How can we trust each other again?

Over the past few months, I have spoken to many Israeli friends about the work of the Center for Applied Environmental Diplomacy at the Arava Institute with our Palestinian partner, Damour for Community Development, in an initiative called Jumpstarting Hope in Gaza (JHG). The goal of JHG is to provide humanitarian aid and sustainable water, energy and sanitation solutions for the internally displaced persons shelters established by Damour, Clean Shelter and other organizations in Gaza. There are now about 12,000 IDPs living in the shelters in the al-Mawasi area or dependent on the services the shelters provide. The goal is to provide sustainable living conditions for 20,000 IDPs for the next 3 to 5 years until there is a ceasefire/hostage deal, a new governing body in Gaza and the massive effort to rebuild Gaza is underway. Of course, such efforts are a drop in the bucket compared to the needs of almost 2 million IDPs, but we hope that our approach to local self-management, community building, self-reliance, and sustainability through decentralized technologies, can be replicated and scaled in other IDP shelters around Gaza.

My Israeli friends are generally on the left side of the political spectrum but when I tell them about my work with Palestinians in Gaza on JHG, I receive two reactions. Some friends are full of admiration for our work. Some friends, however, find it hard to understand how I can trust Palestinians after October 7^th. Even many of those who were squarely in the peace camp before October 7^th, have had their faith in the possibility of peace with Palestinians shaken to the core. After the atrocities committed by Hamas, Islamic Jihad and other terrorist organizations on October 7^th; after non-combatant Palestinians poured across the border, in the wake of the Hamas operation to attack and loot the border settlements; after the pictures of Gazans cheering and celebrating as our hostages were marched through the streets of Gaza; and after the stories circulated of Palestinian workers having provided information to aid the Hamas attack on the settlements in the Gaza envelope (a story debunked by the Shin Bet according to TOI article from March 7^th, 2024), it is understandable that most Israelis do not feel they can trust Palestinians, even those who lean left.  Some of my friends express both admiration for our work but skepticism that any Palestinian can be trusted.

Since 2017, the Arava Institute has partnered with Damour for Community Development a Palestinian organization dedicated to building the foundation for a two-state solution through community capacity building, natural resource development and environmental stewardship. Our partners believe that the only way to end the occupation and free the Palestinian people is through a political process which guarantees equal rights, dignity, justice and security for Palestinians and Israelis. While the Arava Institute works with many Palestinian non-governmental organizations, Damour is our closest partner. On October 9^th, two days after the massacre in the Gaza Envelope, the Arava Institute/Damour joint steering committee had a scheduled bi-weekly virtual meeting. We debated whether to hold our joint steering committee meeting at all. Many colleagues in other peace organizations decided to freeze activities to give people the space to grieve, to internalize the catastrophe and to find their balance. We decided with our partners that this was not a time to step back but a time to step forward. The conversation was not easy and over the next few months, the conversation only became more difficult as the Israeli response to October 7^th killed thousands of Palestinians including relatives of our Palestinian partners, endangered the lives of our colleagues in Gaza, destroyed their communities, their livelihoods and their homes.  Our peoples continue to cause each other suffering as 98 Israeli hostages remain in Gaza held by terrorists under inhumane conditions, innocent Palestinians continue to be killed, and hundreds of thousands of displaced Palestinians suffer under inhumane conditions without enough food, water, heat, medical care or adequate shelter.

During our joint steering committee meeting on October 9^th, we realized we could do nothing to stop the war. We decided that we would work together, Palestinians and Israelis to alleviate human suffering and continue to build a more sustainable and peaceful future together. We had assumed like many that the war would be over in a few months. We have now entered the 16^th month of the war with only a glimmer of hope that there is an end in sight. Throughout the past 15 months, our Palestinian and Israeli partnership has not wavered. We may not always agree but we have not lost our faith in each other. I believe that this is because long before October 7^th, we had built a real equal partnership based on mutual respect and trust.

I do not know how Israelis and Palestinians will ever find a way to trust each other again but I am sure that our future’s depend on it.