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| July 29, Washington DC -- The American Task Force on Palestine (ATFP) welcomes today's scheduled resumption of direct Israeli-Palestinian negotiations for the first time since 2010. The Task Force expresses its appreciation for Secretary of State John Kerry’s leadership in helping to broker the negotiations. ATFP also complements the courage of the Palestinian and Israeli leaderships in being willing to take the bold step of resuming direct talks. |
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/07/30/opinion/global/roger-cohen-netanyahu-the-peacemaker.html?ref=global
Dear Editor,
Neither Jimmy Carter, nor Roger Cohen have the right to trade away or dismiss or in any way attempt to sabotage support for the Palestinian refugees' inalienable legal, moral, ethical and natural right to return to original homes and lands.
Full respect for international law and universal basic human rights remains the only reliable foundation for a just and lasting peace: A refugee's right of return must not ever be contorted into yet another way to impose even more forced transfer and punitive exile on people already displaced. Nor should any Palestinian refugees be forced to go back to be Israeli. Refugees must be free to make an informed choice as to where they want to invest their time, talents and tax money.
Personally I think it is obvious already that the best and the brightest are already choosing, each in their own way, to help build a sovereign and successful Palestine living in peace and security alongside Israel.
Sincerely,
Anne Selden Annab, American homemaker & poet
NOTES
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 PLO Delegation to The United States: "We call for a just solution to our refugee issue in accordance with UN General Assembly Resolution 194. Our position on refugees is also included and supported in the Arab Peace Initiative (API), which calls for “a just solution to the Palestinian refugee problem to be agreed upon in accordance with UN General Assembly Resolution 194.” A just solution to the refugee issue must address two aspects: the right of return and reparations." http://plodelegation.us/resources/negotiations-primer/
"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.
“Generations
of Commitment" American Task Force on Palestine Honoring the
Achievements of Palestinian-Americans ... & This Could
Actually Work: Why John Kerry's Middle East peace push isn’t a
fool's errand. 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.
FORBES: Peace Through Profits? Inside The Secret Tech Ventures That Are Reshaping The Israeli-Arab-Palestinian World
Al Jazeera English's The Stream hosts a spirited conversation on the new Israeli-Palestinian negotiations with Hussein Ibish, Gil Hoffman, Noura Erakat and Dimi Reider.
Dr Ziad Asali with Aaron David Miller, Dennis Ross, US envoy to the Middle East, and Shibley Telhami on PBS's Charlie Rose on John Kerry's Middle East Peace Initiative
Hamas in the Crosshairs
New York Times: Israeli Land Measure Called Discriminatory
Israel has frozen co-operation with the European Union on work in the Palestinian territories in retaliation for an EU directive banning funding or grants for bodies with links to Israeli settlements.
"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
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