Israel-JCC 1

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Israel-JCC 3

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LETTER FROM THE DAIS

Dear Delegates,

Hello everyone! My name is Wendy and I, along with Emily, am your senior staffer YMUN 39’s Commission on the Status of Women. Currently, I’m a sophomore at Yale, majoring in Psychology with a Neuroscience track with plans to go to graduate school.

Outside of the classroom and YMUN, I am also part of Yale’s Mock Trial team, a mentor in WYSE (Women and Youth Supporting Each Other), a mentoring group for local middle school girls, and I am running a non-profit, Codi’s Hats.

With the ever-evolving policies on reproductive health rights and women’s rights, I’m ex-cited to see the different stances and cultural clashes that the topics may bring out. I look forward to seeing how you all respond in the committee. See you soon!

- Wendy Cai, Yale ‘15

Hi guys! I’m Emily, and I will also be working as one of the directors for CSW. A North-ern California native, I’m currently a sophomore at Yale in Branford College, majoring in Economics with a possible double major in East Asian Studies. After graduation, I hope to live and work in China for several years before pursuing a graduate degree, possibly in business or law.

When not going to classes or preparing for YMUN, I also serve as a mentor in ReadySet-Launch, an organization providing college counseling services to low-income students, participate in Danceworks, a dance group at Yale, and I serve on the alumni fundraising board for my high school. I also enjoy cooking, baking, and playing softball.

I can’t wait to hear your thoughts on the topics we have prepared for committee this year. Women’s rights remain a hotly debated topic globally, and I know you all are going to come up with informed, innovative solutions to these pressing problems. Please don’t hes-itate to email either Wendy or me with any questions or concerns.

- Emily Harris, Yale ‘15

All the best, Wendy Cai (wendy.cai@yale.edu) Emily Harris (emily.harris@yale.edu)

Dear Delegates,

We could not be more excited for YMUN. Really. We have been dreaming about this committee for

the past year or so, and have had countless meetings and back-and-forth emailings in order to make

this the best possible experience for you. We are especially excited because our committee will be run

in a joint cabinet crisis format, which not only brings the excitement of non-conventional Model

U.N. through crisis, but also permits a greater interaction and understanding of the nuances of the

conflict at hand through the constant battling between cabinets. We are honored and thrilled to be

chairing the Israeli cabinet, and look forward to all the resolutions and discussions we will when

YMUN comes. Until then, feel free to email us at jessica.leao@yale.edu and

miguel.goncalves@yale.edu with any and all questions you may have.

See you at YMUN, Jéssica Leão and Miguel Goncalves.

Jéssica Leão is a sophomore in Calhoun College and is a prospective Global Affairs major in the

international security track. She is an international student from Salvador, Brazil. When she’s not

buried somewhere in the deep realms of Bass Library, Jéssica can be found ordering soy chai lattes at

local coffee shops, walking around Yale’s art galleries, watching bad TV shows, and running to East

Rock Park. At Yale she is a member of the competitive Model UN traveling team (MUNTY), in

Yale’s D.C. think tank American Leadership Institute (AEI) executive council, a Calhoun Buttery

worker, and a Kappa Alpha Theta sorority sister. She really likes unicorns.

Miguel Goncalves is a sophomore in Ezra Stiles College, and currently intends to major in either

Physics, Economics, or Political Science. A first-generation Venezuelan immigrant, he has grown up

in what he remembers as "a melting pot of European, Hispanic, and American influences." His

interests range from music and literature to war history and quantum mechanics. In 2011, Miguel

founded and spearheaded the YELL (Youth Empowerment and Leadership Learning) Organization,

a nonprofit, student-driven leadership and public service initiative that continues to bridge the gap

between socioeconomically disadvantaged teens and community leaders in Central Florida. At Yale,

apart from being involved with Yale International Relations Associations with YRIS (Yale Review of

International Study), SCSY (Security Council Simulation at Yale), and of course YMUN (Yale

Model United Nations), Miguel is Director of Internal Affairs at the Yale Leadership Institute, an

avid bassoon player for the Yale Symphony Orchestra and Concert Band, co-president of the

Venezuelan Students' Association, and guest columnist for several on-campus publications.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS Structure of the Committee 5 Structure of the JCC 6 History and Present Circumstances Beginnings 7 Expansion of Conflict 7 An Untenable Peace? 8 The Conflict Today 9 What the Israeli Cabinet Will Address 11

Committee Positions 12 Suggestions for Further Research 20

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The Security Council is formed by 5 permanent members (United States, Russian Federation, People’s

Republic of China, France, and the United Kingdom) and 10 rotating members elected for 2-year terms by the

U.N. General Assembly. Currently, the 10 members are Argentina, Azerbaijan, Guatemala, Luxembourg,

Morocco, Pakistan, Republic of Korea, Rwanda, and Togo.

Under the United Nations Charter, the functions and powers of the Security Council are:

• to maintain international peace and security in accordance with the principles and purposes of

the United Nations;

• to investigate any dispute or situation which mightlead to international friction;

• to recommend methods of adjusting such disputes or the terms of settlement;

• to formulate plans for the establishment of a system to regulate armaments;

• to determine the existence of a threat to the peace or act of aggression and to recommend what

action should be taken;

• to call on Members to apply economic sanctions and other measures not involving the use of

force to prevent or stop aggression;

• to take military action against an aggressor;

• to recommend the admission of new Members; to exercise the trusteeship functions of the

United Nations in "strategic areas";

• to recommend to the General Assembly the appointment of the Secretary-General and, together with the

Assembly, to elect the Judges of the International Court of Justice.

Information gathered from official Security Council website (http://www.un.org/):

Structure of the Security Council!

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Our committee will work around the history and the current Israeli-Palestinian conflict, but delegates should

keep in mind that it is inherent to the nature of JCC’s that unexpected developments occur. Do not rely on

traditional historical solutions for the crisis. The JCC will be very fast-paced, with new crises occurring

throughout committee sessions. Delegates should respond to those quickly and creatively, and should keep in

mind that the other cabinet will also be shaping the course of history. Resolutions depend on interactions not

only with the crisis room, but also with fast response to situations created by the opposing committee.

Parliamentary procedure will be enforced, but delegates should not rely on regular resolution writing. Instead,

directives (short, concise plans of attack and/or defense, questions, and any other creative situations) should be

sent to the crisis room in response or in anticipation of diverse crisis situations.

Structure of the JCC!

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Beginnings

The Zionist movement was founded in the

1880s as a response to the increasing persecution of

European Jews and the desire to join the existing

community of European nation-states. For decades,

thousands of Jews immigrated to Palestine, then a

part of the Ottoman Empire. Yet war and conflict

were all but nonexistent--Jews and their Arab

counterparts native to the region coexisted without

great difficulty well into the start of the twentieth

century.

The time period around World War I

drastically altered the dynamic of Arab-Israeli

relations.

In November of 1917, the British government

issued the Balfour Declaration and called for “the

establishment in Palestine of a National Home for

the Jewish people.” Seen as a Zionist triumph, the

Declaration proclaimed a universal right to a Jewish

homeland--a correction to centuries of injustices

and crimes at the Jews' expense. Great Britain's

resulting victory in the War, which granted it

control of Palestine and the ability to implement

Zionist policies catalyzed tension between Jews and

Arabs who opposed their presence for decades.

The end of World War II in 1945 resulted

in the creation of the United Nations, a new setting

for dealing with broad transnational problems. In

November of 1947, the UN General Assembly

recommended the partition of British-mandate

Palestine into two separate states, one for Jews and

one for Arabs. Fighting broke out immediately

afterward, as Palestinian Arab states jointly rejected

the partition plan's implied Zionist influence.

In May of 1948, Zionist leaders proclaimed

the state of Israel with significant Western backing.

The resulting military conflict between Israel and

its hostile Arab neighbors became known as

Milhemet Haatzma’ut, the "War of Independence.”

With superior military tactics, the Israel Defence

Forces secured large tracts of additional land from

Israel's attackers. Following the conflict, Jordan

established control over the West Bank and Egypt

over the Gaza Strip, while Jerusalem was split

between Israel in the west and Jordan in the east.

Expansion of Conflict The Palestine Liberation Organization

(PLO), a religious and political covenant

advocating for the eradication of Israel, was

founded in May of 1964. Three years later, tensions

with Arab states reached a boiling point once more:

in what Israelis call the “Six Day War,” Israel

conducted a preemptive strike against Egyptian

military targets, strategically defeated its other

neighbors Syria and Jordan, and gained further

territorial control in Egypt, Syria, and Jordan.

Geographically, Israel tripled its original size,

winning the Sinai Peninsula and Gaza Strip from

Egypt, the Golan Heights from Syria, and the West

Bank and East Jerusalem from Jordan.

In response to the war, the UN Security

Council passed Resolution 242, which called for the

“withdrawal of Israeli armed forces from territories

occupied in the recent conflict; termination of all

claims or states of belligerency and respect for and

acknowledgement of the sovereignty, territorial

integrity and political independence of every state

in the area and their right to live in peace within

secure and recognized boundaries free from threats

or acts of force.” This resolution is the basis for all

subsequent negotiations between Israel,

Palestinians, and surrounding Arab states.

Conditions deteriorated again in the fall of

1973, when Egypt and Syria organized a surprise

attack on the Sinai Peninsula and Golan Heights

History and Present Circumstances!

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during the Jewish fast of Yom Kippur. The war

lasted for 3 weeks, ending on October 22 on the

Syrian front and October 26 on the Egyptian front.

After successful counterattacks, Israel maintained

possession of the Sinai Peninsula and Golan

Heights. The UN Security Council, once again in

response to regional conflict, subsequently passed

Resolution 338, which called for an immediate

cease-fire and negotiations to establish a “just and

durable peace in the Middle East.”

The period from 1978 to 1981 saw marked

improvements in bilateral relations between Israel

and the Arab world. After multiple rounds of talks,

President Anwar Sadat of Egypt, Prime Minister

Menachem Begin of Israel, and President Jimmy

Carter of the United States sign what became

known as the Camp David accords. Israel agreed to

hand back the Sinai Peninsula to Egypt in return

for peace and official recognition, marking the first

time Israel had ever been recognized by one of its

neighbors.

Sadat’s peace agreement, however, resulted

in backlashes: Egypt was expelled from the Arab

League, and its continued diplomatic relations with

Israel led to the assassination of

Sadat himself on October 6, 1981, by 3 soldiers of

the Egyptian Army.

An Untenable Peace?

The First Palestinian Intifada (“uprising”)

began six years later to protest the Israeli

occupation of the West Bank and Gaza. Palestinian

populations sustained protests, terrorist attacks,

riots, and assassinations for another six years,

killing or injuring over twenty thousand people by

1993. It is widely believed that the first Intifada was

instrumental in changing Israeli public opinion,

molding it in a direction more favorable toward

peace negotiations with increasingly unstable

Palestinians. The Intifada also marked the first time

that broad segments of the Palestinian population

became involved in the movement against Israeli

occupation. Until then, most of the opposition had

been externally organized by the Palestinian

Liberation Organization (PLO).

Though marked by great instability, peace

talks continued throughout the Intifada. In 1988,

Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat condemned all

forms of terrorism and recognized the state of

Israel. Attempting to restore stability, U.S.

President Ronald Reagan authorized “substantive

dialogue” with the PLO, which received further

support from the UN General Assembly in its

Resolution 53/196, which “reaffirmed the

inalienable rights” of Palestinians in the Golan

Heights. A new round of secret talks between Israeli

and PLO negotiators began in Oslo, Norway. On

September 13, 1993, Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat

and Israeli Prime MinisterYitzhak Rabin signed a

Declaration of Principles, in which Israel recognized

the PLO and gave it limited autonomy in occupied

territories in return for peace. In response, the PLO

gave up claims to Israeli territories defined by pre-

1967 boundaries and agreed to end the Intifada. The

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process by which Israel gradually exchanged land

for peace on the way toward a final agreement

became known as the “Oslo peace process.”

The following summer, Israel and the PLO

reached the “Cairo Agreement,” a conciliatory

Israeli military withdrawal from 60% of the Gaza

Strip and the West Bank town of Jericho. On July 1,

Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat returned to Gaza

and took up his new position as head of the new

Palestinian Authority (PA). Relative peace would

be short lived, however, as the assassination of

Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin at the hands of a

disgruntled Orthodox Jew in November

destabilized the peace process.

Under the leadership of right-centrist

Binyamin Netanyahu, who succeeded Shimon Peres

as Prime Minister of Israel in 1996, Israel made

even further concessions. In November of 1997, it

returned over 80% of the West Bank town of

Hebron to Palestinian rule; on May 23, 2000, Israel

unilaterally withdrew from areas of Lebanese

occupation dating back to 1982. In July of 2000, a

peace summit at Camp David ended deadlocked

over Palestinian claims to excessive portions of

Jerusalem and Israel. Palestinians accused Israelis of

not being willing to make the compromises

necessary for an agreement, while Israel believed its

offer of handing over 95% of the West Bank and

Gaza for the formation of a Palestinian state to be

generous. This atmosphere of on-and-off conflict

led to what is considered the “second” Intifada, a

period of reinvigorated Palestinian violence that has

lasted until the present day.

In response to the emergence of new and

increased tensions, the Israeli security cabinet voted

to expand the IDF’s capacity to target Palestinian

terrorists in July of 2001. At the same time, it

reaffirmed its commitment to acting in compliance

with the “laws of armed conflict.”

Following the Al-Qaeda attacks on New

York and Washington, D.C. on September 11, 2001,

international pressures to bring Israel and the

Palestinians to negotiations increased, in part due

to requests from Arab and Muslim governments

supporting the newly established war on terrorism.

For the first time, American President George W.

Bush began to support the creation of a separate

Palestinian state.

The Conflict Today

Since 2009, the Obama administration has

repeatedly pressured Benjamin Netanyahu’s

government to a) slow the growth of Israeli

settlements in the West Bank; and b) reignite the

peace process between Israel and the Palestinian

people. During his Cairo speech on June 2009,

Obama declared that the United States “does not

accept the legitimacy of continued Israeli

settlements." In response, Netanyahu argued that

he would accept a Palestinian state if Jerusalem

remained the united capital of Israel, the Palestinian

Authority ruled without an army, and if

Palestinians gave up their demand for a right of

return.

In 2012, the Palestinian Authority (PA)

successfully applied for admission as a United

Nations non-member state. The draft resolution

was passed on November 29 by a vote of 138 to 9

and 41 abstentions. In spite of such recognition,

however, the Palestinian state continues to exist on

a largely symbolic level. Israel has noted that a true

Palestinian state can only arise out of successful

peace negotiations.

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The years 2013 and 2014 are poised to be of

great significance for Israel and the international

community as a whole. A time has arrived in which

Israel must decide whether to take military action

against Palestinian neighbors and Iranian

aggressors, or if it should entrust the United States

with maintaining peace if the processes of

diplomacy and economic sanctions fail. In Lebanon,

Hezbollah is armed with thousands of explosive

devices and well-trained fighters; the Sinai

continues to harbor an al-Qaeda presence and the

Muslim Brotherhood influence in Cairo continues

to grow; farther south, Hamas is recovering from

damage Israel recently inflicted and rebuilding the

Gaza Strip into a new hotbed of terrorism. In a

region where drastic turns of events are feasible and

even ordinary, the only certainty is one echoed over

fifty years ago: as the complex wheels of Israeli and

Palestinian politics turn, the world will be

watching.

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With the escalating tensions of a new

Middle East, shaped by not only the ongoing Arab-

Israeli conflict but also the recent Arab Spring, how

will this cabinet create policy and plans that will

secure the peace and stability of Israel for years to

come? Time has come for concrete, grand designs

that will target the roots of the issue, rather than

address step-by-step momentary conflict solution.

Your job as delegates is to serve as Israeli

ambassadors for your own values but also for the

greater good of your country. Keep in mind your

political affiliations and what you’ve done and

proposed thus far, but do not shy away from

granting concessions and thinking in the larger

picture of diplomacy. Once you enter the committee

room, time will be frozen and you will shape the

future of the conflict – do not take a path already

traced, but instead think of what new ideas you can

bring to the table. Israeli settlements are a pressing

issue, and you must weigh in the political

significance of building new ones as well as

evacuation as deemed necessary. You must also

think of the needs of the Palestinians – how much

aid should given? What are some laws that could be

changed? How can you improve the tensions? Also

think about the region itself – what are some

important allies that can help Israel in securing

peace? What countries should we be reaching out

to? And finally, think about the idea of a Palestinian

state itself. Do you want one? Should we have one?

One state solution? Two states? Where? When?..

The questions are many, but we know you have it

in your power to make a difference. Good luck and

see you in the cabinet!

With the escalating tensions of a new

Middle East, shaped by not only the ongoing Arab-

Israeli conflict but also the recent Arab Spring, how

will this cabinet create policy and plans that will

secure the peace and stability of Israel for years to

come? Time has come for concrete, grand designs

that will target the roots of the issue, rather than

address step-by-step momentary conflict solution.

Your job as delegates is to serve as Israeli

ambassadors for your own values but also for the

greater good of your country. Keep in mind your

political affiliations and what you’ve done and

proposed thus far, but do not shy away from

granting concessions and thinking in the larger

picture of diplomacy. Once you enter the committee

room, time will be frozen and you will shape the

future of the conflict – do not take a path already

traced, but instead think of what new ideas you can

bring to the table. Israeli settlements are a pressing

issue, and you must weigh in the political

significance of building new ones as well as

evacuation as deemed necessary. You must also

think of the needs of the Palestinians – how much

aid should given? What are some laws that could be

changed? How can you improve the tensions? Also

think about the region itself – what are some

important allies that can help Israel in securing

peace? What countries should we be reaching out

to? And finally, think about the idea of a Palestinian

state itself. Do you want one? Should we have one?

One state solution? Two states? Where? When?..

The questions are many, but we know you have it

in your power to make a difference. Good luck and

see you in the cabinet!

What the Israeli Cabinet will Address

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Benjamin Netanyahu Benjamin Netanyahu is the current Prime

Minister of Israel and Chairman of the Likud party

in the Knesset. Born in Tel Aviv, Netanyahu is the

first Israeli prime minister born in Israel sicne the

establishment of the state. Before his political

career, Netanyahu served in the Israel Defense

Forces (IDF) during the Six-Day War in 1967.

After his term as Prime Minister from June 1996 to

July 1999, he moved briefly to the private sector

and ultimately returned to politics in 2002 as

Foreign Affairs Minister and Finance Minister

(2003–2005). His recent victory in the 2013

elections has made him the second person to be

elected to the position of Prime Minister for a third

term in the history of Israel.

Netanyahu is widely considered one of the most

influential Jewish figures on the planet. With

regard to the Israel-Palestine conflict, he has been

one of the leading advocates of a one-state solution.

Given recent developments and pressure from the

international stage, however, this position may

change.

Committee Positions !

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Tzipi Livni

Tziporah Malkah "Tzipi" Livni is Israel's

current Minister of Justice and former cabinet

minister, most notably serving as Minister of

Foreign Affairs from 2006 to 2009. Unable to form

a coalition government after the 2009 elections, she

served as the leader of Kadima, the largest party in

the Knesset, until 2012. Livni--a self-proclaimed

nationalist--has become one of the nation's leading

voices for the two-state solution, earning her a

reputation as a largely principled politician.

As Minister of Justice under Prime Minister

Netanyahu, Livni is charged with overseeing the

country's diplomatic initiatives and peace talks with

the Palestinians. As such, she is a key figure in

creating and sustaining dialogue for a nonviolent

solution to the conflict.

Shimon Peres

Shimon Peres is the current President of the

State of Israel, serving a largely ceremonial role

since 2007 after a lengthy career. Over a period of

sixty-six years, Peres served twice as Prime Minister

and has been a member of 12 cabinets. He has

represented five political parties in the Knesset:

Mapai, Rafi, the Alignment, Labor, and Kadima,

and also won the 1994 Nobel Peace Prize for peace

in which he participated as Israeli Foreign Minister,

producing the Oslo Accords.

Peres's recent political stance is more

conciliatory than that earlier in his career. Though

opposed to talks with the PLO, he is a strong

supporter of peace through economic cooperation

and has spoken of the need for "territorial

compromise" over the West Bank and Gaza. His

ceremonial post, while ultimately deferent to posts

of greater power, remains an important one, as does

his ability to influence present-day political

circumtances.

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Benny Gantz

Lieutenant General Benny Gantz is the

current Chief of the General Staff and Commander-

in-Chief of the Israeli Defense Forces. He replaced

Lieutenant General Gabi Ashkenazi, a prominent

Israeli military and political figure, as Chief of Staff

in 2010. Given the IDF's importance in daily life,

Gantz's role has catapulted him to public

importance in Israel. A key authority in military

decision-making, he is responsible for the day-to-

day operations of the Israeli military and for

carrying out political orders from the highest tiers

of Israeli leadership. As such, he has the ability to

mobilize military units and respond to diplomatic

and military crises around Israel.

Uri vnery

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Uri Avnery is a prominent writer and

founder of the Gush Shalom peace movement. He

is famous for meeting Yassir Arafat during the

Siege of Beirut on July 3, 1982, the first time a

Palestinian leader had ever met with an Israeli

official. Gush Shalom opposes Israeli occupation of

the West Bank on the basis that the occupation is

illegal, and also disagrees with the blockade and

non-recognition of the Gaza Strip. Furthermore, his

movement supports the two-state solution to the

Israel-Palestine question, with the 1967 border

between Israel and Palestine, and with Jerusalem as

the capital of both states. Recently, Gush Shalom

claimed that Israel's offer to Yasser Arafat in the

Camp David negotiations of 2000 was not a

"generous offer" but "a humiliating demand for

surrender."

Yona Metzger

Rabbi Yona Metzger is the former Ashkenazi

Chief Rabbi of Israel. During and after his tenure,

he has been a major proponent of friendly

relationships with other religious communities.

One idea Metzger has repeatedly proposed is the

establishment of a “religious United Nations” in

Jerusalem. On a February 2007 trip to India, joined

other prominent rabbis in signing a declaration

opposed to violence as part of a World Council of

Religious Leaders summit. He has also gained

support of the Dalai Lama in efforts to revitalize

interfaith dialogue across Eurasia.

Metzger has noted that he favors “every initiative

that can prevent bloodshed and terror."

Dani Dayan

Dani Dayan was the Chairman of the Yesha

Council until 2013. Prior to this role, Dayan he was

the Secretary-General of the Tehiya party and

Knesset member. Following his Yesha Council

election, Dayan began transforming it into an

effective political lobby. Despite his secularity,

Dayan has been a key figure in supporting religious

settlements and opposing a two-state solution,

believing that holding onto the West Bank is in

Israel's best interest.

Moshe Ya'alon The former IDF chief of staff from 2002 to

2005, Moshe Ya'alon currently serves as the Israeli

Defense Minister. His tenure has been marked by a

conflagratory attitude toward Palestinians. In the

past, he has stated that the “Palestinian threat

harbors cancer-like attributes that have to be

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severed.” However, he has also recognized the

importance of accepting a gradual peace process in

spite of weariness toward additional Israeli land

concessions.

Yair Lapid

Yair Lapid is a prominent Israeli

businessman, journalist, and chairman of Mavet

Le'Nechim, an NGO driven by the pursuit of social

equality. He currently serves as Israel’s Minister of

Finance and as chairman of the increasingly

prominent and moderate Yesh Atid Party. In May

2013, Lapid ranked first on the Forbes list of most

influential Jews. His rapid rise to prominence is

attributed to an agenda of helping the middle class,

ending ultra-Orthodox hegemony, and refocusing

elections on domestic Israeli issues over broader

problems such as war. On the peace process, Lapid

secured a remarkable popular consensus, taking

150,000 votes away from Likud and toward his

center-left coalition.

Naftali Bennett

Naftali Bennett leads the variously described

right-wing party The Jewish Home, which controls

12 seats out of 120 as of the 2013 Knesset elections.

Domestically, he favors policies associated with free

market systems and private business (economic

liberalization).

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Since 2012, Bennett has proposed an alternate

plan for managing the Israeli–Palestinian conflict.

Within his “Tranquilizing Plan,” Bennett opposes a

Palestinian state and instead proposes a tri-

partition of certain territories between Israel,

Palestine, and Egypt. Palestinians living in Israeli

areas would be offered citizenship or permanent

residency status. Israel would also invest in roads

for improved transnational connections. In 2011,

Bennett used factories in the West Bank industrial

region as evidence for the possibility of improved

bilateral relations.

Avigdor Lieberman

Avigdor Lieberman is the chairman of Israel’s

nationalist right-wing political party, Yisrael

Beiteinu. From 2009 to 2012, he served as Israel’s

Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister; other

past roles include Minister of National

Infrastructure and campaign ally with Binyamin

Netanyahu. In May of 2004, Lieberman presented

the “Populated Area Exchange Plan,” a proposed

Israel-Palestine solution involving the exchange of

Arab towns along the West Bank for Jewish

settlements along pre-1967 boundaries.

Lieberman’s history of service in security portfolios

has given him significant leadership credibility in

the national stage, lending recent promise to his

political party and Palestinian partition plan.

Shelly Yachimovich

Shelly Yachimovich is the current Leader of

the Opposition of Israel and head of the left-leaning

Labor Party. A member of the Knesset since 2006,

she is a former journalist, writer, and media

commentator. By December 2008, she had become

a popular candidate in the Labor Party’s primary

elections to the 18th Knesset, establishing herself as

a leading political figure. During her time in the

Knesset, Yachimovich successfully passed a wide

array of legislation focused on employment

benefits, immigration reform, and gender equality.

In 2011, she was elected chairwoman of the Labor

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Party for the 19th Knesset general elections,

defeating the incumbent by more than 10% of the

votes. She has been a leading advocate for the

advancement of the peace process, critical of

Netanyahu’s less compromising approach.

Amir Peretz

Amir Peretz is Israel’s current Minister of

Environmental Protection. Having previously

served as Minister of Defence and leader of the

Labor Party, he went on to leave the Labor Party in

2012 in favor of Hatnuah, a more centrist

movement. With respect to Palestinians and the

Arab world, Peretz is regarded as dovish (in fav

or of more expedited peace). One of the early

leaders of the Peace Now movement, Peretz has

tried to set more liberal agendas for his parties in

matters concerning the peace process, attempting to

equate the importance of solving the Palestinian

conflict with Israel's most pressing social and

economic concerns.

Shaul Mofaz Lt. General (ret.) Shaul Mofaz is an Israeli

politician and former Chief of Staff of the Israeli

Defense Forces. After a victory against Tzipi Livni

in 2012, he temporarily served as Leader of the

Opposition in the Knesset. After his tenure as the

16th IDF Chief of Staff, Mofaz’s expertise in

military and defense operations led to his

appointment as Israel's Minister of Defense and

Deputy Prime Minister. As Chairman of the

Kadima Party, he currently leads the smallest party

in the Knesset and holds right-centric views similar

to those of Netanyahu on the Palestinian peace

process: he supports maintaining major Israeli

settlements and an Israel-controlled Jerusalem.

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Nir Barkat Endorsed by the Labor Party, Nir Barkat

successfully ran in the 2013 Jerusalem mayoral

elections. Before his mayoral incumbency, he

started his career in the technology industry,

founding an antivirus software company called

BRM. Its success and transformation into a venture

firm netted Barkat international attention as well as

prominence within Israel. Barkat is described as

secular, contrasting with his former opponents in

the mayoral race. In spite of his relative secularity,

however, he is strongly opposed to Palestinian

sovereignty within the city, instead suggesting that

Palestinians rename Ramallah as “northern

Jerusalem.”

Israel-JCC 20

!

Suggestions for Further Research

Al Jazeera News

www.aljazeera.com/

BBC News

www.bbc.co.uk

Security Council News http://topics.nytimes.com/topics/reference/timestopics/organizations/s/security_council/index.html?scp=1-spot&sq=UN%20Security%20Council&st=cse

Foreign Policy Magazine www.foreignpolicy.com/

Human Rights Watch

www.hrw.org

Global Policy Forum www.globalpolicy.org/

BBC comprehensive guide of Middle East Conflict (a must read!)

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/special_reports/middle_east_crisis/

Interactive map of the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict:

http://america.aljazeera.com/articles/multimedia/interactive-mappingtheisraelipalestinianconflict.html

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