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| I’d been reading up on comparative religion. The thing is that all major religions have the Golden Rule in Common. “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” Not always the same words but the same meaning.–Norman Rockwell, The Norman Rockwell Album. |
http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/david-ignatius-why-the-mideast-peace-process-is-in-tatters/2014/05/15/c8345e78-dc5b-11e3-8009-71de85b9c527_story.html
Dear Editor,
What exactly does it mean to "create viable Palestinian and Jewish states" ... What does it mean to the people involved and to religious fanatics worldwide who believe that religion should be armed with lethal weaponry plus tax papers money?
The word "Israel" pops up in Christian hymns and prayers that predate the industrial revolution, the Nazi Holocaust, the United Nations, The Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and Martin Luther King Jr's inspiring call for a more real democracy: Let freedom ring!
Ignatius calls for Israel to be a "healthy Jewish state". Jewish is a religion, one of the three vibrantly alive Abrahamic faiths that cherish Jerusalem. A healthy Jewish state is a spiritual state, a healthy Christian state is a spiritual state, and a healthy Muslim state is a spiritual state... Israel the nation state is not a spiritual state. Israel the nation state is not a poem or a prayer or a history project. It is a modern nation state that has chosen to make Jewish demographics more important than the rule of fair and just laws.
Demographics are numbers on a page, easily compiled by computers and cataloged and interpreted by various experts for various reasons. Demographics are not human beings, although a new baby born can tip the demographics and end up cursed by people more interested in demographic tallies than in human character and compassion.
Let freedom ring and decency rule, regardless of anyone's supposed race or religion. A fully secular two state solution to end the Israel-Palestine conflict with full respect for international law and universal human rights is the best way forward.
Sincerely,
Anne Selden Annab
American homemaker & poet
NOTES
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The Golden Rule... Do
unto others as you
would have them do unto you
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