RE: Palestine and the West Bank The calm may not last for ever: Despite several years of peace and a rise in prosperity, frustration is bubbling up
http://www.economist.com/node/21557812
Dear Sir,
Ziad Asali, founder of the American Task force on Palestine, accurately points that " Palestinians and Israelis will not embrace each other’s narratives, nor should they abandon their own. They don’t need each other to confirm their own identities. What they need is a workable, ironclad, conflict-ending arrangement to allow them to live side-by-side in peace. Hearts as well as minds must change to make this possible... The only way to honor our tragic histories is to create a future for our children free of man-made tragedy. This means making peace fully, completely and without reservation, between Israel and Palestine."
I think it is obvious that it is not two state peace makers and negotiators and diplomats who are ushering in "indefinite occupation" by Israel- it is the one staters who want Palestine to be a rally cry rather than a real state living in peace and security alongside Israel.
Sincerely,
Anne Selden Annab
NOTES
"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
**************
RE: Analysis: President Abbas, if you don't want to fight, negotiate
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=501277
Dear Nasser Laham editor-in-chief of Ma'an News Agency,
I am an American who keeps a blog and occasionally writes letters mainly to mainstream American newspapers..etc... in hopes of helping America better understand and care about the people of Palestine- and justice and peace.
For me at least, collecting relevant notes (news and opinion) is an important part of creating a paper trail to help prove to mainstream America that Palestinians exist and their existence is in peril. Thus I very much like your editorial Analysis: President Abbas, if you don't want to fight, negotiate & I would have gladly blogged it for my notes but for your assertion: "For two years, the Palestinian leadership has refused to negotiate with Israel. They went to the UN seeking recognition of a Palestinian state, but the US fought that bid very firmly, proving that it is the number one enemy when it comes to UN resolutions on the Palestinian people’s rights."
That damning assertion concerning the US may or may not be true- but phrasing it that way certainly is not going to motivate most Americans to support, much less continue to fund Palestine. Do you really want to define the US as "the number one enemy"? I think it would have been wiser and more helpful to emphasis diplomacy by being diplomatic and perhaps pointing out how instrumental the US was in creating the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948, and how generous the US has been in funding and sustaining UNWRA and the Palestinian refugees.
In fact the US was instrumental in creating the internet which makes it possible for me and many others to read Maan News and other Palestinian publications. Huge progress has been made as far as informing the wider world about the very real plight of the Palestinians, but that progress is not guaranteed to work in Palestine's favor. Rather than alienating mainstream Americans when you step up to advocate ending the Israel-Palestine conflict, I believe it really would be wiser to phrase things in a way that will convince more Americans to care about Palestine: Simply reiterating the importance of international law and full respect for basic human rights would go a long way towards convincing Americans to actually notice and reiterate the importance of international law and full respect for basic human rights- including but not limited to the Palestinian refugees inalienable right to return to original homes and lands.
Sincerely,
Anne Selden Annab
NOTES
"The Middle East peace process cannot become an orphan of the Arab Spring."... In West Bank, EU's Barroso urges new peace talks... "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"
Nelson Mandela Quote
Jewish, Palestinian American groups ‘swap’ summer interns
Clinton holds 'productive' talks with Palestinian leader
2012 Presbyterian Church USA 220th General Assembly opts for ‘positive investment’ over divestment
But, of course, this wasn't just any ailing and frail 75-year-old man. It was Yasir Arafat
Our lives remain in peril
Divestment question before Presbyterians: Firms connected to West Bank dispute would not get funds
My letter to the IHT RE Thomas L. Friedman's "What Does Morsi Mean for Israel? "
My letter to the Washington Post RE David Ignatius: Bombing or the bomb? For Israel, military option is still on the table.
Ziad Asali: To honor a tragic history, we must work for peace
Fayyad: UNESCO decision a victory for rights, humanity
"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
I no longer believe that a two state solution is the best way forward: For far too long racist Israel has been abusing the idea of a 2 state solution to imprison, impoverish and displace the native non-Jewish men, women and children of historic Palestine.
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