 |
| Secretary of State John Kerry, Israel's President Shimon Peres, left, and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, right, participate in the World Economic Forum on the Middle East and North Africa in Jordan, May 26. Mr. Kerry begins preliminary talks with Israeli and Palestinian leaders this week, in hopes of re-starting the Middle East peace process.Jim Young/AP/File |
http://www.csmonitor.com/Commentary/Opinion/2013/0730/Why-Israel-must-make-bold-move-to-secure-Palestinian-peace-talks-and-Israel-s-future
Dear Editor,
I too applaud Kerry's valiant efforts, and I agree that Israel must do all it can to help end the Israel-Palestine conflict... Yes Netanyahu really should declare that Israel has no sovereignty claims over the West Bank. However, many Israeli settlers withdrawn from Gaza took generous 'compensation' and resettled in the West Bank: Israeli settlers should not expect to be refunded and rewarded yet again for usurping Palestinian land and sabotaging peace.
The goal of negotiations must be to shape a just and lasting peace for a sovereign nation state called Israel living alongside a sovereign nation state called Palestine. Water resources and underground aquifers are a more important factor for determining the border between Israel and Palestine than the recently constructed Israeli fence. Furthermore religion must be a personal private individual matter, not a state sponsored mandate, and certainly not a determining factor in who gets citizenship where.
Keep it simple. Two states, both fully honoring and respecting the idea of two separate sovereign nation states, international law and universal basic human rights. One sovereign nation state is called Israel and one sovereign nation state is called Palestine.
Sincerely,
Anne Selden Annab
NOTES
Boston Globe editorial: Kerry’s enormous effort stirs new hope for Mideast talks
Friendship can inspire peace and build bridges between communities
"The way forward is to be found not in looking back at what might have been, but in an honest assessment of what can be done to address current realities." Dr. James Zogby
ATFP Welcomes New Direct Israeli-Palestinian Negotiations
"And when we speak of our faith, it can’t be just about our personal relationship with God, it has to also be about our personal relationship one to the other, each to everybody else." John Kerry, Secretary of State, Remarks at the Ramadan Iftar Dinner 2013
Live
by the Golden Rule
Words to Honor: The United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights
Article 1.
"In 1949, the international community accepted Israel's UN membership upon two conditions: That they respect resolutions 181 (two states) and 194 (refugee rights). Neither has been honored. In fact, 65 years later, Israel has not even acknowledged what it did in 1948." Saeb Erekat
Jordan's King Abdullah II explains that extremism has "grown fat" off of the longstanding conflict between Israel and the Palestinians.
"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
Words to Honor: The United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights
Article 1.
-
All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and
rights.They are endowed with reason and conscience and should
act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.
"In 1949, the international community accepted Israel's UN membership upon two conditions: That they respect resolutions 181 (two states) and 194 (refugee rights). Neither has been honored. In fact, 65 years later, Israel has not even acknowledged what it did in 1948." Saeb Erekat
Jordan's King Abdullah II explains that extremism has "grown fat" off of the longstanding conflict between Israel and the Palestinians.
"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
".... it being clearly understood that nothing
shall be done which may prejudice the civil and religious
rights of existing non-Jewish communities in Palestine....
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:
Palestinian Refugees(1948-NOW) refused their right to return... and their right to live in peace free from religious bigotry and injustice.
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
No comments:
Post a Comment