Remember that Mandela emerged from jail as a peacemaker, not a soldier.

"...Both Palestinians and Israelis have much to learn from the great leader. The most important lesson for Palestinians is to maintain the momentum of their global campaign – and to remember that Mandela emerged from jail as a peacemaker, not a soldier. Israelis, on the other hand, should heed these words from Mandela: “Talk of peace will remain hollow if Israel continues to occupy Arab territories ... If there is going to be peace, there must be complete withdrawal from all of these areas.”

Palestinian officials paid tribute to Mandela on Friday, expressing appreciation for his inspiration and support. “This is a great loss for all the peoples of the world, and for Palestine,” the Palestinian Authority president Mahmoud Abbas said, hailing Mandela as a “symbol of freedom from colonialism and occupation” who would never be forgotten by the Palestinian people.

There is never going to be another Nelson Mandela. We can all only hope that we can properly learn the lessons from his life. And perhaps for Palestine, in Mandela’s past is its future."

http://www.thenational.ae/thenationalconversation/editorial/in-mandelas-life-is-a-lesson-for-palestinians

In Mandela’s life is a lesson for Palestinians

National Editorial

December 7, 2013

As South Africa and the world mourn the death of Nelson Mandela, his passing will perhaps be even more acutely felt in Palestine for the possibilities he pointed to. Just a week before his death, former Palestinian prime minister Salam Fayyad described the great man as a “compass” for the Palestinian cause. In an op-ed for the New York Times, he wrote: [Mandela’s] persistent defiance exemplified the immense power of non-violence in resisting the entrapment of victimhood and overcoming the burdens of injustice.”...READ MORE

[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]