Latest news with #peacebuilding
Malay Mail
6 days ago
- Politics
- Malay Mail
Anwar: Fragile bridges better than widening gulfs as Asean steps up Myanmar peace efforts
KUALA LUMPUR, May 26 — Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim has stressed that quiet engagement has played an effective role in addressing the ongoing crisis in Myanmar. 'The steps may be small and the bridge may be fragile, but as they say, in matters of peace, even a fragile bridge is better than a widening gulf,' he said in his opening remarks at the 46th Asean Summit here today. Anwar said Asean has been able to take positive steps with the formation of the Informal Advisory Group for Malaysia as the Asean Chair for 2025. Headed by Thailand former Prime Minister Dr Thaksin Shinawatra, Anwar said the group also met in Brunei Darussalam, graced by the presence of the Sultan of Brunei, Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah. 'It is significant that since the third meeting held in Bangkok, we have been able to move the needle forward in our efforts for the eventual resolution of the Myanmar crisis. 'We are grateful that the next meeting will be hosted by Cambodia former Prime Minister Samdech Hun Sen,' he said. Earlier this month, Anwar initiated separate dialogues with Myanmar's junta leader Min Aung Hlaing and the opposition National Unity Government (NUG), marking a significant step towards fostering direct engagement between the conflicting parties. Yesterday, Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan said the Asean Foreign Ministers' Meeting (AMM) had agreed that Asean would undertake internal consultations on the proposal to appoint a permanent ASEAN Special Envoy on Myanmar for a three-year term — a move aimed at ensuring continuity and sustained engagement in addressing the protracted crisis. The move has been seen as a potential breakthrough in Asean's mediation efforts. The Five-Point Consensus (5PC) was adopted by Asean in April 2021 following the military coup in Myanmar on February 1 that year. It calls for an immediate cessation of violence, inclusive dialogue among all parties, the appointment of a special envoy, the delivery of humanitarian assistance, and for the envoy to be granted access to all stakeholders in Myanmar. Despite its significance, implementation of the consensus has largely stalled due to the junta's continued non-compliance, with the issue remaining a central concern in ASEAN's ongoing engagement with Myanmar. Meanwhile, for Asean, Anwar said peace, stability and prosperity have often depended on an open, inclusive, rules-based international order, anchored in the free flow of trade, capital and people. He said these foundations are now being dismantled under the force of arbitrary action. 'But again, I strongly believe in the fortitude and staying power of Asean to withstand the headwinds and weather the storms of the challenges and uncertainties facing us. 'It is with the sense of centrality and our conviction to forge our own future that will enable us to stay ahead of the curve,' he added. In this regard, Anwar said Asean is able to convene the first-ever Asean-GCC-China Summit, which demonstrates its reservoir of goodwill, empowering it to deepen and expand partnerships and to act with strategic clarity. The 46th Asean Summit is being held under Malaysia's 2025 Chairmanship theme 'Inclusivity and Sustainability'. This year also marks Malaysia's fifth time chairing Asean, following previous terms in 1977, 1997, 2005 and 2015. — Bernama
New York Times
6 days ago
- Politics
- New York Times
A Quiet Funeral in Israel for Victim of Washington Shooting
Weeks before, Yaron Lischinsky had made plans to travel to Israel on Sunday with his partner, Sarah Milgrim. He wanted to introduce her to his family for the first time and, relatives said, propose to her. Instead, Mr. Lischinsky, 30, was laid to rest on Sunday at sunset, in a small cemetery a short walk from his family home in the village of Beit Zayit, nestled in the wooded hills west of Jerusalem. Mr. Lischinsky and Ms. Milgrim, 26, were gunned down on Wednesday night outside the Capital Jewish Museum in Washington as they left a reception for young professionals and diplomats hosted by the American Jewish Committee. The gunman, identified by the police as Elias Rodriguez, 31, of Chicago, cried out 'Free, free Palestine!' as he was being apprehended — a call heard in protests around the world against Israel and its war in Gaza, which was ignited by the deadly Hamas-led attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, and has killed tens of thousands of Palestinians. Mr. Rodriguez has been charged with the murder of foreign officials, first-degree murder and other crimes. The U.S. authorities said they would also be investigating the attack as a hate crime and a crime of terrorism. For their part, Mr. Lischinsky, a research assistant in the political department at the Israeli Embassy, and Ms. Milgrim, who organized and worked with delegations, were both known as peace-seeking bridge-builders, according to their colleagues. On Sunday, quiet prevailed over Beit Zayit, a community of about 1,600 residents with a store, a clinic and an outdoor library in a tiny pavilion. Residents of the town described the Lischinsky family as very private and modest people. In keeping with the family's desire for privacy, the return to Israel of Mr. Lischinsky's remains and his funeral were unusually low-profile affairs, without media coverage. Mr. Lischinsky's coffin arrived in Israel on Friday and was received by representatives of the family and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in a brief, private ceremony at the airport, according to a statement from the ministry. Israelis were outraged by the killing of Mr. Lischinsky and Ms. Milgrim but many said that amid the global rising tide of antisemitism and anti-Israel sentiment they saw such an attack coming. 'The people of Israel have been attacked for thousands of years,' said Israel Perel, 83, who moved to Beit Zayit five decades ago, seeking a home in nature. 'We won't give in to those who want to do us harm,' he said, speaking outside the community's small administrative center on Sunday afternoon. He had come looking for an Israeli flag to take with him to Mr. Lischinsky's funeral. In the intense late afternoon heat, hundreds of people began to stream toward the cemetery in a pine forest on the edge of the village for the funeral scheduled for 6 p.m. Israel's foreign minister, Gideon Saar, attended the ceremony and gave one of the eulogies. Mr. Lischinsky, an outstanding student who had grown up in Germany and Israel, was a deeply committed Israeli patriot and had aspired to become a professional diplomat for his country, according to his teachers and colleagues. After his burial, his close family tarried by the fresh grave, covered in wreaths of flowers, until darkness fell as long lines of mourners embraced them and offered words of comfort, according to some people in attendance. Mr. Lischinsky came from a culturally mixed background with a Jewish father and a Christian mother, and was a practicing Christian, according to his brother, Hanan Lischinsky, 32. People who had worked with Mr. Lischinsky in the embassy said that over his last two years there, he had identified as Jewish. The funeral service blended religious traditions and elements. A leader of the Hebrew-speaking King of Kings congregation of Jerusalem — part of a Messianic community that says its mission is to reveal the true face of Jesus to Israel — officiated alongside representatives of the Orthodox Jewish burial society. On Monday, Mr. Saar, the Israeli foreign minister, was expected to host U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem in Jerusalem, followed by joint statements together with the U.S. ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckabee. Afterward, the foreign ministry said in a statement, a memorial ceremony would be held in honor of Mr. Lischinsky and Ms. Milgrim, and a tree would be planted in their memory. Ms. Milgrim's funeral is scheduled to take place on Tuesday near the Kansas City suburb where she grew up. Mr. Lischinsky's family never got to meet her.
New York Times
23-05-2025
- Politics
- New York Times
Sarah Milgrim's Death Was a Tragedy. Distorting Her Legacy Would Be Another.
In a world flooded with empty slogans and online posturing, Sarah Milgrim was something far rarer: a quiet peace builder. She didn't seek headlines. She sought dialogue. Just a few years out of college, she was already known for her engagement with organizations that brought together Christians and Jews and Muslims, Israelis and Palestinians. Her final master's degree research project was on the role of cross-cultural friendships in peace-building. It was exactly that interest that allowed our paths to first cross in Morocco, less than one year ago, and in New York City just last month. This week those who knew Sarah as I did learned with horror that she was murdered outside the Capital Jewish Museum in Washington, alongside her partner, Yaron Lischinsky, in what authorities have called a politically motivated, antisemitic attack. The couple were shot again and again as they left an interfaith event about 'turning pain into purpose' — a night dedicated to humanitarian collaboration, including efforts to aid civilians in Gaza. The shooter allegedly shouted 'Free Palestine.' The irony of that moment is so sharp, it almost feels scripted. But that is not the memory I want to hold. Sarah's legacy must not be co-opted, not by the person who shot her, and not by those who now wish to brand her with their politics or make her a poster child for a cause. Sarah's name should not become a pawn, nor a rallying cry, for those who seek to weaponize her death for political gain on either side of this conflict. The Sarah I knew was a practitioner of what might be called peace diplomacy. I met Sarah on an interfaith trip to Morocco, about 9 months ago, during a fellowship organized by the American Jewish Committee and the Mimouna Association, an organization that preserves Moroccan Jewish heritage and history. Our program brought together Jews and Muslims from across the United States, Israel, France and Morocco. It was her first visit to my country. Sarah was an American Jew and I am a French-Moroccan researcher. I'm Muslim, and my work focuses on diplomacy and peace-building in the Middle East, particularly initiatives such as the Abraham Accords, as well as the everyday people-to-people relations that can make peace a reality. From the beginning of our fellowship, it was clear that Sarah believed in the possibility of a different Middle East, one built on coexistence, not conflict. My first impression of her was how moved she was by the beauty of the Hassan II Mosque in Casablanca. There she learned about Morocco's longstanding tradition of coexistence and the deep roots of Abrahamic dialogue that have long nurtured Jewish-Muslim friendships in the country. Out of respect for the local customs and the sacredness of the site, Sarah asked a companion to photograph her outside the mosque, wearing a veil. In that moment, I saw her as the embodiment of a promise — one offered by sincere, mutual respect. Sarah, I came to learn on that trip, was more than just a staffer at the Israeli had spent months working on behalf of women who were victims of sexual assault during the Oct. 7 attacks in Israel. She had also worked with Arab and Palestinian communities through Tech2Peace, a joint Israeli-Palestinian NGO, which offers Palestinians access to high tech, entrepreneurship and new opportunities. Two years ago, she spent weeks following the journey of 12 Israeli and Palestinian participants in a seminar hosted by the organization, held at the planned Jewish-Palestinian village in the center of Israel, Neve Shalom-Wahat al-Salam. I learned Sarah was committed to a concept known as the 'third narrative.' It's a vision that seeks to rise above the noise of vengeance and violence by focusing instead on shared humanity and the mutual right to dignity, safety and peace for Jews and Muslims. This effort is about more than dialogue; it's a deliberate stand against polarization. Sarah believed in creating a space for people to look for solutions. Sarah's life was taken by a man whose apparent radicalism attempted to erase her humanity and all that she stood for. The alleged killer, Elias Rodriguez, reportedly told police officers, 'I did it for Gaza,' after shooting Sarah, the Jewish girl from Kansas who wanted a Middle East in which Palestinians and Arabs, Muslims and Christians, can live in dignity next to the Jewish people of Israel. In his bullets, the killer could not have seen all that Sarah was, all that she believed in. Her Jewish identity was flattened into a target. In her murder he picked exactly the sort of person who might have altered the future. But just as the extremist misunderstood Sarah, so too do many of those who profess to weep for her loss. Those who mourn Sarah should reflect on her ideals, learn from her life's work and aim as she did on creating the fragile groundwork for Middle East peace. It was a future she helped prepare for, one conversation, one relationship at a time. The Sarah I engaged with over this past year never sought to be a hero. She chose to place herself in a conflict from which she could easily have walked away. If we want to honor Sarah Milgrim, we cannot let her become another symbol. We must remember her as she was: hopeful, committed, unbroken by what she witnessed in the violence and tragedies of the region. Any political exploitation of Sarah's murder will only be to lose her, again and again.
Al Jazeera
23-05-2025
- Politics
- Al Jazeera
Sultan Al-Khulaifi Today's latest from Al Jazeera
Sultan Al-Khulaifi Dr Sultan Al-Khulaifi is a senior researcher at the Center for Conflict and Humanitarian Studies, where he focuses on issues of conflict mediation and... more resolution. He holds a PhD in Politics from the University of Glasgow. Dr Al-Khulaifi's research primarily examines Qatari foreign policy, with a particular emphasis on its role in conflict mediation and peacebuilding. His work seeks to deepen understanding of Qatar's diplomatic strategies and its contributions to resolving regional and international disputes
Washington Post
22-05-2025
- Politics
- Washington Post
An act of antisemitic terrorism in the nation's capital
The slaughter Wednesday night of two Israeli Embassy employees outside the Capital Jewish Museum in Washington was an act of terrorism apparently motivated by virulent antisemitism. The gunman chanted 'free, free Palestine' after he robbed a young couple of their lives. Authorities say he confessed and said after being arrested that he 'did it for Gaza.' Like other evildoers who have targeted Jews over millennia because of their faith, he ignored their humanity and sought to extinguish the light they brought into the world. Yaron Lischinsky, 30, and Sarah Lynn Milgrim, 26, were slain as they departed an event for young professionals organized by the American Jewish Committee, a group whose mission is to confront antisemitism. Moments before their deaths, they had listened to speakers from organizations that do humanitarian work in the Middle East and North Africa. Terrorists, attempting to promote polarization, often target moderates and conciliators. An apparent manifesto from the shooter, which investigators are working to authenticate, was titled 'Escalate for Gaza, Bring the War Home.' Milgrim had received an award while earning a master's degree in support of her work at Tech2Peace in Tel Aviv, which provides training and dialogue opportunities to young Palestinians and Israelis. 'My passion lies at the intersection of peacebuilding, religious engagement, and environmental work,' Milgrim wrote on LinkedIn. Lischinsky described himself as an 'ardent believer in the vision that was outlined in the Abraham Accords' because 'expanding the circle of peace with our Arab neighbors and pursuing regional cooperation is in the best interest of the State of Israel and the Middle East as a whole.' He was a researcher in the embassy's political department. She organized missions and visits to Israel. He grew up in Germany. She grew up in Kansas. As a couple, they were active in D.C.'s vibrant Jewish scene. Lischinsky recently bought a ring and planned to propose to Milgrim during an upcoming trip to Jerusalem, according to Israel's ambassador to the United States. It has been a difficult few years for American Jews. The Anti-Defamation League recorded 9,354 antisemitic incidents across all 50 states and the District in 2024, up 5 percent from the year before and 344 percent over the past five years. Assaults increased last year by 21 percent to 196 incidents, according to the group. Antisemitism has flared up alongside mass protests against Israel over its forceful response to Hamas's barbaric attacks on Oct. 7, 2023. But even before the war, Jews were experiencing rising hate. In 2017, white nationalists carrying tiki torches chanted 'Jews will not replace us' at the 'Unite the Right' rally in Charlottesville that turned deadly. On Jan. 6, 2021, a Virginia man who stormed the U.S. Capitol wore a sweatshirt that said 'Camp Auschwitz' over a Nazi-themed T-shirt. (President Donald Trump pardoned him on his first day back in the White House.) Alas, Wednesday was not even the first time a Jewish cultural institution has been attacked in Washington. A gunman opened fire in 2009 at the entrance of the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum and fatally wounded security guard Stephen T. Johns, 39. The killer, an admitted white supremacist, died before going to trial. It is essential that everyone speak out clearly and unequivocally against political violence. Whether it emanates from the fever swamps on the left or right, whether it's Islamophobia or antisemitism, whether it targets a presidential candidate or the chief executive of a health insurance company, politically motivated violence in America cannot be tolerated. Such acts need to become counterproductive — and punished to the fullest extent of the law — to keep them from becoming contagious.
