Middle East Delegation Travellog – Leaving with hope

As part of our Middle East delegation 2011 travellog, Marie-Noelle Loewe reflects on the experience as the trip draws to a close.

It’s been one week exactly since the Young Fabians Delegation left for our trip to Israel and Palestine, and coincidentally, we return from our trip on the tenth anniversary of the 9/11 attacks. At Ben Gurion Airport, security is tense, but this time no one from our delegation has been asked for further questioning.

It is hard to say what the outcomes of our trip will be. Every delegate came from a different background and with different expectations. Although all had approached the trip with an open mind, they had brought certain preconceptions about life in the conflict with them. The one thing that has become clear is that these have been challenged and often dispelled.

Nothing about the Middle Eastern conflict is black and white. After an intensive week of meetings, field visits and socialising, we have barely scratched the surface of the conflict.

The one thing that seems to have become clear to me is that time is running out. Palestinian statehood is crucial on order to support the moderate forces within Palestine. Before this trip, I was under the impression that only a small and extreme minority was still questioning Israel’s right to exist. I was shocked to find out that this view is far wider spread that I had expected.  The current Palestinian leadership is committed to a peaceful and stable two state solution, but they need a success soon to placate extreme forces within their ranks.

The outbreaks of violence and the resulting ascent of Hamas after Israel’s withdrawal from Gaza in 2005 make its reluctance to unilateral withdrawal from further settlements partly understandable. However, Israel’s continued presence in Hebron, which does not seem to be supported by a majority within Israel, continues to not only violate Palestinian human rights, but is a symbol of resistance around which anti-Israeli forces can rally.  Israel has to find a way to compensate the settlers and recognize the sacrifices which they will have to make, but Benjamin Netanyahu needs to find the political courage to withdraw from H2 soon.

Palestine’s bid at the UN seems to be based rather on despair than on actual hope of success.  A negotiated solution is certainly preferable, but Israel should use the General Assembly meeting as a chance to engage with the Palestinian leadership rather than categorically oppose their proposal.

A week in the holy land has provided unlimited amounts of food for thought, but the ‘holy grail’ remains elusive.  The obvious strategy is to strengthen moderate forces and condemn violence.

The situation seems often bleak and stalled, but despite this, I leave with a feeling of hope.

Marie-Noelle Loewe is International Officer for the Young Fabians and the organiser of the Young Fabian Middle East Trip 2011.

• Find out more about our Middle East programme by clicking here. You can view photos from the delegation on the Young Fabian Flickr channel.

Young Fabian delegation to the Middle East

On Sunday, a delegation of Young Fabian members will leave Luton airport and travel to Tel Aviv for the start of this year’s delegation to the Middle East. It is the first time in 25 years that we are hosting such a trip, and although Israel and Palestine are always fascinating places to visit, our visit could not have happened at a more interesting time.

The Arab world is waiting anxiously for the meeting of the UN General Assembly at the end of September, where a large majority of countries is expected to recognize Palestinian statehood. The Palestinians have been lobbying hard to convince the international community that they have established the necessary infrastructure to survive as a state, and the mood seems to be changing in their favour. But the actual consequences of the results are unclear – the Americans have already announced that they will veto the move, continuing to put their backing behind a negotiated two state solution, whilst Benjamin Netanayu’s speech in front of the American congress in May demonstrated clearly that the Israeli PM will be resilient to international pressure. Recent terror attacks on Israeli civilians in the South and Tel Aviv underline once again the volatile situation in the region. A true end to the Arab – Israeli conflict does not seem any closer – although the rapid developments in the region continue to make future outcomes unpredictable.

During our trip, we will meet with policy makers from both sides, visit key places such as Jerusalem, Ramallah, Hebron and Tel Aviv and meet with young Palestinians and Israelis to hear their perspective of life in a enduring state of conflict.

We will share our experiences and impressions regularly via our website and blog, so do check them both for regular updates.

As Young Fabians and Labour party members, we are progressives in an internationalist movement, and it is vital that we truly understand the aspirations and the concerns of the peoples on all sides, and that we appreciate the crucial need for a secure Israel and a vital, prosperous Palestine.

Marie-Noelle Loewe is International Officer of the Young Fabians

• The YF delegation is kindly supported by BICOM. You can follow Marie-Noelle Loewe on Twitter (@marieloewe, #yfmep) for regular updates from the trip.

Let’s give the snail a little boost

On International Women’s day, it is time to celebrate Women’s achievements all over the world. But it is also time to take stock of where we are in our fight for equality.

In the UK alone, only 10% of FTSE 100 companies have a female director; 25 of these companies have no women at all on their board. Out of the 646 Members of Parliament, only 126 are women. And although the Gender Pay Gap has, according to the Office for National Statistics, narrowed between 2008 and 2009, women in full time employment still earn 17.4% less than men.

Yes, we have come a long way since the Viscountess Nancy Astor in 1919 was the first women to take her seat in Parliament. It’s probably no coincidence that the extension of the franchise to women in 1918 preceded this milestone.

I would like to be clear on this: there are a lot of men out there doing fantastic work to support gender equality in the work place. But every major achievement for women has been brought about by other women. To make our voice heard, we need to stand together, fight for each other, with each other. International Women’s day should not only be an occasion to celebrate what we have achieved so far, but should serve as a reminder that we still have a long way to go to achieve equal representation.

The Guardian today quotes a report by the Equality and Human Rights Commission, which likens the progress of women to positions of power to snail’s pace. According to the report, it be take 73 years before the number of women becoming directors of FTSE 100 companies was the same as men. In this time the snail could have crawled from Land’s End to John O’Groats and halfway back again. The snail would have to cross the length of the Great Wall of China, taking 212 years, before women would be equally represented in parliament.

It is time we gave that snail a little push. Launching YF Women on 18th March will be small step – come and join us to make it bigger. It is up to us.

Does Gender Equality on the blogosphere really matter?

In the latest issue of Anticipations, Jessica Asato, Acting Director of Progress, talks about the under representation of women on the blogosphere.
Reading her article, I can identify with many of the reasons and characteristics she describes to explain this lack of female presence. I was one the women who joined the blog Labourwomen enthusiastically a year ago but gave up blogging after the first attempts (although, to be fair, I blogged at least thrice). Despite better intentions, my contributions to the YF blog so far have been scarce, almost non existing- to be honest, I had to be invited to even write this piece. I am one of the women Jess mentions who claim to be simply to busy to blog on a regular basis- most of the time, I’d rather spent my free time working out in the gym or having a meal with my housemates than write a blog. So my first thought when reading Jessica’s article was: “So what?” Women have every right to be on the internet, a lot of us (like the wonderful Christine Quigley, Chair of London Young Labour) even have their own web presence. Women have the necessary technical knowledge, we all use a computer, some of us even tweet-so if so many of us choose not to participate in the virtual world of mass communication because it is simply not our cup of tea-does it really matter?

The problem is: it does, and Jessica rightly makes this point at the end of her article. Communication today can only become relevant to a wider audience if it’s online. The cornerstones of an informed society -campaigns, discussions, sharing of information- are all being developed and shaped on the web.

When women wanted the right to vote and participate in democracy, they had to take to the streets and put up an immense fight to make their voices heard. If women today want to participate in democracy 2.0, all we have to do is go online. The rise of social media seems unstoppable, and the way we communicate has already changed forever. We need to realize that our messages will only get through if we engage with this new media. So come on girls, for the sake of all women over the world- let’s hit those keyboards, more than just once.