Yup. Things can only go uphill from here.
Posted on 02/20/2004 12:12:03 PM PST by yonif
After countless Middle East peace initiatives involving politicians, the people behind the One Voice initiative that is set to be launched next week decided to appeal to ordinary Israeli and Palestinian citizens.
Who better to appeal to average and apathetic Israelis and Palestinians than Jason Alexander, who played the ultimate average Joe, George Costanza, on the hit NBC sitcom Seinfeld?
Alexander is set to arrive in Israel on Monday for a series of media events and meetings designed to promote One Voice, a new diplomatic initiative that aims to poll Israelis and Palestinians over the next six-to-18 months in order to obtain a consensus on a final status agreement to end the Middle East conflict.
At the initiative's formal launching ceremony at IBM headquarters in Petah Tikva on Tuesday, Alexander is set to unveil a sophisticated new "public negotiations platform," a computer system that will tabulate voting by Israelis and Palestinians via the Internet, mail, and public polling stations that will be set up in malls, squares, and campuses.
Voting on a questionnaire designed by a team of Israeli and Palestinian experts that is intended to gauge priorities on contentious issues is set to begin on the Internet on Tuesday, via newspaper ads in the Hebrew and Arabic press next Friday, and in polling stations the following week.
To promote the initiative, Alexander is to meet with Israeli student leaders at Bar Ilan University and Palestinian student leaders at Bir Zeit University.
Delegations from the National Union of Israeli Students and student unions in Hebron, Tulkarm, the Gaza Strip, and Jenin met last Sunday to begin One Voice's grassroots campaign.
Alexander is to travel to Ramallah for a luncheon with Palestinian actors, directors, entertainers, artists, and journalists. He is also to meet with Israeli actors at the Cameri Theater in Tel Aviv.
Born Jay Greenspan, Alexander has said he is a proud Jew who cares about Israel. He first heard about One Voice at a meeting at the Los Angeles home of married actors Danny De Vito and Rhea Perlman. Alexander volunteered to be the first of many American celebrities to promote the initiative in the Middle East.
One Voice Regional Director Muhammad Darawshe praised Alexander for showing "courage, leadership, and foresight" to come to Israel and the PA. He said Alexander is not scared of coming, and his visit will be under tight security.
Darawshe said the visit of an actor who played a character who symbolizes the frustrated American everyman is a "an interesting coincidence."
"Alexander expressed interest in coming out of his own goodwill," Darawshe said. "Grassroots means average people taking ownership. Any public figure like George can encourage apathetic people to take their destiny into their own hands." Asked whether he is concerned that diplomatic events like a unilateral withdrawal from the Gaza Strip could render his initiative irrelevant, Darawshe said that he would welcome it if Israeli or Palestinian leaders take any positive steps to shorten the distance to the end of the conflict.
"We welcome any bypass in a positive direction," Darawshe said. "If someone wants to take the ball and run with it, that's positive. We don't expect anyone to deliver in 18 months what hasn't been delivered in the past 100 years, but we would be glad to be surprised if someone bypasses us. It could make our work a lot easier."
That whole KFC chicken affair lost him whatever credibility he may have had. He's a bad seed, though, the worst seed I've ever seen.
Yup. Things can only go uphill from here.
How about Art van de Lay?
First comes the Airing of Grievances.
"I'm here to teach the folks in Ramallah about Festivus."
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