Citizens of Israel and Palestine must have faith in their political leaders in order for peace to progress, said policymaker Daniel Levy in a speech Tuesday night, addressing a small crowd at an event sponsored by the Progressive Jewish Alliance (PJA).

Levy, who helped draft the Geneva Accords in 2003 and worked alongside Israeli and Palestinian leaders in an effort to promote peace after the failed Oslo Accords in 1993, said he was spurred to help end the deadlocked violence in a peaceful manner after seeing that both countries had come close to working out an initial agreement.

In his speech, “The Possibility for Peace One Year After the Geneva Accord,” Levy noted that while the Geneva initiative came under heavy fire from Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, the negative publicity was what eventually garnered the international and domestic support that helped to launch the non-combatant reforms that were finalized in December of 2004.

“The best thing is to be absolutely attacked by [the] government,” Levy said.

He stressed the importance of the “morning after” period, a crucial time in which both Israelis and Palestinians must be convinced of a new conciliatory age.

Levy said that in order to sustain public support of the new system, there must be a “dramatic de-escalation in the number of deaths on both sides,” as well as efforts by Palestinian prime minister Mahmoud Abbas to show his people that he values their independence and freedom.

“Abbas’ actions are reassuring to an Israeli society that has felt so abandoned in the quest to find a genuine partner for peace on the Palestinian side,” said Sunny M. Yudokoff ’06, President of the Harvard Students for Israel.

The leadership of the PJA said they sponsored Levy’s talk in an effort to foster greater awareness and activism in students.

However, the poor student attendance at Tuesday’s assembly reflected one of Levy’s main points—that there may be a sense of apathy towards the Middle East conflict.

Despite the low turnout, Noah Hertz-Bunzl ’08 said he was pleased.

“I was happy in that the PJA is a small organization, and we rarely sponsor our own events,” he said. “Someone who is able to stand up for what is right, and challenge conventional norms about the policies that Israelis and Jews should support, is rare, and I think Daniel managed to do that.”

But not all attendees found Levy’s talk adequate.

“I was disappointed that he didn’t talk more about the Geneva Accord,” said Danielle R. Sassoon ’08, who is also a member of Harvard Students for Israel. “He was also very critical of the fact that the Bush administration had done nothing in the past four years to engage in a peace process, but I think that Arafat is not a legitimate peace partner and that now under Abbas there is a chance that peace can progress.”