On February 24, 2004, Voices of Women co-sponsored an evening at the IPJ which included a screening of “Different Drummers,” a documentary on the day-to-day interaction between Israelis and Palestinians.

The film was followed by a panel discussion.

The panelists were:

Erez Strassbourg, Israeli; Miko Peled, Israeli; Nader Elbanna, American Palestinian (and member of VOW); Doris Bittar, Iraqi

Following are some of their comments:

Strassbourg: We need to educate about peace. What are we teaching our kids?

Peled: There is an “incurable malady of hope”. Israel chose to have the Holy Land, not peace. The Israelis and Palestinians have to make a conscious choice to become allies. The media in the U. S. shows their bias when that report Israelis are “murdered” by Palestinians, but Palestinians are “killed”. Zionism is destroying itself.

Elbanna: There are 77 security checkpoints on the West Bank, which is a small area of land. There are “Two People, One Future.” Death is not the problem, what dies inside is the problem; revenge is not a vision; peace is a process.

Bittar: There is a commonality. You cannot take “Jew” out of “Arab”

General Comments: The US role should be to sit down and talk, outside of the tension. The situation has a plan; it needs a power broker to make a process and promises.

Can the US export Democracy to the West Bank? There is no middle class in Palestine, where the median income is $2 per day. The comparison: Israeli $16,000 per year; Palestinian earns $1,000 per year.

For 30 years the Israelis have refused to negotiate the Two State plan. Soon the Jews will be a minority controlling the Palestinians. Some people think it ’s already too late for a two-state solution.