http://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/11/opinion/wrong-time-for-new-settlements-in-the-west-bank.html?_r=1&ref=editorials
Dear Editor,
Is there really ever a right time for any sovereign nation to subsidize one religion- to build housing and infrastructure and create perks and privileges and jobs for some preferred citizens who are the 'right' religion while displacing and disenfranchising countless victims of institutionalized bigotry who have been deemed the 'wrong' religion?
I do believe that a two state solution to once and for end the Israel-Palestine conflict is the best way forward- but I think it is crucially important to studiously avoid further entrenching and exasperating religious tyranny on either side... for everyone's sake.
Israel’s security and regional peace depend on defusing religious extremism, investing instead in the Golden Rule and fair and just laws shaping respect for diversity, compassion and cooperation so that more people are more able to flourish as valued citizens able to make positive contributions to whatever nation state issues their passports and protects their families and communities from criminals and crooks.
End the Israel-Palestine conflict with Palestine and Israel as two separate sovereign nations honoring international law and fully respecting universal basic human rights. Negotiations need to be a way to help make that happen.
Sincerely,
Anne Selden Annab
******************
RE: Trudy Rubin Worldview: Israel should be wary of Netanyahu panel's West Bank recommendations
http://www.philly.com/philly/columnists/trudy_rubin/20120712_Worldview__Israel_should_be_wary_of_Netanyahu_panel_s_West_Bank_recommendations.html
Dear Editor,
I too am horrified by Netanyahu's panel recommendations justifying Israeli annexation of the West Bank, 'legalizing' Jewish settlement projects in the illegally occupied territories, but I object because Israel obsessed with being demographically Jewish, has already had been insanely cruel to the native non-Jewish people of historic Palestine.
The institutionalized bigotry and injustice necessary to sustain a preferred demographic ideal has been inspiring the worst in many people on both sides of the Israel-Palestine conflict. If America elected to use tax payers money to generously subsidize housing projects, job opportunities, and immigration for Christians and only Christians I suspect Trudy Rubin would realize the importance of examining the ramifications and questioning the wisdom of such polices.
Ending the conflict with a totally secular two state solution based on full respect for international law and basic human rights will not right the many wrongs created by the conflict, but it will give Palestinians, and Israelis, the tools they both need to build a peaceful and secure future where character and cooperation count- and religion is a personal private matter.
Sincerely,
Anne Selden Annab
NOTES
"For to be free is not merely to cast off one's chains, but to live in a way that respects and enhances the freedom of others.." Nelson Mandela
''The Arabs'' by Bailey Fisher for MIFTAH
Weighing In
Diaspora
Palestinians arrive for 'Know Your Heritage' tour
ATFP to Co-Sponsor DC Viewing and Discussion of 5 Broken Cameras on July 13, 2012
Hussein Ibish: The Anti-Balfour Declaration
The returning issue of Palestine's refugees... When negotiations resume once again, the world must not abandon the refugees of Palestine, nor attempt to coerce their representatives to do so either.
Article 49(6) of the Fourth Geneva Convention, ratified by Israel in 1951, states: “The Occupying Power shall not deport or transfer parts of its own civilian population into the territory it occupies.”
"It is important that all Palestinian actors take advantage of the positive developments towards democratisation in the region to build a future of democracy, security and prosperity"
ATFP to Co-Sponsor DC Viewing and Discussion of 5 Broken Cameras on July 13, 2012
Hussein Ibish: The Anti-Balfour Declaration
The returning issue of Palestine's refugees... When negotiations resume once again, the world must not abandon the refugees of Palestine, nor attempt to coerce their representatives to do so either.
Article 49(6) of the Fourth Geneva Convention, ratified by Israel in 1951, states: “The Occupying Power shall not deport or transfer parts of its own civilian population into the territory it occupies.”
"It is important that all Palestinian actors take advantage of the positive developments towards democratisation in the region to build a future of democracy, security and prosperity"
"It is in Israel's vital interest to come to a
complete resolution
of
the conflict between it and the Palestinian people sooner rather than
later, relieving the weight of this tragic conflict from both of our
peoples' shoulders. We owe it to ourselves. We owe it to the world." Maen
Rashid
Areikat: The
Time for a Palestinian State Is Now
The Office of International Religious Freedom ( http://www.state.gov/j/drl/irf/ ) Given the U.S. commitment to religious freedom, and to the international covenants that guarantee it as the inalienable right of every human being, the United States seeks to:
- Promote freedom of religion and conscience throughout the world as a fundamental human right and as a source of stability for all countries
"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
 |
| Live by the Golden Rule |
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