RE: Smothered by Settlements By Mustafa Barghouthi http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/15/opinion/15iht-edbarghouti.html?ref=global
Dear Sir,
Mustafa Barghouthi is wise to point out that "We have reached, and probably surpassed, that critical point at which any more settlements mean the death of the two-state solution....The Israeli establishment knows this better than anybody. They also know that their hard-line positions on issues like Jerusalem and borders mean transforming the idea of Palestinian statehood into something much less: isolated clusters of land in a system of segregation."
However, I would not have injected the idea "and probably surpassed" as if a tipping point will make the removal of Israel's illegal settlements and an end to the Israel/Palestine conflict impossible. Both Zionist zealots and Islamist factions are quite eager to dismiss, discredit and dismantle the Palestinian Authority. Neither need more proof that their one state thrust is a winning formula. Creating a fully secular two state solution really is the best way to disarm religious zealots and hate mongers on both sides.
I understand the temptation to scorn and doubt American efforts for Palestine. However I very much believe that the State-building strategy of the United States and the donor community do not need to be tested: Despite much Zionist pressure to eliminate UNWRA, the US is and has been the largest single state donor to UNRWA, (the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees) providing food, shelter, medical care, and education for many of the original refugees from 1948. The United States has also provided a welcoming home and real freedom to many Palestinians pushed into forced exile and/or voluntarily moving away from the conflict.
Furthermore please note that the American Task Force on Palestine (ATFP), established in 2003 to provide an independent voice for Palestinian-Americans and their supporters in order to promote peace and Palestine, recently announced that Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton will be the keynote speaker at its Fifth Annual Gala. One of my favorite poets Naomi Shihab Nye will be honored with an award for Excellence in the Arts. ATFP's Gala also has an Artists Corner pointing out that "these talented individuals have spoken volumes, celebrating Arab and Arab-American culture with vibrancy" My favorite artist there is Helen Zughaib... "Hopefulness, healing and spirituality, are all themes that are woven into her work."
Sincerely,
Anne Selden Annab
The Golden Rule... Do unto others as you would have them do unto you
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