Saliba Sarsar and Hussein Ibish, Ph.D.

People Power for Peace

Posted: 05/25/2012

 [AS ALWAYS PLEASE GO TO THE LINK TO READ GOOD ARTICLES IN FULL: HELP SHAPE ALGORITHMS (and conversations) THAT EMPOWER DECENCY, DIGNITY, JUSTICE & PEACE... and hopefully Palestine]  

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/saliba-sarsar/israel-palestine-conflict_b_1545472.html

 June 5, 2012 marks the 45th anniversary of the start of the Six-Day War. One of us experienced the war in Jerusalem at the age of 11, and the other in Beirut at age 4, yet it haunts us to this day. The war led to the ongoing Israeli military occupation that has come to define the conflict. It has lessened neither the fears of the triumphant Israelis, nor those of the defeated Arabs; the mindset of confrontation that produced the war still haunts the region.

Despite the military might and economic prowess of their state, Jewish Israelis feel insecure and hesitant to trust the Arab side. They remain traumatized by a tragic history. For some, clinging on to the occupation is seen as a security necessity. For others, it is the fear of losing land that they consider a divine or historical birthright.

The Palestinians, given their historic dispossession and suffering in exile or under Israeli occupation, feel increasingly disempowered and disillusioned, and are rapidly losing hope that a two-state solution will ever be achieved. Given its immoral and indefensible system, the occupation is wrecking their livelihood and lives, and condemns them to live without basic human and national rights.

The State of Palestine remains an unfulfilled promise and seems a distant reality. Peace negotiations, United Nations resolutions, and accords have reached a seemingly impossible impasse. Israeli and Palestinian politicians are not listening to each other. Years of conflict and narratives of struggle and pain mean both national communities are caught up in their own visions and divisions.

A year has passed since Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas wrote an op-ed in The New York Times about "The Long Overdue Palestinian State." At the same time, U.S. President Barack Obama spoke, on May 19, 2011, about the need to base future negotiations on the pre-June 5, 1967 lines...READ MORE

AIPAC inspired H.R. 4133....passed by America's Congress on May 9 by a vote of 411–2 on a “suspension of the rules,” which is intended for non-controversial legislation requiring little debate and a quick vote.

"If Congress wants to give Israel the type of guarantees that would require Washington to support Tel Aviv’s foreign and security policy, there should be a free and open debate with the American people understanding clearly what such a commitment means in terms of costs and consequences, not a “suspension of rules” stealth legislative package."  Philip Giraldi, executive director of the Council for the National Interest and a recognized authority on international security and counterterrorism issues.

"... A number of congressmen spoke on the bill, affirming their undying dedication to the cause of Israel. Rep. Ron Paul of Texas was the only one who spoke out against it, describing it as “one-sided and counterproductive foreign policy legislation. This bill’s real intent seems to be more saber-rattling against Iran and Syria.” Paul also observed that “this bill states that it is the policy of the United States to ‘reaffirm the enduring commitment of the United States to the security of the State of Israel as a Jewish state.’ However, according to our Constitution, the policy of the United States government should be to protect the security of the United States, not to guarantee the religious, ethnic, or cultural composition of a foreign country.” Paul voted “no” and was joined by only one other representative, John Dingell of Michigan"
http://mycatbirdseat.com/2012/05/us-house-stealthily-passes-extreme-pro-israel-legislation/

US House Stealthily Passes Extreme Pro-Israel Legislation

My letter to the NYTimes RE Not All Israeli Citizens Are Equal by Yousef Manayyer (& Power With Purpose by Thomas L. Friedman)

RE:  Not All Israeli Citizens Are Equal by Yousef Manayyer http://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/24/opinion/not-all-israeli-citizens-are-equal.html?_r=1 (& Power With Purpose by  Thomas L. Friedman   http://www.americantaskforce.org/daily_news_article/2012/05/22/power_purpose )
 Dear Editor,

Earlier this week (in the NYTIMES) Thomas Friedman wrote of power. In his opinion Israel is already Jewish, and should make peace with Palestine in order to secure Israel's future as a Jewish democracy. Today Yousef Munayyer wisely points out (in the NYTIMES) the horrifying fact that  "Palestinian babies in Israel are considered “demographic threats” by a state constantly battling to keep a Jewish majority." 

So far Israel's supposed Jewishness is and has been a dangerous delusion.  It could have played out very differently had Israel welcomed home the Palestinian refugees sixty years ago, shaping a Jewish state out of the rule of fair and just laws: Israel could have and should have chosen to nurture freedom, justice and real democracy. 

Despite sovereign Israel's past failures to respect international law and the Palestinians' basic human rights a fully secular two state solution to once and for all end the Israel-Palestine conflict really is the best way forward for everyone's sake: Tax payers here and there should not be coerced into funding institutionalized bigotry and apartheid walls that fragment families and impoverish communities. 

Sincerely,
Anne Selden Annab

NOTES
The task before us is to make sure that no further nakbas, no more pogroms or unspeakable horrors, ever occur again

ATFP notes that, as the occupying power, Israel is responsible for protecting Palestinian civilians from attacks by settlers, which is an increasing and highly destabilizing phenomenon.

Open Zion....Hussein Ibish: Beware "Creative Alternatives"

Wasim Salfiti: My Family's History with Nakba

Palestinian Beauty... traditional costumes

Palestinian author Ibtisam Barakat "...and the world is at heart playful..."

Nakba and Memories (1967 War) By Mike Odetalla

Randa Jarrar: Imagining Myself in Palestine

Hanan Ashrawi: Recognizing Nakba, Reaching Peace

Haaretz Editorial: Nakba is part of Israel's history

Qalqiliya unveils 'train of return' to mark Nakba & Abbas applauds steadfastness on Nakba Day

The Key

Exodus 1948 التهجيرعام (19 photos)

The Arab Peace Initiative requests Israel to reconsider its policies and declare that a just peace is its strategic option as well...

An Anne Frank Moment

"It's a simple dictum, but one that many still have trouble accepting: Israelis and Palestinians have to talk to each other if they're going to get anywhere." Hussein Ibish: We Need To Talk

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.

Help Build A Golden Rule Peace for the Holy Land

...from Growing Gardens for Palestine: Freedom to me is ... (a poem)

New York Times: Not All Israeli Citizens Are Equal by Yousef Munayyer

Palestine's Lydda in 1920 with St. George's Church in the background

****************

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/24/opinion/not-all-israeli-citizens-are-equal.html?_r=1

OP-ED CONTRIBUTOR

Not All Israeli Citizens Are Equal

By YOUSEF MUNAYYER

Published: May 23, 2012

I’M a Palestinian who was born in the Israeli town of Lod, and thus I am an Israeli citizen. My wife is not; she is a Palestinian from Nablus in the Israeli-occupied West Bank. Despite our towns being just 30 miles apart, we met almost 6,000 miles away in Massachusetts, where we attended neighboring colleges.

A series of walls, checkpoints, settlements and soldiers fill the 30-mile gap between our hometowns, making it more likely for us to have met on the other side of the planet than in our own backyard....READ MORE

ATFP notes that, as the occupying power, Israel is responsible for protecting Palestinian civilians from attacks by settlers, which is an increasing and highly destabilizing phenomenon.

"The images of Israeli soldiers standing side-by-side with armed settlers as they open fire on Palestinian villagers could not be more damaging to Israeli-Palestinian security cooperation, the atmosphere on the ground and the prospects for maintaining law and order. It is imperative that such behavior on the part of occupation forces not be repeated and that the Israeli authorities move quickly and decisively to curb settler violence and bring its perpetrators to justice. It is strongly in Israel's own interests, as well as the basic human rights of the Palestinian people, for settler violence to be suppressed, not tolerated or ignored." ATFP President Ziad J. Asali

 

ATFP Expresses Alarm at Footage Showing Settlers Shooting at Palestinians in the Presence of Israeli Soldiers

Press Release
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact Information: Ghaith al-Omari
May 22, 2012
http://www.americantaskforce.org/in_media/pr/2012/05/22/1337659200
Washington, DC, May 22 -- The American Task Force on Palestine (ATFP) expressed deep alarm about a video released by the Israeli human rights group B'Tselem that shows a group of armed settlers opening fire on Palestinian protesters in the occupied West Bank. Settlers, some of them masked and armed, reportedly entered the village of Asira al-Qibliya, near Nablus, on Saturday and began a confrontation by throwing rocks at the villagers. The Palestinians responded by throwing stones back at the settlers. The footage demonstrates that after Israeli occupation forces arrived on the scene, settlers were firing on the villagers with live ammunition. Apparently the Israeli soldiers did nothing to try to prevent this. One villager, Nimir Fathi, aged 24, was shot in the neck and another was hit in the face with a rock.

B'Tselem said the video raises "grave suspicions that the soldiers present did not act to prevent the settlers from throwing stones and firing live ammunition at the Palestinians ... and in fact are seen standing by settlers while they are shooting and stone throwing.” The group added that one of the settlers used a "Tavor” rifle, which is reserved for Israeli infantry troops, raising suspicions that one of the assailants might have been a soldier on leave, and that another of the armed settlers was wearing a police cap. B'Tselem called on the military to investigate the "suspicion that the soldiers did not adhere to their obligation to protect Palestinians from settler violence."

ATFP noted that, as the occupying power, Israel is responsible for protecting Palestinian civilians from attacks by settlers, which is an increasing and highly destabilizing phenomenon. The UN has estimated that settler attacks increased by 50 percent in 2011. Another Israeli human rights group, Yesh Din, has estimated that nine out of 10 investigations into these violent incidents fail to result in any prosecutions.

ATFP called on the Israeli government to investigate this incident and move urgently and decisively to suppress violent attacks against Palestinian villagers by settlers. The Task Force also urged the United States government to use its good offices to ensure that Israel fulfills its responsibility to protect the Palestinian population living under occupation.

ATFP President Ziad J. Asali said, “Such attacks are intolerable and totally unacceptable. The Israeli military and civil administration in the occupied territories has a clear moral and legal responsibility to prevent them. The footage suggests this responsibility was being disregarded by the soldiers at the scene of the incident. The images of Israeli soldiers standing side-by-side with armed settlers as they open fire on Palestinian villagers could not be more damaging to Israeli-Palestinian security cooperation, the atmosphere on the ground and the prospects for maintaining law and order. It is imperative that such behavior on the part of occupation forces not be repeated and that the Israeli authorities move quickly and decisively to curb settler violence and bring its perpetrators to justice. It is strongly in Israel's own interests, as well as the basic human rights of the Palestinian people, for settler violence to be suppressed, not tolerated or ignored. The potential negative consequences of this growing pattern of settler attacks, and the insufficient measures to deal with them by the Israeli authorities cannot be overstated.”

Israeli settlers fire at Palestinians – video

Israelis from the West Bank settlement of Yitzhar fire at Palestinians from the town of Asira al-Qibliya on Saturday. Fires seen burning in the background were lit by settlers, according to Israeli NGO B'Tselem. A 24-year-old Palestinian is shot in the face. He is later treated in hospital and recovering from his injuries, according to the NGO

Israeli settler filmed firing gun at Palestinians