Listen to our conversation with Akiva Eldar, the Chief Political analyst of Al-Monitor’s Israel Pulse and one of the founders of SISO, Save Israel Stop the Occupation.
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What is SISO? SISO is a growing worldwide movement that serves as an umbrella for all those who consider Israel’s ongoing rule over occupied Palestinian territory disastrous not just for Palestinians but for Israelis as well. SISO holds that the termination of the occupation will not only end the suffering of the Palestinian people but is also vital to Israel’s security, democracy, prosperity, and world standing.
The Goal: SISO strives to secure the end of the occupation by the 50th anniversary of its inception, in the belief that half a century is more than long enough. Accordingly, SISO is calling on the Israeli Government to decide by 5 June 2017 either to accept the creation of an independent Palestinian state or to extend equal rights to everyone living in the occupied territories until there is an agreed final resolution of the conflict.
The movement will launch its activities in June 2016 and will carry them out throughout the year, culminating in a major event on June 5, 2017 and continuing them until the goal will be achieved.
What will SISO do? SISO will mobilize organizations to join the movement, plan and implement mega-events, develop a series of novel activities in various domains, and enlist the support of prominent personalities. The SISO organizers will develop branding and marketing digital communication and share methods of persuasion and a public relations strategy to guide the movement with the participating organizations and groups professionally, systematically, creatively, and effectively. In addition, the SISO organizers will serve as consultants and provide materials and information through the SISO website to support actions by organizations, groups and individuals. SISO will recruit prominent opinion makers in different fields to empower the movement and its voice. It will mobilize new forces and recruit participants who were not actively involved in the peace camp in the past. SISO will organize various cultural-societal –political events, including mega-events that will create a strong voice.
Looks like a hopeful plan to me, when badly needed.
[…] Last week’s spectacle of yet another Arab Israeli MK making a pilgrimage to a venerated terrorist, who also happens to be a hugely popular Palestinian political figure, should give plenty of pause to all those now championing reckless new proposals for “peace”, especially the potentially lethal policy of moving toward the rapid establishment of a Palestinian state. […]