JERUSALEM — Equal parts Hollywood glitz and political gravitas: that is the unique formula for an emerging effort to put the moderate mainstream back in control of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

OneVoice, the latest in a series of grassroots peace bids arising as the intifada enters a fourth violent year, comes replete with the backing of an influential cast of international and local business, religious and academic leaders.

But it is the eyebrow-raising roster of celebrity faces that promises to steal the show. Already signed on as OneVoice activists are actors Brad Pitt, Jennifer Aniston, Danny DeVito, Rhea Perlman, Jason Alexander, Lucy Liu, and Edward Norton. Even famed boxer Mohammed Ali is putting his not unsubstantial weight behind the project.

"We are preparing for an explosion of moderation," said David Libetzky, the 30-something American Jewish businessman who began gathering support for the project two years ago.

"The silent majority, Israeli and Palestinian alike, has had its voices hijacked by the extremists for the past three years.

"Our plan is to isolate the violent extremes. The polls keep showing that at least 70 per cent of each side wants to solve things once and for all, with two states living side by side in peace. This is going to give them back their voice."

The celebrity power is more than simply symbolic: Libetzky and his Palestinian Israeli partner, Mohammad Darawshe, were overwhelmed early this year as guests of honour at a fundraising dinner held at DeVito and Perlman's Hollywood home.

"There were over 100 people there when we walked in the door, many of the biggest stars in the world," he said.

"Five hours later, everyone was still there, committed to getting behind us with money, public service announcements and goodwill tours to the region. Whatever it takes."

Ultimately, Hollywood's role is to be an awareness-raising messenger, said Libetzky. He won't yet name names, but the first of six planned celebrity journeys to the wartorn region is to take place in January and continue over the next 18 months.

"The last few years of conflict mean that yet another generation of Israelis and Palestinians will grow up in hatred," Aniston and Pitt are quoted as saying on the OneVoice Web site. "We cannot allow that to happen."

The more ambitious element of the OneVoice project is a grassroots plebiscite in which Israelis and Palestinians will be invited to vote online, by phone or via newspaper ads on solving core issues of the conflict.

"We all complain about our politicians. The point of going directly to the people is to reach around the politicians and achieve a critical mass of support from Israelis and Palestinians," said Libetzky.

"It will build pressure from the ground up for what most of us on both sides really want — a safe place for our children."

OneVoice joins a spate of recent efforts, including the online People's Initiative advanced by former Israeli intelligence boss Ami Ayalon and Al Quds University chief Sari Nusseibah, and the newly announced Geneva Agreement, an unofficial document whose draft solutions have enraged many Israeli government officials.

Unlike the others, OneVoice has not yet been pilloried by rejectionists, possible because of the star power involved.

Israeli cultural critic Oz Almog of Haifa University assessed the OneVoice plan as "further evidence that boundaries no longer exist in our postmodern world.

"At a time when Arnold Schwarzenegger can win elections, we know this is an era where the politicians are the actors and the actors are the politicians. It is not really surprising. But then, given the complexities of the Israeli-Palestinian dispute, it probably doesn't mean very much either."

Yet the OneVoice founder invites skeptics to scan its Web site —http://www.silentnolonger.com — where the celebrity glitz is balanced by names of worldly weight, including a surprising roster of both local and international backers. World Jewish Congress chairman Edgar Bronfman and American Arab Institute president James Zogby are board members. Several prominent Israeli right-wingers have backed the project, as has prominent Palestinian Islamic cleric Sheikh Tayseer Tamini.

Last month, OneVoice convened a panel of leading Mideast experts from both sides of the conflict to draft proposals for solving key issues such as Jerusalem, borders, Palestinian refugees, water allocations and economic, social and cultural ties. The draft solutions will form the basis for a future plebiscite.

"What we're being careful to avoid is playing the blame game. Nowhere in the language of our project will you find a sense that we're taking sides," Libetzky said.

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