My letter to the Washington Post RE Israelis unhappy with study of their textbooks and Palestinians'

U.S.-funded study finds missing borders and gaps in history on both sides, but little dehumanization.

Ahmed D. Zakot/Reuters - A Palestinian ninth grade student writes on the blackboard during a Hebrew class at a Gaza school in January in Gaza City

RE: Israelis unhappy with study of their textbooks and Palestinians'
http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/middle_east/israelis-unhappy-with-study-of-their-textbooks-and-palestinians/2013/02/03/f471e042-6e3d-11e2-ac36-3d8d9dcaa2e2_story.html

Dear Editor,


The textbook study Victims of Our Own Narratives? Portrayal of the ‘Other’ in Israeli and Palestinian School Books is a positive step towards empowering peace and a two state solution to actually end the Israel-Palestine conflict and all the many very negative ramifications created by the conflict itself. 

Thanks for providing the link to the study itself so that readers can read and judge for themselves.  American Task Force on Palestine, helping usher in new priorities in Washington DC, is co-Hosting a briefing on Israeli and Palestinian Schoolbooks exploring the topic " Do Israeli or Palestinian schoolbooks teach violence" at the National Press Club this Wednesday. It should be a fascinating and informative discussion.

I think it is obvious that with a fair and just negotiated peace built on a foundation of firm respect for international law and universal basic human rights, both Israelis and Palestinians will be much more motivated to tweak their future textbooks in ways that will help usher in more respect and compassion for the 'other'. 

Old narratives won't be totally eliminated, but they will be put into a wider context. There will also be new heroes and new priorities and new poets as well as new chapters to tell of changing times and recent developments.

Sincerely,
Anne Selden Annab

NOTES
Palestine's Burin is squeezed between Israel's Bracha and Yitzhar settlements, and is the target of regular Israeli settler violence.

New US Secretary of State Kerry calls Palestine's President Abbas

This Week in Palestine: Archaeology

Brooklyn College's academic freedom increasingly threatened over Israel event: New York politicians join the Alan Dershowitz-led campaign to dictate to colleges what academic events they can hold

Hope for a two-state solution for Israel and Palestine is not the preserve of thoughtless optimists: In fact, a deal to end the struggle is within reach - if both parties have the will for it

Hagel's Rough Hearing... "117 times, Israel was mentioned by questioners. And yet I didn't hear anything about widows and orphans and what we're going to do about returning veterans without jobs and post-traumatic stress."

ATFP to Co-Host Briefing on Israeli and Palestinian Schoolbooks

Israel must withdraw all settlers or face ICC, says UN report... UN Human Rights Council says Israel is in violation of Geneva convention and should face international criminal court

BBC News: Israeli settlements in the occupied territories violate Palestinians' human rights in ways designed to drive them off the land, a UN report states.

Palestinians Hope to Tell Their Story Through the Oscars: 5 Broken Cameras

Israel to demolish Palestinian neighborhood in northeast Jerusalem, displacing 200 native non-Jewish men, women and children

Refugees again, Palestinians flee Syria's war

"I am saddened that the Jews, who suffered unbelievable levels of persecution during the Holocaust, could within a few years of liberation from the death camps be inflicting atrocities on Palestinians in the new State of Israel and continue to do so on a daily basis in the West Bank and Gaza..."

Looting books from Palestinian libraries: Dark stories

*******

The Balfour Declaration of 1917

".... it being clearly understood that nothing
          shall be done which may prejudice the civil and religious
          rights of existing non-Jewish communities in Palestine..."

UN Resolution 194 from 1948  : The refugees wishing to return to their homes and live at peace with their neighbours should be permitted to do so at the earliest practicable 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.

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.

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

"Where, after all, do universal human rights begin? In smal 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

Empowering Peace & Palestine

"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."

The Arab Peace Initiative

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.