My letter to the New York Times RE Painful Mideast Truth: Force Trumps Diplomacy by Ethan Bronner

In The Market by Ismail Shammout

RE: Painful Mideast Truth: Force Trumps Diplomacy
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/20/world/middleeast/20mideast.html?_r=1&ref=middleeast

Dear Editor,

Bronner's article "Painful Mideast Truth: Force Trumps Diplomacy" seeks to goad both Israelis and Palestinians into using weapons and terror not words and diplomacy, as if even more violence and militancy will bring about victory.

Bronner's analysis is wrong. For everyone's sake we need to be noticing that it was the awakening of the global information age that forced Israel to recognize the Palestinian Liberation Organization, and that was only possible because of the Palestinians' nonviolent resistance and outreach through the arts:

Mahmoud Darwish's first poetry collection "Leaves of Olives" published in 1964 included the poem "Identity Card". That poem has echoed through out the world, firmly refuting Israeli propaganda claims that there is no such thing as a Palestinian... And for those who have little patience for poetry Ismail Shammout and his wife Tamam al Akhal, both influential and talented Palestinian artists, helped us all notice and better understand visual symbols of Palestinian culture and traditions.

Sincerely,
Anne Selden Annab

Spring in Palestine by Ismail Shammout