Mobilize Now for the Breakthrough to a New Paradigm

The temporary four-day truce agreed upon last week by Israel and Hamas and then extended for 48 hours, afforded a desperately-needed respite from the bombing in Gaza, together with the release of some of the hostages against that of Palestinian women and children held in Israeli prisons and, most importantly, the delivery of humanitarian aid, food and fuel to the Gaza Strip.

This agreement shows that breakthroughs are possible, even when the situation appears blocked. Due to international pressure, an Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu who had repeatedly vowed not to stop the killing and bombing before Hamas is wiped out, was forced to give in, at least temporarily. In the days preceding the agreement, there was intense diplomatic activity, in particular the mission of foreign ministers from Muslim countries to Beijing, Moscow, London and Paris (cf. SAS 47/23), emergency meetings of the G20 and of the BRICS, a special session of the UN Security Council called by China (cf. below), etc.. A key turning point was the decision of U.S. President Biden, following on his earlier summit with President Xi Jinping and numerous other initiatives, not to veto for the first time a UNSC resolution in favor a ceasefire.

Those efforts have now intensified. The momentum built up must be used to push for an international peace conference, and implementation of a viable two-state solution.

However, in addition to the diplomatic activity, millions of people altogether took to the streets, in particular in the United States, but also in many European cities, to demand an end to the brutal ethnic cleansing of Palestinians. The impact of such popular protests should not be underestimated. The Schiller Institute was among those protesting, and one of the very few groups to formulate concrete proposals for ensuring a lasting peace, notably the adoption of a new security and development architecture worldwide.

That was discussed at an online event organized Nov. 26 by the association “Humanity for Peace” . Presentations were given by Helga Zepp-LaRouche, chairwoman of the Schiller Institute, Ray McGovern, co-founder of the Veteran Intelligence Professionals for Sanity (VIPS) and a very active senior peace activist, and Vanessa Beeley, a journalist living in Syria, who warned in particular against the use of false flag operations by so-called Islamist extremists to discredit the Hamas. (The proceedings are available here.)

The highlight of the event was the viewing of a documentary film titled 8:15, HIROSHIMA, From Father to Daughter, the gripping story of a survivor of the Aug. 6, 1945 atomic bombing of Hiroshima, as told by his daughter, Akiko Mikamo. During the discussion following the film, Dr. Mikamo, a psychologist, stressed the urgency of preventing such a new tragedy from occurring, and also developed the notions empathy and forgiveness, that are so indispensable for achieving lasting peace.

Helga Zepp-LaRouche, in her interventions, pointed out that so many apparently local or global conflicts, such as now in Ukraine or in South-West Asia, are in fact pawns in the “great game” of geopolitics going back to the British Empire. The best way to defeat this “game” would be to bring the Western powers to understand that cooperation, not confrontation, with the Global South would be much more beneficial for them.