Pro-Israel, Pro-Palestine, Together as OneVoice

This story was published in Elon University’s The Pendulum. You can find the published story here.

OneVoice Speakers from left to right; Rami Rabayah, Yaniv Sasson and China Sajadian.

Thousands of miles away from Elon University, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict rages on, struggling to find a fair compromise for both sides to call progress. But here at Elon, Israeli Yaniv Sasson and Palestinian Rami Rabayah sat side by side in Yeager Recital Hall last Friday to deliver a hopeful message for the future.

“I am here to empower my country, he is here to empower his people,” said Sasson.

Sasson and Rabayah are members of OneVoice, a movement made up of both Palestinians and Israelis calling to end the violence and bring about a two-state resolution.

“We are asking our decision makers who we elected to do their job,” said Rabayah.

Rabayah, a 30-year old from West Bank city of Jenin, grew up to see many peace agreements that failed to bring security to his people.

“Since I can remember, I never really felt in a secure place,” said Rabayah.

This led Rabayah to join the OneVoice Movement. Having seen many Palestinians flee or join militias, Rabayah decided to take a much different road towards bringing about change.

“I think reality has brought us to these crossroads we are at today,” said Sasson.

Sasson, an Israeli Army Veteran and scholar, was brought to OneVoice with the same hopes Rabayah has, that violence in the area can be brought to an end through cooperation.

“I want security for my people,” said Sasson. “Every time you walk into a mall they check your bags. If there is no security at the entrance, something is very wrong. I don’t think this should be the norm.”

OneVoice focuses on finding the common ground between Pro-Israel and Pro-Palestine movements to find a solution that satisfies the hopes of both sides. Their projects include holding town hall meetings with Israelis and Palestinians, traveling to college campuses around the world, and a project that compiles the answers of young Palestinians and Israelis of how they see their future in 2018.

For an area that has endured some 60 years of the violence of extremists and terrorists, Rabayah and Sasson maintain the hope that this movement could be part of bringing about a historic change.

“We could be a model for a lot of conflicts around the world,” said Rabayah.

The OneVoice event was sponsored at Elon by Hillel, the Truitt Center for Religious and Spiritual Life, and Students for Peace and Justice. The event filled Yeager Recital Hall with a diverse audience of students and professors interested in OneVoice’s movement.

“I think it’s good that we’ve opened up the forum and gotten the Israeli-Palestinian conflict out there,” said Susan Esrock, President of Elon University’s chapter of Hillel, “I hope that this leads to other things.”