My letter to the Guardian RE Lib Dem MP David Ward defends remarks about Israel (Ward faces intense criticism since accusing 'the Jews' of inflicting daily atrocities on Palestinians)

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

 RE: Lib Dem MP David Ward defends remarks about Israel
http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2013/jan/25/lib-dem-david-ward-israel

Dear Sir,

Kudos to David Ward for speaking out honestly, compassionately and clearly about how tragic it is 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."

Zionist propaganda, harassment campaigns and a war of words tend to obscure the conversation- silencing, distracting and/or destroying intelligent people who dare carefully explain and object to Israel's endless crimes against the native non-Jewish population of the Holy Land. 

Making matters worse, extremists and Islamists worldwide gain respect and popularity because they know how to take advantage of the righteous indignation and the bigotry that Israeli policies inspire.

Hopefully that will change as more people (and more newspapers) find more reasons to be more fully honest about Israel and the very real plight of the Palestinians.

Sincerely,
Anne Selden Annab

NOTES
Looting books from Palestinian libraries: Dark stories

Arab League official urges Arab Israelis to go out and vote to thwart ‘racist’ Israeli plans

Palestinian passengers will be more tempted to read books after a new reading campaign is launched next week. A group of young writers are gathering books to put in mini-vans linking major cities in the West Bank, routes that can waste hours.

Diplomacy in action- for peace & Palestine

Palestinians set up new tented protest village northwest of Jerusalem

Museum displays Palestinian heritage in Tulkarm. - YouTube

PLO Delegation: Statement on Killing of Palestinian Youth

UN Chief Urges Israel to Rescind E1 Settlement

Israeli forces demolish 2 East Jerusalem homes

Aid agencies tread gingerly in Area C... Palestinian communities here, among the poorest and most vulnerable in oPt, desperately need access to water, electricity, sanitation and other basic infrastructure.

*******

The United States 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 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..."

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

"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

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.

"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..."

David Ward: "Having visited Auschwitz twice – once with my family and once with local schools – 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."

.... Asked if he accepted that he was accusing Jews, rather than the Israeli state, of inflicting persection on the Palestinians, he replied: "I'm accusing the Jews who did it, so if you're a Jew and you did not do it I'm not accusing you. I'm saying that those Jews who did that and continue to do it have not learned those lessons. If you are a Jew and you do not do those things and have never done those things then I am of course not criticising you."

David Ward accused "the Jews" of "inflicting atrocities on Palestinians … within a few years of liberation from the death camps". Photograph: Jacek Bednarczy/EPA

 http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2013/jan/25/lib-dem-david-ward-israel

Lib Dem MP David Ward defends remarks about Israel

Ward has faced intense criticism since accusing 'the Jews' of inflicting daily atrocities on Palestinians

• Ben Quinn
• The Guardian, Friday 25 January 2013

A Liberal Democrat MP facing disciplinary action over comments about Israel's treatment of Palestinians that he made ahead of Holocaust Memorial Day has said he will defend his actions in front of his party's chief whip.

David Ward posted an item on his website about honouring those who were persecuted and killed during the Holocaust but also accusing "the Jews" of "inflicting atrocities on Palestinians … on a daily basis".

Despite coming in for intense criticism on social media and elsewhere, the MP stood by his comments and said later that he would set out his case if he faced disciplinary action. "I shall try to explain my position. No doubt the chief whip will explain why he feels what I have done is wrong," he added....READ MORE

Looting books from Palestinian libraries: Dark stories

The Economist

Jan 21st 2013, 19:12 by D.H. | RAMALLAH

[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]

http://www.economist.com/blogs/prospero/2013/01/looting-books-palestinian-libraries

IN THE dark rooftop viewing space of the Khalil Al Sakakini Cultural Centre in Ramallah, the air was heavy with sighs. Occasionally the faint sound of a whimper could be heard. The screen flickered with images of Palestinians forced out of their homes in the 1948 war. On camera, refugees recounted their ordeals and lamented the loss of something precious: their books.

This was the Ramallah debut of "The Great Book Robbery", a 2012 documentary about the looting of some 70,000 books from private Palestinian libraries during the 1948 war. It vividly chronicles the large-scale cultural pillage and dispossession of Palestinian literary archives. Directed by Benny Brunner, a Dutch-Israeli immigrant and self-described former Zionist, the film left the 40 or so attendees in awe. Adding to the poignance, the audience was gathered in a centre named for a famous Palestinian poet and scholar whose own book collection had been looted.

“Farewell, my books! How much midnight oil did I burn with you…” Al Sakakini wrote these words shortly after Jewish soldiers swept through Jerusalem’s affluent Arab neighbourhoods of Qatamon, Musrara and Baq’a, “collecting” 30,000 books, newspapers and documents. The haul included works of immeasurable historical or religious significance, such as hand-written copies of the Koran and Hadith, emblazoned with gold leaf. Some 40,000 other books were seized from abandoned homes in urban centres such as Nazareth, Jaffa and Haifa. In writing, Al Sakakini wonders if his treasured possessions were looted or burnt. “Were you transferred, with due respect, to a private or public library?” he asks, or “did you find your way to the grocer, your pages wrapping onions?”...READ MORE

My letter to the NYTimes RE U.S. Inaction, Mideast Cataclysm? by Israel's Bernard Avishai and Palestine's Sam Bahour

2013 inauguration: Waiting, watching, bearing witness PHOTOS

RE: U.S. Inaction, Mideast Cataclysm?
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/22/opinion/us-inaction-mideast-cataclysm.html?ref=global&_r=0

Dear Editor, 

Following the news and opinion regarding the Israel-Palestine conflict one gets used to an avalanche of the same old excuses and rants and distractions that tempt many novices away from taking efforts for a just and lasting peace in the Middle East seriously. 

Thus, I was surprised and quite impressed by the clear headed thinking and excellent analysis in the timely op-ed "U.S. Inaction, Mideast Cataclysm?" ( written by Israel's Bernard Avishai and Palestine's Sam Bahour).

In my opinion, Obama would be wise to listen carefully to his own inspiring inauguration speech, and apply that exact same logic and hopefulness to our foreign policy and our expectations for both Israel and Palestine because indeed: " We, the people, still believe that every citizen deserves a basic measure of security and dignity." President Barack Obama

A fully secular two state solution firmly based on international law and full respect for universal basic human rights, including but not limited to the Palestinian refugees' legal, moral and natural right of return, really is the best way forward- for everyone's sake.

Sincerely,
Anne Selden Annab

NOTES
Arab League official urges Arab Israelis to go out and vote to thwart ‘racist’ Israeli plans

Palestinian passengers will be more tempted to read books after a new reading campaign is launched next week. A group of young writers are gathering books to put in mini-vans linking major cities in the West Bank, routes that can waste hours.

Diplomacy in action- for peace & Palestine

Palestinians set up new tented protest village northwest of Jerusalem

Museum displays Palestinian heritage in Tulkarm. - YouTube

PLO Delegation: Statement on Killing of Palestinian Youth

UN Chief Urges Israel to Rescind E1 Settlement

Israeli forces demolish 2 East Jerusalem homes

Aid agencies tread gingerly in Area C... Palestinian communities here, among the poorest and most vulnerable in oPt, desperately need access to water, electricity, sanitation and other basic infrastructure.

*******

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 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..."

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

"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

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.

NYTimes: U.S. Inaction, Mideast Cataclysm? ...by Bernard Avishai and Sam Bahour

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/22/opinion/us-inaction-mideast-cataclysm.html?ref=global&_r=0

Published: January 21, 2013 

ISRAELIS go to the polls today in an election that will likely give Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu a third term; like the current one, Israel's next governing coaltion will probably be heavily reliant on right-wingers and religious parties.  

Even so, Mr. Obama’s second term could offer a pivotal opportunity to restart the Israeli-Palestinian peace process. In his first term, he backed away from the process, figuring that America could mediate only if the parties themselves wanted to make peace — and that new talks were unlikely to be productive. 

This is a mistake. The greatest enemy to a two-state solution is the sheer pessimism on both sides. Unless President Obama uses his new mandate to show leadership, the region will have no place for moderates — or for America either....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]

 

Arab League official urges Arab Israelis to go out and vote to thwart ‘racist’ Israeli plans

http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/middle_east/arab-league-official-urges-arab-israelis-to-go-out-and-vote-to-thwart-racist-israeli-plans/2013/01/22/c6ee1dea-6481-11e2-889b-f23c246aa446_story.html
 

CAIRO — A senior Arab League official has called on Israel’s Arab minority to go out and vote in the Jewish state’s parliamentary election, arguing that doing so will foil “racist” plans to force them to leave their homes.

Mohammed Sobeih, who is the pan-Arab organization’s assistant secretary general, claims that Tuesday’s election will be dominated by the extremist right that he says speaks openly of forcing Arab Israelis to pack up and leave.

His call is unusual for the Cairo-based league, which rarely addresses itself to Arab citizens of Israel. Himself a Palestinian, Sobeih said his Monday call was motivated by fears that underrepresentation of Arabs — about 20 percent of the Israel’s population — would allow parliament to adopt “racist” legislation but still look democratic to the world.

[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]