Update 30.11: video report of the event by Social TV (sorry: no English subtitles)

A rally in support of recognition of Palestine at the UN, to be held Thursday ( November 29) in Tel Aviv - at 6:00 pm opposite "Independence Hall" on 16 Rothschild Blvd, Tel Aviv.

Gush Shalom joins the rally which was initiated by various groups. "The recognition which the UN General Assembly is about to give to the State of Palestine, to be established alongside Israel within the 1967 borders, should have been a day of celebration for Israelis. The Israeli government should have been the first to support this move, instead of waging a hopeless and pointless struggle to prevent it" said former Knesset Member Uri Avnery, Gush Shalom activist, who will be among the speakers at the rally.

"Ending the occupation and establishing an independent Palestinian state is not only in the interest of the Palestinians. It is in Israel's most vital interest. The Occupation is a heavy weight around Israel's neck, dragging us into the depths of brutality, extremism and racism and utterly corrupting our society. The frightening list of extreme right parliamentary candidates, with which registered members of the ruling Likud Party came up this week, is but one among many and fast multiplying examples. Liberating the Palestinians from the yoke of occupation will liberate the State of Israel from being an occupying and oppressive state; a Darkness Unto the Nations of which Jews abroad - especially the younger ones – feel ashamed and from which they increasingly turn away.

Liberating the Palestinians from occupation and facilitating the establishment of their independent state would open to the State of Israel the gateway to a life of peace with its neighbors and to integration in the region where it is located. No longer an isolated enclave surrounded by fences and walls, but a neighbor and economic and political partner of Palestine and Jordan, Egypt and Syria and Lebanon and the other Arab and Muslim countries. It is possible, and it is vital to our future. The vote of the UN member states is a small, but crucial step towards building this future. That is what the rally, held simultaneously in Tel Aviv, is about."

Hereafter: the joint press release

The November 29, 2012 Initiative

Press release, 28 Nov 2012

Tomorrow, Thursday, November 29, 2012, at 6:00 pm, a rally of Israelis supporting the Palestinian political initiative to get recognition at the United Nations will be held outside the Hall of Independence, 16 Rothschild Blvd, Tel Aviv – the site where the State of Israel was proclaimed in 1948.

Former Israeli Foreign Ministry Director-General, Dr. Alon Liel:

"Abu Mazen's initiative - a historic event that will change the rules of the game".

"Abu Mazen's initiative is not a diplomatic gimmick. It is the culmination of a consistent and long-term policy by Palestinian President Mahmud Abbas, designed to realize historical justice through political means, without bloodshed. A UN recognition of Palestine as a state would enable the Fatah movement to get back to the political and diplomatic arena as a significant player. It would be so, even in light of the gains which Hamas made in the past last year via the Shalit prisoner exchange deal and the ceasefire ending Operation Cloud Pillar" says Dr. Alon Liel, former Director-General of Israel's Foreign Ministry, who is among the initiators of The November 29, 2012 Initiative.

The group's organizers endorse Abbas' initiative to get Palestine recognized as a non-member state by the United Nations. They are calling for a rally of Israeli citizens in support of the Palestinian political initiative at the UN, to be held outside the Hall of Independence, 16 Rothschild Blvd, Tel Aviv – the site where the State of Israel was proclaimed.

The initiative's manifesto states: "We, Israeli citizens, Jewish and Palestinian, support Abu Mazen's initiative to upgrade the status of Palestine at the United Nations, and call for the immediate establishment of a Palestinian state on the basis of the 1967 borders. On this symbolic date of November 29, it is time to realize the vision of two states. This is in the clear interest of both peoples. "

"The long-lasting and bloody conflict cannot be resolved through the use of brute force, weapons and violence, but through negotiations leading to the establishment of a Palestinian state side by side with the state of Israel. Only then can we ensure a better future for our children" says Dr. Nava Sonnenschein, Director of the School of Peace, one of the organizers of tomorrow’s event.

Among groups taking part in the initiative are the School of Peace and the village of Neve Shalom/Wahat al-Salam, the Forum of Peace Organizations, Psychoactive, Gush Shalom, One Voice, activists of the Meretz Hadash parties, Peace Now, Machsom Watch, Combatants for Peace, Ir Amim, Friends of the Earth, and the Association of Arab Environmentalists.

Speakers include: Prof. Galia Golan, Dr. Alon Liel, Uri Avnery, Dr. Ron Pundak, Mossi Raz, Nabila Espanioly and Dr. Nava Sonnenschein. Sufian Abu Zaida will deliver a message from the Palestinian Authority.

Artistic performance by Mira Awad and Yonathan Shapira.

Dr. Liel adds: "An Israeli government which refuses to facilitate the peaceful creation of a Palestinian state will find itself facing a political dead end, completely isolated in the Middle East. We have to choose between a diplomatic upgrade of Fatah or the upgrading of Hamas's political position. The advanced technologies of the Iron Dome counter-missiles can defend Israel against Hamas rockets, but not from the political myopia of Israel's own leaders. "

Prof. Galia Golan, an expert in International Relations: "The Palestinian challenge facing Israel must be understood in its full historical context. Abu Mazen wisely chose the date of November 29, which forces Netanyahu to admit the ongoing injustice. On November 29, 1947, the UN decided to established two states, a Jewish one and an Arab one. Netanyahu demands of Abbas recognition of a Jewish state which already exists for 66 years, but refuses a reciprocal recognition of a Palestinian state. He even rejects a limited and symbolic upgrading of Palestine's status in the United Nations. Mahmoud Abbas has called the bluff of Netanyahu's Bar-Ilan Speech, where the PM claimed to support the Two State Solution. Netanyahu's true position has been laid bare."

Contact: Nava Sonnenschein: +972-(0)50-8557594 Nava.sfp@nswas.info

Yifat Solel: +972-(0)50-3777723 ysollel@013.net

Lior Finkel: +972-(0)54-4449074 lior.Peace.Forum @ gmail.com