Who We Are
We are activists, professionals & scholars, Israelis and Palestinians, committed to our peoples and to the search for a formula that will lead us all out of the conflict and the suffering and into a reality of mutual respect, fulfillment the basic needs and rights for all, and building a better future for the next generations
About the Project
The stagnation of the Peace Process, and the evolution of a very problematic “One-state” reality on the ground, are making the search for a new alternative the most interesting development of the last decade in civil society and academic circles.
In 2020 Challenge launched a new program named the “Federal Forum”, in which we have gathered together Israeli and Palestinian activists, scholars, professionals and practitioners, who have been independently developing their own federal ideas and models. Some of them do so on a personal level while others have established their own organisations[1].
As of August 2022 the Federal Forum has gathered half a dozen unique models which are being discussed and developed jointly. We are also aware of a few other initiatives, and we are in the process of engaging with them in the hope they will join us in the near future. Despite some differences in our members’ approaches, the more we learn, analyse and deal with the substantive issues of the conflict, the more we realise the amazing potential a well-designed federal proposal will offer us all.
[1] Among them the: “Federation Movement”, “Abrahamic Movement”, “Federation of Israel-Palestine”, “Eretz-Ard”, “Youth Education Development Forum Association”, and others.
Vision
Mission
The Federal Forum will discuss, learn, develop, and promote constructive ideas to solve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict within a new Federal Paradigm.
The principles guiding us are:
- We recognize that in the whole land between the Jordan river and the Mediterranean Sea, live many identity groups including two main national groups: Jews and Palestinians.
- We recognize that both nations hold a deep and unbreakable connection to the whole land. Both see it as their ancestral historical, cultural, religious, and national homeland.
- We believe that both nations can enrich each other and should not be separated. We also understand that our reality makes it impossible for either nation to isolate itself completely from the other.
- We believe that neither the status quo nor a total defeat of one nation are acceptable or desirable proposals about how to deal with the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
- We believe that instead of accepting the painful compromises of previous peace formulas that will leave both nations hurt and unsatisfied, we are searching for a creative formula to design a win-win solution for the benefit of all that finds a balance between our needs for autonomy, cooperation and connection to the land.
- We believe that Federalism in its wider sense (that includes the whole spectrum between federations and confederations) provides the best structural framework in which to design a state that is both democratic and egalitarian in nature, and that it allows both nations the implementation of their right of self-determination.
The goals of the Federal Forum are to:
- Provide collaborative support and generate collaborative synergy among all interested in this innovative path.
- Enhance public awareness of the possibility of a creative alternative to bring better results than the well-known current formulas, for the benefit of all.
- Promote practical steps to transform reality on the ground and improve the life of individuals and groups while waiting for a top-down systemic transformation.