My letter PUBLISHED CSM May 19, 2014 The 'big-ticket questions, such as Palestinian sovereignty, claims to Jerusalem, and the "right of return" ' are very relevant to the day-to-day lives of Palestinians.

Anemone coronaria flowers in Palestine. Photo By: Bahaa Nasser/WAFA

   [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.csmonitor.com/Commentary/Readers-Respond/2014/0519/Readers-Write-A-day-Japan-and-South-Korea-can-share-Palestinians-daily-struggles

Big questions affect Palestinians daily

Regarding the May 5 commentary “To work, Mideast peace must first address daily concerns,” by Matthew Longo, Daphna Canetti, and Nancy Hite-Rubin: The lived aspects of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict are indeed the core of the conflict, and ending Israel’s occupation and settlement projects in the illegally occupied territories should most certainly be a priority. However the “big-ticket questions, such as Palestinian sovereignty, claims to Jerusalem, and the ‘right of return’ of displaced Palestinians” are also very relevant to the day-to-day lives of Palestinians.

A just and lasting peace based on full respect for international law, universal human rights, and golden rule thinking shapes two separate sovereign states. Religion should be a personal, private choice for individuals and their families, not a state-funded dictate determining who gets freedom, job opportunities, and subsidized housing. As Eleanor Roosevelt once wrote: “Where, after all, do universal human rights begin? In small places, close to home....”

Anne Selden Annab
Mechanicsburg, Pa.