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| UNWRA photo- Palestinian refugees 1949 |
http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/middle_east/to-placate-settlers-israel-to-build-additional-850-apartments-in-west-bank/2012/06/07/gJQAZLVUKV_story.html
Dear Editor,
At least you headlined it- as Israel continues to generously subsidize and empower institutionalized bigorty and religious extremism and a continuation of the Israel-Palestine conflict with all its many negative ramifications.
Palestinian writer Joharah Baker asks in a recent op-ed: "What kind of passion would urge an American Jew living in Miami Florida to work endlessly to plant Jewish settlements in the heart of what is clearly Palestinian territory? What drive pushes these people to believe in a cause so much they would sacrifice money, time, effort and legal obstacles to reach their goal of Jewish control over Jerusalem? It is a drive that has allowed the occupation which began in 1967 to continue, thrive and flourish. If it were not for this near-manic obsession with Israel as a Jewish state, (regardless of how faulty this premise is to the rest of the world) , the 1967 defeat may not have turned into the lifelong nightmare it is now. "
Israel's racist laws and walls are wrecking havoc everywhere they can reach... tragically for all that reach goes all the way to our Congress here in America where foolishly far too many of our elected leaders are as myopic as the religious leaders who once used the bible and every excuse they could find to justify slavery.
Sincerely,
Anne Selden Annab
NOTES
June 5,
2012 - 11:55am
May 31,
2012 - 12:08pm
June 1,
2012 - 3:13pm
May 29,
2012 - 10:26am
ATFP Expresses Alarm at Footage Showing Settlers Shooting at Palestinians in the Presence of Israeli Soldiers
May 22,
2012 - 9:57am
RE: Six days in Israel, 45 years ago -My Israeli general father knew the 1967 war was an opportunity for peace.
http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/commentary/la-oe-peled-israel-palestine--six-day-war-20120606,0,3821348.story
Dear Editor,
One state is what is now with Jewish immigrants, citizens, and settlement projects generously subsidized by the sovereign state (Israel) and its many fervent supporters and propagandists while individually and collectively Palestinians continue to be cruelly persecuted, impoverished, divided, displaced and disenfranchised.
Negotiations firmly based on full respect for international law and universal basic human rights on both sides of every border are the best way forward: Two fully secular states living side by side in peace and security are the best transition away from the bigotry, corruption, injustice, militancy and religious extremism created by the Israel-Palestine conflict.
A bright future depends on reality based decisions, honoring the Arab Peace Initiative and empowering Palestinians and Israelis to work together, and apart, towards a just and lasting peace for all the people, regardless of supposed race or religion.
Sincerely,
Anne Selden Annab
NOTES:
"In our debate, I continued to insist that a two-state solution between Israel and the Palestinians is indeed still possible, mostly because a majority on both sides want it and because there is a huge body of international opinion and law that requires it. I've always unhappily accepted that a continuation of the status quo is more likely for the foreseeable future. In Aslan's dystopian vision of a future characterized by increasingly bloody conflicts, “apartheid and ethnic cleansing” is indeed a possibility. But I see no reason to conclude that it will “inevitably” either occur or, less still, yield the outcome he predicts with such astounding confidence—especially not if “ethnic cleansing” is a factor.
Apart from asserting that while a limited number of outcomes can be reasonably defined as “impossible” for the foreseeable future, I argued that almost nothing is "inevitable." Human beings are, in fact, not only able to decide their future, but that's exactly what they always have done and will do, barring unforeseeable natural disasters that are rare and usually manageable." Hussein Ibish Nothing is “inevitable”
"We must work together to build a future in which
both peoples can enjoy the rights, responsibilities and dignity of
citizenship and self-determination. There is only one way to actually
accomplish this: ending the occupation and creating a Palestinian state
to live alongside Israel. Palestinians must recognize and accept
Israel, which is a legitimate member state of the United Nations. The
Palestinians must have one place on earth, the territories occupied in
1967, where they can live freely as first class citizens in their own
independent state. There is no other way to end the cycle of bloodshed,
pain and hatred has that lasted for so long." Ziad
Asali The
Lessons of the Nakba
"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
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.
UN Resolution 194 Article 11: [The General Assembly]
Resolves that the refugees wishing to return to their homes and live in peace with their neighbors should be permitted to do so at the earliest possible date, and that compensation should be paid for the property of those choosing not to return and for loss of or damage to property which, under principles of international law or in equity, should be made good by the governments or authorities responsible; instructs the Conciliation Commission to facilitate the repatriation, resettlement and economic and social rehabilitation of the refugees and the payment of compensation, and to maintain close relations with the Director of the United Nations Relief for Palestine Refugees and, through him, with the appropriate organs and agencies of the United Nations.
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