peace process. President Obama underscored this point when addressing the Israeli public in March 2013, stating, “Political leaders will not take risks if the people do not demand that they do.”
The Solution
OneVoice offers a distinctive approach to address the conflict – using parallel grassroots activism to promote the two-state solution as the path to resolution. We apply our skills in two main areas:
• Developing new advocacy skills and initiatives for two states by training youth activists with OneVoice’s grassroots and outreach programming to educate and mobilize public support for the two-state solution, and;
• Actions that build positive facts on the ground, including our legislative work to put direct pressure on political leadership and meetings between Israeli and Palestinian leadership in the Knesset and Muquata, respectively.
While these two program areas are distinct, in combination they create powerful synergy as agents for change. OneVoice’s grassroots and outreach programming harnesses the momentum of the citizens in the region, while its positive facts on the ground build a path of peace and trust between the two sides.
OneVoice Strategy
OneVoice’s grassroots and outreach programming provides a data-driven organizing approach that strengthens the presence of the moderate majorities in both societies who are in favor of a two-state solution, thereby representing the will of the people. Over the past year, we have streamlined our programming through a partnership with 270 Strategies (270), a consulting firm founded by the duo that orchestrated the grassroots field operation of President Barack Obama’s 2008 and 2012 Presidential campaigns, Jeremy Bird and Mitch Stewart. Together, they have been working directly with OneVoice staff in Israel and Palestine to evaluate, recommend, and implement a fresh approach to the organization’s grassroots organizing model on both sides of the Green Line. The methodology executed by OneVoice and 270 in Israel and Palestine is premised on capturing the power of the Snowflake grassroots organizing model, which acts systematically to build a ladder of engagement for each volunteer as they come into contact with the organization. The model is informed by best-in-class thinking on using smart data to inform the practice of leveraging existing volunteers, inspiring and activating additional volunteers, and integrated grassroots and communications campaigns which amplify and compound the reach and effectiveness of the organization and its grassroots activists.
HEAR the movement
@OneVoice
SUPPORT ATWO-STATE SOLUTION
10,000
CHAPTERS
31
ISRAELIPALESTINIAN20 11
YouthLeaders
ISRAELIS PALESTINIANS
SUPPORT ATWO-STATE SOLUTION
CHAPTERS
32
ISRAELIPALESTINIAN21 11
SUPPORT ATWO-STATE SOLUTION
10,000
CHAPTERS
31
ISRAELIPALESTINIAN20 11
YouthLeaders
SUPPORT ATWO-STATE SOLUTION
10,000
CHAPTERS
31
ISRAELIPALESTINIAN20 11
YouthLeaders
Our Youth Leadership Program (YLP), using the newly adopted model, trains promising young Israelis and Palestinians to become engaged grassroots activists and provides a critical constructive outlet for the current youth frustration stemming from the existing political status quo. Emphasis is placed on participants gaining the skills to become successful political advocates for a two-state solution, who mitigate conflict at the grassroots level by mobilizing the moderate non-violent majority in their communities. Youth Leaders are given a grassroots organizing tool kit to spearhead unique activities – from town hall meetings that build consensus for tough compromises, to public awareness campaigns that underscore the urgency of a peace agreement, to initiatives that pressure leaders to take constructive action to move the peace process forward. Selected graduates of our leadership training initiatives go on to serve as ambassadors as they reinforce the voices of the moderate majority on the global scale through outreach programming. Our Outreach & Education Programme (O&E) based in London, joins UK communities that have found themselves torn apart by extremist narratives surrounding the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Through O&E, international audiences are asked to identify their role in ending the conflict as they connect with Youth Leaders from Israel and Palestine. This, in turn, inspires those audiences to play a positive role by responding to international calls to action and showing solidarity with the efforts of those in the region.
Through the Caucus for the Resolution of the Arab-Israeli Conflict, OneVoice has connected grassroots activists in Israel to political decision makers. Together, OneVoice and the dedicated cross-party Caucus’ 42 Members of Knesset (MKs) draft and propose legislation that supports the two-state solution. Using our local chapters and our YLP network, OneVoice is able to introduce elements of representative accountability, demanding MKs to be held responsible for their actions and inactions.
As Israel approaches the upcoming March elections, OneVoice is determined to channel our 12 year track-record of grassroots activism in Israel to compel moderate Israelis to seize the moment and unite towards electing a government that champions the tenets of the two-state solution. Our goal is to mobilize Israelis to vote for leaders whose top priority is to end the occupation and establish peace with the Palestinians and supportive Arab states. OneVoice is prepared to accomplish this through leading a comprehensive Get out the Vote campaign that intends to fully empower the people by generating the popular base of support needed to achieve a historic peace agreement and usher in a period of stability.
The Time Is Now
Never in the history of this movement have the stakes been as high for OneVoice, for the two-state solution, and for the future of Israel as a democracy, and Palestine as an independent state. We are committed to mobilizing all of our capacity, networks, and expertise toward this goal. Your important financial contribution will help make it possible for Israelis and Palestinians to work together to demand peace. For those looking to turn the two-state solution into a reality, the time is now.
