Annapolis Friends Meeting

351 Dubois Road

Annapolis, MD 21401

Dear Friend of Middle East Peace,

In mid-August, Annapolis Friends Meeting (Quakers) Peace and Justice Center will be flying 13 Israeli and Palestinian negotiators along with six advisors and mediators to Annapolis to finalize agreement on water use issues facing the region as it strives to transform conflict into cooperation. We estimate the cost for flights, lodging, meals, and transportation will be at least $40,000. We have a bridge loan to go forward but need your help to sustain this effort.

Why do we believe this is worth your support? Many of the long-standing issues of the region are currently being addressed on various levels. Water distribution is one of several critical issues yet to be resolved. Israeli and Palestinian teams have formed to develop a model agreement on water that will need intensive negotiation with international assistance to finalize. If a model water agreement is completed at the August Annapolis conference, it will be promoted to Israeli and Palestinian governments for inclusion in their official negotiations, then to an international donors' conference that could help finance massive improvements to water infrastructure.

Who is participating and guiding these efforts? These delegations, brought together by Annapolis Friends Peace and Justice Center through the Geneva Initiative, include government ministers, advisers to government leaders, hydrologists, water commissioners, professors, international law experts, and communication specialists from both Israel and Palestine. Prominent advisors and mediators will assist in the negotiations, including Ambassador John McDonald of the Institute for Multi-Track Diplomacy; Jerry Delli Priscoli, civilian Senior Advisor on international water issues for the U. S. Army Corps of Engineers; M.I.T. Economist Franklin Fisher, Director of Harvard's Mid-East Water Project; Gabriel Eckstein, international law professor and advisor to multinational organizations; Doug Caroom, U.S. water attorney. All participants have volunteered their time and services.

What is the background? When the Israeli government and Palestinian Authority officially called a halt to their last major peace negotiations in 2001, some negotiators on both sides refused to quit. With Swiss support, they drafted “the Geneva Accord” – a model agreement which could resolve all but a few important pieces of the long-standing disputes. The negotiators from each side formed an NGO called “the Geneva Initiative” (GI) to promote the model peace agreement to their respective governments and populations. In November 2007, GI representatives met informally in Annapolis during the official Bush administration efforts and talked about several crucial final issues: in particular, how can the two peoples resolve their conflict over water use even as they face the worst drought in the region’s modern history? Since November, Geneva Initiative representatives have been working with Annapolis Friends Peace and Justice Center to identify experts, advisors, and mediators to help craft a final agreement. This is the task of the August conference in Annapolis.

What is needed? We need to raise at least $40,000 to fly these negotiators, advisors, and mediators to Annapolis to complete the work they have spent years preparing for. Round trip airfares from the Middle East will average about $2,300 per participant. Others will fly from Canada, France, and various U.S. states. Our conference site for four days will be approximately $10,000.

How can you contribute to the Geneva Initiative Water Issues Negotiations? You can contribute financially in two ways:

1. By check to Annapolis Friends Meeting with the notation, “Water Negotiations,” and mail it to Treasurer, Annapolis Friends Meeting, 351 Dubois Road, Annapolis, MD 21401.

2. By credit card, go to the Annapolis Friends Meeting Website, www.quaker.org/annapolis, and click on Peace and Justice Center, then "donate now" at the end of the description.

We would like to involve donors in special ways, appropriate to their interests and logistics. Certainly, we will keep you updated as the conference nears, send you a list of suggested readings to learn more about the water issues in the region, and invite you to the final press conference to hear the results (time and date not yet set).

To learn more, contribute ideas, or become an ongoing supporter, contact Barbara Thomas (410-867-2473, bthomas60@gmail.com), Clerk, Annapolis Friends Meeting.

In Faith,

Annapolis Friends Peace and Justice Center