After writing the first draft for the Narratives project in April
1999, I contacted Benjamin Pogrund, director of the Yakar Center
for Social Concern in Jerusalem, and Professor Riad al-Malki of
Panorama in Ramallah. Riad introduced us to Walid Salem, head of
Panorama's Jerusalem office, and the three of us met regularly for
the next three years, to refine and then attempt to raise funds for
the project. Ultimately, we received generous grants from the David
and Elaine Potter Charitable Foundation in London and the Friedrich
Naumann Stiftung in Jerusalem.
We planned to hold seven meetings at the Notre Dame Hostel, across
from Jerusalem's Old City, each session to be introduced by an
Israeli and a Palestinian paper. However, by the time we were ready
to begin, events had already overtaken us in the form of the
Intifada and closures of Palestinian areas, as well as Palestinian
feelings that working with Israelis was inappropriate given what
was happening on the ground. Our first attempt, in spring 2001,
foundered on the unwillingness of many Palestinian participants to
meet publicly with Israelis in Jerusalem. Our next two attempts, in
fall 2001 and the next winter, did not work because too few
Palestinians would have been able to leave the area of the
Palestinian Authority and travel, whether to Jerusalem or
abroad.
Finally, we were able to hold our workshop, covering four of the
seven topics, in Larnaca, Cyprus, in June, 2002. This labored under
two difficulties. First, as most Palestinian areas had been under
curfew for months, many other organizations were holding
long-delayed meetings, and some of our Palestinian invitees were at
other conferences at the same time. Second, as closures were still
in effect, several Palestinian invitees were unable to obtain visas
either to come through Israel or through Jordan to get to Cyprus.
We contemplated canceling once again in response to an appeal by
several invitees who could not come, but decided to hold it
nevertheless, and were glad we did. We later had two additional
sessions in Jerusalem so all participants were able to come to at
least one meeting.
A stenographic transcript was taken of all meetings. Currently, the
transcripts and papers are being edited for publication in a book,
which we hope will appear in the coming year.
The 1947 Partition Plan
The following pages consist of the papers of Professor Moshe Ma'oz
of the Hebrew University and Walid Salem of Panorama, discussing
the 1947 partition plan and its aftermath, and the transcript of
the discussion that followed. It is not coincidental that we picked
this session to present in the Palestine-Israel Journal. The events
and motivations of that period are still among the most hotly
debated controversies between Israelis and Palestinians. We also
felt that both the papers and the transcript represented a
particularly serious attempt to grapple with the issues. The
transcript has been edited for reasons of space.
Our Appreciation
Benjamin Pogrund, Walid Salem and I have worked for three years, so
far, on this project, but it would not have taken place without the
support of a number of others. Our colleagues at the Truman
Institute, Yakar, and Panorama were encouraging and helpful with
suggestions. We are especially grateful to Dr Burckhard Blanke and
Ms Anna Koehler at the Friedrich Naumann Stiftung in Jerusalem for
having worked long and hard with us to ensure that the seminars
took place, as well as for their sponsorship of the project. We are
equally grateful to David and Elaine Potter and Michael Polonsky in
London, who co-sponsored the project. We asked Dr Blanke - who
happens also to be an historian - to chair the meetings. Much of
the easy flow of discussion was due to his impartiality and deft
direction. Last, but most certainly not least, we wish to thank all
of those who participated in the project, both for having made it
possible and for their flexibilty and good humor in dealing with
the many changes and uncertainties.