“Good evening, Ladies and Gentlemen,

It is my first time to be here but I have been a Peace Activist with Gershon Baskin for the last 14 years. I was in business of doing peace rather than talking about it.

I am not coming here tonight to educate or to lecture to you. I am coming to tell you what we feel about your presence tonight. I have to say that your presence tonight reminds the Palestinians that not all the Israelis are about tanks and soldiers and army and checkpoints; that there is an alliance in Israel for Peace.

I came to tell you that the Palestinians are aware that your contribution and your support for Peace is not compromising the national interest of Israel; that it is not compromising the strategic interest of Israel. We know that you believe strongly that you serve the strategic interest of Israel better by having Peace with the Palestinians and by having reconciliation with the Palestinians and by having a better relation with the Palestinians while you assure an acceptable Peace with the Palestinians. When you are in this position you serve the interest of Israel as well as you understand the position of the Palestinians.

Gershon talked about education for Peace. I was telling him the other day, before schools starting in Palestine today, about how families in Bethlehem and Ramallah are having difficulty of buying school bags and books and pencils and even school uniforms to their children. Because the unemployment is very high, and even there is no money to buy them. And you can imagine the children going to school today and not having enough books and school bags. What will be their position?

I was thinking today how we could facilitate the educational day for them. At least when they arrive to the checkpoints, the soldiers can be nicer to them to facilitate their passage to their classes. And even they can be easy with their teachers, to let them arrive on time to their schools. This can be a big contribution. The soldiers can make the difference by being tough or creating problems of facilitating them. Whatever we all do here to educate our children about the necessity of Peace, the doings of soldiers on the checkpoints can destroy the whole effort. The surrounding environment is very important; it is essential for the success of our role.

People go back and reflect how the situation was before the Official Peace, and how it is now after the Official Peace. Before Peace, people could travel from the North to Gaza, and from the Jordan border to the beach of Tel Aviv. Nowadays, even the hours of curfew lifting are very limited.

People remember how work was available. Now people cannot go outside their houses but for a few hours. People remember that meeting points between Israelis and Palestinians were either in jail, or in hospitals or in the working place. Now even working place is not available because the access to work in Israel is not there. Even in hospitals is not available because the access to hospitals is not there. Even in East Jerusalem you cannot meet an Israeli because even Kupat Holim is not available. The chances to meeting an Israeli are very limited. And unfortunately the only places left are jail and sadly also graveyards and cemeteries.

We must change this situation. And the picture is not very encouraging. The voices of the radicals on both sides are louder and noisier and ours is modest. But we have to change the platform on both sides, Israeli and Palestinian. We have a message, that we have to live together and coexist together, whether we like it or not. And we must work on it, for our children.

This morning I told my children that I am coming to speak here. My daughter was telling me what she wants me to say. And this is the essence of her message: that this gathering gives her hope and it will give hope to the Palestinians when will hear about it or see the images in the TV. They will see that there is and alliance for Peace and that we must not lose hope. We can shake hands and reach Peace one day, even if it is going to be far. But the process is going to continue.