Richard attends 'OneVoice' event: July 2007
On Wednesday evening, July 25th, outside the Houses of Parliament on Abingdon Green, Richard joined hundreds of members of the public and Parliamentarians who gathered to send a unique message to the people of the Middle East. The event was organized by OneVoice, a grassroots Israeli-Palestinian conflict resolution group which has taken the approach to engage Palestinians and Israelis in greater civic involvement to promote the message of the moderate majority: that they both desire a peaceful solution and the realization of a two-state solution.
The Department for International Development Minister Shahid Malik and Shadow Foreign Minister David Liddington led the event, drawing upon the recent progress in Northern Ireland as an inspiration that even the most seemingly-intractable conflicts can be resolved. Participants represented a cross section of the political spectrum from Labour, Liberal Democrats, and Conservatives, Nationalists from Wales and Scotland, and parties from Northern Ireland.
The event was recorded and hundreds of people – including over 30 Parliamentarians – took their chance to come in front of the camera and record a personal message that will be sent direct to the Israeli and Palestinian people. These messages will be displayed at the simultaneous summits on October 18th, "One Million Voices to End the Conflict".
Richard said, “The positive work of the OneVoice movement is impressive. It fosters an inclusive forum for mature dialogue and action to address the real fears and injustices experienced by ordinary people in the Middle East. I am convinced that is what that the majority of Palestinians and Israelis want to see. OneVoice helps them to express it.”
