Thanks to the generosity of the Atkin Foundation, ICSR is offering young leaders from Israel and the Arab world the opportunity to come to London for a period of four months, producing a research paper as the result of their work. The purpose of the fellowship is to provide young leaders from Israel and the Arab world with an opportunity to develop their ideas on how to further peace and understanding in the Middle East through research, debate and constructive dialogue in a neutral political environment.
In his paper ‘Making Peace Work: Bridging The Gap Between Hopes and Deeds’, Manar Rachwani addresses what seems to be a paradox within Arab attitudes towards peace with Israel, represented in announced desires for peace combined with contradictable deeds on the ground. The core of this paradox, according to Rachwani, is embodied in the perception of “peace” by the Arab peoples, which is supposed to be comprehensive. Nevertheless, Rachwani argues that a real ‘warm’ peace in the Middle East cannot be achieved on merely political level. Such peace requires broad reforms on local levels in Arab countries. Also, political progress towards peace should go hand in hand with normalisation to create mutual trust on the both sides of the conflicts.
