Gershon Baskin facts for kids
Gershon Baskin (Hebrew: גרשון בסקין; born on May 2, 1956) is an Israeli writer, activist, and researcher. He focuses on the Israeli–Palestinian conflict and efforts to achieve peace. Before October 7, 2023, Baskin was secretly working to connect important Israelis and Palestinians. He hoped to find ways for political changes to happen in the future for both sides.
Besides his writing, Baskin has helped start groups and companies. These bring Israelis, Palestinians, and other Arabs together. Their goal is to help people understand each other better. They also work on projects that help everyone socially and economically. He sees himself as someone who starts new social and political ideas.
Baskin is the Middle East Director for the International Communities Organisation (ICO). This group is based in the UK and helps in areas where peace talks have failed.
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Early Life and Education
Gershon Baskin was born in New York City. As a student, he became involved in important movements. He supported the civil rights movement, which fought for equal rights for all people. He also joined the anti-Vietnam War movement, which was against the war in Vietnam.
In 1978, Baskin earned his first degree from New York University. He studied the politics and history of the Middle East. Later, he earned his master's degree in 1992 and his Ph.D. (a very high degree) in 1994 from Greenwich University. His Ph.D. research was about the future of Jerusalem.
Working for Peace in Israel (1978–2011)
In September 1978, Baskin moved to Israel. He joined a program called Interns for Peace. From 1979 to 1981, he worked in Kafr Qara, a Palestinian Arab village in Israel. In 1982, he worked for the Israeli Ministry of Education. He helped create programs for Jewish and Arab schools to learn to live together. In 1983, he started and led the Institute for Education for Jewish Arab Coexistence. This group worked to bring Jewish and Arab people closer.
In 1988, Baskin founded the Israel/Palestine Center for Research and Information (IPCRI). This organization worked to solve the Israeli–Palestinian conflict. Their main idea was a two-state solution, meaning two separate states for two peoples. He was a co-leader of IPCRI until 2012.
In 1989, Baskin started groups for Israelis and Palestinians to work together. These groups focused on topics like business, the future of Jerusalem, and water.
In 1992, Baskin started secret meetings in London. He met with former Israeli security officers and Palestinian officials from the PLO. These talks helped create the security plans for the Oslo Accords in 1993. The Oslo Accords were important agreements aimed at peace. In 1994, Baskin became an advisor on the peace process to a secret team working for Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin.
For 24 years, Baskin helped lead over 2000 meetings. These meetings brought together Israeli and Palestinian experts. They discussed many topics that affected both societies. These included security, managing borders, business, farming, tourism, water, and peace education. Baskin worked for many years with Israelis and Arabs to achieve peace.
Helping Free Gilad Shalit (2006–2011)
In July 2006, an Israeli soldier named Gilad Shalit was captured in Gaza. Six days later, Gershon Baskin secretly started talking with Hamas, the group that held Shalit. Three months later, Baskin helped Hamas send a handwritten letter from Shalit to his parents.
Baskin continued his secret efforts to negotiate a deal between Israel and Hamas. This went on for more than five years while Shalit was held captive. In April 2011, Baskin became the official go-between for senior Hamas officials and Israeli envoy David Meidan. Baskin's main contact in Hamas was Deputy Foreign Minister Ghazi Hamad. Baskin's work to free Shalit is described in his book, The Negotiator: Freeing Gilad Shalit from Hamas.
Continuing Peace Talks (2011–2023)
After Gilad Shalit was released, Baskin and Hamas started talking about a long-term ceasefire. A ceasefire is an agreement to stop fighting. In May 2012, Baskin showed a plan for this agreement to Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak. A committee of security officials discussed the idea but decided not to make a formal agreement with Hamas.
In October 2012, Baskin started new talks for a ceasefire. This time, he spoke with Ahmed Jabari, a leader of the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades, through Hamad. In November 2012, Baskin and Hamad met in Cairo. They talked with Egyptian intelligence officers about possible long-term ceasefires. On November 14, 2012, Hamad met with Jabari. He planned to send a copy of a ceasefire plan to Baskin. But later that day, Israel killed Jabari in an air strike, starting Operation Pillar of Defense.
Baskin and Hamad stayed in touch. They continued to negotiate for the return of the bodies of two Israeli soldiers killed in Gaza in 2014. They also worked for the release of two Israeli civilians who were known to be alive. Baskin continued to work with Israeli officials on these efforts.
After October 7, 2023
After the 7 October attacks, Baskin kept working to help release hostages taken to Gaza. He has been in contact with officials in Qatar, Egyptian Intelligence, and the Israeli government.
Baskin's main contact in Hamas, Ghazi Hamad, had moved to Beirut before the war. He became Hamas's main spokesperson during the conflict. Baskin and Hamad continued unofficial talks for the first three weeks of the war. However, Hamad publicly supported the brutal acts of terrorism against Israeli civilians. He also promised more attacks until Israel was destroyed. Because of this, Baskin stopped all contact with Hamad. He also publicly shared a private letter he had sent to Hamad, showing his strong disapproval.
Other Important Work
After stepping down as co-director of IPCRI in 2011, Baskin remained involved as a co-chairman of its Board until 2018. He is still a member of the Board. He was also part of other peace groups, like the Israeli Palestinian Peace NGO Forum and the Alliance for Middle East Peace. He is still on the editorial committee of the Palestine–Israel Journal.
From 2013 to 2015, Baskin worked as a consultant for a USAID project. This project aimed to help Palestinian businesses grow and improve trade. Today, Baskin works on projects to develop renewable energy in Palestine and Egypt. He is a country manager for Gigawatt Global, a company that builds solar energy projects. Baskin also writes a weekly column called "Encountering Peace" for the Jerusalem Post. It is also published in Arabic and Hebrew.
In 2016, Baskin started teaching a summer course at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. The course is for international students and diplomats and is called "Coexistence in the Middle East." In 2019, Baskin and a Palestinian colleague started a company called United GH Ltd. This company works on medical innovations and devices.
In 2021, Baskin helped create the Holy Land Bond. This is a new investment fund in the UK. It aims to invest in housing projects for Palestinians in East Jerusalem. It also supports housing projects for Jewish and Palestinian citizens in Israel's "mixed cities". The fund also invests in job and industrial zones that help both Israelis and Palestinians.
He is also a co-director of the new International Communities Organisation – Middle East Branch.
Journalism
Baskin wrote a weekly column for The Jerusalem Post from 2005 to 2023. His weekly column in English now appears on the blog pages of the Times of Israel. His column is also published in Arabic in the Palestinian Jerusalem Al Quds daily newspaper.
Awards
Gershon Baskin has received several awards for his work:
- The Histadrut Prize for Peace in 1996.
- The Turkish Foreign Policy Institute Peace Prize in 2004.
- The Tribute of Honor and Courage from the World Movement for Democracy in 2004.
- The Search for Common Ground Journalist Award for Middle East Journalism in 2005 and 2007. This award is named for Lova Eliav and Issam Sartawi.
- The Ordine Della Stella Della Solidarieta Italiana from the President of Italy in 2007.
- The Luxembourg Peace Prize for 2023 Outstanding Peace Activist. This prize is given by The Schengen Peace Foundation. The foundation works to build a more peaceful world. It does this by promoting peace, understanding, and talking between different cultures.
Publications (Books)
Baskin has written many articles. He has also published several books, including:
- Baskin, G. In Pursuit of Peace in Israel and Palestine, Vanderbilt University Press, 2017.
- Baskin G., The Negotiator: Freeing Gilad Schalit from Hamas, Toby Press, Jerusalem 2013.
See also
In Spanish: Gershon Baskin para niños
