A Land for All: Daniel Levy Interviews Omar Dajani and May Pundak on Solutions for Peace in the Middle East

On the margins of UNGA 79, on September 22nd, IPI hosted an interview featuring Daniel Levy and two leaders of the Israeli-Palestinian movement A Land for All, May Pundak and Omar Dajani. In the context of nearly one year of war in Gaza and ongoing regional escalation, IPI urges the consideration of this innovative yet pragmatic initiative for peace, based on a confederal vision of “two states, one homeland.”

Nineteen years ago, former IPI President and architect of the Oslo Peace Accords, Terje Rød-Larsen, established the tradition of hosting Foreign Ministers and senior negotiators on the margins of UNGA to discuss a path to Middle East peace. Building upon that legacy, IPI was honored this year to feature A Land for All, a movement created by Israelis and Palestinians who believe the road to peace, security, and stability lies in two independent states—Israel and Palestine—within a joint framework that allows both peoples to live together and apart. The initiative offers concrete, pragmatic solutions to this vision. Watch the IPI interview with the leaders of the movement, together with Daniel Levy, President of the U.S./Middle East Project, and IPI President Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein.

May Pundak is the Israeli Co-Executive Director of A Land for All – Two States, One Homeland. A feminist lawyer, activist and social entrepreneur, May has worked at the New Israel Fund, directed the Polyphony Foundation, helped establish a legal team to support political struggles in East Jerusalem, and co-founded an educational dialogue group program for Jewish and Palestinian teenagers in West and East Jerusalem. May is a graduate of Harvard University’s Leadership, Community Organization and Activism course and holds a master’s degree in public and international law, with an emphasis on human rights, from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

Omar M. Dajani is co-chair of ALFA’s Joint Board and the son of a Palestinian refugee from Jaffa. He served as a legal adviser to the Palestinian negotiating team during peace talks with Israel from 1999 to 2001, participating in the Camp David and Taba summits. He later worked as a political officer for the UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process and consulted on legal and conflict resolution projects for various institutions, including the U.S. Department of State. Currently, he is the Carol Olson Professor of International Law at McGeorge School of Law, University of the Pacific, and holds a B.A. from Northwestern University and a J.D. from Yale Law School.

Daniel Levy is a British–Israeli analyst, commentator, author, and former advisor to the Israeli government with expertise on Middle Eastand the Israeli–Palestinian conflict. He was formerly an Israeli negotiator as part of the Taba summit and Oslo 2 peace process. He is current president of the U.S./Middle East Project (USMEP) and was among the founders of the organization J Street