MK Molla: Give Up Preconditions for Peace to Reignite Negotiations

NEW YORK, October 14, 2011 -

As a Jew restricted from purchasing property in Ethiopia, MK Shlomo Molla (Kadima) spoke on Thursday at OneVoice’s New York headquarters not only about his support for Palestinian statehood, but his compassion for Palestinian suffering.

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MK Molla, the first Ethiopian Deputy Speaker of the Knesset, addressed the Israeli-Palestinian conflict head-on to an active audience of OneVoice partners. Speaking candidly on such setbacks in negotiations as Israeli settlements and the Palestinian right of return, MK Molla also encouraged youth leaders Gabi Avner and Anas Ashqar on the need for grassroots activism to propel the peace process forward.

“I personally suffered as a Jew in Ethiopia,” said MK Molla. “I have a very deep sympathy for Palestinians who need their own authority, own culture, and own state.”  

MK Molla’s support for the two-state solution came with a call for Israeli and Palestinian leaders to give up their preconditions for peace as the only way to reignite negotiations. While he expressed that Israel should remove its demand for recognition as a Jewish state, MK Molla also stated that Palestinians need to relent on the right of return, despite the overwhelming difficulty.

“A greater Israel will always have a place in my heart, like Hebron, that’s where my history is from, and I shouldn’t have to give up my history just like I can’t ask Anas to give up historical Palestine,” said Avner, on why he does not need Palestinians to recognize Israel as a Jewish state. “It’s a people question, not a political question.”

Even with MK Molla’s significant political clout, he reflected that it is the grassroots that has the power to see the two-state solution advance. “Leaders are not making peace, the people are making the peace,” said MK Molla. “The first time in the Israeli Knesset there is a caucus for a two-state solution.”

Not only is the Israeli Caucus for the Two-State Solution the first of its kind, but the briefing witnessed mutual recognition of Israeli and Palestinian challenges in a space where Ashqar was able to address MK Molla.

“I saw this as an opportunity to bring together political leadership and grassroots activism,” said OneVoice’s CEO Howard Sumka, “and for Gabi and Anas to talk with Israeli leadership, to have Anas sit with a member of the Knesset and share his views as a Palestinian.”

OneVoice is an international grassroots movement that aims to amplify the voice of Israeli and Palestinian moderates, empowering them to demand a two-state solution. The movement educates and trains Israeli and Palestinian youth in leadership skills, non-violent activism, and democratic principles. To join and support OneVoice, visit us at www.onevoicemovement.org.

Ivan Karakashian, Communications Director, PeaceWorks Foundation, OneVoice Movement, +1-212-897-3985 x 124, +1-212-897-3986, ivan at onevoicemovement.org