My letter to the Guardian RE The Idea of Israel and My Promised Land – review

 RE The Idea of Israel and My Promised Land – review
http://www.theguardian.com/books/2014/may/14/idea-israel-ilan-pappe-promised-land-ari-shavit-review

Dear Editor,

Reading articles and book reviews about the Israel-Palestine conflict I often find myself wondering about America's earlier history, and a time when, world wide, slavery was seen as a normal part of life.  The crime of slavery crossed all borders, and while slavery is no longer considered legal or acceptable today slavery continues on in much less obvious ways- the most recent example being the Nigerian school girls kidnapped and being offered for sale. 

We live in an imperfect world. Horrifying headlines tend to catch our attention, but there are many good and decent people worldwide doing all they can to combat crime and cruelty.  However not all good people, not all religious leaders, not all politicians, not all actors, not all diplomats, and not all highly educated people have helpful advice: Israeli author Ilan Pappé considers himself pro-Palestine and advocates a one state end to the Israel-Palestine conflict. The one-state fantasy is indeed a very tempting fantasy, until you start noticing how the one-state fantasy very much perpetuates and exasperates the Israel-Palestine conflict, sustaining the status quo and the very real plight of the Palestinians by empowering extremists and religious idiots and intransigence on all sides.

Palestinians have finally gained a diplomatic foothold in the global marketplace of ideas and mainstream conversations, despite the fact that a wide diaspora of Palestinians have been convinced to reject diplomacy and scorn negotiations to end the Israel-Palestine conflict with full respect for international law and universal basic human rights.

America survived ending slavery. Israel will survive ending the Nakba... and Palestine will survive with a just and lasting peace ending the Israel-Palestine conflict.  The best way forward is two fully sovereign, fully secular nation states: Israel and Palestine. 

Sincerely,
Anne Selden Annab

NOTES
Price Tags

Washington Watch: The Choice We Face, the Debate We Must Have

Ashrawi: Jerusalem 'a symbol of peace, surrounded by checkpoints'

Christians in Israel and Palestine fear rise in violence ahead of pope's visit... Earlier this week vandals wrote "Death to Arabs and Christians" in Hebrew on the Vatican's Notre Dame centre in Jerusalem's Old City

Reasonable voices & helpful resources ...America for Palestine MAY 2014

"We Refuse to Be Enemies" a briefing call with Daoud Nassar, a Palestinian farmer

Israel should stop distractions, focus on peace

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

The Arab villages lost since Israel's war of independence - Guardian Interactive: ...Pre 1948 ...March 1948 ... May 1948 ...June 1948 ...Oct 1948 ...July 1949 ...Now

Remembering the Nakba: Israeli group puts 1948 Palestine back on the map Zochrot aims to educate Israeli Jews – through tours and a new phone app – about a history obscured by enmity and denial

Palestine adopts UN human rights treaties, becoming a formal party to five global treaties banning torture and racial discrimination, and protecting the rights of women, children and the disabled

Dr. Saeb Erekat: With Status Quo On Its Side, Israel Happily Rejects Peace

Palestinian Identity

A few examples of the separate — and often unequal — rules and standards for Israeli settlers and Palestinian civilians

Weighing in... for Palestine (a poem)

Pro-Palestine, Pro-Peace, Pro-Israel.... productive, pragmatic and focused on what can actually help people

Sources ...a poem (for Palestine)

American Task Force on Palestine Springs Forward

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."

"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." American Task Force on Palestine's born in Jerusalem Dr. Ziad Asali: To honor a tragic history, we must work for peace