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What's Next for the Arc?

Admin — Thu, 13 Oct 2011 15:00:02 +0000

March 15: The New Palestine Party is Born, and They Embrace the Arc!

Admin — Wed, 16 Mar 2011 02:25:07 +0000

Check this video out -- New Palestine Party youtube.com/watch?v=NW04CY… via @new_palestine

Clearly there are a whole lot more Friends of the Arc out there that we had known. Watch the video, then read the “About the NPP” tab and scroll down:

The NPP Economic Strategy is strong:

The Palestinian Arc, as a national transportation and infrastructure corridor will provide an integrated backbone that provides a common social, economic and political space. It will enable a national labor market, where citizens/workers can freely live and work throughout Palestine.
The NPP is committed to the successful financing of the construction of the Palestinian Arc.
The Arc will generate 150,000 jobs a year in its construction, and will enable hundreds of thousands more over the years.
As the Palestinian people are one of the most educated in the Middle East, and the Palestinian Diaspora has been very successful commercially, the international connectivity enabled by the Arc will make Palestine a hub for industrial and high-tech investment in the region.
The Arc provides a strategy for preserving the historic and holy sites throughout Palestine, which have enormous tourism potential, while providing easy access to them, which will offer another source of economic growth.
Investment in higher education and research infrastructure will ensure that the Palestinian people can compete in a global marketplace, and contribute to the economic prosperity of the greater Middle East.

We at Friends of the Arc are watching and waiting, and willing to help. This is great for both Palestine and Israel.

Read the Winning “Dear Mr. President” Essay from Contest Winner!

Admin — Sun, 13 Mar 2011 04:22:18 +0000

Congratulations to Stefanie Hausheer, the winner of the Friends of the Arc essay contest! Ms. Hausheer is a graduate student at the Elliott School of International Affairs at the George Washington University in Washington, DC. Read her essay/policy brief here.

The contest called for a 1000 word response to the following challenge.

With the resumption of direct negotiations between Israelis and Palestinians, many observers doubt that more purely political discussions will finally produce a comprehensive peace settlement; they suggest that some paradigm-changing idea is needed to break the deadlock. You have been asked to brief President Obama about the Arc project. Prepare a policy brief making the case that the Arc plan is just such a compelling idea, and that with U.S. support, it could help negotiators achieve a breakthrough for peace.

We at Friends of the Arc were heartened by the passion and interest with which this contest was met. Over 10,000 page views of the essay challenge led to submissions from all over the world. Ms. Hausheer’s essay demonstrated a passion and sophisticated focus on the value that the Arc could bring to the Middle East conflict. Entitled “Pushing for a Diplomatic Breakthrough with the Arc”, Ms. Hausheer’s essay outlined the challenge from a security, economic and political perspective. She critiqued the policy options and recommended courses of action for the President which have true breakthrough potential. This essay represents a departure from the Washington Consensus which has been less than productive, and offered innovative thinking that we at Friends of the Arc whole-heartedly endorse.

Join us in congratulating Ms. Hausheer, read the essay, and forward it to your friends & colleagues, and your Congressmen and Senators. And, encourage them to become Friends of the Arc on Facebook and Twitter!

JStreet is Coming: Watch this Video!

Admin — Fri, 25 Feb 2011 04:23:51 +0000

For everyone preparing for next week’s JStreet conference in Washington, DC, relive some of the magic of JStreet 2009 by watching Doug Suisman’s presentation on the Arc. Even if you have watched and rewatched the Palestinian Arc video on YouTube, there is no better way to learn about it than from the lead architect himself. If you haven’t already shared the Arc already, there is no better time. Join us on Facebook, and forward this video to all of your friends and colleagues. The video is in two parts: Part 1 and Part 2, since it is too big to be a single YouTube video.

At JStreet 2011, please join us at the Friends of the Arc table. We would love to meet you and talk about how you can help realize progress in the Middle East!

Turkey, Palestine and the Arc

Admin — Sun, 20 Feb 2011 20:05:51 +0000

In his recent article entitled “Turkey needs a new policy on Palestine”, Esen Caglar of the Economic Policy Research Foundation of Turkey discussed the value of the Arc to Palestine and the larger region. “If we imagine the future structure of the Palestinian state in advance and adopt economic aid and cooperation strategies in line with this vision, we can make a rare contribution to Palestine,” Caglar said.

“Turkey can take the most rapid action in the economic development of Palestine, which is in need of development in many sectors including infrastructure, housing, transportation, education and health to respond to the needs of the rapidly growing population. The Turkish firms that are the most important economic actors in the region for private sector development and industrialization have the potential to turn Palestine into a center of production. The current state in the region might not allow Turkey to take these steps consecutively, but I am of the opinion that the Palestinian problem will not remain as it is forever. If we had some ideas about the future shape of the Palestinian state, it would be easier to take steps tailored for economic development. This is exactly why looking at the map below excites me.”

And then, he cites the Arc, and the map of the Arc that we all know so well.

Apple iBookstore Now Selling Enhanced eBook on RAND’s Palestinian Arc

Admin — Thu, 27 Jan 2011 17:18:51 +0000

An enhanced e-book of The Arc is now available through Apple’s iBookstore, for the iPad, iPhone, and iPod Touch. The enhanced ebook includes a video overview as well as additional material about initiatives for improving mobility, quality of life, and economic growth in the West Bank. Buy the iBook here, share the link with your friends, and encourage your friends and colleagues to become Friends of the Arc on Facebook!

Jewish Journal Covers the Arc Win

Admin — Sun, 23 Jan 2011 20:54:13 +0000

Now that the Arc has won international plaudits, most recently at the World Architecture Festival in Barcelona, members of the Jewish community continue to affirm the “innovative master plan for a Palestinian state.” These were the words of Rob Eshman, a blogger on JewishJournal.com, as he praised the Arc’s growing prominence. In addition to celebrating the various features of the Arc such as its elegant simplicity, sustainable design, and potential economic benefits for the region, Eshman underscores perhaps one of the best features about the Arc: its price tag. As he puts it, the Arc is estimated to cost “about the same amount the international community pays to keep the peace in Bosnia—over $700 per person per year,” so why shouldn’t the U.S. and its partners invest at least the same amount to help end what has been the most pernicious conflict in modern history?

Eshman also points out that one of the original donors for RAND corporation’s research on the Arc project was a Jewish businessman named Guilford Glazer. Why was Glazer interested in such research? Though Israel’s concerns have long been security-related, Israelis and the Jewish community in general understand that their security depends on the viability of a future Palestinian state; thus, it is in Israel’s best interest to ensure that Palestine is a stable, prosperous state rather than a hotbed for radicalism.

The Arc would further jump-start Palestine’s economy, provide immediate and plentiful job opportunities for Palestinians, and serve as a sustainable means to connect all Palestinian cities into a coherent national unit. We don’t have to wait for a comprehensive “grand bargain” between Israel and Palestine—we can begin building the Arc now. As international support mounts and as the Jewish community begins to back the plan, we must now urge American leaders to take concrete action to bring the Arc to life.

Please join Friends of the Arc in congratulating Suisman Urban Design for their win, and take this moment to email your friends about this amazing accomplishment. Please have them join us on Facebook and Twitter. And please help raise awareness about how the Arc could catalyze peace, prosperity and security in the Middle East.

Parag Khanna Calls for the Arc

Admin — Wed, 12 Jan 2011 16:15:49 +0000

Author Parag Khanna Calls for the Arc’s Implementation in His New Book – “How to Run the World – Charting a Course to the Next Renaissance” which was just released on January 11^th, and now available for download at Amazon. Further, Khanna, has said in his recent article in Foreign Policy:

“Palestine needs the RAND Corporation’s proposed “Arc” of road and rail corridors to link the West Bank and Gaza into an integrated unit. While the White House remains obsessed with “security guarantees” that rest on empty or short-lived gestures of goodwill, it should instead be focused on infrastructure, which is the pre-requisite to peaceful co-existence rather than an afterthought. Nation-building is as much physical as institutional; independence without infrastructure is impossible.”

See Khanna today at his book launch at the New America Foundation in Washington, DC and ask him about the Arc. Or see him tonight at Politics and Prose.

Help urge other thought leaders who are big supporters of the Arc concept to go on the record. Forward this to blog post to them, and ask them to join us on Facebook and Twitter. But, also, please help raise awareness about how the Arc could catalyze peace, prosperity and security in the Middle East, and send to all your friends and colleagues.

Sometimes, It Takes Persistent Work to Prepare for a Fleeting Moment

Admin — Tue, 11 Jan 2011 05:41:35 +0000

Jim Thomson, President/CEO of RAND Corporation, recently posted his thoughts on RAND's Middle East research in general with special focus on the Arc project, putting the project’s current momentum in historical context. Friends of the Arc agrees with Mr. Thomson. RAND, as one of the most esteemed, non-partisan think tanks, has a long history of research that benefits both national security and civil society. The Arc, which offers peace, prosperity and security for Palestine and Israel demonstrates the best of RAND. All of the hard work put into the development of the Arc concept has prepared us for exactly the kind of policy window that has opened up right now. Read more on Thomson’s thoughts here. Help spread the word about the Arc, and encourage your friends and colleagues to become a Friend of the Arc on Facebook!

The Arc Wins “Future Project of the Year” at the 2010 World Architecture Festival

Admin — Mon, 08 Nov 2010 04:04:33 +0000

Last week Suisman Urban Design and its Palestinian Arc project were awarded first prize for “Best Future Project” at the 2010 World Architecture Festival. The festival is the world’s largest international architectural competition and, according to the U.K’s Independent newspaper, “the world’s biggest architectural event.”

Doug Suisman accepting the 2010 Future Project of the Year award in Barcelona The Arc won over 235 projects that were shortlisted from 55 countries at this year’s event held in Barcelona. The Swedish magazine Arkitektur reported, “The greatest jubilation in the festival hall was heard when the winner in the category of 'Future projects - master planning' was presented. Winner Suisman Urban Design, in its Arc project for Palestine, has produced a stunning vision of infrastructure for a future Palestinian state.” The three judges – from the U.S., England, and China - were unanimous in their decision. They concluded: “The Arc excels in translating a complex context into a clear and powerful diagram...it is rigorous, practical, and believable...an example of architecture and masterplanning helping to promote a political solution.”

This award and the enthusiasm with which the Arc's success was greeted by a group of leading architects, architecture critics and urban planners further demonstrates the power of the Arc vision and its ability to inspire people to believe that a future Palestinian state living in peace, prosperity and security with Israel is possible. We believe that the Arc represents the best avenue towards a peaceful resolution to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, by first building the integrated infrastructure necessary for peace, prosperity and security, and by providing the stakeholders and the larger world community with a tangible vision of a viable, prosperous Palestinian state.

The Arc project includes calls for action that can be started now. 100, 300, and 1000 day plans have been presented that allow for rapid implementation, and real-world impacts in short timeframes. The Arc project would create over 160,000 jobs for Palestinians, directly contributing to an upward spiral of prosperity.

Please join Friends of the Arc in congratulating Suisman Urban Design for their win, and take this moment to email your friends about this amazing accomplishment. Please have them join us on Facebook and Twitter. And please help raise awareness about how the Arc could catalyze peace, prosperity and security in the Middle East.