Friday, July 2, 2010

My letter to the New York Times RE Israelis, Palestinians and the Divide

RE: Israelis, Palestinians and the Divide
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/02/opinion/l02mideast.html?ref=opinion

Dear Editor,

What a good batch of letters regarding Nicholas D. Kristof 's painfully informative op-ed “The Two Sides of a Barbed-Wire Fence”! I like how you started with the typical hard core Zionist propaganda, and then shifted through some other much more enlightened and compassionate responses- to end on that perfect letter highlighting a crucial point: "Unfortunately, many still refuse to see that Israel now behaves as a colonial power trampling on the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which arose from the ashes of World War II."


In 1948 United Nations (page 4 on the PDF file http://unispal.un.org/pdfs/AC1SR207.pdf ) Mediator Count Folke Bernadotte pointed out that "It would be an offence against the principles of justice if those innocent victims [Palestinian refugees] could not return to their homes while [Zionist] immigrants flowed into Palestine to take their place." This is still true today- and each and every Palestinian child knows this as an absolute fact.

The Palestinian refugee crisis is the largest, longest running refugee crisis in the world today: UN Resolution 194 regarding the very real need to respect the Palestinian refugees very real right to return to original homes and lands remains ignored by sovereign Israel, demonized by many myopic ideologues, and dismissed by misguided pundits who simply do not understand the vital importance of empowering fair and just laws and policies- and an end to institutionalized bigotry on all sides of every border and line on the map.

Sincerely,
Anne Selden Annab



Please note from the start: "The United Nations had certainly not intended that the Jewish State should rid itself of its Arab citizens" 5 May 1949 Application of Israel for admission to membership in the United Nations http://unispal.un.org/UNISPAL.NSF/85255e950050831085255e95004fa9c/1db943e43c280a26052565fa004d8174?OpenDocument


Refugees and the Right of Return

"Palestinian refugees must be given the option to exercise their right of return (as well as receive compensation for their losses arising from their dispossession and displacement) though refugees may prefer other options such as: (i) resettlement in third countries, (ii) resettlement in a newly independent Palestine (even though they originate from that part of Palestine which became Israel) or (iii) normalization of their legal status in the host country where they currently reside. What is important is that individual refugees decide for themselves which option they prefer – a decision must not be imposed upon them." http://www.plomission.us/index.php?page=core-issues-3

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