Nice sentiments help Obama win the Nobel

October 11, 2009 - 12:56 PM by · 3 Comments
Filed under: coexistence, Politics, War 

I went away for a few days camping and came back to discover that President Barack Obama had won the Nobel peace prize. I was so surprised that I wondered briefly if while I’d been away I had got stuck in some kind of time warp, and a whole year had gone by.

And the prize goes to... President Obama meets Israeli PM Bibi Netanyahu and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in an effort to push forward peace. Photo by Avi Ohayon/GPO/Flash 90

And the prize goes to... President Obama meets Israeli PM Bibi Netanyahu and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in an effort to push forward peace. Photo by Avi Ohayon/GPO/Flash 90

It seemed a far more likely explanation than that the Nobel prize committee had actually decided to award a US president, in power for just a twinkle of the eye, with a peace prize for doing – nothing actually.

I’m a fan of Obama, and I admire what he stands for and the promise he holds. But that’s all we’ve got so far – just a promise, and a few statements about peace and goodwill to all men.

The peace committee said the prize was “for his extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples”, while Time Magazine added that it was “primarily for his work on and commitment to nuclear disarmament.” From where I sit, however, with Iran threatening to blow Israel off the planet and fast approaching the nuclear capacity to do just that, Obama’s sugary wish to disarm the world seems pretty frivolous.

I don’t often agree with Republicans, but Michael Steel, chairman of the Republican National Committee got it right when he said: “What has President Obama actually accomplished? It is unfortunate that the president’s star power has outshined tireless advocates who made real achievements working toward peace and human rights.”

Here in this region of the world, where conflict is in your face, and peace seems so elusive and unattainable, there are many people working on the frontlines of the peace movement who really do deserve a prize.

They face the conflict every single day, and still continue working for change, even at great cost to themselves.

What about Dr. Izzeldin Abuelaish , the Palestinian doctor who lost his children in the bombing in Gaza, and still campaigns for peace? What about the founders of Parent’s Circle , an organization set up by Israelis and Palestinians who lost loved ones in the conflict but use their bereavement to fight ardently for peace, people like Robi Damelin, who wrote a public letter to Ynet warning of the terrible cost of the intifada as talk grows of the possibility of a new third intifada breaking out in Israel?

What about the dozens and dozens of peace organizations here where Jews and Arabs work side by side, bringing people together, and trying to create a different reality. Every one of us could cite an example. These people aren’t just making nice speeches about peace, they are actually out there making it.

If we are really lucky, in four years from now, Obama will actually deserve a Nobel peace prize, but as we all know, nice sentiments don’t always lead to action. In the meantime, couldn’t the Norwegians find someone who’s actually achieved something?

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Bagir and Obama

June 9, 2009 - 6:48 AM by · 6 Comments
Filed under: Business, coexistence, design, Environment, General, Politics, Technology 

Is he wearing Ecogir?

Is he wearing Ecogir?

President Obama isn’t the first guy to try and create a better working relationship between Israel and its neighbors…or so Israeli suit manufacturer Bagir is aiming to point out to whoever’s listening.

Turns out that Bagir’s latest technological suit, ECOGIR, which is made from recycled plastic bottles and has been written about on this site, is manufactured at Metco, a tailored clothing factory in Port Said. And 50% of what Bagir manufactures in Port Said goes to the U.S. while the other half heads to the UK market. In the U.S., EcoGir is available at Sears stores and online at Sears.com, where it’s called the Covington Perfect Poly-Wool Blazer. The Covington Perfect Poly-Wool Blazer

According to Offer Gilboa, Bagir’s CEO, the company “is grateful to the Obama administration for showing support in this area and appreciate the new administration’s effort in the regional peace process. Bagir has demonstrated a working relationship can not only be possible, but also profitable and congenial.”

Bagir, like Delta Galil and Tefron, the two other Israeli textile companies that do business with their Jordanian and Egyptian neighbors, has been working with Egypt since the U.S. signed a historic trade partnership with both Egypt and Israel five years ago. The agreement created Qualified Industrial Zones (QIZs) in Egypt and Jordan, which allow for duty-free export of certain Egyptian and Jordanian goods that contain Israeli inputs to the U.S.

The QIZs have created working relationships that continue despite war, disagreements and political machinations. Work continued this winter(see page 14), in spite of the fighting in Gaza, and during other periods of upheaval.

You figure that if people can get along well enough to make suits out of recycled bottles, they could figure out other methods of getting along.

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