Tuesday, November 10, 2009

My online comment to the Washington Post RE Palestinian despair for peace by Dr. Hussein Ibish

RE: Palestinian despair for peace by Dr. Hussein Ibish, Senior Fellow, American Task Force on Palestine
http://newsweek.washingtonpost.com/onfaith/guestvoices/2009/11/palestinian_despair_for_peace.html

Dear Editor,

Thank you for publishing this informative article on Palestine by Dr. Hussein Ibish, Senior Fellow, American Task Force on Palestine. We need to be noticing Palestine- and the very real plight of the Palestinians.

Today I saw an inspiring new campaign led by Karen Armstrong and Archbishop Desmond Tutu - a worldwide campaign "Charter for Compassion" urging all people to live by the golden rule. Applying "the golden rule" would result in a world of kindness and understanding: I think it is clear that the very real plight of the Palestinians needs our compassion and all our best efforts to help bring about a just and lasting peace.

"The Golden Rule requires that we use empathy -- moral imagination -- to put ourselves in others' shoes. We should act toward them as we would want them to act toward us." http://charterforcompassion.org/learn

We need a Golden Rule Peace for Israel and Palestine, a Golden Rule Peace firmly grounded in full respect for international law and basic human rights- and a golden rule guide to calming down the conversation rather than inflaming bigotry, extremism and despair.

I very much agree that supporting the institution building program proposed by Prime Minister Salam Fayyad "could enact a dynamic, unilateral, nonviolent and constructive resistance to the occupation, creating the necessary framework for Palestinian independence, and constituting a dramatic transformation of the strategic environment in favor of both Palestinian interests and the prospects for peace."... and I am glad that there is an American Task Force on Palestine, with scholars busy trying to be a bridge between 'us' and 'them'.

Thanks again for publishing Ibish's thoughtful article.

Sincerely,
Anne Selden Annab



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