Transcript: Partnership for Peace Fund Advisory Board Meeting November 14, 2023

DFO Dan McDonald: Hello, everyone. Before we begin today, I just want to note that there is a closed captioning button at the bottom of your screen for those who need it.

And, with that, I will provide a few remarks here.

Administrator Power, members of the Board, friends of MEPPA—it is an honor to welcome you to our fourth public meeting of the Partnership for Peace Fund Advisory Board. I also want to thank our gracious hosts, the U.S. Institute for Peace, for providing this space. So, thank you for your hospitality.

This meeting comes in a difficult period in which some may ask if the time is appropriate to discuss peace. Each day since the horrific October 7 terrorist attacks has brought new and wrenching tales of loss and heartbreak. The question of what comes next is hard to answer even for those who have committed their lives to advancing a just and lasting peace between Israelis and Palestinians. All of you here have a deep connection to the people of the region. All of you are committed to seeing a rapid end to the ongoing violence and to achieving lasting peace. But that peace feels more distant than ever as the conflict continues.

It is difficult to predict what the next week will bring, let alone the coming years, but we know that hope is vital. By being here today, this Board is sending a signal—something better can emerge from this violence and grassroots peacebuilding has a role to play in that. It is our hope that not only will this meeting provide USAID with insight and advice for how to steer MEPPA through this incredibly challenging time, but also that your continued commitment to advancing peace will send a strong message. We look forward to hearing all that you have to share.

And, with that, I will turn to our Administrator, Samantha Power, for opening remarks, and then to USAID Mission Director Amy Tohill Stull  to provide an overview of USAID’s response since October 7. So, with that, Administrator, I'll turn to you.

Administrator Power: Thank you so much, Dan. Thank you all for making the time to be here. It's great to see some Board members we've only seen virtually here in person. And thanks—I know a number of you are actually in the region joining, including, of course, our—first of all—Mission Director, who you'll hear from momentarily.

So, it has been more than five weeks since Hamas's ghastly, horrifying terrorist attack on October 7. During that time, I have been thinking often about this group. I know many of you have loved ones across Israel, Gaza, and the West Bank whose lives may be endangered or already forever changed by the events of the last five weeks. I want to offer my deepest condolences to those of you who have lost family or friends, or who are fearing every day for the well-being and the survival of people you hold dear. We are all mourning the deaths of thousands upon thousands of civilians. My heart goes out to the families, Israeli and Palestinian, who have lost loved ones whose homes have been destroyed, whose family members and friends are still missing, whether held hostage by Hamas or buried under the rubble in Gaza.

As you know, the United States is supporting Israel as it responds to Hamas's brutal onslaught, and as it seeks to ensure that the terrorist organization can never again perpetrate such horrors. We are also working around the clock to address the grave and growing humanitarian crisis in Gaza. In a few moments, Amy will elaborate on our efforts to protect Gazan civilians and get food, water, medicine, shelter, and fuel to communities in need.

I want to make clear, though, that we recognize that these efforts are not having the impact, yet, that we need. The UN has reported that the fuel that they rely on is completely depleted, which will imminently force essential services—water pumps, sanitation facilities, wastewater disposals, and even the trucks carrying desperately needed supplies—to stop functioning. Fuel shortages are also preventing hospitals from treating patients even as injuries and fatalities continue to rise. Clean water will become even more scarce as desalination plants grind to a halt. And cellular and internet services are also predicted to cease this week due to the fuel crisis which is going to cause even more extended blackouts which, in turn, hinder emergency services, evacuations, and the delivery of humanitarian assistance. Israel's restoration of communications, electricity, water lines, and fuel to Gaza is imperative. Imperative as well—and we are working on this behind the scenes—are substantial humanitarian pauses, so that much more assistance can reach civilians so that those trying to exit Gaza can safely leave, and so that the remaining hostages, of which there are many, can be released through negotiations that are ongoing.

Even as Israel defends its people, it is imperative that the IDF adhere to international humanitarian law. Thousands upon thousands of innocent civilians in Gaza are paying a devastating price. This is also already the deadliest conflict for our UN partners. The deadliest in UN history, in fact. And, according to Reporters Without Borders, more than forty-one journalists have already been killed in the first month of the war. So, as the U.S. Government's lead humanitarian agency, we will continue to support President Biden's efforts to make clear to all parties that they must take all possible measures to protect civilians, humanitarians, and civilian infrastructure.

We are also making our case to Congress for the resources to respond to this crisis and others around the world. And here—this is really important—I do want to stress that even as we negotiate, every day, more and more access to civilians, we need resources to be able to take advantage of that access. The request from President Biden is for $10 billion in humanitarian assistance. I want to stress that this is a global number. This is not a Gaza- only number by any means. The numbers of people in need globally exceed three hundred million. Obviously, the population of Gaza is two million, but this is absolutely essential humanitarian assistance that USAID needs—and our State Department colleagues—need to be able to deploy.

Without this supplemental going through—this humanitarian assistance request—the USAID humanitarian budget is going to drop by thirty five percent—even as needs increase because of these new conflicts that have occurred not just here, but also in Sudan since last year—needs have increased by more than a third. So to see a thirty-five percent drop needs increasing by more than a third, you can imagine how many rations would have to be cut. How many people would find themselves unable to to feed their kids or find shelter for their families.

Cutting humanitarian assistance, whether in Ukraine, in Jordan and Lebanon, which are sheltering Syrian and Palestinian refugees from before, Sudan, Haiti—that is what these resources are for. Countless vulnerable individuals around the world.

So, there's a lot going on on the ground of course. It's a searing crisis. And given the very difficult circumstances, we could have decided not to convene today. I think that would not have been an unreasonable decision. But I think I, and George, and many of you felt it was very, very important for us to come together.
I personally just want to underscore how much we at USAID value your work, your advocacy, and your insights as we try to look to that future free of conflict that seems more and more out of reach.

We are still committed, of course, to the predicate for MEPPA, which is Israelis and Palestinians living side by side in peace. And we are still, of course, committed to each governing states of their own.

As President Biden has said, we cannot give up on peace, and I would add that, in fact, it is moments like this where it might feel tempting, and some may be giving up on a vision for peace, that it is especially important to hold on to that hope and to that vision.

Last week Secretary Bliken reaffirmed the United States's commitment to a two-state solution. That means—he laid out a set of things that meant—no forcible displacement of Palestinians from Gaza or attempt to occupy or reduce Gaza's territory. It means no use of Gaza or the West Bank as a platform for terrorism or other violent attacks. It means Palestinian voices leading post-crisis governance in Gaza. It means a sustained mechanism for reconstruction. And it must mean upholding all Israelis and all Palestinians rights wherever they live —rights to freedom, to economic opportunity and to dignity.

It is by respecting those rights, of course, that we would lay the groundwork for durable peace and security.

We know that securing true and enduring peace is not merely a matter of ending the violence. It will, in fact, require strong people to people, connections shared and mutually reinforcing prosperity and care for marginalized communities.

Your insight and your expertise has already achieved a lot on the ground. That intellectual and practical wisdom has put MEPPA in a position to have created, for example, economic hubs and business accelerator programs that bring together Israeli and Palestinian women entrepreneurs. That wisdom has helped MEPPA bring together Israelis and Palestinians to fight climate change, and you have played a role in helping connect Israelis and Palestinians to design sustainable water systems and to train young professionals in water diplomacy. Just as we cannot give up on peace, we cannot give up on important work like this.

But, as so many have said, we also cannot simply go back to how things were. On October 6th. The landscape of the region has changed, and we know—you know—that MEPPA will need to change as well.

We recognize the need for a full stocktaking of our programming—a review of how we work, who we work with, and how we can achieve the impact that we all hoped for when this initiative began. Your insights will be crucial for this broader discussion of what comes next, as communities on both sides begin to heal from their respective traumas and try to move forward.

I want to thank you for continuing your work and advocacy as you grapple with your own grief, fear, and uncertainty, and I will continue to do everything in my power to support your efforts to help Israelis and Palestinians recognize their shared humanity and common dream for peace.
Now, I will turn the floor over to Amy to offer updates from her team at the USAID West Bank and Gaza Mission. Over to you, Amy. Thank you.

Mission Director Amy Tohill-Stull: Thank you, Administrator Power, and thank you all for being here today. I also want to express my sincere condolences to the many people in this meeting who have lost loved ones, colleagues, and friends as a result of this crisis.

As with all of you, we're saddened to see the innocent lives that have been lost on both sides of this conflict.

I also want to take a moment to also acknowledge the tragic death of Vivian Silver, who was just confirmed killed by Hamas in the October 7th attack. Ms. Silver was a noted peace activist who lived in Kibbutz Be'eri near Gaza, and who was affiliated with Women Wage Peace, a well-known NGO in the peace building community. We mourn her loss, and we recognize the work that she did to bring Israelis and Palestinians together in peace.

I also want to apologize for not being at this meeting in person today. As you can imagine, it's a very busy time for the Mission, since we're playing a critical role to support the humanitarian response in Gaza.

As the humanitarian crisis unfolds, the USAID Mission has been front and center, working with senior U.S. government officials, including the U.S. Envoy for Middle East Humanitarian Issues, Ambassador Satterfield and his team, as well as with Israeli, Egyptian, and UN officials and others to put into place the system for effective delivery of humanitarian assistance by unlocking logistical impediments, increasing the scale of delivery, and improving efficiencies of operations. This includes working with all parties to expand the number of trucks entering through Rafah, supporting the UN to develop and negotiate a fuel management and risk mitigation plan, and ensuring essential services continue to function.

So far, due in part to USAID’s strong engagement, more than 900 trucks have crossed the Rafah into Gaza, carrying urgently muted commodities like food, clean water, and emergency medicines and medical supplies. This includes over 3,000 tons of food, 1.15 million liters of water, 1,720 tons of medical equipment, and 600 tons of shelter materials.

As you likely have seen, President Biden announced $100 million in humanitarian assistance for Gaza, and we are working hard to program these funds, and with Congress to secure significant additional resources for the response.

USAID also pivoted existing awards in Gaza to support multi-purpose cash assistance and electronic vouchers for use at vetted vendors, procurement and delivery of medical supplies, mental health counseling, and provision of hygiene kits. Critically, we have been working closely with the governments of Israel and Egypt to negotiate the safe evacuation of embassy local staff and their families, USAID implementing partner expatriate staff, Americans, foreign nationals, and injured Palestinian civilians, as well as the entry of humanitarian personnel into Gaza.

We're also voicing the need for both sides of conflict to respect international humanitarian law, and engaging with other donors to advocate for humanitarian pauses in the fighting and unhindered access, so that individuals can move south and we can ramp up efforts to expand delivery of assistance.

As this conflict goes on, we cannot forget about our committed partners, both in our bilateral work and in our work under MEPPA. While our existing partners in both Gaza and the West Bank have had to pull back on operations due to security concerns and lack of access and mobility, we are nonetheless supporting them to be able to adjust programming as necessary so they can resume activities when conditions allow, or through alternative approaches such as via online methods in the West Bank.

The Mission is in constant contact with its partners, and we've met with them several times over the past month to discuss implementation challenges and concerns, and how we can best support them through operational flexibilities. MEPPA partners are no exception. While peacebuilding work is very difficult to think about at this moment in time, I'm inspired by our partners who recognize that their work is more important now than ever before. We're using this time to work with our MEPPA partners to take stock of the reality on the ground, and consider how we adjust their activities going forward.

In addition, we're beginning to work with our partners to identify strategic shifts in how we approach peacebuilding in the future through, for example, greater focus on reconciliation and healing of the wounds that will arise from this conflict.

Given the uncertainty of the situation and the need to give space for concept papers to be attuned to the evolving context, we have postponed our MEPPA solicitation deadline to January 15th. And, for those of you who might be listening and interested in applying, you can find the latest information about the solicitation process at grants.gov by searching the keyword MEPPA. Between now and January 15th, we'll be considering whether we need to issue an addendum to outline new priority areas of focus.

Your feedback today as Board members is important to us because it will help to influence our thinking on how peacebuilding activities under MEPPA can better align with the challenging realities of the conflict and possible new opportunities.

Thank you in advance for your always insightful and invaluable input. And, with that, I'll turn it over to George to share his thoughts and to facilitate the Board conversation. Thank you.

Board Chair George Salem: Thank you, Samantha. Thank you. Amy, and members of the Board, and all those listening to this conversation—I want to express my sincere thanks and appreciation for the time you're taking to be here and to discuss peace.

The horrific attack on October 7th has jolted all of us. As the world has grieved Israel’s 1,400 dead, we have also reckoned with the growing horror of the siege and the bombing campaign of Gaza that has claimed over 11,000 lives, including thousands of innocent Palestinian civilians and over 4,000 children.

It has been hard for all of us to look away from the headlines and the desperate messages from loved ones. It's been even harder to focus for this meeting in order to direct our attention to what we share: a mission and a vision to achieve peace between Palestinians and Israelis.

As a Board, we have come to know and trust one another, despite our differing backgrounds and perspectives. I have no doubt that our relationships will remain strong through the current crisis, and in that way we can serve as a model for others of the importance of engagement, dialogue, and hope.
We are here today to model those values and to fulfill our mandate, provide recommendations to USAID, and this Administrator who is here with us today, for how to pursue their work under the Middle East Partnership for Peace Act.

When we last met, this was a simpler proposition focused around the process of issuing solicitations and evaluating proposals.

That work continues, but it is also happening now in the context of broad policy debates within the administration, for which USAID, led by Administrator Power, will have a seat at the table.

I, therefore, encourage all of you to share any comments on both fronts, and to provide your insights on considerations USAID should take into account when  reviewing new MEPPA applications in January. And, sharing your recommendations you have on how they might advise current partners, and tell us what areas of emphasis are more important given the current situation.

Please also share with us your vision for peace. Do you still have hope for a two-state solution? If so, what steps are necessary to make that a reality? What messages would you share with policymakers? How might they avoid the mistakes of the past, and there have been many, or take advantage of the opportunities of the present?

With these questions in mind, I'd like to open the conversation asking that those of you in the room indicate with a raised hand when you would like to speak, and that those of you online, use the raised hand feature to do the same.

We will try to adjourn at three o'clock, and my hope is that it will provide enough time to hear from each of you, and to have some constructive exchange of views.

I will start the conversation with my own thoughts. First, I cannot emphasize enough that a just peace is the only thing that will prevent atrocities like the horrors of October 7th, and the subsequent attacks on Gaza, from happening again.

Rather than turning away from peace, now is the time, in my humble opinion, to double down. We have an opportunity to defy history's expectations by turning grief into a bold vision for the future. And, if we wait too long, or allow ourselves to be caught unprepared by the unfolding events and the moment, we may miss the opportunity to press for a just and equitable two-state solution.

To achieve peace, it is essential that we are not myopic in our approach. MEPPA will have an essential role to play, but it will be strongest if it is paired with a bold vision for peace, led by the President of the United States, for a two-state solution—engagement of the Arab States, including those such as Saudi Arabia, that are considering normalization with Israel, and the leadership of the Palestinian people, and the genuine plan to build the apparatus of a future Palestinian state.

There is no replacement for bold U. S. leadership, and if that leadership seeks to integrate Israeli, Palestinian, regional and international voices, we can achieve something very important. Progress in the peace process often follows major wars, as we saw with the Madrid Peace Conference after the first Gulf War.

I would also encourage our leaders and all those listening not to allow disagreement, isolated acts of violence, or embedded hatred to distract us from a plan for peace. The work to rebuild economies, infrastructure—which has been so devastated—communities, and trust will be long and hard, and there will be many seeking to undermine it for their own gain. Only a shared purpose between all of our partners can allow us to move forward.

To uphold and facilitate such a vision, I encourage USAID to prioritize MEPPA awards to organizations that emphasize reconciliation, those that seek to work with communities in Gaza and its periphery, and those that have bold and innovative approaches to bringing in those who have not yet engaged in dialogue and peace.

I am also more committed than ever to the work of economic peacebuilding. I believe that efforts like BREB as well as the DFC portion of MEPPA should focus on the needs of Gaza in the aftermath of this conflict, as well as the West Bank, and promoting the economic resilience of Gaza as well as the West Bank.

And, building the livelihoods and economic linkages that will maintain a horizon of hope in both Gaza and the West Bank. Support for financial—for the financial sector, including the banks and economic resilience in the West Bank and Gaza, will be especially critical in this post-war phase.

With those personal perspectives, I will open the floor now for others to articulate their views.

I would ask that all Board members speak as briefly as possible since we are a Board of strong views, and I want every member to have an opportunity to speak in order to share their views. And, I would like to start, as we always do, with Congresswoman Nita Lowey if she would like to speak.

Nita, you need to unmute.

You're on mute.

Congresswoman Lowey: Can you get back to me in just a few minutes?

Board Chair George Salem: Of course, of course.

Congresswoman Lowey: Thank you.

Board Chair George Salem: Thank you, Congresswoman Lowey.

I see Sander Gerber and Congressman Wexler have their cards raised and Farah Bdour.

We'll start with Sander because I know you have to leave early.

Sander Gerber: Thank you very much. Thank you, Administrator Power, for being here.

But, right now the two-state solution is reminiscent of the final solution.

We all care about the Palestinian people, but the U.S. government and Israel's efforts have been to strengthen the Palestinian leadership. Yet, we know the truth of Hamas. We didn't have to read their 1980s charter to understand the truth of Hamas.

But, what is the real PA? The real Palestinian Authority pays to kill people, educates to kill people. The real PA exists to enrich itself and to impoverish the Palestinian people. The PA is similar to Hamas in that they both know the best hotels in Doha and their leadership is wealthy.

So, what we need to do—the USG. Israel, MEPPA—is to build a Palestinian civil society that can support a leadership that is for the Palestinian people. All of our efforts ‘till now have been the exact opposite. Our efforts have been to support leadership which represses the Palestinian people, keeps them impoverished, builds hate. It's time that October 7th should open up our eyes to change this.

With MEPPA, we can use the funds to support building civil society within the Palestinian people, and independent journalism, independent watchdog agencies. It drives me nuts when Secretary Blinken goes over and shakes hands with Abbas. Abbas is allocating seven percent of his budget to pay to kill people. Abbas' doctoral thesis in 1982, which he published in a book in 2011, is about this Nazi Zionist collaboration—how the Zionists help the Nazis send the Jews to the gas chamber. And that's the moderate guy.

So, we really need to redo our efforts—rethink it—as you said, we should rethink our efforts about peace. We need to support the Palestinian people and stop supporting the leadership. We need to start blaming the leadership—blaming the Palestinian leadership for the plight of the Palestinian people.

Thank you.

Board Chair George Salem: Thank you, Sander.

Congressman Wexler.

Oh, you want to defer to Farah, first? Ms. Bdour, please.

Farah Bdour: Thank you, Administrator Power. Thank you, George, Daniel, and the whole USAID team for all your efforts.

There is no question that October 7th is yet another dark day in the history of this conflict. The mass atrocities by Hamas toward the Israelis and the Israel retaliation on the civilians of Gaza has created unprecedented humanitarian suffering.

And, the problem that we are facing right now is that this suffering is being infused by a mixture of narratives. Narratives about contextuality, about self-defense, about impunity, about double standards, which makes it really hard to determine the response priorities in this context.

In terms of issues, for example, do we prioritize the issue of humanitarian aid? Or, do we prioritize the issue of trauma, counseling, and providing rehabilitation for the people who were deeply psychologically affected by this conflict? Or, is this the time to address the forced displacement of people, especially in the Palestinian context, when we know that the environment that they are living in is inhumane and unlivable? Or, do we talk about—according to our previous discussions—about islamophobia or anti-semitism, or the role of social media and misinformation in creating a very toxic environment that fueled this conflict? Or, what Amy was talking about about the need—to address the reconciliation and the need of dialogue?

So, there are a lot of questions to be answered, and even in terms of what type of organizations should be prioritized? Do we prioritize organizations that focus on youth given the fact that they consist of the majority of the population in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict? And, the fact that what happened on October 7th will create a generation of Israelis who are not—who live in denial for the establishment of the Palestinian state, and what happened in Gaza by Israel, or the violence against Palestinians in the West Bank—will likely create a generation of Palestinians who will be most vulnerable for radical ideologies.

And, even when we're talking about the strategies, do we prioritize strategies that focus on the short-term of making stability or long-term strategies of addressing the root causes of the problem?

So, in answering all these questions, I think it's very important to work under the assumption that the worst is yet to come, and what's happened on October 7th is likely, unfortunately, god forbid, is gonna happen again. And, this conflict has the ability to spread not only on a regional level, but on a global level as well.

So, I personally believe that we cannot afford to abandon the civil society organizations in the field, and I believe that MEPPA and the USAID are positioned to support these organizations.

But, if you want to be honest with ourselves, we have to admit that old approaches are not working anymore, and there is a need to adopt a new approach—a new radical, and, I will say, vicious approaches in addressing the conflict.

And, here, what we need from the USAID is to work on supporting these approaches. Approaches that create a new reality in the Middle East, a new security reality for the Palestinian, and a new political and humanitarian reality for the Palestinians.

And, in that way, I think the USAID should insist that no matter what kind of programing, no matter what kind of organization, that there has to be a serious component about ending the root causes of this conflict, which is the occupation, and creating the viability of a two-state solution.

I think by doing so, the USAID can help in creating a new generation of leaders that can emerge from this civil society organization who are committed for justice and committed for equal rights for Israelis and Palestinians.

Other than that, I think— I'm afraid that if we fail to do that, we will create a new reality, but not the reality that we want to live in. Thank you.

Board Chair George Salem: Thank you, Farah.

Congressman Rob Wexler.

Congressman Wexler: Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Thank you, Madam Administrator. As you eloquently said, we are all mindful of the very personal and harmful experiences that some of us and all of our acquaintances, family members have, in fact, suffered and continue to suffer, and our hearts go out.

I had a chance earlier with some of our colleagues to share what I think the message for this Board is coming out of October 7th, and was asked to to repeat it in effect on the record.

For me, one of the most profound observations post-October 7th is that, in a very real and, in some ways, suffocating way, we all suffer from our own narratives, and I readily admit I suffer from my own narrative of which starts on October 7th.

I have a very difficult time considering other factors, and I'm convinced, frankly, that the narrative I hold is correct.

At the same time, I hope I've learned that there are others who are, I think, as well meaning, or even more well naming than I, that hold very different narratives—narratives that consider factors that I do not consider as being priority factors.

It seems to me our goal as this Board in the future, under the worst of circumstances, is to attempt to support those groups that will seek to marry those competing narratives in a meaningful, constructive way.

My respectful observation to you in particular as someone so important within this administration, I would add two factors.

I want to preface what I say by saying I don't think I've ever been as proud as an American as I was listening continuously over the last several weeks to President Biden, and the manner in which he has expressed our nation's support for the security of the state of Israel and us standing shoulder-to-shoulder with them.

At the same time, though, everything we are doing here at MEPPA will not have the impact we all desire that it will unless it is tied to a comprehensive policy like our chairman made reference to.

And, prior to October 7th—I hope one of the internal soul-searching exercises that will go on is at the top level of this administration—the exercise of considering whether or not we didn't do enough, but more importantly, far more importantly, how can we now do much more so that, in fact, some light can come from this very dark tunnel.

If I may, with the greatest amount of respect, one other observation.

If we're going to achieve, even in the slightest degree, being able to convince people to convince—to consider other people's narrative, then those of us who have the most important positions, like yourself, I think, have to do double time, triple time, and making certain that we express the factual situations as fairly as we can.

And, I think your opening statement in one respect is an example of where I would respectfully suggest we consider our own approach.

For instance, the way you describe the fuel situation. I agree with every word you said. Every word you said needs to be said, but there was an omission. And, the omission is that of course there is a fuel crisis. Of course hospitals must get more fuel. Of course it is a human tragedy that they don't.

But, there's also an additional story. The story that Hamas has months apparently of fuel storages available to it underground, and they choose not to give it to their own hospitals to care for their own people.

There's also the aspect that the Israeli Government offered fuel to Hamas, and the offer was rejected. Now, I don't know the merits of that offer, or whether it was enough quantity or this or that, but to only present fuel from the context of what is the Israeli obligation, I believe, neglects the other part of the story, which is every time a rocket goes off, and unfortunately there are still many, many rockets going off towards Israel, it takes fuel to do it.

So, there are decisions being made by Hamas that directly impact the health and condition of the Palestinian people, and, I think, respectfully, we have an obligation every time we talk about Israel's obligation to provide humanitarian assistance—which

Thank you.

Chairman George Salem: Thank you, Congressman Wexler.

We have four hands raised. Harley Lippman, Ambassador Mladenov, Hiba Husseini, and Michael Cohen, and I’ll call on—who else?

Oh, Nita Lowey!

Congressman Lowey, would you like to speak now, or would you prefer to wait?

You're muted still.

Congresswoman Lowey: First of all, I want to thank you for these very important, informative meetings, and I look forward to getting together and hearing what everyone has to say.

As everyone in this room, I spent most of my time in the Congress on foreign affairs, especially with the Israel-United States relationship.

And, frankly, given what's happening now, and reading the newspapers cover-to-cover every day on this issue, I wish I could be more optimistic, and I wish I had something brilliant to say today, but I am very happy to have the opportunity to listen and to hear.

But, this is a very, very trying time for me and for everyone in this room, and I hope—I hope that we can see some better resolution of the challenges in the next days and the next weeks.

So, I just wanted to thank you very much for bringing us all together, and I wish I had something intellectually brilliant to say that can provide some peace and some answers.

I’m very concerned when I read about the youngsters in State Department who don't approve of what's going on—if we don't have the support of our youth, then where is the future? So, I just want to thank you very much, and just tell you how much I appreciate the opportunity, and I wish I had some good answers to provide today.

Chairman George Salem: Thank you. Thank you, Congressman Lowey. You remain our spiritual adviser throughout.

Congresswoman Lowey: Frankly, we all need some good prayers, especially in Israel and the surrounding areas. A little prayer can do a lot. Thank you.

Chairman George Salem: Thank you.

I will go with Harley Lippman, and then Nickolay, and then Michael, then Hiba.

Please.

Harley Lippman: Thank you.

What I want to address is two things. One is how do we get back on track of peace between Israelis and Palestinians? And, I think this is the key issue, how do we make that happen?

And, in this respect, I'm sure I'm going to be a minority, and I don't know how many people will think what I'm saying is of value, but this is where I think it is. And, I want to respond specifically to what Hiba said, who I like enormously and respect a great deal, because I think this gets in the way. It really is—what I'm going to say is boring. It's not sexy. But, it goes back to the creation of Israel.

This is where you have the problem, and I think it's a certain—I don't know if it's a Palestinian or Arab psychology or pathology— but at the time, you know, the UN, Christians looked at it, saw that there were problems, thought, ‘Hm. Two people want this land. We'll create two countries.’ And, they did. Not perfect. All of Ben Gurion's direct reports—the founder of the State of Israel—was against it. Said ‘what kind of nation is this?’ But, the Israelis said, ‘You know, in life, when you go for all and nothing, you often end up with nothing. And this mentality and this psychology is getting in the way—the Palestinians—from developing a healthy society and making peace with Israel.

This is the problem that—what has the role of Jews been historically? Scapegoats. For thousands of years, and it's the same now. You know, we all kind of grow up, you know, thinking the Holocaust is a black and white film, Schindler's List, it's the past. Sadly, it's not. It’s Holocaust 2.0. As someone who lost 86 members of my family in the Holocaust, it's happening now and it's avoidable.

You know, what I would say to the Palestinians would be something like this, and it goes back to what Hiba said. Hiba said it's the occupation. Well, if we stand for anything as a civilization it’s that whatever your grievance, you can't deliberately murder women and children and elderly. During the Holocaust, 6 million Jews were murdered. I'm not aware of any German civilians being killed. They had it worse than the occupation of Palestinians living now. Where were German civilians being killed? Didn't happen.

It's a question of where—it's a question of owning up and taking responsibility.

And, I know that sounds so broad and vague, but I think that's where it is. I think the Palestinians have to come to terms with that they made bad choices and own up. They don't.

I think they have to come to terms with the fact that their leadership is corrupt. Billionaires that don't really care about the people, bring them backward.

You know, at the MEPPA meeting in Israel, when I met with Palestinian businessmen, and many of which I’m in contact with, I was very moved by one who took out a picture and showed me a picture of his grandparents’ home and olive groves, and I talked about it.

And, I've been in touch with him. And, since that time, I've thought about it, and here's what I thought about. Around the same time, I had a grandmother who had a home in Odessa, grandfather had a home in Warsaw, grandmother had a home in Vienna, and another grandfather home in Berlin. They all had homes. They all lost them. I don't have their picture. What's the difference between me and him is one: I look forward. He's looking backward.

That's the problem. I think the Palestinians are obsessed with the past, and they have to come to terms with the reality now. And, if they were to choose a path like Nelson Mandela did, or Gandhi, or just some more constructive way, they could have a nation and deserve to have a nation. But, instead, you know, the way they're not even blaming Hamas publicly -it's just extraordinary to me.

Just blame Israel. Just blame the Jews. And this way, they're not getting to the root of their problem. And I think as a society, it's going to be extremely hard for them to move on unless they get to the root of the problem.

Chairman George Salem: Thank you, Harley.

Nickolay.

Nickolay Mladenov: Thank you, George, and thank you, Administrator, for being with us at this important meeting.

Let me begin by saying very clearly that there is absolutely nothing that can justify the massacres that Hamas inflicted upon innocent Israeli civilians on the seventh of October. Terror cannot and should never be contextualized. Terror should never be contextualized, because terror can strike anyone, no matter what part of the world we live in, no matter what faith we belong to, or what our national tragedy is, and we all come bearing the scars of our national histories, our national successes, and tragedies.

The Palestinian people and the Israeli people, perhaps more than anyone else, after the seventh of October, have seen the ghosts of the past revived in their tragic history. Generations of Israelis—for hundreds of years, generations of Jews have suffered persecution, [unintelligible], holocaust. Everything. And, generations of Palestinians have been subjected to displacement, to the denial of their right to have a homeland.

These are national tragedies that we need to recognize, and I think that, as we move forward, and we look at what needs to be done in the situation that we have been put in today, understanding the fact that there are these two very, very different realities that people live in is the first and basic, basic step. And, therefore, I fully support what Robert was saying earlier. Therefore, for us here at MEPPA, education, education, education must and be the first priority of all of our projects.

And this priority needs to also be followed by a very, very close second priority, and that is the focus on youth. Because without focusing on youth, without continuing our engagement, despite all the heavy difficulties that anyone dares to stand up today, to talk about the need for Israelis and Palestinians to work together in this horrible environment that people on the ground face, we need to continue doing that.

Thirdly, it is very critical, as far as I'm concerned, to also understand that we need to address the question of hate, the question of hatred, and this goes well beyond the confines of the Israeli and Palestinian conflict because, as we have seen, it has unleashed—what happened on the seventh of October—has unleashed unprecedented hatred around the world.

But addressing hatred means not only education and campaigns, it means also going back to the fundamental fact that the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is a political, not a humanitarian conflict, and It can only be resolved through justice and through a two-state solution that we are all committed to despite the difficulties that we face today.

Therefore, on the ground, our first priority today is to address the humanitarian situation in Gaza; to make sure that civilians are put out of harm's way as Israel fights Hamas's terrorists; to bring in aid; to bring in field hospitals; to bring in support for the people of Gaza in their terrible, terrible situation today.
We must understand that this is a political conflict, and a political solution can only come through leadership both in the Israeli and the Palestinian community on the ground.

And last point, we also must admit that we have failed on one other front, and that is the investment in civil society.

This work that MEPPA does now, as difficult as it is, is too small and too late. If we're not going to be able—if we're going, to be able to address the broader challenges of this.

Therefore, a bigger investment, a more concerted investment, not just by the United States, by Arab countries that are committed to tolerance and to understanding; by the Europeans; by other partners, is necessary in civil society.

I hope we can do that, and I hope we can have this in a much more coordinated manner, because otherwise we will only be addressing the consequences of the conflict, not the root causes that also need to be challenged through a new generation of leadership on the ground.

Thank you.

Chairman George Salem: Thank you, Ambassador Mladenov.

Turning to Rabbi Cohen, now.

Rabbi Michael Cohen: Thank you, Administrator, Mission Director, Chair, and fellow Advisory Board members.

In order for a diplomatic process to work, the international community must make a significant investment to address these two profoundly traumatized and distrustful populations.

This generational effort can be strengthened by establishing an international fund for Israeli-Palestinian peace to radically scale the economic and civil society investments needed to undergird a general peace process in the same way that the International Fund for Ireland paved the way for the Good Friday Accords. I, therefore, recommend that USAID and its MEPPA team take a lead in the establishment of this fund.

I also recommend that MEPPA programs must also pivot to address the most urgent needs of this unprecedented crisis, including by investing in programs that focus on social and emotional support for leaders of the peacebuilding community.

I also recommend a focus on shared society organizations where direct talks are also held, not just coming together with projects, but where they have the difficult conversations, avoid the simplistic finger pointing, but really try to understand why someone thinks the way that they do.

I also recommend a focus on programs that elevate the voices of Israeli and Palestinian peacebuilders.

I also recommend a focus on alumni work and ongoing partnerships between alumni of these programs.

And, finally, I recommend that MEPPA grants be so structured that a certain percentage of each grant can be utilized for upfront payments. Too many organizations, particularly small ones, do not have the capital to outlay funds to get a grant started since grant payments are often set up as reimbursements.

Thank you.

Chairman George Salem: Thank you, Rabbi Cohen.

Hiba Husseini.

Hiba Husseini: Thank you, Mr. Chairman, Madam Administrator, and USAID team. Thank you very much.

These are indeed very, very tragic times, and very, very difficult times, and very challenging.

So, I think MEPPA’s role is critical, as Madam Administrator has pointed out, to address the broader picture in terms of the two-state solution—as also stated by President Biden and the State Department—Secretary of State Blinken.

I think the tragedy of this conflict has—indeed, it’s root is 1948, but the occupation took place in ‘67 and, if you permit me just to be a little bit emotional of my character— in terms of my usual character—my family lost so much property and so many family members died in 1948. Many of them have become—could not return.

So, I'm not talking about having my family homes back in Jaffa or Ramle. The same thing happened to us in ‘67 in Jerusalem— in East Jerusalem— so much property has been lost. I have so many family members who cannot return, who cannot be here with us in Jerusalem because they were not part of the census in 1967 that Israel conducted right after the war.

So, the tragedy has accumulated, and I am privileged, compared to so many other Palestinians, in terms of my family, in terms of my opportunities. This has happened to the vast number of Palestinian refugees, and this is where the root conflict and where the emotions keep rising and accumulating. And, this war, this current war on Gaza, post-October 7th, and the tragedy of October 7th, and the loss of life on the Israeli side, on the Palestinian side as a consequence of the Israeli reaction in terms of moving forward with defending itself, with releasing the hostages—all of these are justifying the steps.

However, what we are also talking about is the enormity of the human suffering and the destruction. And, not only is it happening in Gaza, but, equally, is happening in the West Bank.

So, anyway, just forgive me for being a little bit emotional today, because it's really—being on the ground, going through this day after day—this is day 38—makes it very, very difficult.

Anyway, but that makes our work at MEPPA even more essential, more important, and we have to, through the support of MEPPA and the support of USAID, to enable the two-state vision, and to support the resolution of this conflict in a meaningful way that really provides the the security, the stability for everyone here and for the region, because we're also, of course, as you can all see, we're implicating the region and this conflict could even—this war could escalate.

In terms of our future—immediate future—and future projects, I think it's so important—some of these points have been articulated, but I would like to reiterate them—we need to focus, and I said that in previous meetings, we have to focus on education. We have to focus on civil society and empowering civil society even further.

We have to focus on future—creating future leaders. I agree that we don’t have all the right leadership in place. There are many factors for that:  political factors, socioeconomic factors. But, what we have to do is focus on building capacity for future leaders, which means we have to invest in youth. We have to invest in social media programs and propaganda. This war has demonstrated how propaganda and the warfare of propaganda has been influencing what is also happening in the region, and widely into the world—in Europe, in the US, and so forth. We have to focus on projects and programs that hold people accountable and leaders accountable and create the mechanism for restructuring the whole architecture of this conflict so that it really ends in a way that provides equitable rights for both people.

One important area that has really been ignored is the narrative that this is—this conflict is very much about the narrative, and there are two narratives. I agree. There are two narratives, and we have to focus on them and find ways to address them and recognize that each of us has its own narrative.
Reconciliation is part of healing and part of this whole narrative so it can move forward aside from, of course, the immediate humanitarian support, and In terms of health, in terms of the reconstruction of Gaza, and to focus on a vision that creates West Bank Gaza connectivity and puts an end to this trauma, to this deeply seated emotional conflict that we are witnessing, and it is unfolding before our own eyes right now.

Thank you.

Chairman George Salem: Thank you, Ms. Husseini.

Turning to Ambassador Mark Green.

Ambassador Mark Green: Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and I just want to offer a few somewhat narrow points, and forgive me if I analyze this work as a former administrator.

First, let me begin by echoing Administrator Power’s opening comments on humanitarian assistance. I cannot emphasize enough how desperately needed more humanitarian assistance is—certainly from the US, but not just the US. The calls that have been made for humanitarian assistance, whether it be from Secretary Blinken or from the UN, let's face it, so much of the world has simply not done their part, and it's extraordinarily important that call be answered to address the immediate suffering that is there.

Secondly, it's important—and perhaps this is something we could take up at another Board meeting, or Dan, maybe even we can follow up to Board members with some written materials—in the world of assistance, there are different kinds of assistance. Humanitarian assistance we provide without politics. We provide humanitarian assistance to countries with whom we disagree and disagree quite sharply. And the conditions that we apply are not political. They tend to be such things as fraud, waste, and abuse, but we do it out of humanitarian tendencies. And that is very different than the type of work that we take up on this Board, and we're talking about.

Secondly, civil society, in my view, is absolutely essential, and a number of members of this Board, in this session and in a previous session, have emphasized that we have to find ways to support citizen-centered, citizen-responsive institutions. If we don't do that, it is hard for me to see how much advances and how much things can improve, so I think it's crucial.

As I've said to a number of you, I think the great danger for the MEPPA Board going forward is, if we're not careful, we could appear to be out of touch with what is going on.

Projects that we might have supported months ago, quite frankly, they risk looking to be almost inane compared to what's going on and what it needs are.

I would argue that the Board—that the bar for our projects has gone way up, and that we have to be tougher; we have to be more ambitious; we have to find ways to be relevant in the immediate.

And, again, to me it is looking for the threads of civil society. Also, we sometimes find discussions on areas of the world like the Middle East, caught up in this—you know we have to find consensus. Actually, we don't have to find consensus. There's very little consensus for anywhere in the world here in Washington, DC.

I would settle for constructive disagreement—ways that we have institutions and settings that allow people to disagree, but to do so in a constructive way, where that disagreement at least provides an opportunity to be heard. We don't pretend that there's consensus. We don't pretend that the disagreements don't exist. But, at least there are things that people can invest in and believe in and participate in.And, I think that has to be a high priority.

I think we also need, as a Board, to break down what we're looking for, and what we approve, in terms of immediate, medium, and we can get to it longer term.

There are projects that in a different setting I would say absolutely. But they're not immediate and the needs are immediate, and we have to engage in more immediate terms. And, then, there are projects that we recognize are seed planting, and there's nothing wrong with seed planting, but we recognize that the needs are more immediate than that.

In other settings in the world, USAID has been part of very productive stabilization work. There is actually a stabilization assistance review that was a document forged between DOD, USAID, and the State Department in which roles are assigned in different settings.

We recognize what USAID doesn't do: defense, obviously, or even diplomacy. But, those roles are spelled out in ways that allow for immediate work on the ground in really difficult settings like Northern Syria, and I think that that may be something that we need to dust off and think of in this extraordinarily difficult setting.

So, I guess my principal message is to challenge all of us: a) let's join the call on humanitarian assistance again, cannot emphasize enough how important that is, but b) recognize that our work is harder, It's more important, and we should demand more from those who seek to partner with USAID, because all of it really matters.

Thanks.

Chairman George Salem: Thank you, Administrator—I mean former Administrator Green—

Ambassador Mark Green: I’m off the job.

[laughter]

Chairman George Salem: It shows you're a very wise man.

Let me, if I may, let me turn -

Oh, Harley, you have another intervention? If you could make it brief, because I want to summarize everyone to put it down.

Harley Lippman: No, I forgot to put it down.

Chairman George Salem: Oh, okay.

[laughter]

I'm going to summarize or encapsulate what everyone said, and then Administrator Power, I don't know if you have any additional thoughts you want to share.

Sander’s view is the leadership of the Palestinian people is problematic, and we need to support the civil society and the Palestinian people through establishing independent journalism, schools, and economic empowerment.

Farah Bdour spoke very eloquently about the forced displacement, and anti-semitism and Islamophobia, and the need to address reconciliation and dialogue. And, there was some discussion by her of where to prioritize. One thing she did emphasize is that the old approaches are not working. We need new approaches to create a new reality in the MENA region. USAID must insist that the root causes and the viability need to be addressed, and we need a new generation of leaders, and I think that was a consistent theme through everyone's remarks.

Congressman Wexler admitted at the outset that he suffers from his own narrative, and we each have our own narratives. And, one of the beauties of this board is, we are able to each present the narratives and the perspectives that we each have, and yet have civil discourse and attempt to deal with the enormous problems we're attempting to grapple with. And, as Congressman Wexler said, our goal as a Board is to support groups that marry the narratives in a constructive way. And, that MEPPA  must be tied to a very comprehensive package that is part of an overall process led by the top levels of the Administration.

Congresswoman Lowey is very concerned about our youth, and that has been her focus throughout her career, and she acknowledges the pain of everyone in the room and of the overall situation.

Harley Lippman talked about the creation of Israel and how do we get back on track, the difference in the narratives, the forward-looking approach versus the reverse engineering. He acknowledges that the occupation is an issue, but that cannot justify the murder of women and children. And that, again, we need to look forward and blame Hamas for the situation, not just Israel.

Ambassador Mladenov—nothing justifies the massacre of October 7th; terrorists should never be contextualized; we all come bearing scars. He had, I think, four points: education, we that must be the top priority of all of our projects; 2) focus on the youth; 3) to address the question of hatred which goes beyond Israelis and Palestinians and, really, we're seeing it everywhere, including in our own country here in America.

And, we need—addressing hatred, means that we need to acknowledge that the Palestinian-Israeli conflict is a political conflict, and we need to first address the humanitarian situation in Gaza, and we must double down on our investment in civil society. And, in this, he calls for not just for a bigger investment by the United States, but by all of our allies in a coordinated way to try to build up civil society and the institutions of the Palestinian civil society.

Rabbi Cohen wants to establish an international fund for Palestinian-Israeli peace, much as there was an international fund for Ireland. And, MEPPA programs must address the urgent needs of the peacebuilding community and the shared society organizations, and focus on elevating the voice of the Israeli and Palestinian peacebuilders of which we have healthy components of each—thank God—and grantees, particularly smaller grantees—a very practical suggestion—need some upfront payments in order to fulfill their programs and mandates.

Attorney Hiba Husseini talked about the critical role of MEPPA and her own family's experience, but focused on education, civil society, and future leaders, and building the capacity of the future leaders of a Palestinian society and through investments in our youth.

Everyone, I think, acknowledges there are two narratives, but we need to focus on finding ways to address the two narratives, and coming up with a constructive way to address them and to move forward. And, her final comment is reconciliation is healing which is, I think, a very powerful statement.

Ambassador Green echoes the comments that were made on humanitarian assistance and wants to look at different kinds of assistance. Civil society is essential. Finding ways to support citizen-centered institutions is essential. And, our programming, given the changed realities after October 7th, must be in touch with what is happening on the ground, which means that we need to change the focus of our projects. And, we have to—the bar is raised significantly for our project selection.

And, we need to settle—his third point was we need to settle constructive disagreement, and we need to look as a Board to medium and long-term projects, and engage in some immediate work as well. And, he mentions the USAID participation in stabilization efforts in places like Northern Syria, and he joins in the call for humanitarian assistance.

I hope I have faithfully summarized the views of the various Board members, and I now turn in the very few minutes we have remaining to our Administrator, Samantha Power, to see if she has any concluding comments.

Administrator Power: Thank you. That was a perilous task, and you pulled it off brilliantly.

I would just make a few broad points, and, again, having heard the comments summarized, maybe I want to avoid being redundant, but first, just to to respond to Congressman Wexler's comments—Hamas is routinely, I mean, as we sit here, endangering civilian life in a whole host of ways, and appears to show, you know, almost no—shows no regard for the welfare of Palestinians, whether where Hamas leaders locate themselves, or as it relates to provisions of all kinds that they may have access to that that civilians do not.

There is a lot of nuance broadly about how, if we had more than four minutes of opening comments about how—I would talk about the way things are or are not working on the ground whether it comes to the government of Israel, the government of Egypt, the UN, our implementing partners.

I do think it is very important to stress on the day that fuel is running out, actually the fuel is running out, and what the consequences are going to be. And, that's—I think it's a narrative, yes, but it is also just a fact. And just being in touch with Catholic Relief Services and World Food Programme and UNICEF and getting off the phone with our implementing partners on the ground, or with Amy and our team—this is to Mark's point about humanitarian imperatives—we, as the lead humanitarian in the US government, I do think it is imperative that we use all venues and all occasions to press that. But, I very much take the point that omissions can, you know, unintentionally signal a myopic focus on one thing over the other. But, right now, again, we have trusted partners on the ground that are vetted. We have systems in place where we believe that we can get fuel to these trusted implementing partners with whom we work all around the world; we can save lives and not end up in a situation where that fuel is diverted or put to the kinds of ulterior uses that, you're absolutely right, Hamas uses fuel for.

So, I hope out of this meeting, that this is something that all of you can advocate for in your channels because, yes, it is dual use for sure, but we have been working now for days with our partners on the ground to get modalities in place where I think we can achieve the humanitarian imperative without politics and at least very, very significantly minimize the risks.

Second: I think that there's—everybody—I thought, actually, your point about the impossibility of prioritization is so profound. I mean it spoke to me. I'm sure it spoke to Administrator Green. But, at a moment like this, you know, if you look at the two forms of assistance that we as a US government and the broader international community, ideally, would be bringing to bear immediate emergency humanitarian assistance to keep people alive, and, then, these longer term questions about planting seeds that eventually, you know, will grow and form institutions and voices that help change history—I mean fundamentally.

And whether that's through economic programming or through investments in civil society outside the private sector, but I just—I want to just acknowledge the breadth of need in order to bring about that vision that so many of us embrace. And MEPPA, to Mark's point about wanting MEPPA to be—to put it in it's positive—not how we don't want to seem, but how we do want to seem—we want to be relevant.

But we are, together, going to have to make tough choices about how to prioritize against not just a humanitarian need, but given how far away peace and dignity and security feel and how we, I think, recognize we can't go back to October 6th, what is that going to mean specifically and concretely about how best to deploy limited resources, and, to Mark's point, how do we leverage what we are doing to get other stakeholders to do more than bring rhetoric to these investments, because, you know, there are—we have sought, I think, from the outset to multi-lateralize MEPPA and I think there's broad conceptual agreement with that, but I don't know that we have been as successful in actually bringing resources to bear as we would like.

And then, lastly, I guess I would just say that there seems to be broad, I don't want to call it consensus, but broad support for investing in civil society and citizen responsive institutions—citizen-centered, citizen-responsive institutions—I thought that was a great way of putting it.

Of course, an emphasis on youth—that doesn't actually help us narrow the focus all that much because of the very significant size of the population that is under 35 or under 30 depending on how you measure it.

But, I think, also thinking—back to Congressman Wexler's point. I'll just end with this—about MEPPA as a vehicle—not only that we, as MEPPA, create space and respect space for narratives, multiple narratives, a kind of pluralism of perspective, but that we think as well about our programming in that spirit. So it's—we model it ourselves as challenging as that can be, and then we think about in this next phase, after this especially, how important it is to bring people together who have very different histories and very different perspectives on each other's histories and experiences.

So, we have a lot of stocktaking to do. This is just the beginning of the conversation we'd like to have with you, and I hope each of you will follow up with Dan and George and myself as we think through the the next phase, underscoring again that while what we do can feel small next to the gravity of what is unfolding, it is scaling this kind of work specifically that is going to bring us closer to the ultimate destination of peace.

So, thank you.

Chairman George Salem: Thank you, Administrator Power, for listening so intently and grasping all of the nuances of the various Board members’ presentations.

Let me thank each of the Board members for your commitment to this Board and its work, and to your serious, thought-provoking comments today and throughout our deliberations and work. We have formidable challenges ahead, but I have no doubt we're up to the task.

And, with that, I turn to Dan to adjourn us.

DFO Dan McDonald: And, with that, I'll conclude this meeting of the Partnership for Peace Fund Advisory Board. I wish all of you and your loved ones safety, justice, and peace. Thank you, all.