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Who
and what is the ADAIPP?
We
are a group of Americans in the Boston area
who have come together in pressing times to
try to make some sort of difference and have
some sort of impact on the Israeli-Palestinian
conflict. We all have ties to the region, and
either enjoy or regret our distance from it.
We understand that we can in no way put ourselves
in the shoes of those living there and we do
not intend to try. We are simply speaking as
concerned Americans: concerned with what is
happening on the ground in the region and subsequently
with what our representation in this country-
constituencies and our government- are not doing.
We want to do all we can to represent those
who envision peace and who have not had the
forum to express such sentiments.
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Why
was it created?
The
group was created to do something to bring about
change. Both sides are frustrated with their
representation in this country and the lack
of a powerful peaceful message that should be
coming from them. Both sides are frustrated
that there are so many groups out there promoting
peace, but that they are not being heard as
effectively as possible. Both sides felt an
urgency to take action based on their agreed
principles and based on the ideas it feels are
shared among a "silent majority" of
Jewish and Arab Americans. Both sides wanted
to create a forum through which such voices
can be heard. Both sides wanted to use all of
their possible resources-- financial, economic,
intellectual-- to utilize such a forum, mobilize
a community, and show United States decision-makers
that Arab and Jewish Americans are working together
in promoting a fair and practical process.
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How
was it created?
Conceived
through Conflict
Management Group, the group began when some
local Jewish Americans had been discussing the
conflict and decided they wanted to start a
dialogue with local Arab Americans. "Diaspora
Dialogues" was born organically, with no
intentions or aspirations but to hear out the
other side. Through often intense meetings and
sustained facilitation, measures were taken
to achieve the most productive kind of discussion.
Such discussion depended on the idea of compromise,
an idea that must be adopted by both sides in
order for any progress to be made. Productive
discussion gave participants confidence in the
fact that positions could be compromised without
affecting identity. Once compromise was adopted
and it was realized that such measures actually
revealed mutual understanding and agreement
on many issues (frustrations with extremism
on both sides, ideals as to what needs to happen
here in the U.S., etc.), a mission statement
was drafted and an organization came into being.
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How
can I get involved?
If
you or your organization would agree to our
ideas for uniting like-minded groups and taking
action to promote a just process, please learn
more about getting involved with the Diaspora
Alliance. Visit the Join
Us page of this website.
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What
are the group's long term goals?
Simply,
the group wants to build as much of a base as
possible so as to have the capability to foster
the creation of a political climate conducive
to the implementation of a fair and practical
peace process. This means growing in numbers
and thus raising its voice, then taking action.
To see how we plan on doing this, please visit
the Action page of
this website.
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| What
does the Diaspora Alliance seek to change in this
country?
We
seek to create a political climate conducive to
the implementation of a fair and practical process
aimed at peace in the region. Because of its involvement
in the conflict and anxiousness to promote democratic
and peaceful ideals, the United States has a responsibility
to initiate and implement such a process. We seek,
through coalition building and making the idea
of such a process well known among decision-makers,
to make it okay to promote an even-handed policy,
as it is in all of our interests.
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| Aren't
there many similar groups like this one? How is
this group unique?
The
Diaspora Alliance is unique mainly in two ways:
1)
It is composed of both Arab and Jewish Americans,
thus making its voice representative of at least
some of both communities. This gives it automatic
credibility in the eyes of policy-makers, who
will be confident that there are many individuals
and groups from both communities that do agree
on many substantial and methodical ideas and can
work together. There are many groups out there
promoting peace. There are not many representative
of both sides. We welcome all those who have similar
ideals to link up with us. Learn more in the Join
Us section of this website.
2)
The group is affiliated with Conflict Management
Group, which specializes in fostering options
and developing processes for parties in conflict.
With proper and established guidance accrediting
its promotion of a process framework and with
the simple knowledge that this type of approach
at least helps, the Diaspora Alliance is unique
in its access to intellectual resources.
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How
does the group pick sides?
Simply,
we don't. The Diaspora Alliance advocates the
creation and sustained implementation of a process
and we will support whoever or whatever will
support that. We are non-partisan and do not
support any individuals, groups or political
organizations along party lines. We welcome
the most left and the most right, so long as
their ideals are reasonable in accounting for
the suffering of both sides and are productive
in achieving the goal of process.
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Why
process, not substance?
People
often say that for this conflict, there is a
light at the end of the tunnel, just no tunnel.
The importance of process in negotiation is
often overlooked in light of the need to resolve
substantial issues (borders, sharing of resources,
control of aggression/ retaliation, etc). We
advocate both parties to step back from the
substance issue and work out the means by which
they can prepare themselves to discuss substance.
In other words, figure out how before
what. Too often, negotiation breakdowns
are based on stalemates of detailed and substantial
issues, most often avoidable if a process had
been in place to account for such stalemates.
Our goal is to urge the United States to present
process options to the parties, thereby creating
a tunnel through which they can reach the light.
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Why
should the United States even be involved with
the Israeli-Palestinian conflict? How does it
affect average Americans?
Aside
from the perhaps ideal tenet of wanting to achieve
peace in a region so torn by violence for years
and years, there are more direct ways in which
this conflict is relevant to the average American.
The following are two examples:
1)
Substantial aid in the form of United States
tax dollars go towards Israel and the Palestinian
Authority, significantly more to the former
than the latter. As each American is required
to pay taxes, each American would surely be
interested in where those tax dollars are going.
2)
While not directly related, a negotiated settlement
to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict would be
instrumental in America's war on terrorism.
We believe the sustained monitoring, management
and eventual resolution of this conflict sets
a precedent and tone for eventual peace in the
Middle East.
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Why
does the Diaspora Alliance call on the U.S.
alone to do this job?
One
of the first tenets upon which the mission of
the Diaspora Alliance was drafted was the idea
of United States intervention. The group believes
the U.S. is the sole entity to jumpstart a process
able to engage all relevant parties in meaningful
negotiation. The group promotes the idea of
international cooperation in intervention (by,
for example, the Quartet) but believes the United
States is the only participant that has the
power to begin such a cooperation.
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