George Mitchell Says Vote on Palestinian Statehood Likely

George Mitchell addressed the audience at Georgetown’s ‘Conflict to Peace’ Conference this morning in one of his first public statements about the Middle East conflict since his resignation as Special Envoy for Middle East Peace.

Mitchell (a 1998 Common Ground Award recipient) said it is unlikely that the Palestinians will be persuaded to postpone their push for greater recognition from the UN. He further added that, should the vote pass, it is likely that Israel will retaliate in some way.

The Palestinian push for statehood is set to be put before the UN General Assembly on September 20th.

SFCG President, John Marks was also featured on the Middle East Peace panel to comment on Mitchell’s statements and perspectives.

One of the themes of Mitchell’s talk was how to keep hope and optimism alive while working towards peace in the Middle East’s seemingly intractable conflict.

John Marks focused most of his response to this idea, beginning by reminding Mitchell of his own words:
“I believe there’s no such thing as a conflict that can’t be ended. They’re created and sustained by human beings. They can be ended by human beings.”

SFCG has been working toward Middle East peace since 1991 and opened a Jerusalem office in 2000. The road has rarely been easy but John shared some of his ‘best practices’ for maintaining optimism:

1. Displace gratification:

When working on the Middle East conflict, you often have to find your joy and satisfaction outside of your work or in tiny accomplishments

 

2. The Woody Allen Principle – “80% of success is just showing up.”

Put another way, avoid parachuting into the situation

3. On s’engage; puis on voit

A favorite saying of Napoleon’s, it translates, “First you engage, then you see.”

4. Be an applied visionary:

Big picture transformation can occur, but it often does so incrementally

5. Have a high tolerance for ambiguity