Wednesday, August 15, 2012

My letter to the New York Times RE Aaron David Miller Preserving Israel's Uncertain Status Quo

The Lady of Oranges by Palestinian painter Ismail Shammout (1930 – 2006)
RE:  Aaron David Miller Preserving Israel's Uncertain Status Quo
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/08/15/opinion/preserving-israels-uncertain-status-quo.html?ref=global

Dear Editor,

Aaron David Miller is part of preserving Israel's status quo, naively and foolishly crafting excuses that buy time for more of the same rather than really noticing the very dire plight of the Palestinians: Every day that goes by adds up into more Israeli violations of international law and the Palestinians' basic human rights.

Analysts, think tanks, newspapers and politicians that depend on Israeli Hasbara for facts and figures and opinions and economic forecasts miss the big picture. Out in the real world there are many individuals and organizations that keep a careful tally of Israeli crimes, and there is also a creative revolution for Palestine worldwide as artists and writers and forward thinkers find ways to express their compassion and respect for Palestinians past, present and future. 

Palestinian refugee camps now have rooftop gardens.... and MIFTAH, the Palestinian Initiative for the Promotion of Global Dialogue & Democracy continues to explain how "Palestinians must endure an occupation that robs them of their land and water resources but most of all their freedom and individual potentials to be who they want to be or who they are meant to be."

Meanwhile half a world away Hanan K. Munayyer, President of the Palestinian Heritage Foundation and a board member of the American Task Force on Palestine will be giving a speech at the Library of Congress on Traditional Palestinian Costumes and Embroidery.... Palestine Food أكل فلسطيني shares scrumptious photos and recipes... Songs and Pictures from PalestineHamza Kanaan Art  & Palestinian Surprises & many other online efforts delight a growing and loyal audience... Larissa Sansour's Nation Estate project is now finally completed. To name only a few of the many various and valiant public efforts being made for Palestine.

Golden Rule thinking frees hearts and minds- and adds into the momentum that makes a tipping point to actually end the Israel-Palestine conflict.  Negotiations need to start with full compliance with international law and full respect for universal basic human rights.

Sincerely,
Anne Selden Annab
NOTES
Larissa Sansour's Nation Estate project is now finally completed

This should be obvious ... a poem by Anne Selden Annab

Hamza Kanaan Art

"If tears could build a stairway, and memories a lane...(for Palestine)

2012 International Youth Day: Building a Better World: Partnering with Youth

Karima Aboud the First Photographer in Palestine

Zahi Khouri: The Palestine Romney doesn’t know

 
Another Look at Palestinian Culture:"Palestinians deserve the opportunity they've been denied for so long, to build their own state and develop their culture in independence and freedom"

International Day of Peace... Anyone, anywhere can celebrate Peace Day: September 21, annually

Dr. Salam Fayyad, Palestinian Prime Minister: Inscribing Bethlehem on the World Heritage List... This Week in Palestine

Talal Siam- Palestinian Calligrapher... in This Week in Palestine

Abbas says going to UN even if it conflicts with others' interests


When Israeli bulldozers arrived to demolish her home, 14-year-old Palestine refugee Salha Hamadin called on her pet Hantush to take her somewhere far away until they finished.

Violent attacks by settlers on Palestinians and their property, mosques and farmland had increased by 150% over the past year.

Palestinian officials point out that US Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney is undermining peace... "What this man [Mitt Romney] is doing here is just promoting extremism, violence and hatred"

'Separate and Unequal' is Unacceptable to Palestinians

"If you have to modify it, it isn't really a democracy."

Romney Versus the World Bank

World Bank says Palestinian economy unsustainable noting that "Israeli restrictions remain the biggest impediment to investing, creating high uncertainty and risk"

Do you support as a solution to this conflict the emergence of a fully sovereign state of Palestine on the territory occupied in 1967, including East Jerusalem? Yes or no?




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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

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."

"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

"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 Golden Rule... Do unto others as you would have them do unto you


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