A fascinating event has been taking place during the past few days in Rafiah, with the penetration of the border between Gaza and Egypt. The Israeli media is following the lead of the political leadership, which is primarily troubled by the lack of any supervision of the border passageways; for us at The Israeli Initiative, these events provide additional proof as to the real problem in Gaza: its existence as a large refugee camp, a prison for people serving as pawns in a struggle against the very fact of Israel's existence – a struggle which has no chance of succeeding. If we and the world only offered the refugees crowded into Gaza the possibility of beginning a new life, the whole terror empire and distress would collapse – for the welfare of the refugees themselves, of Israel and the whole world. The only ones who have an interest in maintaining the refugees' situation is the terror organizations, the followers of radical Islam and the champions of Palestinian nationalism.

The rehabilitation of the refugees and its centrality to the resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is at the centre of a new and innovative booklet which we have published in the past few days in Hebrew and English. This unique document portrays the refugee problem of 1948 in an extensive and thorough context, outlines the ways to solve it, clarifies the obstacles and provides fascinating statistics about the solutions to other refugee problems throughout the world. Even though the document is based on simple and almost obvious principles, it is revolutionary in its direct approach, which is completely lacking from Israeli and international discourse about the conflict, discourse which has already proved its futility.

Palestinians in line for bread in the Gaza Strip this week (Reuters). This continued misery is an international disgrace – and is the responsibility of UNRWA and Palestinian nationalism, which prevent the refugees' rehabilitation.

The publication of the booklet "Rehabilitation of the Palestinian refugees – A New Israeli Approach" (to read or download the booklet, click here: The Refugee Booklet ) is part of the Initiative's new campaign, which consists of billboards, internet banners, video clips and a media blitz on the topic of the refugees. The new campaign is arousing great interest, and has increased visits to the website to triple our average volume.

The humanitarian crisis, or pseudo-crisis, in Gaza, which has led the UNRWA spokesman to become a star of the Israeli media, has provided an excellent illustration of the principal messages of the Israeli Initiative's campaign about the refugees. The humiliating dependency of multitudes of people on the UN Aid Agency, which has only succeeded in perpetuating the refugee status and suffering for sixty years (Can anyone today imagine a picture of us Israelis – almost all of whom are the children of the Jewish refugees of 1948, who came to Israel with nothing from smoking Europe and from Arab states – standing in line today to receive pita bread from an aid agency, because we lost our homes in a war sixty years ago?!), has led the head of the Israeli Initiative, MK Benny Elon, to demand that "The aid agency, UNRWA, must be closed down immediately" in response to the UNRWA spokesman. "This agency only perpetuates the refugee status and encourages terror against Israel".

UNRWA's dismantling has a chapter all to itself in our booklet on the refugee issue, and the Initiative is acting vigorously in the United States in order to promote American legislation on the topic. The Israeli Initiative was brought up for discussion for the first time in the American Congress last week, by Congressman Dave Weldon from Florida.

Enjoy the refugee campaign Internet banners by clicking on the following pictures:

Creativity is an essential part of the Israeli Initiative. Those whom have already been exposed to its content – and the number of subscribers to the newsletter has already crossed the 10,000 mark (!) – know that it is possible to think outside the box about the conflict in the Middle East, not via the worn-out and failed formulas of 'Two states for two people'. We are proud that our creativity is also being revealed in the Initiative's advertising methods.

The Last Fanatic – a video clip resembling a Hollywood cinematic trailer to a film which does not exist - was distributed on the Internet by the Initiative and with your help, in order to direct people to our website and to establish the understanding that there is another alternative: that the Palestinians do not need to choose the way of terror, and that the rise of Fundamentalist Islam is not a decree which is impossible to contend with.

The Last Fanatic was distributed via 'the back door' – no billboards and not even an Internet campaign - rather the video clip was transmitted via e-mail and uploaded to the largest video-sharing website in the world - YouTube. Thanks to the film's attractiveness, and thanks to the use of the Collactive program we have been asking our supporters to download (at: Collactive download page ) - the video clip succeeded in reaching seventh place at its peak, during a particularly crowded week in terms of the American electoral system. The video clip also won widespread media reference and was covered, amongst others, by Israeli Channel 2 News, SKY News and the Herald Tribune. Up to now, more than 50,000 people have already viewed The Last Fanatic!!

If you have not already done so, please make sure you view the clip at: The Last Fanatic

We also request that you rank the clip with 5 stars, add it to your YouTube favorites, comment on it and sent it on to all of your friends and family ASAP. All of the above will help us to promote the clip even further.

It is very hard to argue with the Israeli Initiative's logic. We were witness to this again last week, in a meeting of the Israel Newsmakers Forum with the participation of MK Benny Elon and MK Yossi Beilin, Meretz Chairman and architect of the competing Geneva Initiative. Beilin began his speech by presenting the two values which motivate him – a Jewish state and a democratic state, and claimed that the demographic reality dictates a withdrawal to the Green Line, in order to continue to maintain these two values together. This worn-out claim, which is almost meaningless after the abandonment of Gaza, does not stand up to honest intellectual criticism and certainly not to the alternative which the Israeli Initiative is proposing. The establishment of a new boundary does not conceal the population or change the demographic balance. Only the refugees' rehabilitation throughout the Arab world and in the West can truly contend with the problem, alongside the formula discerning between residency and citizenship, as detailed in the Initiative.

Haven't you organized enough cocktail parties? MK Yossi Beilin and MK Benny Elon at the Israel Newsmakers Forum, under the officiating of Ambassador Danny Ayalon

Indeed, when Beilin was asked for his stance on the Israeli Initiative, he responded that in effect he agreed to its content and would be happy if it would be implemented. The sole problem, Beilin said, was that in contrast to the Geneva Initiative, which has key Israeli and Palestinian signatories – the Israeli Initiative is not sufficiently known and does not have any well-known partners. In other words, the sides in the Middle East need to adopt a policy which leads nowhere, simply because it is a 'well-thought of' and recognized policy.

In simple words, Dr. Yossi Beilin placed a challenge before the Israeli Initiative team: to take the promising designs of the Initiative, and to turn them into the No. 1 Initiative, known by all sides and considered as the 'next big thing'. You, our dear readers, can assist us in meeting this challenge. Propose to more people to join our mailing list, forward this letter to your mailing list, download the Collactive program for future campaigns, and register to our volunteers' center on the website.

Good luck to us all,

Yoav Sorek

Israeli Initiative Team