Saturday, May 3, 2014

My letter to The Guardian RE 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

Zochrot tour in 2010 at al-Ghubayyat
RE: 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
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/may/02/nakba-israel-palestine-zochrot-history

Dear Editor,

I very much appreciated your article "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"

I applaud the Israelis and Palestinians, the compassionate Jews and Arabs of Zochrot who have been working together to reach out to help Israeli Jews better understand the real history of the Israel-Palestine conflict.... and the very real plight of the Palestinians.

However I think your article failed to fully explain the Palestinian refugees' right to return, which is an inalienable universal basic human right that has been affirmed and reaffirmed multiple times: UN Resolution 194 from 1948 "Resolves that 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..." 

Zionism is what people will make of it- both insiders and outsiders. If Israeli Zionists want to make Zionism into a campaign to ethnically cleanse the Holy Land of the native non-Jewish population, the Israel-Palestine conflict is not so much a conflict between two narratives or two nations, but a conflict between Israel and The Universal Declaration of Human Rights. 

A fully secular two state solution to once and for all end the Israel-Palestine conflict for everyone's sake is the best way forward: Religion should be a personal private choice, not a tax payer funded mandate that gives citizenship, housing subsidies, job opportunities, guns and "security" to a favored religious faction.

Sincerely
Anne Selden Annab

NOTES
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

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

New York Times: Why Abbas Reconciled With Hamas by

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)
Middle East peace: The concrete proof of Israel’s opposition to a two-state solution - the construction of nearly 14,000 homes in occupied territories

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

Reactions to the new unity deal ... for Palestine

“Forgiveness is not an occasional act, it is a constant attitude.” ― Martin Luther King Jr. ... FINDING alternatives to conflict and revenge: The Forgiveness Project

Jordan's King honours winners of King Abdullah II Award for World Interfaith Harmony Week 2014

Palestinians signal willingness to continue peace talks


Abbas: New govt recognizes Israel and rejects violence

King hails outgoing UNRWA chief in Jordan

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

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."


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 

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