"The side that favors academic freedom and the free exchange of ideas
does not remotely have the financial resources and political organizing
clout as the side that tries to control political debates in the name of
pro-Israel advocacy. But we can at least do what we can do in pursuit
of these principles. Preserving the ability of academic institutions to
host the events and invite the speakers they want - without having to
heed the demands of "pro-Israel" advocates and the cowardly state
officials who serve them - is of vital importance." Glenn Greenwald
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2013/feb/02/brooklyn-college-bds-alan-dershowitz
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Saturday, February 2, 2013
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
Matt Hill
Friday 1 February 2013
Surprising as it may sound, William Hague is turning out to be the most vocally pro-Palestinian British foreign secretary of recent times. Speaking in Washington this week before a dinner for Hillary Clinton, Hague warned that as a result of Israeli West Bank settlement growth the two-state solution was “in danger of slipping away”.
There’s nothing new about such claims. In ‘ The End of the Peace Process’, the great Palestinian author Edward Said said his people’s dreams of statehood were being buried under a ton of Israeli settlement tarmac – in 1998. But as such prophecies become more common, there's a danger they will become self-fulfilling, causing more and more people to give up on peace altogether.
So we need to say it loud and clear: the two-state solution isn’t dead. In fact, a deal to end the Israel-Palestine struggle is within reach – if only the two sides can will themselves to grasp it.
To be sure, this goes against the conventional wisdom. After all, the barely concealed purpose of Israel’s settlement programme is to cut the West Bank to ribbons...READ MORE
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."
PBS COVERS IT ALL....
HERE
MARK SHIELDS: "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."
& THERE
HERE
& THERE
Peace Processed: Israelis and Palestinians Further Apart Than Ever: In dozens of conversations with Warner over the last two weeks, Israelis
and Palestinians -- from people on the street, to deep-thinkers who
have spent a lifetime trying to bridge the divide between these two
people -- said that both sides were further apart in every way,
socially, economically and politically, than ever.
 |
| Protesters in the West Bank. Photos by P.J. Tobia/NewsHour. |
Growing Disillusionment Among Israelis, Palestinians About Peace Prospects
*****
PBS NewsHour Support From
Viewers Like You
PBS’ mission is to create content that educates, informs and inspires. To do this, PBS offers programming that expands the minds of children, documentaries that open up new worlds, non-commercialized news programs that keep citizens informed on world events and cultures and programs that expose America to the worlds of music, theater, dance and art.
Thursday, January 31, 2013
ATFP to Co-Host Briefing on Israeli and Palestinian Schoolbooks
 |
| Palestinian Primary school in Rafah. Right2Education Photo by Mohammed Omer |
******
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact Information: Ghaith al-Omari January 28, 2013 - 12:00am
DO ISRAELI OR PALESTINIAN SCHOOLBOOKS TEACH VIOLENCE?
Invitation to Briefing and Discussion of the First Definitive Study of
Israeli and Palestinian Schoolbooks
A Joint Event by ATFP and Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism
Wednesday, February 6, 2013 at 12:30 p.m. – National Press Club, 529 14 Street, N.W.
We invite you to attend the U.S. announcement and first public
discussion of a new research study that for the first time definitively
analyzes the level of demonization in Israeli and Palestinian
schoolbooks and how each society’s schoolbooks describe “the other.” The
briefing will be jointly hosted by the American Task Force for
Palestine and the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism.
This study represents an unprecedented collaboration among leading
international researchers, and applies state-of-the-art scientific
methodology to the question of schoolbook content. The three-year study
was reviewed from start to finish by a Scientific Advisory Panel of
experts in textbook analysis from Germany and the United States, and
leading Israeli and Palestinian academics. The advisory panel concluded
that the study sets a new international standard for textbook study
methodology. Professors Sami Adwan (Bethlehem University), Daniel
Bar-Tal (Tel-Aviv University) and Bruce E. Wexler (Yale University) will
present the study. Rabbi David Saperstein (Religious Action Center) and
Dr. Ziad J. Asali (American Task Force for
Palestine) will be present as co-hosts of the event.
Accusations about narratives in Israeli and Palestinian schoolbooks
play a prominent role in political debate. However, reliable scientific
evidence regarding the actual content of current Israeli and Palestinian
books has been lacking. Past studies have typically consisted of one or
two people reading books from one society or the other and offering
assessments with highly selective quotes as support. Most of these
previous studies are outdated.
The study was initiated by the Council of Religious Institutions of the
Holy Land comprised of the Chief Rabbis of Israel, the Minister of
Religious Affairs of the Palestinian Authority, the Greek, Armenian and
Latin Patriarchs of Jerusalem and the Anglican and Lutheran Bishops of
the Holy Land. The study was fully funded by the U.S. State Department.
The full study report and the translated quotes from the schoolbooks
will be available for download as of Feb. 4, at 2:30 a.m. ET atwww.IsraeliPalestinianSchoolbooks.blogspot.com.
DATE:
Wednesday, February 6, 2013 at 12:30 p.m. A light lunch will be provided
LOCATION:
National Press Club, 529 14th Street, N.W.
SPEAKERS:
Professor Bruce E. Wexler, MD, Yale University
Professor Sami Adwan, PhD, Bethlehem University
Professor Daniel Bar-Tal, PhD, Tel-Aviv University
RSVP:
Please confirm your attendance by Monday, Feb. 4
CONTACT:
Sakura Amend, Finn Partners, sakura@finnpartners.com, (212) 715-1611
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
 |
| A Palestinian demonstrator during a weekly protest against the Jewish settlement of Qadomem, near Nablus, West Bank. Photograph: Alaa Badarneh/EPA |
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http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/jan/31/israel-must-withdraw-settlers-icc
Israel must withdraw all settlers from the West Bank or potentially face a case at the international criminal court (ICC) for serious violations of international law, says a report by a United Nations agency that was immediately dismissed in Jerusalem as "counterproductive and unfortunate".
All settlement activity in occupied territory must cease "without preconditions" and Israel "must immediately initiate a process of withdrawal of all settlers", said the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC). Israel, it said, was in violation of article 49 of the fourth Geneva convention, which forbids the transfer of civilian populations to occupied territory....READ MORE
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.
 |
| Israel has not co-operated with the inquiry into the impact of settlements |
UN: Israeli settlements 'violate Palestinian rights'
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DECENCY, DIGNITY, JUSTICE &
PEACE... and hopefully Palestine]
The report says settlements displace Palestinians, destroy their crops and property, and subject them to violence.Israel refused to co-operate with the inquiry by three UN researchers...........
............."The magnitude of violations relating to Israel's policies of dispossessions, evictions, demolitions and displacements from land shows the widespread nature of these breaches of human rights," Unity Dow, member of the fact-finding mission from Botswana, said in a statement.
"The motivation behind violence and intimidation against the Palestinians and their properties is to drive the local populations away from their lands, allowing the settlements to expand."
'Prohibited'
The report comes two days after Israel failed to turn up at a UN review of its human rights record.
About 520,000 Israeli settlers reside in about 250 separate settlements in East Jerusalem and the rest of the West Bank, the report states. Some of the settlements were built without government authorisation.
The growth in the settler population has hastened over the past decade compared to growth in Israel. The government in place since April 2009, led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, has "contributed to the consolidation and expansion" of settlements, the report states.
The settlements violate the Fourth Geneva Convention, which prevents an occupying power from transferring its own population into occupied territory, the report states.
"The transfer of Israeli citizens into the Occupied Palestinian Territories, prohibited under international humanitarian law and international criminal law, is a central feature of Israel's practices and policies," it adds.
Palestinians Hope to Tell Their Story Through the Oscars
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FULL: HELP SHAPE ALGORITHMS (and
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DECENCY, DIGNITY, JUSTICE &
PEACE... and hopefully Palestine]
 |
| Watch 5 Broken Cameras |
Written by Diana Atallah
Published Tuesday, January 29, 2013
Published Tuesday, January 29, 2013
RAMALLAH – Palestinians hope an Oscar-nominated documentary depicting a non-violent struggle against Israel
will succeed in telling their story, even though some recent viewers
who saw the film in Ramallah expressed reservations about Israeli
involvement in the movie.
5 Broken Cameras is
one of five candidates for the Oscar in the Best Documentary Feature
category this year. Released in 2011 by Palestinian director Emad Burnat
and Israeli director Guy Davidi, it has been screened in 50 countries
and translated into several languages.
Mohammed
Al-Khatib, of the Popular Struggle Committee, who organized the
screening in Ramallah, said the film was a "national" one. It received a
mixed reception at its first showing here: the audience clapping,
cheering, laughing and crying during the 95-minute film, but also
leveling some criticism for Israeli participation in its production.
But Burnat, with his son Jibril -- who is seen in the film -- standing alongside him on the Ramallah Cultural Palace stage, called the film's nomination "a national day for Palestine. One billion people who watch the Oscars will know the story and suffering of the Palestinians."
"There
was a misconception about the identity of this movie,” Burnat told the
audience after being asked about the Israeli issue. “I invited an
Israeli partner, a supporter who came to my village to help me in the
final stages, but the Israeli press called the film ‘Israeli.’ The
documentaries nominated for the Oscars are not listed under specific
countries.”
"I
filmed the movie, but just because an Israeli activist came to the
village and helped does not mean the film is Israeli. I just think of it
as a human issue as opposed to political," he told The Media Line. He
added that the directors received funding from European countries
including France and the Netherlands, as well as Israel, to underwrite post-production costs, but that the film is a Palestinian-Israeli-French production.
Burnat,
a farmer, started filming when Jibril, his fourth and youngest son, was
born in 2005 – the same year popular demonstrations began against the
security barrier Israel
was building on village lands in Bil'in and construction of the Jewish
community of Modi'in Illit was under way on lands villagers claimed
belongs to them.
The
camera barely left Burnat's hands during the five years during which he
filmed the movie depicting the life of his family and the villagers,
and the constant friction with Israeli soldiers. Included are Jibril's
first words, “wall” and “army”; and the killing of his close friend
Basem Abu Rahmeh by Israeli soldiers during a demonstration.
The
title of the film comes from the five cameras that were smashed or hit
by bullets when the demonstrations turned violent. In each case, Burnat
kept filming. Back in Bil'in, where he lives with his four sons and
Palestinian-Brazilian wife Soraya, the five cameras sit at one corner,
and awards fill two tables in the salon. Photos of Jibril meeting in Istanbul with Turkish soap opera stars popular with Arabs and Palestinians adorn the walls.
After
the film won awards worldwide, including at the prestigious Sundance
Festival, Burnat and his colleague did not rule out the possibility of
an Academy Award nomination. If the strong reactions by many at the
Ramallah screening are any indication, that optimism may prove to be
well-founded.
Nadia
Awad, a public relations specialist in the NGO sector, told The Media
Line that she cried during the sad parts of the movie. "I think it was
moving and heartbreaking. Seeing the violence of the shots and the tear
gas was difficult. And to be honest, as a Palestinian I feel guilty that
I have never been to Bil'in or Nil'in and attended these demonstrations
even when I knew about them. This might make me change my ways."
Ohoud
Mraqtan, a freelance journalist, thought the film was one of the
strongest she has seen. "The narration, the story, the reality of the
scenes kept our attention for two hours. You can't know Palestinian life
unless you see the movie," she told The Media Line.
However,
Rami Khalil, who attended the screening, was less enthusiastic. "It's a
good movie, but I am still not sure why it was nominated for the
Oscars. I think maybe because I am a Palestinian living among the heat
of events that I don't see what the fuss is all about," he said.
Some
in the audience were still fussing about the film's Israeli funding,
but others were focusing on the more important contributions its unusual
pedigree can make.
"You
couldn't find anyone else?" one viewer asked. While Burnat replied that
he did not find Palestinian funding during the making of the movie,
Awad didn't see any problem. "If the Israeli participation helps this
movie be seen by Israelis as well as the world, then why not? I don't
think it's a betrayal of any kind," she told The Media Line.
Mraqtan
sees the collaboration as a way of bringing peace. "A
Palestinian-Israeli film shows that both people want to live in peace,”
he sid. “Let the people see that we all want to live in peace but the
occupation forces are not allowing us to."
Filmmaker
Burnat doesn't think his collaboration is unique, but its message is.
"The Palestinians and Israelis have relations, but the Israeli goes back
to his house in Tel Aviv and the Palestinian still lives under
occupation. My message from the movie is for the world to see the
reality of the Palestinian struggle and suffering through a personal and
human story," he told The Media Line.
Wednesday, January 30, 2013
My letter to the Guardian RE Pollard vs Bell - the debate that highlights a journalistic dilemma
 |
| Steve Bell is an award-winning cartoonist. The Steve Bell cartoon website is Belltoons.co.uk |
http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/greenslade/2013/jan/30/sundaytimes-radio41
Dear Sir,
I very much appreciate all the fascinating and courageous coverage The Guardian has given to the grotesque cartoon by Gerald Scarfe. In the Pollard vs Bell debate, where cartoonist Steve Bell does a brilliant job explaining a very reasonable position, Pollard gets in the last word, asking listeners "to have a look at the cartoons and make their own minds up. It's how the individual perceives it. I defy anyone not to see this cartoon as being about Benjamin Netanyahu glorying in the blood of Palestinians."
When I first saw the cartoon my immediate thought was that the people being trapped in the wall were a diverse crowd, not necessarily defined by religion or nationality. That handsome youth towards the center could be a Jewish boy, an Israeli or an Arab Palestinian- Christian or Muslim.
I looked again. I still think the people trapped and tormented by Netanyahu's policies- and that horrible land grabbing apartheid wall- are a diverse crowd, but now I wish that all the Jewish organizations and individuals complaining about that grotesque cartoon would put the same angst and energy into objecting to Israel's ongoing crimes against people of Palestine.
Sincerely,
Anne Selden Annab
NOTES
Israel to demolish Palestinian neighborhood in northeast Jerusalem, displacing 200 native non-Jewish men, women and children
Grotesque, offensive cartoon depicts Netanyahu's grotesque, offensive anti-Palestine polices:
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
NYTimes: U.S. Inaction, Mideast Cataclysm? ...by Bernard Avishai and Sam Bahour
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.
"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
NYTimes: U.S. Inaction, Mideast Cataclysm? ...by Bernard Avishai and Sam Bahour
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 countriesPalestinian Refugees(1948-NOW) refused their right to return... and their right to live in peace free from religious bigotry and injustice.
".... 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 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."
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.
Tuesday, January 29, 2013
Israel to demolish Palestinian neighborhood in northeast Jerusalem, displacing 200 native non-Jewish men, women and children
According to the notices, residents can demur before Feb. 17.
A Ma’an reporter said about 200 Palestinians live in the neighborhood which is located to the west of a large Israeli military base called Anatot.
The Israeli forces plan to remove the neighborhood because it is close to the base.
In 2011 a young Bedouin girl suffered severe injuries after being shot in an incident her family blamed on the Israeli military, which denied involvement at the time.
In 2007 a Palestinian girl died two days after being shot by a border police officer near Anata.
Grotesque, offensive cartoon depicts Netanyahu's grotesque, offensive anti-Palestine polices:
... "Steve Bell, cartoonist for the Guardian, defended Scarfe: "For once, this wasn't a bad cartoon. The problem with the state of Israel and the Zionist lobby is that they never acknowledge the crime of ethnic cleansing on which the state was founded.""
Monday, January 28, 2013
My letter to the NYTimes RE Roger Cohen Sitting Down With Amos Oz
 |
April 2012: Italian masterpiece returned to Jewish man's heirs. A 16th century masterpiece has been returned to the heirs of a Jewish man, 70
years after being wrested away during World War II.
The Baroque painting titled Christ Carrying the Cross Dragged by a Rogue is believed to date from 1538 Photo: REUTERS/Philip Sears
|
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/29/opinion/global/roger-cohen-sitting-down-with-amos-oz.html?ref=global
Dear Editor,
Amos Oz certainly does have a poetic way of putting things, but his choice to demonize, belittle and swat away the Palestinian refugees right of return is in fact an ugly inclination that very much helps empower Israel's institutionalized bigotry and the continuing practice of persecuting, impoverishing and displacing the native non-Jewish population of the Holy Land.
The right of return is not a euphemism, it is a universal basic human right clearly affirmed by international law time and time again since modern man made Israel was created. Keep in mind that the right of return, a universal right, has already enabled countless Jewish victims of the Nazi Holocaust to return and reclaim property as well as reparations.... and citizenship.
Respecting the right of return is the only sane thing to do in a world where ID cards and computers can too easily be used to permanently pigeon hole people according to religion, handing petty tyrants, bigots, bureaucrats, book reviewers and border guards the power to punish targeted individuals and populations while promoting the freedom and economic prospects of preferred others.
America was able to end slavery and move on towards becoming a more real democracy with full and equal rights for ALL. Israel and Palestine can too. Taxpayers here and there should not be forced to fund religious 'scholars' and schemes! A fully secular two state solution to once and for ALL end the Israel-Palestine conflict really is the best way forward.
Sincerely,
Anne Selden Annab
NOTES
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
NYTimes: U.S. Inaction, Mideast Cataclysm? ...by Bernard Avishai and Sam Bahour
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.
"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
NYTimes: U.S. Inaction, Mideast Cataclysm? ...by Bernard Avishai and Sam Bahour
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 countriesPalestinian Refugees(1948-NOW) refused their right to return... and their right to live in peace free from religious bigotry and injustice.
".... 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 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."
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.
Refugees again, Palestinians flee Syria's war
 |
| Associated Press/Mohammed Zaatari - In this Tuesday, Jan. 15, 2013 photo, Palestinian children who fled their houses in the Yarmouk camp for Palestinian refugees in south Damascus, sitting inside a children |
By | Associated Press
"...There will be no more martyrs
for Palestine in my family," Umm Sami said, who only gave her nickname
for fear of reprisals. "This war is a Syrian problem."
Now safe in Lebanon, the 45-year-old widow and her family have joined thousands of other Palestinian refugees who have found shelter in the country since the uprising against Syrian President Bashar Assad
erupted nearly two years ago. The conflict has left more than 2 million
people internally displaced, and pushed 650,000 more to seek refuge
abroad.
Umm Sami's resolve to keep her
sons out of the fight in Syria ties into a deep-rooted sentiment among a
generation of Palestinian refugees who say they are fed up with being
dragged into the region's conflicts on a promise of getting their own
state.
The Palestinian exodus from Syria
has also revived a decades-old debate over the refugees' right of
return to their homes that are now in Israel. That has added another
layer of complexity to a conflict already loaded with sectarian and
ethnic overtones that have spilled over into neighboring countries,
raising fears of a regional war.
Palestinians
living in Arab countries — including the half-million refugees in Syria
— are descendants of the hundreds of thousands who fled or were driven
from their homes in the war that followed Israel's creation in 1948.
Having scattered across the Middle East since then, Palestinians
consistently have found themselves in the middle of the region's
conflicts.
After the 2003 U.S.-led invasion
of Iraq toppled Saddam Hussein, hundreds of Palestinians were killed as
the Sunni and Shiite militias fought for dominance of the country.
Iraq's Shiite majority saw Saddam, who like most Palestinians was a
Sunni Muslim, as a patron of the stateless Palestinians, granting them
rights the dictator denied his own citizens because they were of the
rival sect.
About 1,000 Palestinians fled the 2004-07 sectarian bloodshed in Baghdad, living in a refugee camp near the Syrian border before being resettled in third countries.
During Lebanon's 1975-1990 civil
war, Palestinians played a major role, fighting alongside Muslim
militiamen against Christian forces.
Umm Sami, who was born in a
refugee camp in Lebanon before the war, was twice forced to flee the
fighting, most notably in 1982 when her family escaped the Sabra and
Chatilla camps during the notorious massacre of Palestinians there by
Christian militias.
She would eventually bury her
father, two brothers and her husband — all fallen fighters... READ MORE
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