Yesterday, I signed on as a supporter of TULIP: Trade Unions Linking Israel and Palestine.

TULIP was formed by three labor leaders in the UK, US, and Australia as a counter to the growing movement within the labor community supporting boycotts of Israel. Groups like BRICUP and PACBI, and BDS leaders like Naomi Klein, have consciously placed themselves in opposition to “constructive engagement” (their words) as the proper strategy to achieving a peaceful and just solution. They seek to entrench divisions and exacerbate conflict. Too often, they trade in anti-Semitic stereotyping and Jew-hatred.

TULIP’s counterplan is simple: trying to foster connections and alliances between Israeli and Palestinian unions. Palestinian unions, particularly, have been victimized by the anti-union Hamas regime in Gaza, and TULIP is aggressive in calling out labor elements which have sided with theocratic thugs over their fellow workers. But by and large, TULIP is a narrowband movement. It does not see itself as a wide front lobbying group in favor of a two-state solution. It focuses on the people on the ground: by creating the conditions in which Israeli and Palestinian workers see each other as allies, instead of enemies, they bring the day of peaceful co-existence that much closer. And if it spurs a Palestinian economy currently stuck in gridlock, so much the better.

In recent years I’ve observed a sort of paralysis amongst the moderates seeking to resolve the Israeli/Palestinian conflict. There is this idea that peace is something that one finds in the absence of incitement. If only the provocations stopped — if only Israel took down settlements, if only Palestinians stopped firing rockets, if only the roadblocks were lifted, if only Israel’s neighbors recognized it — then we’d have peace. But peace isn’t something one finds, it is something one builds. It requires active engagement, and it requires hard work. Standing on the sidelines and saying it will work itself out is not an option — indeed, it has proven itself to be a resounding failure. And it is deeply troubling that, whereas the forces of division remain active and vibrant, the forces of peace and co-existence remain passive and inert.

TULIP is part of the burgeoning movement that seeks to break free of this paradigm, and provide a true platform for each nation’s (and the world’s) moderate majority. It demands that peace come with plan. It demands that we take proactive steps to bring Israelis and Palestinians together, rather than chirp at them from the sidelines. It demands that we back our two-state words with concrete action that seeks to materially better the lives of Israelis and Palestinians, right now, based on the principle that unity always works better than division.

I signed on to TULIP yesterday. Join me?