An Analysis of OneVoice's 10 Pillars

Analysis - Surrender on the Dotted Line - October 21, 2007
Despite OneVoice’s recent efforts to minimize the attention on its “10 Pillars,” especially in the wake of widespread grassroots criticism, the fact remains that OneVoice created these 10 pillars to present as a basis for negotiations, under the guise that they represent the will of the majority of Palestinians and Israelis.

As of October 20, 2007, OneVoice claimed 275,175 Palestinian signatories to “OneVoice Mandate” (where age requirement is only 15). According to OneVoice’s One Million Voices website, 58,000 have been polled as to whether they agree to these pillars. We could not find mention of any efforts to conduct this poll outside of the Occupied Palestinian Territory, so our understanding is that the vast majority of respondents reside in that area. OneVoice is only providing snippets of the results; information on their site indicates that approval rates for each of the pillars ranged from 23% to 85%. Since the sample is not statistically representative, it must be clarified that any findings are not representative of Palestinian opinion, and OneVoice’s use of terminology such as “consensus” is misleading.

=====================================

Open Letter - OneVoice's False Assertions - October 21, 2007


Another Voice: RAISE YOUR VOICE PALESTINE!

October 28, 2007

*** C O N C E R T ***

RAMALLAH - Palestinian grassroots activists and organizations will hold a free outdoor concert on Wednesday, October 31, calling for a just peace based on respect for human rights and international law. The concert will bring Palestinian folklore together with rap, and poetry together with politics, as Palestinians raise their voices for freedom, justice and unity.

Artists who are contributing their talents to this event include Reem Talhami, Jamil Al-Sayeh, DAM, Boikutt (Ramallah Underground), the Al Awda Dabkeh Troupe, Yalalan and more. In addition, words from the Bishop Attallah Hanna, the Refugee Right to Return Coalition, the Bil’in Popular Committee, and the Boycott, Sanctions, and Divestment Campaign.

On Wednesday, October 31, Palestinian voices will come together to declare that our basic rights will not be compromised. We will not accept normalization while Israel continues to arrest our sons and daughters, steal our land and water resources, build settlements, construct the wall, demolish our homes, and push us into smaller and smaller cantons.

Any negotiations and peace efforts must be premised on equality, respect for human rights, and the implementation of international law. Peace, not Apartheid!