My letter to the NYTimes RE An Eviction Stirs Old Ghosts in a Contested City

RE: An Eviction Stirs Old Ghosts in a Contested City
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/10/world/middleeast/10jerusalem.html

Dear Editor,

In 1917, defining Jewish Zionist aspirations, Balfour makes the ground rules quite clear "it being clearly understood that nothing shall be done which may prejudice the civil and religious rights of existing non-Jewish communities in Palestine"

50 years later, Linda Mansour writes in her brief but telling essay concerning 1967: Denied Our Rights in the Blink of an Eye "Both my father and my mother (from Lifta-Jerusalem) were denied their rights in the blink of an eye: to be close to their families, to take care of their elderly parents, to raise their children among their cousins, to contribute to their community, to be home." http://www.aaiusa.org/issues/3029/denied-our-rights-in-the-blink-of-an-eye

Israel has been systematically and intentionally evicting Palestinians from their homes and lands for 61 years. It has been fragmenting Palestinian families, impoverishing Palestinian individuals and communities at every turn, and then vilifying Palestinians because they dare object.

Old ghosts are not the problem: Rampant ongoing violations of international laws, active institutionalized bigotry and living human beings- Palestinian men, women and children pushed out of their homes and off their land- and cruelly denied their inalienable legal and natural right to return so that Israel can become more and more militantly "Jewish" is the real crisis at hand, and has been all along.

UN Resolution 194 from 1948 makes it quite clear that "the refugees wishing to return to their homes and live at peace with their neighbours should be permitted to do so at the earliest practicable date, and that compensation should be paid for the property of those choosing not to return and for loss of or damage to property"

Sincerely,
Anne Selden Annab

"It would be an offence against the principles of elemental justice if these innocent victims of the conflict were denied the right to return to their homes while Jewish immigrants flow into Palestine, and, indeed, at least offer the threat of permanent replacement of the Arab refugees who have been rooted in the land for centuries. " United Nations Mediator Count Folke Bernadotte
From the "Progress Report of the United Nations Mediator on Palestine" by Folke Bernadotte. 16 September 1948. United Nations General Assembly Doc. A/648. Part one, section V, paragraph 6. http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Folke_Bernadotte

"The United States recognizes that Jerusalem is a deeply important issue for Israelis and Palestinians and for Jews, Muslims and Christians. We believe that through good faith negotiations, the parties can mutually agree on an outcome that realizes the aspirations of both parties for Jerusalem and safeguards its status for people around the world. Unilateral action taken by either party cannot prejudge the outcome of negotiations on permanent status issues. As George Mitchell said in announcing the proximity talks, "we encourage the parties and all concerned to refrain from any statements or actions which may inflame tensions or prejudice the outcome of these talks."" " Vice President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. Office of the Vice President The White House March 09, 2010

One of my own favorite poems is by the late Israeli-Arab (Palestinian) Tawfiq Zayyad, a poet born in the Galilee, a Mayor of Nazareth and a Knesset member:

All I Have

I never carried a rifle

On my shoulder

Or pulled a trigger.

All I have

Is a lute’s memory

A brush to paint my dreams,

A bottle of ink.

All I have

Is unshakeable faith

And an infinite love

For my people in pain.