Solutions Not Sides

Solutions Not Sides Logo taken from their Facebook page.

Solutions Not Sides is a British charity registered in 2019 which says that it 'aims to tackle Antisemitism, Islamophobia and polarisation around the issue of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in the UK.' Various sources list the activities associated with SNS as begnining in 2009 or 2010 as an area of activity and later a project of OneVoice Europe a London based company created in 2002 and registered as a charity in 2006. The activity was which was subsequently rebranded as Solutions Not Sides.

OneVoice Europe has an affiliate international office in New York, and together the two offices raise funds for OneVoice Israel (OVI) and Darkenu, and OneVoice Palestine (OVP) and Zimam.

Solutions Not Sides started life as a programme of activities undertaken by an organisation called OneVoice Europe. This was registered as a charity and a company in 2006 and in around 2010 began to do work in schools.

It was only in 2016 that the 'flagship European programme has also taken on its own unique identity and brand: 'Solutions Not Sides'.

The trajectory of SNS can be tracked via the names of the Facebook page associated with it. OneVoice Europe created a Facebook page on 10 August 2011 under the name 'OneVoice Europe Israel-Palestine Forum', the name was then changed to 'The Solutions Not Sides Education Program' on 15 December 2015 and finally changed to 'Solutions Not Sides' on 17 February 2016.

This illustrates the growing apparent separation between the two though in reality SNS remained part of OneVoice Europe until 2019. Solutions Not Sides was registered with the Charity Commission on 30 May 2019. However the two organisations remain significantly intertwined. The founder and Executive Director of SNS Sharon Booth has been a director of OneVoice Europe since 2018; The company Secretary (2008-2018) and now Director (since 2018) John Lyndon is on the Advisory board of SNS (representing another group ALLMEP). the Israel and Palestine partners of SNS are also the key recipients of funds from OneVoice Europe.

Name of partners, l-r: Alliance for Middle East Peace (AllMEP), Arava Institute, Building A Stronger Britain Together (BSBT), Community Security Trust (CST), Darkenu, Debate for Peace, Encompass Trust, European Network for Countering Antisemitism through Education (ENCATE), Friedrich Ebert Stiftung, Generations For Peace, Geneva Initiative, Holy Land Trust, Jerusalem Peacebuilders, Kids4Peace Jerusalem, Near East Foundation, Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government, Our Generation Speaks, Parallel Histories, Parents Circle Families Forum (PCFF), Peace Factory, Peace Now, Pears Foundation, The Sainsbury Family Charitable Trust, Seeds of Peace, Tell MAMA, Stand Up!, YaLa Young Leaders.

Solutions Not Sides partners listed on their website on 2016. L-r: Three Faiths Forum (3FF) (Now called Faith and Belief Forum), Alliance for Middle East Peace (ALLMEP), Generations For Peace, Zimam, Quilliam, Encompass Trust.

Origins

On the website for the Union of Jewish Students (UJS), Solutions Not Sides is listed under the heading 'Useful Websites' and is described by UJS as 'an educational programme that exists to provide humanising encounters, diverse narratives and critical-thinking tools in order to empower young people with the knowledge, empathy and skills to promote dialogue and conflict resolution, and to challenge prejudice in the UK.'

Activities

Publications

SNS has published two learning resources. One is the Solutions Not Sides Teachers' Handbook and the other is Check Your Facts - Facts, Opinions & 'Fake News'.