Defeating Denormalization Shared Palestinian and Israeli Perspectives on a New Path to Peace

Key Findings:

This policy book gives voice to Palestinians who call for reconciliation with Israelis even in the absence of a final political agreement between the Palestinian and Israeli governments. 

The strategy of "denormalization of relations" pursued by the Palestinian leadership represents a pivotal yet relatively less understood aspect of the global Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) campaign against Israel. This approach, inspired by the international anti-normalization movement that contributed to the end of South African apartheid in 1994, seeks to isolate Israel through diplomatic and economic means. The Palestinian leadership portrays Israel as a new apartheid regime, and aims to foster global isolation and severed ties between Israel and the Palestinian Authority, the Palestinian populace, and the international community.

While these measures are presented as grassroots efforts to pressure Israel, they do not necessarily align with the preferences or interests of the average Palestinian. Numerous Palestinians, along with Israelis, advocate for cooperation over denormalization, spanning various sectors such as commerce, technology, healthcare, sports, academia, and culture. The desire for mutual cooperation extends to interactions with Israeli residents, utilities, and infrastructure, indicating a yearning for positive engagement.

The collection features expert contributions that shed light on the implications of denormalization: 

Journalist Khaled Abu Toameh delves into The Palestinian Authority’s Policy of Denormalization and how this strategy (championed by the Palestinian leadership) diverges from the concerns of the Palestinian public and adversely affects those seeking cooperation with Israel. 

Col. (res.) Dr. Danny Tirza underscores the potential consequences of sustained BDS and denormalization on West Bank Industrial Zones, potentially driving Israeli and Palestinian companies to relocate within Israel and leading to Palestinian unemployment. Notably, shared industrial zones in the West Bank are identified as crucial to Palestinian economic growth and employment.

Prof. Ali Qleibo discusses the desire for defined status in multicultural Jerusalem.

Daniel Birnbaum, CEO of SodaStream, discusses the business as a model of “Economic Peace” due to his witnessing of not simply “experiments” or “exercises” in coexistence and tolerance on the factor floor — but organic peaceful and harmonious relations between Israeli and Palestinian employees. 

Nabil Basherat, a Palestinian Muslim manager of SodaStream, highlights instances of successful cooperation at the Mishor Adumin factory and offers insights about the value of positive workplace culture. 

Rami Levy, CEO of the Rami Levy supermarket chain, and Nadia Aloush, a Palestinian Muslim woman employed by Rami Levy, exemplify models of good-neighborly relations, equality, and opportunity.

Nadia Aloush, an employee of Rami Levy, offers a Palestinian woman’s perspective on working for an Israeli company.

Pinhas Inbari discusses EU-PA Cooperation and its risks to the Palestinian future.

Prof. Mohammed S. Dajani Daoudi a former tenured professor at Al-Quds University, provides insight into the principle of wasatia – Islamic moderation — as an effort to foster a culture of religious, social, and political moderation and reconciliation. His efforts to lay the groundwork for Palestinian and Israeli children to grow up in peace, security, prosperity, and harmony include defying death threats by Palestinian extremists to lead a group of Palestinian students on a field trip to the Auschwitz death camp in former Nazi-occupied Poland (for which he lost his employment at Al-Quds University).

The shared perspectives in this anthology have not been reflected in the declarations and actions of the Palestinian leadership or of political and “human rights” nongovernmental organizations that have trumpeted the international BDS and apartheid-denormalization discourses. The anthology underscores the benefits of cooperation and economic reconciliation, emphasizing shared assessments from both Palestinian and Israeli contributors that diverge from the BDS and denormalization narrative.