Sulha at the It's Time Peace Summit
- 4 days ago
- 2 min read
Last Thursday, April 30th, thousands of people filled one of Tel Aviv's largest conference centers for the third annual It's Time People's Peace Summit — and Sulha was part of it.
The summit brought together hundreds of Israeli and Palestinian civil society leaders alongside more than a hundred diplomats, offering an alternative vision for life in the region. Outside the main arena, Hebrew mingled with Arabic and English as participants moved through art installations and an organizational fair showcasing the work of the coalition's partner organizations. It was, in every sense, a gathering of the peace camp — imperfect, determined, and very much alive.
The event was organized by the It's Time coalition, a partnership of more than 80 grassroots peacebuilding and shared society organizations. Sulha Peace Movement was proud to be among them.
What Sulha Brought
Our team of volunteer activists staffed a Sulha stand throughout the day, engaging with the public, sharing what we do, and inviting people to our upcoming events. We also screened a short video about Sulha — giving passersby a quick but meaningful glimpse into the world of encounter and dialogue we've been building for years.
For us, it was exactly the kind of opportunity we need more of: reaching people who care about peace but may not yet know that a community like Sulha exists and is active, right now, on the ground.
The Bigger Moment
This year's summit carried a real sense of momentum — not naive optimism, but something grounded. New polling data released at the summit showed that 74% of Israelis support or would accept regional normalization and the establishment of a Palestinian state, and 81% of Palestinians can accept a regional normalization agreement that includes a Palestinian state.
The EU's foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas announced an additional €8 million in EU funding for civil society projects, on top of €18 million committed the year before, and reaffirmed the two-state solution as the only viable path. French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot also addressed the gathering, announcing that France will convene peacebuilders again on June 12th in Paris ahead of the G7 Leaders' Summit.
Civil society isn't just a backdrop to diplomacy anymore. It's being woven into it.
As Palestinian civil society leader Rana Fahoum put it: "Our main role is to prepare people for the possibility of peace. To generate language for the possibility. We speak the language of compromise with dignity, not compromise that comes from a winner and a loser."
Why We Keep Showing Up
Palestinian participation at the summit, while present, was still markedly limited — organizers attribute this largely to government-imposed restrictions on movement rather than any lack of interest. That reality is a reminder of why this work matters, and also of how far there still is to go.
Sulha has always believed that peace is built person by person, circle by circle, long before any political agreement is signed. Events like the It's Time summit remind us that we are not alone in that belief — and that the community holding this vision, across languages and peoples and pain, is larger than it sometimes feels.
If you met us at the summit — welcome. And if you haven't joined a Sulha gathering yet, this is your invitation.
