On February 18 – 2016, Dr. Kamal Al-Labwani, Syrian human rights activist and representative of the moderate Syrian opposition movement, and Moti Kahana, American-Israeli businessman and founder of the “Amaliah” organization, spoke to the israeli and international press at JPC. The two advocated the creation of a safe zone in south-western Syria, close to the borders with Israel and Jordan, where the local civilians will be protected from attacks by the Assad regime and/or Hezbollah, or bombed from the air by Russian warplanes. They said that they had met with Israeli leaders who looked favorably at their idea, and that they were now working to generate public support for it.
About the speakers:
Moti Kahana is an American-Israeli businessman and the founder of Amalia NGO, who made international headlines by financing much needed supplies for Syrians women and children caught in a vicious civil war. He tried to negotiate the safe return of American journalist Steven Sotloff who was being held by ISIS, he smuggled Jews out of Syria and saved a young woman, Gill Rosenberg when it was thought that she was captured by ISIS while fighting alongside the Kurds in Northern Iraq. rescued the last Jewish family of Aleppo and got them safely to Israel. He Smuggled Torah out of Syria. And been called the Jewish Raul Wallenberg of Syria by providing passports to rescue Syrian women and children out of Syria.
Developing a safe zone in south Syria with the local tribes leaders and FSA in order to build a civil society .
Dr. Al-Labwani is a leading human rights voice and a prominent member of the Syrian opposition movement. He has been detained on political charges in 1980 and was imprisoned twice for his courageous activism and drive for political reforms: (1) from 2001 to 2004 for promoting reforms in Syria, and (2) from 2005 to 2011 for meeting with U.S. officials in Washington D.C. to discuss democratic reforms in Syria. While away from prison Dr. Labwani continued his relentless activism by speaking, writings and engaging with democracy activists in Syria and beyond. He has been involved in the “Damascus Spring” movement, which briefly flourished after Bashar al-Assad became President of Syria in June 2001 and founded the Syrian Liberal Democratic Union (2001).
During his most recent imprisonment and following a hunger strike, he was released early from a 12-year sentence in an effort to silence anti-regime domestic public opinion. Amnesty International dubbed him a “Prisoner of Conscience”. In a statement after his release he said “I think the method of human rights is the most important thing which we could do to archive safety. The most important weapon against terrorists is human rights”. After his release, Al-Labwani attended nonviolent protests advocating for regime change. Fearing arrest, he then fled to Jordan where he applied for and was granted political asylum in Sweden.
Since then, Al-Labwani has worked in Turkey as a member of the Syrian National Council, then, after its dissolution, as a member of the General Secretariat and Committee of the National Coalition for Syrian Revolutionary and Oppositionist Forces. In early 2014, he withdrew from the National Coalition and has been working independently ever since. Dr Labwani also became known for his public call for Israel to take a clearer stand and intervene on the side of the moderate Syrian Opposition.
