CSM: UNESCO designates Church of the Nativity as endangered site... "Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, who heads a self-rule government in charge of 38 percent of the West Bank, says negotiations with Israel remain his preferred choice, but wants global recognition to improve his leverage [for negotiations]."

A nun walks outside the Church of the Nativity, the site revered as the birthplace of Jesus, in the West Bank town of Bethlehem June 28.

Ammar Awad/REUTERS

Palestinian leaders consider the designation a political victory.

By Dalia Nammari and Karin Laub, Associated Press / June 29, 2012 

Bethlehem, West Bank

The Palestinians on Friday persuaded the U.N. cultural agency to list the Church of the Nativity — the place where Christians believe Jesus was born — as an endangered World Heritage site despite misgivings by churches in charge of the basilica.

The Palestinians hailed the nod by UNESCO as a step forward in their quest for global recognition of an independent Palestine in the West Bank, Gaza and east Jerusalem, captured by Israel in 1967.
The centuries-old basilica is located in a part of the Israeli-occupied West Bank where the Palestinians have self-rule. UNESCO's decision was seen by them as validation of their rights to the territory.

IN PICTURES: Unsettled: Jewish settlements in the West Bank

"We are ecstatic," Palestinian spokeswoman Hanan Ashrawi said of Friday's 13-6 by UNESCO's World Heritage Committee, meeting in St. Petersburg, Russia.

The Palestinians had argued that the shrine faces imminent danger, both because of overdue repairs and Israel's continued occupation of the West Bank....READ MORE

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http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Latest-News-Wires/2012/0629/UNESCO-designates-Church-of-the-Nativity-as-endangered-site

Due Diligence: Questions for the One-Staters

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http://www.huffingtonpost.com/ziad-j-asali-md/one-state-solution-israel_b_1638550.html

Ziad J. Asali, M.D.

President, American Task Force on Palestine

The supporters of the two-state solution are often told that this vision is unrealistic and has become unachievable. Young, idealistic seekers of justice and equality are increasingly offering what they claim is a more "realistic" solution: a single state for all Israelis and Palestinians, including refugees.

Because I am deeply aware of the difficulties of achieving a lasting solution through two states living side-by-side in peace, I am always eager to examine other options. In sincerely evaluating the one state idea, I first reviewed how the two-state concept emerged, assessed the fundamental realities of the status quo, and posited the series of questions about how a single state could be achieved.

Beginning with its inception in 1965, the Palestine Liberation Organization pursued a single state solution. It only accepted Israel and the two-state solution in 1988 after armed resistance not only failed to achieve a state, but precipitated a series of calamities for Palestinians.

The two-state solution also became the official policy of the United States -- and the world as represented by the Middle East Quartet -- under the George W. Bush administration in 2002. It was buttressed by the Arab Peace Initiative and, in 2009, was even accepted by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. It is the consensus of international policy, but is also stymied and forestalled by international politics, and is losing support and confidence because of the failure of the negotiating process and expanding settlement construction.

Whether pursuing two states or a single state, everyone needs to begin by honestly assessing the status quo as defined by the following salient facts:

- Israel occupies the Palestinians and their land conquered in 1967.

- Soon the number of Jews and Arabs in territories of mandatory Palestine, between the sea and the river, will be equal.

- The de facto state of Israel already constitutes a one-state reality, but the conflict is not ended.
- Jordan is already another unified, single state that is organically tied to the conflict.

- Both negotiations and "armed resistance" have failed to produce a solution.

- Demographics, and land occupancy, are inexorably changing, according to their own logic and pace.

Among Palestinians, the one-state idea is embraced mainly by those most opposed to Israel, Zionism, normalization, negotiations, cultural exchange and trade, and who support boycott, divesture and sanctions.

To take the one-state option seriously, due diligence regarding its feasibility is required. This simply means asking how it can be achieved through the following questions:

1) What is the mechanism for negotiating, implementing or imposing such a solution? ....READ MORE

CNN: UNESCO grants Bethlehem church 'world heritage' status

Christian pilgrims visit the Church of Nativity in the Palestinian city of Bethlehem on June 28, 2012.

"Palestinian Foreign Minister Riyad Malki, in St. Petersburg for the vote, thanked all those who voted in favor of including Bethlehem's holiest sites on the world heritage list.

"The victory of Palestine in international organizations is the beginning of the end of the Israeli occupation," Malki said in a statement.

Hanan Ashrawi, a member of the Palestine Liberation Organization's executive committee who heads the group's Department of Culture and Information, told CNN from Ramallah that the vote affirms the Palestinian identity and is one step toward Palestinian self-determination.

"Now we are responsible for our cultural and historical sites as part of human civilization as a whole," Ashrawi said.

"Politically it is important, because it is the beginning of the loosening of the control of the Israeli occupation on our land, on our lives, on our culture and at all attempts of confiscation and distortion of our cultural heritage and reality," Ashrawi said....READ MORE

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http://www.cnn.com/2012/06/29/world/meast/palestinian-bethlehem-heritage-site/index.html

LATimes: Palestinians hail World Heritage listing of Bethlehem holy sites

RAMALLAH, West Bank -- A United Nations panel voted Friday to include holy sites in the biblical city of Bethlehem  on the World Heritage list, to the applause of Palestinian officials and the anger of their Israeli counterparts

A committee of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) voted 13 to 6 with two abstentions to include the ancient Church of the Nativity, the reputed birthplace of Jesus Christ, along with the city's Pilgrimage Route on the World Heritage list of endangered sites. The panel met in St. Petersburg, Russia.

Palestinians saw the World Heritage Committee's decision as international recognition of their jurisdiction over Bethlehem and its holy sites, in addition to making the church eligible for UNESCO funding for badly needed repairs and renovations.

Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Salam Fayyad quickly praised the vote as "a victory for righteousness, justice and humanitarian principles."...READ MORE

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http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/world_now/2012/06/bethlehem-world-heritage-site-palestinians-israel.html

Palestinians celebrate UNESCO vote: "We almost lost hope... But today was a great day ... As Palestinians we deserve our heritage like any other people in the world."

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http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=499829 

A young Palestinian woman walks outside the Church of the
Nativity in the West Bank city of Bethlehem on June 29, 2012.
The UN cultural agency voted Friday to add the site to its world
heritage list, angering Israel. (MaanImages/Jenny Baboun)

BETHLEHEM (Ma'an) -- Palestinian officials applauded the UN cultural agency Friday after UNESCO voted to accept a revered Christian holy place onto its list of world heritage sites.

At a news conference outside the Church of the Nativity, the traditional birthplace of Jesus, officials thanked UNESCO for recognizing Palestine's heritage as fireworks lit up the sky.

"We are all very happy," said Issam Juha, the director for restoration at the Centre for Cultural Heritage Preservation and one of the authors of the Palestinian application to UNESCO.

"We almost lost hope," he said, referring to the close vote in St Petersburg. "But today was a great day ... As Palestinians we deserve our heritage like any other people in the world."

The official rejected accusations by Israel and the United States that the submission of the Church of the Nativity and nearby Pilgrimage Route was motivated by political interests.

"This isn't political. It was a technical decision based on merit," he told Ma'an, speaking outside the church. "This place is holy to all humanity, especially the two billion Christians around the world."

Israel has questioned the need for Bethlehem to be registered as an endangered site and sees Palestinian moves at UNESCO and other UN bodies as efforts to embarrass Israel on the world stage.

"This is proof that UNESCO is motivated by political and not cultural considerations," Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said in a statement following the decision. "Instead of taking steps to promote peace, the Palestinians are acting unilaterally, which makes peace more distant."

The US ambassador to UNESCO, David Killion, said he was "profoundly disappointed by the decision".

George Saade, the deputy mayor of Bethlehem, called the vote a landmark achievement and congratulated President Mahmoud Abbas and his prime minister, Salam Fayyad, on the successful outcome.

Abbas' Palestinian government plans to register about 20 more sites with UNESCO, including the ancient city of Jericho and the archaeological site of Sebastia, and has dismissed Israel's accusations.

"Our goal is to preserve and safeguard these sites in spite of the threat from Israeli occupation," said Hanan Ashrawi, head of the PLO's Department of Culture and Information.

Last year, UNESCO granted Palestine full membership, a decision seen at the time as a boost to their bid, since largely stalled, to win UN recognition of statehood in the absence of peace talks with Israel.

Israel and the United States, which later cut off its $80 million annual funding of UNESCO, condemned the decision, saying negotiations -- which collapsed in 2010 -- were the only path to statehood.

Reuters contributed to this report.

MSNBC: Palestinian: US supports 'an apartheid system that is suffocating us'

A special NBC News series: What The World Thinks of U.S.Click here for more information

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http://worldnews.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/06/28/12444325-palestinian-us-supports-an-apartheid-system-that-is-suffocating-us?lite

Dr. Abdelfattah Abusrour, general manager of the Al Rowwad Cultural Center in Bethlehem, in the West Bank, talks about his view of the United States.

By Yara Borgal, NBC News Producer

 

BETHLEHEM, WEST BANK – At the Aida Refugee Camp, a few blocks from Israel’s separation wall, is the Al Rowwad Cultural and Theater Center founded by Dr. Abdelfattah Abusrour in 1998 with the philosophy of “beautiful resistance” against the Israeli power over their land.

Abusrour is part of the first generation of children born to refugee parents in the Aida Refugee Camp, which was established in 1950 between the towns of Bethlehem and Beit Jala. It is now home to around 5,000 inhabitants all descendants from the 1948 expulsion from Palestine.

Abusrour considers himself “fortunate” to have gotten a scholarship to study in France, where he stayed for nine years and got his master’s and Ph.D in biological and medical engineering. But his heart was always also with theater, painting and photography. He came home with the dream of working with children to help shape the future of a Palestinian state.

The center started working with children in refugee camps in the area of Bethlehem and Bet-Jala, but then spread all over the West Bank with mobile “beautiful resistance” programs in theater, dance and music training.

He explained the center’s philosophy: “Resistance, because we are under occupation still until today and we have this right to resist the occupation; and beautiful, to reflect all this beauty, this humanity, this culture, this heritage, this beautiful heritage of unarmed struggle that the Palestinians have carried over the years even before Gandhi and Martin Luther King.”...READ MORE

Israel subjecting Palestinian children to 'spiral of injustice': Foreign Office-backed delegation of UK lawyers says treatment may stem from belief every Palestinian child is potential terrorist

Israeli soldiers stand guard over Palestinian children arrested in the West Bank city of Hebron. Photograph: Abed Al Hashlamoun/EPA

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http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/jun/26/israel-palestinian-children-injustice

• Harriet Sherwood in Jerusalem
• guardian.co.uk, Tuesday 26 June 2012 13.30 EDT 

A belief that every Palestinian child is a potential terrorist may be leading to a "spiral of injustice" and breaches of international law in Israel's treatment of child detainees in military custody, a delegation of eminent British lawyers has concluded in an independent report backed by the Foreign Office.

The nine-strong delegation, led by the former high court judge Sir Stephen Sedley and including the UK's former attorney-general Lady Scotland, found that "undisputed facts" pointed to at least six violations of the UN convention on the rights of the child, to which Israel is a signatory. It was also in breach of the fourth Geneva convention in transferring child detainees from the West Bank to Israeli prisons, the delegation said.

Its report, Children in Military Custody, released on Tuesday, was based on a visit to Israel and the West Bank last September funded and facilitated by the Foreign Office and...READ MORE 

[Hussein Ibish and 2 other friends posted about a link]

 

The perils of alienation over Palestine

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http://www.americantaskforce.org/daily_news_article/2012/06/26/perils_alienation_over_palestine

by Ghaith Al-Omari
The Daily Star (Opinion)
June 26, 2012 - 12:00am
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/Opinion/Commentary/2012/Jun-26/178190-the-perils-of-...

Critics of the American Task Force on Palestine get one thing right: Palestinian Americans have largely failed to make their voices heard in the mainstream American political and foreign-policy conversation. However, this is the fault of self-styled “pro-Palestinian” advocates who operate in a cult-like echo-chamber and advocate an approach that does considerable harm to the Palestinian cause.

It is often claimed that strident “pro-Palestinian” advocates are afraid to speak up. On the contrary, their voices are loud and shrill, but they champion stances that plainly invite marginalization.

Any position that rests on the dogmatic assertion that a two-state solution is a dangerous illusion is simply not going to be taken seriously. A two-state solution is the policy of the Palestinian national leadership and – according to all opinion polls – a majority of Palestinians in the occupied territories, as well as people in Israel, the United States, the Arab and Muslim worlds, the United Nations, and indeed the rest of the world (except perhaps Iran).

Those who spend all their efforts merely trying to show how bad Israel is and how victimized the Palestinians are, while offering no constructive input to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian problem, should expect the world to ignore their whining. Indeed, such behavior begs the question of whether these individuals really want a solution at all, or – in some material, intellectual or emotional register – are comfortable with the continuation of the conflict.

Their tired message of victimization and blame also fails to resonate among many Palestinians who refuse to define themselves as hapless victims, and are taking proactive measures in the occupied territories to improve their lives and build the basis for an independent state. Not surprisingly, these Palestinian efforts are also condemned by these so-called “pro-Palestinian” activists.

ATFP was created to eschew precisely such self-marginalizing approaches. We at ATFP have never claimed to represent, or speak for, anyone but ourselves. But we also understood some essential realities. The tools and resources of the American political system are open to all Americans. The only limitations are those that are self-imposed. Our best leverage is our ability to add value to the policy conversation. So, rather than angrily lamenting the state of things, we engage and proactively promote the American national interest in ending the occupation and bringing peace to the Palestinians and Israelis.

We have been successful beyond our expectations. We have obviously not succeeded in creating a Palestinian state, but we have injected a powerful, constant Palestinian-American voice into the mainstream American foreign-policy debate. Through ATFP, Palestine has indeed become part of the Washington establishment.

The noises made by our critics have not impeded our ability to influence the policy conversation, because these critics have no place in it. That is not to say, however, that such malicious activists have not been harmful to Palestinian Americans in other ways.

Appointing themselves guardians of political correctness in the community, this camp has created an atmosphere of intimidation. They have relied on bullying tactics, accusing ATFP of “treachery,” “collaboration,” “normalization,” “opportunism,” and so forth. These labels are routinely deployed in vicious smear campaigns against Palestinian and Arab-American activists who claim the full measure of their citizenship by engaging in our own country’s political system.

When I speak at campuses around the United States, I am regularly told by young Arab-Americans that they agree with ATFP’s general approach, but are uncomfortable voicing this for fear of these commissars of correctness. Each one of these bright, energetic young people who are intimidated from engaging with the American mainstream is a loss to the Palestinian cause. As a result, the vibrant and successful Palestinian-American community has shrill voices on the margins but a distinctly low presence in the very field Palestinians care so much about: American foreign policy.

There is a large measure of internalized racism in these attacks. Such critics simply cannot imagine that Arab-Americans can be serious participants in American policy conversations. Because they persist in the deep-seated belief that it is impossible for us to actually impact policy, they assume engagement means selling out or capitulating.

Such people may cling to the comfort of seeing themselves solely as perpetual righteous victims oppressed by Israel and America, but Palestine and the Palestinian-American community are paying the price for their self-indulgence.

Palestinian Americans have long lamented the lack of an effective “Palestine lobby.” ATFP is not, nor does it want to be, such a lobby. But as policy practitioners in Washington, we keenly feel the need for one. The more engaged Arab-Americans are in the system and in the foreign policy conversation, the more effective will our collective message be. Alienated critics might make interesting characters, but they can’t have any impact on American policy.

Activists living in a self-imposed ghetto need to understand that the Palestinian issue is not about them or their intellectual and emotional comfort. It is about real people who endure losses every day the conflict continues.

 ATFP is strictly opposed to all acts of violence against civilians no matter the cause and no matter who the victims or perpetrators may be.  The Task Force advocates the development of a Palestinian state that is democratic, pluralistic, non-militarized and neutral in armed conflicts.

Help support the American Task Force on Palestine in its mission to create a viable Palestinian state living side by side with Israel in Peace and Security.

Questions For One-Staters

Sometimes, the Palestinian images we see just mirror the usual stereotypes....Change the picture! UNWRA photocompetition for young Palestinian refugees 2012

http://www.unrwa.org/photocompetition_e

Change the picture!

There are many photographic images of Palestinian refugees out there. Sometimes they pick up the out-of-the-ordinary: the dust kicked up by some children running to school, or the Sun sneaking its way between the electricity wires of a camp.

But all too often, the images we see of Palestinians don’t reflect the real experience and ambitions of the refugee community – especially young refugees. Sometimes, the Palestinian images we see just mirror the usual stereotypes.

We invite young Palestinian refugees to change that image. We ask that you produce and send us one photo that reflects your refugee experience; and we put no limits on your creativity.
Together, let’s try to see Palestinian refugees from a different angle.

Let’s try to change the picture.

Entry rules

• The competition is open to all Palestinian refugees aged 16-29.
• Submitted photos must be recent (since the beginning of this year).
• Send one photo of high quality.
• The photographs submitted must be the participant’s own.
• Participants agree to grant UNRWA the rights to publish and reproduce their photographs, in print, as part of exhibitions and in other publications.
• The last date of entry is 21 September 2012. No entries will be accepted thereafter.

Prizes

• First prize: US$ 1,000
• Second prize: US$ 750
• Third prize: US$ 500

To enter, please send us the following

• One completed entry form and photo (in JPEG format), sent as an e-mail attachment to photos@unrwa.org.
• A description or caption for the photo, not exceeding 100 words.

Photos will be judged by a panel of UNRWA and professional Palestinian photographers. Winning photographs will be exhibited at a special ceremony on the occasion of UN Day on 24 October 2012.

UNRWA’s 2012 photography competition is made possible through generous funding from the European Union.

“drought the people out”... the continuing plight of the Palestinians

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 MIFTAH VISION

An independent, democratic and sovereign Palestinian state, which grants Palestinians their basic rights, preserves their dignity, and enjoys international recognition and respect.

 http://www.miftah.org/Display.cfm?DocId=24972&CategoryId=3

 MIFTAH's Opinion & Editorials
Showering in America
June 25, 2012
By Joharah Baker for MIFTAH 

One of my biggest indulgences when I make a trip to the United States is taking long hot showers. This may sound ridiculous to many, but to a Palestinian it is anything but. Standing under the hot pressurized water at the Hilton in Los Angeles, taking my sweet time, I could not help but contrast my present state of watery bliss to the bleak state of water resources in my real home, Palestine. Back in Bir Nabala, my parents’ village, Israeli authorities cut the water supply for up to four days a week, leaving the residents scrambling to fill their tanks and ration out water for the rest of the week. Baths are quick, washing is done on the ‘water saving’ cycle and windows are only washed on the two or three days the water is turned back on.

And this is a good area. In an interview this morning with Voice of Palestine, head of the Maleh Local Council in the Jordan Valley, Aref Daraghmeh lamented that Israeli authorities had taken over all but 20 percent of the land and all of the water sources including a local spring. Daraghmeh maintained that the plan was to “drought the people out”. The mostly Bedouin population depends on shepherding for a living in addition to farming, both which rely heavily on water. Once that is taken away, there is not much left to do but leave. So who is enjoying Al Maleh’s water? According to Daraghmeh, seven area settlements and six army posts all tap into the wells and springs that rightfully belong to Al Maleh residents.

This is the case throughout the West Bank. Palestinians only have access to roughly one-fifth of the West Bank water supply with the Israeli government controlling the rest. Illegal Israeli settlers have more control over water resources in the West Bank than the majority Palestinian population living on their own land. Hence the luxurious swimming pools in the settlements in stark contrast to empty wells in neighboring Palestinian villages.

Taking showers in the US was not the only jarring contrast that came to mind either. Living under an oppressive occupation for so many years takes a toll on your state of mind whether you are conscious of it or not. Crossing Israeli borders and checkpoints almost daily has created a sort of built-in tension for me (and I am sure for all Palestinians). Walking up to an Israeli soldier or border control officer, a sinking feeling always washes over me, as if I were guilty simply because of my identity. Approaching the American border policeman at Dulles Airport, I had to remind myself that this was not Israel and that I was a citizen of this country where I had full rights and equality. Strangely, this sense of entitlement, this sense of ‘freedom’ which has been denied to us Palestinians for so long, bore heavily down on me as I entered the place of my birth. Was the border officer really smiling at me, welcoming me “home?”

This simple incident reminded me of how criminal it is to deny an entire nation of their freedom. Granted, there are enough Americans living in poverty, who are struggling every day to keep their home and their jobs, but they are still free citizens of a sovereign country. In the UK, which I also visited, the same feeling applied. I did not have to produce my ID card every time I changed zones in London. I did not have to press my fingers into a machine that pulled up a police-like report on me to make sure I was not “wanted”. And I did not worry that if I took 15 minutes more in the shower, I may have denied someone else in the family of their own bath time.

This ‘indulgence’ was short-lived however. At Vienna’s international airport I was forced to part with my two children who were flying back to the country via Tel Aviv with my father. I had to sleep the night in Amman, Jordan before crossing the Allenby Bridge the next morning. That’s right, my children must enter and exit the country via the airport due to their Jerusalem status while I – the proud bearer of a Palestinian passport (alongside my US one) – must trek through the east bank of the River Jordan before I am allowed back into the country. Not only is this extremely discriminatory and a terrible inconvenience, it also means I had to take an unsatisfying, trickle-of-a-flow shower in Amman just to remind me that I was almost home.

Joharah Baker is a Writer for the Media and Information Department at the Palestinian Initiative for the Promotion of Global Dialogue and Democracy (MIFTAH). She can be contacted at mid@miftah.org. 

     MIFTAH: The Palestinian Initiative for the Promotion of Global Dialogue and Democracy

My letter to the Washington Post RE Lally Weymouth interviews Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad

Freedom to me is ...

RE: Lally Weymouth interviews Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad
http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/lally-weymouth-interviews-palestinian-prime-minister-salam-fayyad/2012/06/22/gJQAZFwmvV_story_3.html?socialreader_check=0&denied=1

Dear Editor,

Delighted to see the intriguing and quite informative Lally Weymouth interview with Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad.  I very much hope that steady erosion in Hamas’s standing continues, for I am quite convinced, beyond the shadow of a doubt, that Islamists have very much harmed Palestine's chances of finding freedom, justice, peace, progress- and mainstream American support.  Bad will most certainly shift towards worse if the current status quo continues.

Whether or not there are Palestinian elections soon, Islamists should voluntary step down- for Palestine's sake. A fully secular two state solution to once and for all end the Israel-Palestine conflict as soon as possible really is the best way forward for everyone's sake.

Sincerely,
Anne Selden Annab

NOTES

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

Palestinian Refugees (1948-NOW) refused their right to return... and their right to live in peace free from religious bigotry and injustice.

"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