Peace Makers and Normalization

On Saturday, I had a post at Divest This! as part of the responses to the upcoming PennBDS Conference.  The Progressive Zionist left a very kind comment about my remark: "Genuine peace makers demonstrate the commitment to peace and justice by working to "normalize" the relationships between people previously in conflict."

At the Park Slope Food Coop we are very environmentally conscious.  Reduce, Reuse, Recycle - that's our motto.  In that spirit, I am re-posting my piece from last year about Peace Building.

Is BDS Pro-Peace?

We all want peace.  How do you get peace?
 
The Conflict Information Consortium, directed by Heidi and Guy Burgess at the University of Colorado, is a multi-disciplinary center for research and teaching about conflict and its transformation.   They maintain two very important websites: The Conflict Resolution Information Source (www.CRInfo.org) and Beyond Intractability, the website of the Intractable Conflict Knowledge Base Project (www.BeyondIntractability.org).  We can say they are experts.

Here is what they say about  peacebuilding.

Peacebuilding is the "normalization" of relationships between people previously in conflict. It establishes sustainable peace by addressing root causes of conflict through reconciliation, institution building, and political and economic transformation.

Peacebuilding also usually involves efforts to increase "normal," cooperative contacts between opponents.

In peacebuilding, efforts are made to open channels of communication, get people involved in joint projects, work with the media and the educational system to try to break down stereotypes, and reduce prejudice and discrimination. The goal of all of these efforts is reconciliation – getting the people to accept each other as part of their own group or be reconciled to mutual co-existence and tolerance.

Now BDS opposes cooperative contacts between Palestinians and Israelis.  The types of contacts that bring reconciliation and the end of the conflict.  Please watch the BDS leaders in their own words:



This is not what our coop is about or should support.

Buy Sabra salads at the Food Coop.  Made in America, but targeted for boycott.