Friday, May 16, 2014

My letter to the Washington Post RE "Why the Mideast peace process is in tatters" By David Ignatius

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
RE: Why the Mideast peace process is in tatters By David Ignatius
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
Israel's Jewish Settlers destroy 58 trees in orchard near Bethlehem... this is not the first time that Israelis from the nearby Jewish-only settlement of Betar Illit have attacked Palestinian Raji Abd al-Aziz Sabateen's orchard.

In more violence in the region, Israeli border police shot dead two Palestinians on Thursday during a demonstration in the West Bank marking the 66th anniversary of the Nakba, or "catastrophe" of Israel's creation in 1948 and the expulsion of 750,000 Palestinians it entailed.

"It is, of course, naïve to expect total reconciliation. Some grievances are so deep that the people who suffered them will never be satisfied. But the point is not satisfaction — the point is that the present is superior to the past, and it has to be cultivated as such."  Colum McCann  author of the novel “TransAtlantic” and a co-founder of Narrative 4, a global story exchange project

Visual map of how the Israeli ID system is stratified to limit democratic access to home ownership, security, services & participation in the polical system which creates and sustains the Israeli ID system


The “No To Violence” organization, in cooperation with a number of civil activists, has launched a campaign to express its solidarity with NOW English Managing Editor Hanin Ghaddar. Pro-Hezbollah media have launched a campaign against Ghaddar over her participation in a symposium at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy.

STAY CONNECTED... Given the U.S. commitment to religious freedom, and to the international covenants that guarantee it as the inalienable right of every human being, the United States seeks to: Promote freedom of religion and conscience throughout the world as a fundamental human right and as a source of stability for all countries

UNITED NATIONS: International Year of Solidarity with the Palestinian People 2014

American Task Force on Palestine (ATFP) congratulates Arab America for the outstanding accomplishment in organizing a highly successful event that featured “Arab Idol” Mohammed Assaf and Lebanese vocalist Ziad Khoury on May 11 2014 ... in Growing Gardens for Palestine

850 Guests Attend Arab America "Ya Hal Arab" Event with Mohammed Assaf and Ziad Khoury  "Tonight we celebrate the unwavering Palestinian unity and determination to see a Palestinian homeland after more than 66 years of occupation!"

UN photo archive tells story of Palestinian exodus

Now Online: Before Their Diaspora is a visual journey into Palestine before 1948. Every important aspect of Palestinian society comes to life in the nearly 500 photographs, carefully selected from thousands available in private and public collections throughout the world.

"The unusual thing that Bassem was able to do was to be good and decent both in his politics as he conceptualized them, and in his dealings with those he disagreed with." Hussein Ibish

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 

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