Palestinian family home demolished by Israeli forces in Jerusalem

A Palestinian child cries after his family's home was demolished in Beit Hanina, Jerusalem. The building was said to have been constructed without proper permits. Members of the 33-member family said that they had been waiting to receive permits. Photograph: Bernat Armangue/AP The Observer photo gallary 2012

The Observer's 20 photographs of the week

Gallery (20 pictures), 9 Feb 2013:

The best photographs in news and culture from around the world over the past seven days

 

My letter to the Phil Inq RE Trudy Rubin's Worldview: Bold proposals for the Mideast

To be clear: Return

RE: Trudy Rubin's Worldview: Bold proposals for the Mideast
http://www.philly.com/philly/opinion/20130207_Worldview__Bold_proposals_for_the_Mideast.html

There is nothing new, and nothing bold- and nothing wise or noble about refusing to respect the Palestinian refugees' right of return.  Tax payers should not be forced to fund religious "scholars" and schemes and Israel's ongoing Palestinian home demolitions and land confiscation policies.

Furthermore, seriously think about what an Israeli settlement really is... It is a tax payer plus charity investment in highways, housing, freedom, jobs, security, and respect for Jewish Israelis, while the native non-Jewish Palestinians are persecuted, impoverished, pushed into forced exile- and demonized for objecting to such institutionalized bigotry and blatant injustice.

A fully secular two state solution is a step away from the religious tyranny and bigotry and cynicism and cruelty that the Israel-Palestine conflict creates.  You do Israel (and Palestine) no favors by insisting that Palestinian refugee rights be swatted away.  Universal basic human rights should be respected- for everyone's sake.

Sincerely,
Anne Selden Annab

NOTES
What is an Israeli settlement....

"Legislature should "make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof..." Thomas Jefferson

Palestinians construct new protest village in south Hebron

Letter sent to my elected leaders: Peace and Palestine need to be taken seriously by American leadership now more than ever.

Palestine's Amb. Maen Rashid Areikat: Bias against Palestinians on display at congressional hearing

ATFP Hosts Washington Briefing on Israeli and Palestinian Schoolbooks

Palestine developing school curriculums that teach coexistence, tolerance, justice, and human dignity

Palestinian leadership on Wednesday welcomed US President Barack Obama’s announced plans to visit the region in March.

RAJA SHEHADEH: More Than a Land Grab ...Settlers increasingly impinging on Palestinian lives: Jewish settlers aren't just taking empty space, they're destroying Palestinian property and threatening their lives.

Israel demolishes yet anouther Palestinian home in East Jerusalem

Foriegn Policy: An interview with Palestinian negotiator-in-chief Saeb Erekat 

PBS: Mariam Said on the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra

*******

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 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 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.

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.

What is an Israeli settlement.... it is a tax payer plus charity investment in highways, housing, freedom, jobs, security, and respect for Jewish Israelis, while the native non-Jewish Palestinians are persecuted, impoverished, pushed into forced exile- and demonized for objecting to such institutionalized bigotry and blatant injustice.

 

Palestine Remembered

"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

"Legislature should "make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof..." Thomas Jefferson

Dave Barry, columnist, 1947 -

• "People who want to share their religious views with you almost never want you to share yours with them."
  
  
• The problem with writing about religion is that you run the risk of offending sincerely religious people, and then they come after you with machetes.”

Mahatma Ghandi:  "The need of the moment is not one religion, but mutual respect and tolerance of the devotees of the different religions."

Thomas Paine: "Of all of the tyrannies that affect mankind, tyranny of religion is the worst."

"In every country and in every age, the priest [rabbi/imam/...etc...] has been hostile to liberty. He is always in alliance with the despot, abetting his abuses in return for protection to his own"
Thomas Jefferson

Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826). Author of the Declaration of Independence, third President of the United State

http://www.loc.gov/loc/lcib/9806/danpre.html
The Library of Congress

Jefferson's Letter to the Danbury Baptists
The Final Letter, as Sent

To messers. Nehemiah Dodge, Ephraim Robbins, & Stephen S. Nelson, a committee of the Danbury Baptist association in the state of Connecticut.

Gentlemen

The affectionate sentiments of esteem and approbation which you are so good as to express towards me, on behalf of the Danbury Baptist association, give me the highest satisfaction. my duties dictate a faithful and zealous pursuit of the interests of my constituents, & in proportion as they are persuaded of my fidelity to those duties, the discharge of them becomes more and more pleasing.

Believing with you that religion is a matter which lies solely between Man & his God, that he owes account to none other for his faith or his worship, that the legitimate powers of government reach actions only, & not opinions, I contemplate with sovereign reverence that act of the whole American people which declared that their legislature should "make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof," thus building a wall of separation between Church & State. Adhering to this expression of the supreme will of the nation in behalf of the rights of conscience, I shall see with sincere satisfaction the progress of those sentiments which tend to restore to man all his natural rights, convinced he has no natural right in opposition to his social duties.

I reciprocate your kind prayers for the protection & blessing of the common father and creator of man, and tender you for yourselves & your religious association, assurances of my high respect & esteem.
Th Jefferson
Jan. 1. 1802.

John Locke (1632-1704), English political philosopher argued for individual conscience, free from state control

Theories of religious tolerance

Locke, writing his Letters Concerning Toleration (1689–92) in the aftermath of the European wars of religion, formulated a classic reasoning for religious tolerance. Three arguments are central: (1) Earthly judges, the state in particular, and human beings generally, cannot dependably evaluate the truth-claims of competing religious standpoints; (2) Even if they could, enforcing a single "true religion" would not have the desired effect, because belief cannot be compelled by violence; (3) Coercing religious uniformity would lead to more social disorder than allowing diversity.
 

Palestinians construct new protest village in south Hebron

(MaanImages/Stringer) 

http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=563453

HEBRON (Ma’an) -- Palestinians and foreign solidarity activists on Saturday set up a new protest village in the south Hebron hills, and vowed to remain there despite Israeli forces moving to dismantle the structures.

Early Saturday, activists set up steel-framed tents near the Palestinian village of al-Tuwani, calling the encampment "Canaan".

Younis Arar, coordinator of the popular committees in the southern West Bank, told Ma'an that soldiers assaulted the 30 activists who had gathered in the area.

"We began building the tents and were surprised when a large force of the Israeli army began attacking us and destroying tents and hitting us ... We will try and build Canaan village again," Arar said.

A military spokeswoman said soldiers evacuated illegal structures, and responded with riot dispersal means when around 100 Palestinians "rioted" in the area.

A Ma'an reporter said three journalists were detained, and the military spokeswoman said five Palestinians and five Israelis were arrested for entering the area after it was declared a closed military zone.

Yatta popular committee spokesman Ibrahim Rabee told Ma'an the protest camp was a stand against Israeli policies in the region.

"We are establishing Canaan on our land after our homes and water wells were demolished, and our people displaced," he said.

The south Hebron hills lies in an area of the West Bank under full Israeli military control, and its residents say Israel does not allow any building permits and demolishes homes and infrastructure, while supporting Israeli settlements in the area.

Just south of al-Tuwani, Israel has established a closed military zone where the state wants to evict eight Palestinian villages to make way for a army training ground.

The Canaan protest camp is the fifth such initiative in recent weeks.

In January, the Bab al-Shams village was set up in an area where Israel plans to build the "E1" settlement, severing the West Bank from Jerusalem.

Then, locals established the al-Karamah (Dignity) village in Beit Iksa, northwest of Jerusalem, which is set to be tightly encircled by Israel's separation wall.

A week later, activists set up the Al-Asra, or prisoners, protest village in the village of Anin, northwest of Jenin.

Last Saturday, Palestinians established the "Al-Manatir neighborhood" encampment in an area of Burin village that activists say is slated for confiscation by a neighboring settlement.

Israeli forces have moved to evacuate each of the camps and dismantle their structures.

Letter sent to my elected leaders: Peace and Palestine need to be taken seriously by American leadership now more than ever.

(letter sent via congress.org)

Dear President Obama,

"In an unfortunately predictable manner, yet another congressional hearing held on 5 February 2013 entertained biased, misleading, and inaccurate statements about what is happening in Palestine. The hearing was titled “The Fatah-Hamas Reconciliation: Threatening Peace Prospects,” and yet no Palestinian representatives were invited." Palestine's Amb. Maen Rashid Areikat: Bias against Palestinians on display at congressional hearing
http://thehill.com/blogs/congress-blog/foreign-policy/281529-bias-against-palestinians-on-display-at-hearing

Peace and Palestine need to be taken seriously by American leadership now more than ever. 

Roger Cohen, writing in the New York Times, in an op-ed aptly titled THE INVISIBILITY OF PALESTINIANS states: "That, increasingly, is the status of Palestinians to Israelis: invisibility. It is not the separation barrier snaking over the hills that has ensured this, although it has played its part. It is not the exhaustion, two decades after Oslo, of dreams of peace, although that too plays a part. It is, I think, the accumulation of 45 years of ruling over Palestinians in the occupied territories that has led to the Israeli conclusion that this is an inevitable state of affairs and that whatever discomfort this oppression causes is best ignored through selective blindness." 

Ziad Asali of the American Task Force on Palestine, a tireless advocate for peace and Palestine (and American interests), recently pointed out that "The Palestinian issue can no longer be isolated, nor can the region be stabilized or move forward without progress on resolving it. This past year witnessed many setbacks and frustrations. Negotiations are at an impasse. Palestinians, Israelis and Americans are drifting further apart at a time when they need to move closer together to bring this conflict to an end. The Palestinian institution-building program, which has been giving Palestinians the security and effective, accountable governance that they deserve, is being threatened by a lack of funds."   http://anniesnewletters.blogspot.com/2012/12/there-is-growing-triumphalism-from.html

Hussein Ibish ( a Senior Fellow at the American Task Force on Palestine ) warned a while ago that "The alternative to an agenda of negotiations is crystal clear: increasing conflict, violence and occupation that is increasingly dominated by religious fanatics on both sides. The religious right is well-positioned in both societies, ready to lead a battle to the death between bearded fanatics over holy places and the will of God." http://www.juancole.com/2009/11/ibish-against-one-state-solution.html

Religious tyranny is on the rise in the Middle East, with Israel- in one way or another- at the epicenter of a dangerous tendency to replace the quest for fair and just laws and true democracy with sectarian strife.

America can and should do a better job of noticing the very real plight of the Palestinians- and the vital  importance of honoring our own ideals... specifically the goal of "promoting freedom of religion and conscience throughout the world as a fundamental human right and as a source of stability for all countries" The Office of International Religious Freedom ( http://www.state.gov/j/drl/irf/)

Please do all that you can to help empower a fair and just negotiated end to the Israel-Palestine conflict. A fully secular two state solution would go a long way towards calming down the entire region.

Sincerely,
Anne Selden Annab
 American homemaker & poet

Palestine's Amb. Maen Rashid Areikat: Bias against Palestinians on display at congressional hearing

[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://thehill.com/blogs/congress-blog/foreign-policy/281529-bias-against-palestinians-on-display-at-hearing  
02/06/13

In an unfortunately predictable manner, yet another congressional hearing held on 5 February 2013 entertained biased, misleading, and inaccurate statements about what is happening in Palestine. The hearing was titled “The Fatah-Hamas Reconciliation: Threatening Peace Prospects,” and yet no Palestinian representatives were invited. It is important to delineate several matters of concern.

First, Hamas has acknowledged that the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) has the mandate to negotiate a final status agreement with Israel. Their only concern is that the final agreement be put to referendum.  Second, the reconciliation process is not complete. The PLO, chaired by President Mahmoud Abbas, has made it clear that any reconciliatory measures with Hamas must commit to garnering and sustaining the diplomatic efforts to reach a peace agreement with Israel, bearing in mind the PLO’s previous agreements and accords with Israel. Third, reconciliation efforts have been supported by many allies of the United States in the region, including Egypt and Jordan, the only two countries that ratified and continue to hold permanent peace agreements with Israel. Finally, the Israeli leadership itself has repeatedly remarked that it cannot pursue a peace agreement with a fragmented Palestinian government.

Contrary to the statements made at the hearing, the above four points are sufficient proof of Palestinians’ commitment to reaching a just and lasting peace with Israel. The PLO has renounced violence, recognized Israel’s right to exist, and has engaged itself in a lengthy negotiation process for over two decades only to be met by Israeli breaches of signed agreements, continued violations of basic human rights, and a relentless campaign of settlement building and other facts on the ground that undermine the possibility of a two-state solution. Yet, in spite of the grim situation, the Palestinian leadership invited members of the new Knesset to have conversations with them on the political process.

This begs the question: why was a hearing held with such an alarming degree of misinformation? The answer is the absence of engagement and dialogue. Unfortunately it has become a habit of congressional hearings on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict to dismiss the Palestinian perspective entirely. Who benefits from such a misguided approach? It should be no surprise that dismissing the Palestinian view is a disservice to the American constituent, and runs contrary to the principles and purposes upon which the idea of “impartial” hearings is founded.

Secretary of State John Kerry is expected to visit Israeli and Palestinian leaders soon, to be followed by a visit by President Obama in the spring. While we await these visits with cautious optimism, one cannot deny that the continued dismissal of Palestinian perspective at the halls of Congress undermines the credibility of American efforts and threatens the United States’ geostrategic interest in reaching a just and lasting peace
between the Israelis and Palestinians.

We will have our differences; but that is more the reason to engage in direct and earnest dialogue. Without a comprehensive and representative outlook at the situation there can be no hope for sound policymaking. Absenting the Palestinian perspective or even using secondary or tertiary sources rather than directly using Palestinian voices defies reason. For our part, The General Delegation of the PLO to the United States is willing and ready to engage members of Congress in serious and constructive conversations in order to create a better understanding of Palestinian positions as well as the situation in our region. Only then would congressional hearings on Palestine be impartial.

Ambassador Maen Rashid Areikat Chief Representative of the General Delegation of the PLO to the U.S.

Palestine >> Core Issues

ATFP Hosts Washington Briefing on Israeli and Palestinian Schoolbooks

ATFP Hosts Washington Briefing on Israeli and Palestinian Schoolbooks

Washington DC, Feb. 6 -- The American Task Force on Palestine (ATFP) today hosted a briefing presenting the findings of the first definitive, scientific study of Israeli and Palestinian schoolbooks at the National Press Club in Washington, DC. ATFP President Ziad J. Asali welcomed Professors Sami Adwan (Bethlehem University), Daniel Bar-Tal (Tel-Aviv University) and Bruce E. Wexler (Yale University) to present their findings. 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.

Dr. Asali told the capacity-crowd audience that, "We are very proud to host the distinguished team of scholars. The study shows the need to educate for peace. Narratives in conflict perpetuate the conflict, and are perpetuated by it." Prof. Wexler began with an overview of the methodology and the rigorous standards that were employed, and summarized the study's findings (the full report can be downloaded here).

Prof. Bar-Tal explained that, "This is in many respect an unusual study. We needed to develop a picture that goes beyond the studies that have gone before. We needed a new method that combined qualitative and quantitative factors, which is rarely done, to get a true diagnosis of what is in the books we studied." Prof. Adwan said the study centered on rigorous procedures, including "joint leadership and research assistants, an international advisory team, a standardized research method to maximize objectivity, and simultaneous evaluation for added reliability."

Prof. Bar-Tal emphasized that the schoolbooks tend to reinforce the narratives of each side, as is typical in any conflict, and downplay or ignore the narrative of the other. Prof. Wexler noted that, "The whole story of the study" can be found in the statistics about representations of the other in the various books - Israeli state, ultra-Orthodox and Palestinian schoolbooks. He said that there was more positive representation of Palestinians in Israeli state books than in Palestinian or ultra-Orthodox books. But, he added, "Sub-humanizing depictions of the other were not to be found. They were absent. Extreme negative characterizations of the other are rare and no not involve sub-humanizing depictions."

Prof. Adwan noted that the issue of maps was a major finding, and that, "A majority of both Israeli and Palestinian schoolbooks do not reflect the rights and presence of the other side, especially in maps that show the whole area as either Israel or Palestine. Dehumanization of the other is very rare, but there is a tendency to reinforce their own narratives and perpetuate a lack of information about the other. But there is no incitement or hate speech as we have been hearing." Prof. Bar Tal emphasized that Israeli schoolbooks had greatly improved since the time hen he was a student in the 1960s, and Prof. Adwan added that Palestinian schoolbooks are also far superior to the old Egyptian and Jordanian books they relied on before the establishment of the Palestinian Authority.

Regarding the reception of the report's findings, Prof. Bar-Tal noted, "We are aware what is going on. We are surprised by the reaction even though we are used to being criticized. This is not the last word and there will be more studies. From now on it's up to the political echelons to decide what can be done with our results." Prof. Adwan noted, "We met with Prime Minister Salam Fayyad and he welcomed the study. He has instructed the Palestinian Education Ministry to use the results in future work and new schoolbooks."

Prof. Wexler added, "We are scientists and we are not shocked by the results. But we are shocked by those who would try to discredit the results rather than build on them." He said that everyone involved in the Advisory Committee had approved the process and the results and that no one had raised objections until very recently, and that "If we had added every quote presented at the Israeli government press conference yesterday, it would have made no difference to the statistics or the results." He said, "We don't agree with the Israeli government that the study is 'unprofessional,'" and said that the team had not met with Israeli officials.

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; and was fully funded by the US State Department.

The full study report and the translated quotes from the schoolbooks is available for download here.

For more coverage of, and background on, the schoolbook study, below find an extensive index of press coverage:

Textbook study faults Israelis and Palestinians (AP)

Academic Study Weakens Israeli Claim That Palestinian School TextsTeach Hate (NYT)

Israelis unhappy with study of their textbooks and Palestinians’ (Reuters)

Israeli and Palestinian textbooks omit borders (The Guardian)

A History of Misunderstanding (Slate)

Schoolbooks ingrain Israeli-Palestinian enmity: U.S.-funded study (Reuters)

Palestinian Textbooks Don't Vilify Jews, New Study Reveals (The Forward)

State-Dept.-Funded Study Plays It Safe, Blames Israel and PA (The Jewish Press)

New textbook study threatens to undercut argument that Palestinian schools preach hate (JTA)

Do Israeli And Palestinian Schoolbooks Incite Hatred? (The Daily Beast/Open Zion)

New Study: Israeli and Palestinian Textbooks Present One-Sided Narratives but Not Vilification (PNN)
Fayyad Welcomes International Report on School Books (WAFA)

Israel calls text book study biased (UPI)

Need for textbook examples of peace in Israeli-Palestinian conflict (CSM)

State Department strains to avoid Israeli-Palestinian textbook dispute (Washington Post)

Textbooks show both sides to blame for enmity (Jerusalem Post)

Israeli, Palestinian Textbooks Reflect Narratives of Conflict (Bloomberg)

Israeli-Palestinian Textbook Study Overlooks Core Issue (Huffington Post)

Israeli and Palestinian textbooks fail balance test, study finds (LA Times)

How Do Israeli And Palestinian Textbooks Treat The Other Side? (NPR)

Israeli and Palestinian textbooks erase the other side, report finds (Times of Israel)

3 Year Israeli and Palestinian Textbook Study Provokes Controversy (The Jewish Journal)

Israeli-Palestinian textbook study sparks controversy (The Media Line)

Israeli, Palestinian textbooks show bias, not demonization: study (Global Post)

Israel Rejects Study Minimizing Hatred in Palestinian Arab Textbooks (Algemeiner)

Israeli, Palestinian textbooks 'one-sided' (AAP)

Study: No demonization in PA's school books (YNet)

Both Israeli and Palestinian textbooks demonize other side: study (Xinhua)

Israel, Palestine and the mapping of power (The Guardian)

 Please help sustain ATFP's work and independent decision-making by donating here.

Palestinian leadership on Wednesday welcomed US President Barack Obama’s announced plans to visit the region in March.

Photo from the 57th Presidential Inauguration ceremonial swearing-in of President Barack Obama at the US Capitol on January 21, 2013 in Washington, DC.

http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=562855
Ma'an News

President Mahmoud Abbas' spokesman Nabil Abu Rdeina told Ma'an that "the visit reflects that the US is willing to achieve peace in the region."

The Palestinian leadership, added Abu Rdeina, hopes the US efforts this time will be decisive and serious. "We wish the US administration will exert pressure on Israel to stop settlement expansion in order to lay the ground for the establishment of an independent Palestinian state on the Palestinian territory within the borders before June 4, 1967."

He added: "The visit is a positive indicator, but we need deeds and real US pressure on Israel rather than meetings. We need a new US policy."

Abu Rdeina said the Palestinians expected renewed efforts to restart the peace process following a phone call to Abbas on Monday by newly-appointed US secretary of state John Kerry.

Obama will visit the region in March to restart the Middle East peace process, an Israeli television station reported Tuesday. It would be the first visit by Obama since taking office.

PLO official Hanan Ashrawi urged the US leader to be evenhanded toward Israel and Palestine.

"We welcome President Obama's visit, if it signals an American promise to become an honest and impartial peace broker," Ashrawi said in a statement. "The US can play this positive role by engaging in an effective and constructive manner rather than by repeating the same policy of negotiations for their own sake."

Ashrawi said the visit's success would depend on Obama's willingness to confront Israel.

"Such an engagement requires decisive curbs on Israeli violations and unilateral measures, particularly settlement activity and the annexation of Jerusalem, as well as its siege and fragmentation policies," she said.

"Maintaining Israel’s impunity and sense of exceptionalism, while denying the Palestinian people’s rights to sovereignty, freedom and dignity, has been lethal to any meaningful pursuit of a viable and just peace.

"We therefore expect that this visit will rectify the failures of the past, demonstrate a newfound political will, and lead to urgent, substantive and serious action that will bring the Israeli occupation of the State of Palestine to an end."

RAJA SHEHADEH: More Than a Land Grab

Settlers increasingly impinging on Palestinian lives

Jewish settlers aren't just taking empty space, they're destroying Palestinian property and threatening their lives.

http://latitude.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/02/06/settlers-increasingly-impinging-on-palestinian-lives/?ref=global

RAMALLAH, West Bank — Last week some inhabitants of the Palestinian village of Burin, near Nablus, set up a small and peaceful protest camp on private land in an attempt to protect the village from encroaching Jewish settlers. On Saturday, the Israeli Army evicted the Palestinians. According to one report, the settlers uprooted nearly 100 olive trees, a 16-year-old Palestinian was wounded, 20 people suffered tear gas inhalation, and a mosque was set on fire.

As I read about these events, which transpired not far from where I live, I was struck by how we Palestinians are no longer able to enjoy the land where we live. In recent years Jewish settlers have taken plenty of unpopulated Palestinian land; now, even our hometowns are unsafe.

And, of course, the scramble for land in the West Bank is not the only way in which settlers have been increasingly impinging on our lives.... READ MORE

A Palestinian activist ran from teargas after the Israeli police broke up a protest against Jewish settlers on Feb. 2 in the West Bank village of Burin. Mohamad Torokman/Reuters

[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]

Israel demolishes yet anouther Palestinian home in East Jerusalem

Dina (R), a nine-year-old girl, cries as her father puts his arms
around her and her cousin Halla (L) during the demolition of their
house in the East Jerusalem neighborhood of Beit Hanina February
5, 2013. . (Reuters/Ammar Awad)

BETHLEHEM (Ma'an) -- Israeli forces demolished a two-story Palestinian home in East Jerusalem on Tuesday, making 30 people homeless, official news agency Wafa reported.

Muhammad Castero, 52, a resident of the building, told Wafa that Israel issued a demolition order for the home 50 days ago on the pretext that it was built without a permit.

"We are refugees now, we don't have any shelter. Where should we, our children and elderly people go after our house was demolished?" he said.

Four families lived in the Beit Hanina home, which was constructed six years ago. The families had hired a lawyer to prevent the demolition.

"This is our land and we will not leave it despite the practices of the occupation," Castero added.

Last week, Israeli forces delivered demolition notices to 200 Palestinian families in Fuheidat neighborhood east of Anata village in northeast Jerusalem, residents said.

A day earlier, Israel demolished at least four buildings and a sewage network in the East Jerusalem neighborhood of Silwan.

Israeli forces demolished 412 housing units in East Jerusalem between 2004-2012, according to B'Tselem, leaving 1,636 Palestinians homeless.

Palestinian homes are usually demolished under the pretext of not having a building permit. Figures from Israeli NGO Bimkom show that 95 percent of Palestinian applications for a building permit are rejected.

Rights groups say that Israel implements a series of discriminatory practices in housing, planning, residency rights and budget allocation in East Jerusalem, with the aim of reducing the number of Palestinians living in the city.

Israel captured East Jerusalem in 1967 and later annexed it in a move never recognized by the international community.

Foriegn Policy: An interview with Palestinian negotiator-in-chief Saeb Erekat

"The institution-building efforts led by the Palestinian government have been completely undermined by the lack of freedom. This situation cannot continue. Oslo succeeded in bringing back 250,000 Palestinians from the diaspora and building the capacity for our state. The international community failed though, by granting Israel an unprecedented culture of impunity that allowed them to use negotiations as a means to continue rather than stop colonization." Saeb Erekat

 http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2013/02/05/The_Peace_Processor_Palestine_Saeb_Erekat

BY AARON DAVID MILLER | FEBRUARY 5, 2013

Other than Mahmoud Abbas, Saeb Erekat could be the most recognizable Palestinian on the planet. The chief Palestinian negotiator is certainly among the most passionate in promoting the cause. And nobody on the Palestinian side knows the substance of the issues or the negotiating history better.

I first met Erekat in the late 1980s, while working on the Palestinian issue for then Secretary of State George Shultz. Back then, the U.S.-educated diplomat was already showing the brashness and outspokenness that would make him one of the most memorable -- if exasperating -- of the Palestinians with whom we dealt.

He annoyed then Secretary of State James Baker by wearing his kaffiyeh around his shoulders at the opening of the Madrid Peace Conference in October 1991. And over the years, he continued to annoy the Israelis too with his fiery performances on CNN -- though to this day, key Israeli negotiators, such as Isaac Molho, continue to praise his pragmatism at the bargaining table.

It was Erekat's academic bent, analytical chops, and capacity to ...READ MORE

PBS: Mariam Said on the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra

Tuesday on the NewsHour: Arabs, Jews Unite Under One Baton

PBS Newshour: Middle East 

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My Letter to the NYTimes RE "Litmus Tests"

John Kerry warns of disaster in failed Middle East peace efforts 

RE Litmus Tests
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/05/opinion/litmus-tests-for-israel.html?ref=opinion&_r=0

Dear Editor,

I totally agree with your editorial Litmus Tests, pointing out that "The sad truth is that there is more honest discussion about American-Israeli policy in Israel than in this country. "

Much as I'm tempted to blame it all on the Israel lobby fact is bullies are on both sides of American discussions about Israel and Palestine, bullies pushing the conversation off to the fringe rather than empowering serious and widespread mainstream support for a fair and just fully secular two state solution to once and for ALL end the Israel-Palestine conflict.

As Dr. Ziad Asali of the American Task Force on Palestine prudently points out "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."

Sincerely,
Anne Selden Annab
American homemaker & poet

NOTES

ATFP to Co-Host Briefing on Israeli and Palestinian Schoolbooks  

DO ISRAELI OR PALESTINIAN SCHOOLBOOKS TEACH VIOLENCE?

Palestine developing school curriculums that teach coexistence, tolerance, justice, and human dignity

Fayyad Welcomes the International Report on School Books, Calls on Israel to Cease Attempts to Detract from the Report's Professionalism

Prime Minister Salam Fayyad expresses his satisfaction with a main finding of a study initiated by the Council of Religious Institutions of the Holy Land in 2009, that confirms that Palestinian textbooks do not contain any form of blatant incitement, which is based on contempt towards the ‘other’.

Dr. Fayyad stated; "This study, which was recently completed by a group of expert researchers and analysts from different nationalities, proves what we have repeatedly affirmed in response to allegations that have now been invalidated". He added, "From the onset, we took all measures to extend the highest degree of cooperation with the researchers, especially from the Ministry of Education. This cooperation stemmed from our firm conviction of the significance of the issue and the need to discuss it on objective and professional bases, rather than pre-conceived notions and stereotypes".

Dr. Fayyad also affirms that he issued his instructions to the Ministry of Education to study the report thoroughly and to use its conclusions as a guide in the ongoing efforts to develop school curriculums aimed at keeping up to date with developments and achieving total harmony with our people’s deeply rooted principles of coexistence, tolerance, justice, and human dignity, which constitute a principal component of the system of moral values on which the independent state of Palestine will be established.

Finally, Fayyad calls on the government of Israel to deal with the study in the same spirit and to abandon its stated position in this regard. He also calls on the Israeli government to desist from attempts to detract from the objectivity and professionalism of the study because its conclusions are not in line with its standing preconceived positions.

ATFP to Co-Host Briefing on Israeli and Palestinian Schoolbooks  

DO ISRAELI OR PALESTINIAN SCHOOLBOOKS TEACH VIOLENCE?

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 at www.IsraeliPalestinianSchoolbooks.blogspot.com

My letter to CSM RE Need for textbook examples of peace in Israeli-Palestinian conflict

Palestine's 5 Broken Cameras is a deeply personal, first-hand account of non-violent resistance in Bil’in, a West Bank village threatened by encroaching Israeli settlements. Shot almost entirely by Palestinian farmer Emad Burnat, who bought his first camera in 2005 to record the birth of his youngest son, the film was assembled by Burnat and Israeli co-director Guy Davidi... Burnat watches from behind the lens as olive trees are bulldozed, protests intensify, and lives are lost.

RE: Need for textbook examples of peace in Israeli-Palestinian conflict
http://www.csmonitor.com/Commentary/the-monitors-view/2013/0204/Need-for-textbook-examples-of-peace-in-Israeli-Palestinian-conflict?nav=87-frontpage-entryCommentary

Dear Editor,

Good headline on your editorial "Need for textbook examples of peace in Israeli-Palestinian conflict "... really sums up the situation quite well. 

School books are indeed a excellent start, but an even more powerful persuasion would be an end to Israel's ongoing violations of international law and the Palestinians basic human rights:  Israel's anti-Palestine policies, Apartheid walls, Jewish-only settlement projects, checkpoints (...etc...) in the illegally occupied territories are totally sabotaging Palestine's efforts to be a sovereign state. 

Making a bad situation worse religious tyrants and extremists on both sides are teaching kids to hate.  A fully secular two state solution would go a long way towards curbing the injustice and bigotry and crimes created by the Israel-Palestine conflict. 

Sincerely,
Anne Selden Annab

NOTES

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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 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 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.

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.