My letter to CSM RE "Peace talks over, Israelis and Palestinians push on as solo acts"

Israelis and Palestinians wave flags as Israelis march celebrating Jerusalem Day outside Damascus Gate in Jerusalem's old city, May 8, 2013. Sebastian Scheiner/AP/File

RE: "Peace talks over, Israelis and Palestinians push on as solo acts"
http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Middle-East/2014/0425/Peace-talks-over-Israelis-and-Palestinians-push-on-as-solo-acts

Dear Editor,

Israel has chosen to end the Peace Talks- but the Palestinians are still engaged, and Palestinians remain steadfast in wanting to free Palestine. Ma'an News sums it up well with their headline: Abbas: New govt recognizes Israel and rejects violence ... Abbas said the unity government would recognize Israel, renounce violence, reject terrorism, and recognize international commitments.

Israel has foolishly chosen to ignore international commitments. Israel has also foolishly chosen to violate international law and the Palestinians' basic human rights, making life miserable and difficult for the native non-Jewish population of the Holy Land for the past sixty years.  And yet, there is still hope that a just and lasting peace can be built, ending the Israel-Palestine conflict with a fully secular two state solution as soon as possible- for everyone's sake. 

No country is totally perfect, no person is totally perfect, no peace will be totally perfect... but sovereign Palestinian statehood and a negotiated peace with Israel will be a huge and vast improvement over current situation.  A just and lasting peace built on a firm foundation of full respect for international law, universal human rights and the rule of fair and just laws is TOTALLY worth believing in and working towards.

Sincerely,
Anne Selden Annab

NOTES
PBS: Six takes on the Palestinian unity deal

That is real cultural and educational leadership and integrity. It is principled, brave, intelligent and unflinching. It deserves only support, applause and emulation...

American Task Force on Palestine Springs Forward

Choosing Sides ... a poem  

To a State ...a poem

Outreach: American Friends Service Committee (AFSC) "Our Israeli and Palestinian partners in the Middle East as well as our partners in the U.S. believe as we do that a lasting peace must begin with a commitment to shared security for all."

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

"Read and remember, take a minute to recall the smell of your grandmother’s za’atar and the taste of balady labaneh, and imagine what would happen if we were to lose it all…" This Week in Palestine

Growing Gardens for Palestine: "And it's up to all of us together"... a Spring poem for Palestine & peace

Peace Building ... civic muscle

• All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights.They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.

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

 

"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." ATFP's Ziad Asali: To honor a tragic history, we must work for peace