An outline of the roles and tasks I carried out as a project manager intern with Israel's leading peacebuidling NGO, the Peres Center for Peace (2011-2012)

1. The Peres Center For Peace
An Internship in the
Business and Economics Department
September – December, 2012
“People build peace, not just governments”

2. History of the Peres Center
• Founded in 1996 by Shimon Peres
• Established at the height of the Israeli-Palestinian peace optimism
• To pursue his vision of a ‘New Middle East’
• Has it’s mission statement evolved in light of fluctuating peace context?
(Goal Displacement)
• “Israel’s leading non-profit org. promoting peace-building Israel and its Arab
neighbours”
• Peace-building with whom?
• Regional Neighbours (i.e. Egypt and Jordan)
• Palestinians
• Arab-Israelis
• Main Goals of Projects:
• Socio-economic cooperation
• People-to-people interaction
• Empower people to engage actively in peace-building
• Location in Jaffa

3. Peres Center: Building Peace
or maintaining Status Quo?
There is no evident effort being made to change the political and
socioeconomic status quo in the occupied territories, but just the
opposite: Efforts are being made to train the Palestinian population to
accept its inferiority…
With patronizing colonialism, the center presents an olive grower who is
discovering the advantages of cooperative marketing; a […] and of course
soccer competitions and joint orchestras of Israelis and Palestinians,
which paint a false picture of coexistence.
There is no chance that the activists and administrators of the peace center
will participate in the daily struggle of the Palestinian olive pickers; in the
frustrating efforts to transport critically ill people via the checkpoints; or
to breach the economic siege and sea blockade of Gaza.
The Peres Center for Peace […] does not warn about Israel's responsibility
for this situation; after all, it is not a club of Israel-hating anarchists but
one of respectable people, who mostly contribute to peace in the
generous funding of glittering events and participation in them…
Meron Benvenisti, “A monument to a lost time and lost hopes”, Haaretz, 30/10/2008

4. Organisational Structure
Departments
• Agriculture, Water and Environment
• Business and Economics Business and Environment
• Civil Leadership
• Culture, Media and Arts
• Health (“Medicine in the Service of Peace”)
• Sport
• Youth Dialogue through Technology
• Community Programmes in Jaffa
Director of Peres Center
Department Director Department Director: Department Director
Project Manager Project Manager Project Manager
Intern Intern

5. Business and Economics Department
Business-to-Business & Market Entry Capacity Building
Economic Research

6. Coordinator and Publisher
of Research Work
The Peace Process:
Seventeen Plans in
Ten Years
Gaza Strip
Crossings: Israeli
Policies in a Broader
Perspective

7. Recent and Ongoing Projects
• Aix Group Research
– The September Process from a Regional-Economic Perspective
– The Arab Peace Initiative and Israeli-Palestinian Peace: The Political Economy of a New Era
• Capacity Building and Market Entry Events
– Private Sector Partnership
– Partners in Business, Partners in Peace
• Urban Development
– Barta’a: A unique urban planning rehabilitation project
• Business Coaching
– Training of Trainers: A Business Course for Entrepreneurs
• Tourism
– One Holy Land, Two Peoples: Tourism without Borders
• Business Directory
– 2012 Palestinian Business Directory

8. Aix Group
An Israeli-Palestinian-international economic
study team.
Aims:
• Inform policy makers of the economic costs
of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict
•Provide policy makers with economic
solutions towards a two-state solution.
•Detail how both sides stand to benefit by
improving economic cooperation.
My Involvement:
• Steering Committee Meetings in Ramallah and E
Jerusalem
• Wikipedia entry
• New Website
• Cataloguing Aix Group’s mentions in the media

9. The September Process from a Regional-
Economic Perspective
Main Points:
• UN Move: An opportunity to break
the deadlock
• Three Scenarios:
1. Possibility for economic
development
2. Unsustainability of the Status Quo
3. Worst-Case Scenario
My Involvement:
• Editing of paper
• Attending presentation of findings
to the World Bank
• Drafting possible op-ed articles

10. New Aix Group Publication: The Arab Peace
Initiative and Israeli-Palestinian Peace
Main Points:
• Envisioning a ‘New Middle
East’, post-conflict
• Four Research Areas
1. Regional Trade
2. Investment and Labour
Institutions
3. Cooperation in
Transportation,
Environment and Energy
Infrastructure
4. Palestinian Refugees
My Involvement:
•Designing evaluation form post-
•Translating ‘Foreword’ conference
•Attending Steering Committee meetings • Rewriting Palestinian Refugee article
in East Jerusalem and Ramallah (taking
minutes) • Summarising conference discussion

11. Capacity Building and
Business-to-Business (B2B) Projects
Private Sector Partnership Partners in Business, Partners in
Promoting Palestinian-Israeli Peace
Economic Cooperation Increasing Capacities for Israeli-
Palestinian Business Cooperation
Funders: Norwegian Embassy
Budget: ca. 1,2 million NIS Funders: European Union
Duration: 12 months Budget: ca. 2.3 million NIS
Key Elements: Duration: 24 months
• Business-to-Business Program Key Elements:
• Capacity Building Workshops 1. Needs Assessment Study
• Exhibition of Palestinian 2. Capacity Building Training
Businesses/Products at Israeli Courses
Trade Shows 3. Market Entry B2B Program
4. Market Entry Public Relations
Campaign
Projects in partnership with:

12. Capacity Building and
Business-to-Business (B2B) Projects
My Involvement:
• Attending meetings with donors (Norwegian Embassy and EU representatives)
• Redesigning log frame matrix
• Discussing budgetary issues
• Planning work schedule
• Attending preliminary workshop (handicrafts)
• Needs Assessment: Draft copy of ‘Terms of Reference’

13. Objective Tree: Partners in Business…
Overall Objective Improved
Economic
Relations
Specific Objectives
Strengthened Improved Greater Awareness
Capacities Market Entry of Palestinian
Products in Israel
Results/Outputs
Understanding of Stronger A newly Successful Successfully
Palestinian Palestinian Improved completion of Conducted PR
business needs businesses Palestinian market entry Campaign
with updated product ranges events
skills
Associated
Capacity B2B Meetings activities
Needs
Assessment Building
Activities Report & Courses
Israeli Market
Exhibitions &
Survey
Trade Fairs

14. Palestinian Business Directory
Goals:
“Encourage trade and improve relations
between the two sides [and to]
improve accessibility of Palestinian
Businesses to their Israeli and
international partners”
My Involvement:
• Meeting with partners (principally
IPCC) to discuss content and design
• Editing ‘Introduction’
• Extensive proof-reading
• Working with publishers during final
editing

15. Tourism Without Borders
One Holy Land, Two Peoples: Tourism
without Borders
• An “impartial” tourism portal/map
• Challenge the presentation of
Jerusalem as “unilateral city” with
tourists “experiencing only the Israeli
or Palestinian perspectives and
attractions”
 ideally present tourists with a
“more whole experience”
My Involvement:
• Attending meeting with designers and local
tourism specialists.
• Coordinating meetings
• Suggesting content

16. Urban Development Project of Barta’a
A Divided Village between
Israel and the Palestinian My Involvement
Authority:
• Meeting with partners
“The conceptual idea is to M.A.P. to discuss urban
transform the valley from a development
symbol of conflict and
• Adding elements to
cooperation to a common
conceptual plan
space representing
environmental sustainability, • Visit to Barta’a with
business cooperation, and possible donor
peace”

17. Other Activities
50 Reasons to say
“Yes” to a Managed the
Palestinian State @perescenter
(Palestinian Israeli Twitter account
Peace NGO Forum)
General General
learning administrative
about Israel, tasks
Palestine and
the conflict

18. Importance of Networking

19. Political Barriers to Cooperation?
Anti-Israeli Sentiment in Region Anti-Normalization Movement
Anti-NGO Legislation Facts on the Ground

20. Israeli-Palestinian Peace and
Israeli Public Opinion
To what extent do you believe that
negotiations between Israel and the Israeli public opinion support to
Palestinian Authority will lead to peace the Oslo process 1994-2010*
between Israel and the Palestinians in
the coming years?*
2%
10%
35% Strongly Believe
22%
Somewhat Believe
Somewhat Disbelieve
Strongly Disbelieve
Don't Know/Refuse to
Answer
31%
* Data from The Israel Democracy Institute, 2011

21. Case Study:
Peres Center Projects in Jordan
•Anti-normalization sentiment is strong
• Very hard to find partners and
projects (especially if cooperation
becomes public)
• Unofficially they would like to
cooperate
• Focus on universal, day-to-day
concerns such as environment, water
management, energy etc. (under the
radar, avoid politics)
• Explore cooperation through
universities and research institutes,
particularly under the guise of EU
initiatives.
•Hard to publicize programmes as Peres
Center programmes

22. Internship Experience
Negatives:
Positives:
+ Learnt about Israel, Palestine and conflict. − Was it true development work?
+ The Arab side of Israel − Chopping and changing between projects
+ East Jerusalem to Ramallah − No ownership of a single project
+ Met with many different actors − Lack of actual field work
+ Local NGOs, International donors, academics, − Department was between projects
Palestinian partners − Disconnect between the office and reality…?
+ Working relationship with colleagues (Development from afar/armchair development)
+ Felt part of the team and that my work was − Travelling between Jerusalem and Jaffa
appreciated and valuable − Language Issues
+ Valuable source of knowledge
+ Used skills from Glocal
+ e.g. Log Frame, budgets
+ Gained an understanding how a large
professional NGO works
+ Found my level in ‘development’ work The Peres Center as an NGO:
+ ‘Project Management’ as a skill? − Style over substance?
− Legitimate questioning of project’s
effectiveness
− Is the Peres Center helping (inadvertently)
maintain the status quo?
− Apolitical NGO?
− See points in rasied in “A monument to
lost time and lost hopes” article

23. Theoretical Approach
Poster Project:
• Detailed description and analysis of ‘Partners in Business…’ project
Final Paper:
Overarching theme = Conflict Resolution and/or Management through cooperation in
economic, business, or trade.
• What’s the Angle?
– How does an NGO from the ‘occupiers’ cooperate with those who are the ‘occupied’?
Should this be left to an INGO?
– Is economic and business cooperation more relevant post-conflict or can it be a driver of
peace? What do other conflicts tell us?
• Which Region?
– Focus solely on Israel/Palestine?
– Or branch out to other conflict areas?

24. The End