Corporate Middle East Peace Initiative: Incorporating P2P Peace Training into Existing Team-Building Exercises

ESG Legal Services, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) public interest law firm affiliated with R|K Invest Law, PBC, a public benefit B Corp law firm based in Washington, DC. Its principals have over three decades of experience providing counsel on corporate policy, governance, compliance development implementation and oversight, leading institutional investor shareholder advocacy efforts before the U.S. courts and regulators. 

As a member organization of the Alliance for Middle East Peace, ESG Legal is dedicated to people-to-people peacebuilding. The Peacebuilding Initiative seeks to adapt existing corporate team-building training programs to incorporate intentional, affirmative people-to-people (“P2P”) peacebuilding elements into the operations of multinationals employing a diverse range of talent drawing from all segments of society. The proposed course of action is designed to:

1. Enhance existing team-building programs, which are already designed to promote efficient operations by creating workplace cultures with employee interactions based on mutual respect and trust, and seeing “the other” as being on the same team and working towards the same goals. We are tapping into the wealth of local partner experience by enlisting their help to incorporate training tools based on a deep understanding of local cultures, attitudes, societal pressures, and successful engagements;

   
   

2. Lead to the adoption of corporate policies and procedures that result in a more balanced and diverse workforce reflective of local society, including from the West Bank and Gaza (either remotely or in person); and

   
   

3. Bring co-workers to a comfort level of positive interaction, facilitating constructive dialogue and a consistent, logic-based approach to problem-solving that can extend beyond the confines of the office.

Given the size of the workforce employed in Israel by U.S.-based and other multinational corporations, success with the initial program partners stands to augur in favor of being able to scale the initiative and its impacts. These companies contribute a material monetary amount to the Israeli tax base. See, e.g., E. Halon, Multinational Corporations Represent 'Backbone' of Israeli Tax Revenue, The Jerusalem Post (Dec. 31, 2019).

Some 250 multinational corporations are present in Israel, with one-quarter of those having "advanced manufacturing operations in the country." (M. Margit, US Investors, Manufacturers Flock to Israel, The Medialine (Feb. 11, 2020)). There are over 50 U.S. public companies with Research and Development (“R & D”) centers in Israel. All of those companies have adopted policies of inclusion as a critical element of relationship awareness.

With companies already invested in team-building, there is a base in place from which to build. Our goal is to onboard as many of the 50+ U.S. companies as possible. With their ample resources, companies have the ability to diversify their workforce and conclude that their efforts might help promote stability in the region. Stability in the region translates to managed risk and enhancement of the value of the business.

Risk management is a business imperative and an especially significant goal given the events of October 7th and the ensuing war. Due to the location of operations - Sderot being one example - as a result of the war some large centers have shuttered much of their operations and are working remotely with a smaller staff. It is hopeful that these companies will remain in the region and gain confidence that they can once again ramp up operations, contributing to the development of a balanced regional economy.

As companies seek to fulfill their business needs, they can draw in part on youth and adults emerging from the P2P technical and leadership training programs that have arisen over the years. In this connection, we also partner with local organizations to help fulfill personnel openings with a representative workforce. Those who have gone through the partners’ training programs will already be well-versed in the P2P approach. In that way, a number of new hires will already have basic P2P communication skills. Some companies might choose to prioritize hiring from those ranks.

Corporate-led programs providing a path for the board, management and staff to become diversified are a valuable resource, and tailored for peacebuilding they become a powerful force for change. While people understand the benefits of team-building in principal, we seek to facilitate a way for principal to become action as it relates to the real-time need for peacebuilding in the region.

We are at a critical crossroads in time where a window of opportunity exists to expand P2P programming to eventually reach an unprecedented number of participants in the region. The need has always been critical, and has now become more urgent as multinational corporations – the backbone of the Israeli economy - weigh the risks of doing business in the region due to conflict.

Apparent to anyone who has experienced the country evolve over the past few decades is the sense that people have grown increasingly afraid of "the other," often due to policy design. There is a growing "they" mentality that must be overcome. In this regard, P2P programming is a proven technique that can yield positive benefits. We now have an opportunity to:

1. Expand the number of people participating in P2P programs by embedding those programs into existing corporate team-building practices, both of which have been steadily trending upwards;

   
   

2. Drive more representative, cross-cultural, and cross-border remote and in-person hiring in fulfillment of the company’s initiatives, including youth who have participated in regional technical and other training programs that have incorporated peacebuilding skills; and

   
   

3. Drive corporate demand for permits. We believe that multinationals requesting permits as necessary to comply with their internal procedures can potentially make a stronger case and have greater success than has previously been shown to local companies (such as SodaStream, when the government denied work permits after the company moved its operations in response to external pressures. See, e.g., M. Esterl and R. Jones, “SodaStream Lashes Out at Israeli Government Over Work Permits for Palestinians,” The Wall Street Journal (Feb. 29, 2016)).

Multinationals recognize the benefit of incorporating the full spectrum of diversity on boards, in management, and in the general workforce, and have accordingly been exploring how best to incorporate concepts of inclusion in a way that best benefits their ability to sustain operations and prosper. The U.S. companies working in the region highlight their progress in this respect in their annual reports. They are primed to tailor their regional programs to incorporate elements of local P2P initiatives that have demonstrated successful outcomes.

Companies regularly engage in team-building exercises so that people learn to trust their teammates, which makes for more efficient co-working and output. Boards are encouraged to diversify in order to bring more meaningful decision-making to the table; if there is only one perspective at the table, there might as well be only a single board member.

For companies the principal driving force with any expenditure of resources is greater efficiency that benefits the company, its employees, and the community in which it is located. Expanding existing efforts provides companies access to an expanded wealth of talent in the region. Our efforts will provide companies with the understanding that providing P2P opportunities for the entire workforce materially contributes to regional stability. By enhancing peacebuilding - to which companies have a tremendous opportunity to contribute due to the size of their local workforce - companies will gain security which in turn is essential for business.

There is likewise a window of opportunity owing to the success of P2P training programs that incorporate peacebuilding into their curriculum. The youth who have successfully participated in these programs present a pipeline for companies seeking qualified applicants. By tapping into the alumni of these proven programs, companies gain both a talented pool of workers as well as an opportunity to enlist them to participate as active participants and leaders in the corporate rendition of these initiatives.

Success in this expansion - creating access to a greater pool of competent talent working collaboratively for a common benefit - may in the future even spur the creation of new work centers physically located in the West Bank and Gaza, reducing travel issues. Success can also create avenues for economic parity, contributing to confidence in a two-state solution and leading to a level playing field among neighboring countries.

Finally, P2P initiatives are based on inclusion (such as having a voice through share ownership) rather than exclusion (such as divestment). Accordingly, major employers have an opportunity to demonstrate the business and societal benefits of equitable treatment and co-working based on a variety of inputs from as many perspectives as possible. In that manner, successful outcomes based on our proposal stand to create a powerful model for peacebuilding. Policies of inclusion rather than exclusion will serve to create a basis for prosperity and a sustainable peace.