1948 UNRWA photoPalestinian Refugees pushed into forced exile
RE: "A Demolition in Jerusalem" letter by Morton A. Klein, Zionist Organization of America
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/15/opinion/lweb15mideast.html?ref=opinion
Dear Editor,
Peace and progress in the Middle East depend on creating a secular two state solution to end the Israel/Palestine conflict in line with international law. We all have a part to play in making a just and lasting peace a reality for everyone's sake.
I agree with Morton A Klein's argument that racist zoning laws are wrong- and I find it a huge shame that Morton A. Klein, the Zionist Organization of America and all of Israel refuse to apply this very same logic and compassion to the Palestinian refugees by fully respecting their inalienable right to return to original homes and lands.
Furthermore, the Shepherd Hotel is in East Jerusalem which means this zoning incident is clearly not about religion, this is about Israel's illegal occupation of Palestinian land: "This is part of an accelerating pattern in Jerusalem that consists of shifting the demographic balance to reinforce Israeli claims to control permanently the entire city, making the creation of a viable Palestinian state, with its capital as East Jerusalem, virtually unattainable," UN Special Rapporteur Richard Falk http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/rwb.nsf/db900SID/EGUA-8D4T2H?OpenDocument&rc=3&emid=ACOS-635PFR
Sincerely,
Anne Selden Annab
Universal human rights are often expressed and guaranteed by law, in the forms of treaties, customary international law , general principles and other sources of international law. International human rights law lays down obligations of Governments to act in certain ways or to refrain from certain acts, in order to promote and protect human rights and fundamental freedoms of individuals or groups.
The Golden Rule
Core Issues "Where, after all, do universal human rights begin? In small places, close to home - so close and so small that they cannot be seen on any maps of the world. Yet they are the world of the individual person; the neighborhood he lives in; the school or college he attends; the factory, farm, or office where he works. Such are the places where every man, woman, and child seeks equal justice, equal opportunity, equal dignity without discrimination. Unless these rights have meaning there, they have little meaning anywhere. Without concerted citizen action to uphold them close to home, we shall look in vain for progress in the larger world."Eleanor Roosevelt
The Arab Peace Initiative
Emanating from the conviction of the Arab countries that a military solution to the conflict will not achieve peace or provide security for the parties, the council:
1. Requests Israel to reconsider its policies and declare that a just peace is its strategic option as well.
2. Further calls upon Israel to affirm:
I- Full Israeli withdrawal from all the territories occupied since 1967, including the Syrian Golan Heights, to the June 4, 1967 lines as well as the remaining occupied Lebanese territories in the south of Lebanon.
II- Achievement of a just solution to the Palestinian refugee problem to be agreed upon in accordance with U.N. General Assembly Resolution 194.
III- The acceptance of the establishment of a sovereign independent Palestinian state on the Palestinian territories occupied since June 4, 1967 in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, with East Jerusalem as its capital.
3. Consequently, the Arab countries affirm the following:
I- Consider the Arab-Israeli conflict ended, and enter into a peace agreement with Israel, and provide security for all the states of the region.
II- Establish normal relations with Israel in the context of this comprehensive peace.
Article 1
All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.
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