5) Description of initiative: The aim of Pathways of Understanding is to encourage the option of mediation for resolving conflicts between the Arab-Israeli sector and Israeli governmental institutions. This will meet a vital need within Israel, helping to improve the life of the Arab sector while uprooting iniquities and helping the state uphold its interests. We are committed to performing this mission with skill and quality and hope to provide inspiration for other peacemakers.

The results of such mediation processes will serve the interests of both sides, with sustainable solutions and self-empowerment. From the perspective of both sides, mediation has a high potential of becoming a realistic alternative to conventional conflict management, which has been characterized by the exercise of covert and overt power on both sides.

We aim at providing high-quality culturally accessible, impartial, well-renowned mediation proficiency, which is the missing element from both sides' consent to mediate.

Activities includes Assigning task forces to liaise with the public and identify the needs of the Arab-Israeli sector; Conducting workshops and meetings in order to familiarize decision makers in Israel with our mission and activities; Encouraging both sides to embrace mediation as an important conflict management tool in specific conflicts; Conducting initial mediation processes using our teams of in-house mediators; Initiating a large scale needs survey and; Training mediators suitable for our needs.

Governmental Institutions include ministries and organizations of all sorts, headed by hundreds of decision makers, acting on behalf of the state of Israel. The Arab-Israeli sector is comprised of all religious sects, cultures and sub-groups of Arabic speaking Israeli residents, be it individuals or organizations of the aprox. 1.5 million Arab citizens.

6) Description of innovation: In Israel there are many civic organizations trying to attend to the continuous friction between the state and the Arab sector: Human rights organizations attempt to change the footings of the state by promoting advocacy and public pressure; Coexistence groups aim at changing the basic attitudes of the public through education, information and mutual actions, thus also attempting to change long-term policies; Arab organizations act to re-enforce their footings and try to change the priorities in Israel; Governmental agencies act to protect the interests of the state and occasionally try to influence the positions within the Arab sector.

Novelty - The strategy of Pathways of Understanding unswers the vital need for a neutral body to facilitate negotiations, without attempting to change either side's position, and arrive at an argeement, which attends to the interests of both sides. Such facilitation is timely and can help both sides arrive at a consensus on many issues with no position change, in a systematic and efficient process where there are mutual interests.

The story of the A-Roha land dispute is an outstanding example of the potential of our strategy: In 1998, the Israeli police wounded high-school students in the city of Um El-Fahem while trying to calm demonstrations regarding a declaration of a new military firing zone. The uniqueness here is that both sides negotiateed subsequently through an agreed mediator and signed an agreement which benefited the Arabs in the area on a wide spectrum of issues and also met the Army-training curricula standards. Both sides signed this agreement willingly, almost immediately after 13 citizens were killed when Israeli police fired at demonstrators during the large-scale rioting of Arab-Israelis that erupted in the fall of 2000.

7) Delivery model: Reaching out mechanism:

Connecting the sides: Assigning task forces to liaise with the public and identify the needs of the Arab-Israeli sector, while lowering expectations to secure credibility. Conducting workshops and meetings in order to familiarize decision makers in Israel with our mission and activities.

Pinpointing issues: The conflicts btween both sides spread to all aspects of life: budget, land, public policy, law enforcement, etc. Each realm needs specific know-how in the mediation precess, thus we intend to focuse on the most potent issues. A large scale needs survey will supply the means to this focus.

Agreeing to mediate: Our principles at this stage are establishing balance and mutual respect as well as articulating profound understanding of the actual needs of both sides. Good relationships with the sides in advance and a wide circle of fellow-friends of Pathways of Understanding are yet another mechanism of reaching out at this stage.

Attending to culturally related issues: Mediators must be proficient in multicultural Arab-Jewish as well as in State-citizen mediation. Our Arab-Jewish teams of mediators are devised to attend to this issue as well. Deep knowledge of organizational culture within the government and the specific professional issue are both vital for conducting such mediation well. The method of western mediation must be adjusted according to Sulha reconciliation method as well as grassroots reality. We are blessed to be lead by the most highly professional in the Sulha tradition in Israel, the illustrious Mr. Elias Jabour and other prominent Sulha people as well. Building our specialized training course for mediators base on these guidelines is a cornerstone for such proficiency.

8) Key operational partnerships: Key partnerships and their roles: We have formed a Fellow-Friends Circle of Pathways of Understanding which is growing rapidly, and includes many prominent figures from the Arab sector, from the Establishment and local & international professionals. Their quiet support - both moral and prctical is most effective. We are about to form a public-professional advisory board as we are obliged by our statute. This is yet another more intimate circle of partnership which can help us advance rapidly professionally and otherwise. We are connecting to several selected organizations and bodies that aid us vitally in allocating mediation needs and issues. This is a complimentary mechanism for our indipendent tools.

9) Financial model: Mechanisms to ensure reaching out: We suggest that Foundations support Pathways of Understanding on a long-term basis, to ensure the reaching out process. Our neutral, impartial role prevents Pathways of Understanding from receiving funds from the Israeli governmental budget or from demanding payment for mediation servises. We make the utmost effort to recruit alternative resources from organizations and individulals, as well as from our own members. We are resolved to proceed and to enhance our activities regardless of grants and funding, as we have done since our inception, as elaborated in section 12 below.

That is why the percentage just below is null.

          • Costs as percentage of income: 0

          • Financing: For the last couple of years we have recruited the resources we needed, and our work is done on a volunteer basis. As for now, we are waiting for answers from some funding sources that will enable us to implement our full scale work plan.

Adding to the above mentioned in sec. 9a, Pathways of Understanding is a very unique peace initiative, and at times we have posed these same questions. When we begun, we knew this kind of project had never been done before and that we would encounter many problems on the way. It did not deter us then or now, because we had this naive word in our minds: HOPE. Nevertheless we never ceased to search for practical answers.So we welcome caring and experienced readers of this questionnaire to share new suggestions for this question with us.

10) Effectiveness

          • Project outcomes: Pathways of Understanding had succeeded to get a consent for mediation to be started within days. The conflict has the characteristic of typical issues between the Arab sector and the State. This is the outcome of yet another type of activity: Task forces were conceived as a new concept and were initially trained. We assigned 2 task forces out of 6 issues that were considered, 1 was found suitable for mediation. We have also concluded on exploring yet another major nation-wide issue in the coming weeks. We Trained in-house mediators and started devising our specialized training course. Conducting focused meetings with dozens of renowned individuals and decision makers in Israel in order to familiarize them with our mission and activities thus creating a large Fellow-Friends Circle.

          • Number of clients in past year: Some few dozens of indivisuals have benefited from our activities over the last year in pre-mediation intake, task force meetings, focused meetings and training devising and others. To see the sparkles in the eyes of a person, to feel the hearts filled with hope again and to find support in every way we go for this project is a mostly satisfying accomplishment. Almost whenever our mission is expressed we are told people think such project should have long been established.

11) Scaling up strategy

          • Stage of the initiative: Start Up stage.

          • Expansion plan: Pathways of Understanding has a perscise 3 year work plan including numbers of mediation processed to be conducted, numbers of committed and specialized trained mediators in an established list of professionals, numbers of training courses, trainees and learning meetings, numbers of more than a hundred task forces to be assigned and hundreds of decision mekers to participate in workshops and meetings to be conducted including high level officials. The plan does also include large-scale surveys: need survey, awareness survey and also academic research to accompany this start-up project. Some other organizational infrastructure is planned including a specific codes of ethics and feedback arrays as is derived from our intentness to accomplish our mission in high quality.

12) Origin of the initiative: As a business mediator and as a Jew I saw my ethical responsibility to outreach when riots irrupted in my neighboring Arab village of Arabe at the fall of 2000 and the police had exercise massive force and guns killing 2 youngsters near by. I did not have any practical means to do so, although I had quite an idea what can be done professionally. I started devising a plan in my computer, contacting professionals I knew by mail and phone, joining together with two friends Arab-Israeli mediators from Nazareth and Um El-Fahem and trying to form grassroots joined-teams to implement the plan. When we realized an organization is needed, we established Pathways of Understanding with seven renowned persons form the Galilee. In all the turbulence of getting this initiative started I have been always determined to push it forward no matter how short in resources.

Contact Information:
Gideon  Cohen
director
Pathways of Understanding
(NGO)
G. Cohen, Kibbutz Yahad D.N. Misgav 20193 Israel
Israel
Tel: 972-54-4225279
Fax: 972-4-6789568
Email: p_tronot@netvision.net.il
Website: In construction