Monday, October 8, 2012

My letter to the Washington Post RE "Missing in action: The U.S. can’t ignore the Middle East’s struggles" by Fred Hiatt

...With Palestine

RE No escape from the Middle East
http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/fred-hiatt-no-escape-from-the-middle-east/2012/10/07/35fc9204-0f1c-11e2-bb5e-492c0d30bff6_story.html

Dear Editor,

Leading by example is the best way to move forward- and the best example America can give the rest of the world is exactly as Obama said: “It is time to focus on nation-building here at home.” 

There are as many ways to do exactly that as there are individuals able and willing to give of their time and talents to their families, to their communities and schools and businesses- and to their country... and to the global conversation about freedom, justice, democracy- and diplomacy.

Palestine empowered to be a real state for the people, of the people and by the people rather than a rally cry for radicals & Islamists worldwide can not be imposed on the people of Palestine. They too need to focus in on nation-building.

Firmly supporting a fully secular two state solution to once and for all end the Israel-Palestine conflict for everyone's sake needs to be a foreign policy priority not only for American leadership, but for every citizen here and there, as well as every refugee who values the meaning as well as the memory of home.

Sincerely,
Anne Selden Annab

NOTES
Songs and Pictures from Palestine: Najat El-Taji El-Khairy ... the wall

William Hague intervenes over West Bank barrier: Foreign secretary shares concern with Archbishop of Westminster in private letter about Israeli-built wall

Jordan, Palestine sign free trade agreement: Fayez Tarawneh, the prime minister said the Kingdom will continue to support the Palestinians politically and help them confront Israel’s attempts to Judaise Jerusalem.

Ariel

Devout Israeli Jews moving to Arab-Jewish cities

''The Life of a Palestinian''

Empowering Peace & Palestine

Muslims who would restrict speech to "protect Islam" have no greater allies than Jews who would do so to "protect Israel."


King Abdullah II of Jordan: The reason behind Tehran’s nuclear programme is the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.

Palestine's Abbas: "Despite our feelings of disappointment and loss of hope, we continue to sincerely extend our hands to the Israeli people to make peace."   [Full text: Abbas address to UN General Assembly]

The Rule of Law
  "The real rule of law is substantive and encompasses many human-rights requirements. It reflects the idea of equality in a substantive way: not just that no one is above the law, but that everyone is equal before and under the law, and is entitled to its equal protection and equal benefit..." Louise Arbour, former U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights & president of the International Crisis Group.

OBAMA: "It is time to marginalize those who, even when not resorting to violence, use hatred of America, or the West, or Israel as the central organizing principle of politics," Obama said. "For that only gives cover, and sometimes makes an excuse, for those who resort to violence."
  U.S. President Barack Obama challenged world leaders to tackle the recent violence rippling across the Muslim world, calling it “not simply an assault on America” but an attack “on the very ideals upon which the United Nations was founded.”

Ambassadorship is no longer reserved for elites. In this era of digital interconnectedness, we are all called upon to use free speech to foster peace, not violence. To honor Ambassador Stevens, let us uphold that responsibility in our online – and offline – interactions.


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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

"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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