ALLMEP Staff from Around the World Convene Members During Regional Trip
Earlier this month, ALLMEP’s advocacy staff from London, Berlin, Paris, California, and Washington D.C., traveled to the region for the first time since October 7, joining our regional staff for a robust week of meetings and to be in community with those in the region. This long-awaited trip for ALLMEP’s international team offered us a chance to connect with our members, policymakers, and other peacebuilders in the region.
The trip commenced with ALLMEP staff joining thousands of Israeli and Palestinian peacebuilders at the Time is Now event at the Menora Mivtachim Arena in Tel Aviv. The event was attended by over 6,000 people and the product of close coordination of 50+ NGOs– many of them ALLMEP members– that we were delighted to support. It was profound to see so many of our members gathered to demand a like-minded future.
ALLMEP also held meetings with 60+ ALLMEP member organizations, including group meetings in Jerusalem and Ramallah. These meetings explored the ways in which ALLMEP can support our members’ work and our shared goals, as well as ideas for how the peacebuilding field’s collective efforts can impact the dynamic and difficult context facing our community. The meetings also provided the space for members to share their concerns and updates with other ALLMEP members. We covered ideas around grassroots support for a ceasefire and hostage deal, the development of “day after” plans from civil society, as well as trauma-sensitive programming and AI-powered research we’re leading into effective messaging for both populations about the need for non-violence and a diplomatic horizon to be the essential priorities following this war.
Regional Team Meeting in Ramallah
Regional Team Meeting in Jerusalem
After the release of the G7 Communiqué last month, one primary focus on the trip was to meet with diplomats and regional staff from G7 countries to address ALLMEP’s G7 Campaign and emphasize the critical role of civil society in future diplomatic initiatives. ALLMEP staff held numerous diplomatic meetings with ambassadors and diplomatic staff in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem.
Throughout the week, ALLMEP staff also met in one-on-one settings with members, Peace Now, Parents Circle – Families Forum, Itach-Maaki (Women’s Lawyers for Social Justice), EcoPeace, Givat Haviva, Tsofen-Tashbik, Mehazkim, Abraham Initiatives, Standing Together, Hand in Hand, and also partners Friedrich Ebert Stiftung, Heinrich-Böll Stiftung, and Konrad Adenauer Stiftung.
At this critical moment in the peacebuilding field in Israel and Palestine, it was incredibly moving to be in community with those in the region and continue to share our vision for a future of shared equality, justice, cooperation, and peace.
