Roger Waters
[AS
ALWAYS PLEASE GO TO THE LINK TO
READ GOOD ARTICLES IN FULL: HELP
SHAPE ALGORITHMS (and
conversations) THAT EMPOWER
DECENCY, DIGNITY, JUSTICE &
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http://www.nytimes.com/2014/06/18/opinion/the-rolling-stones-and-tel-aviv.html
Re “Let it bleed”
(June 10): Roger Cohen struggles in his column with a tangled web of
his own making. He supports two objectives of the Boycott, Divestment
and Sanctions movement: the end of the occupation and the recognition of
equal rights for Palestinian citizens of Israel. Yet he rejects the
third objective: the right of refugees to return. His acceptance of the
legitimacy of B.D.S. demands for equal rights for Palestinian citizens
of Israel is a tacit admission that Israel is a racist and apartheid
state that has different laws for citizens of different ethnic and
religious groups.
As
for apartheid in the occupied territories, we need not repeat, ad
nauseam, descriptions of the wall, the checkpoints and the settlements
and roads intended only for Jewish settlers. The fact is the occupying
Israeli Army subjugates an indigenous population by using lethal force,
including the murder of unarmed children, as Human Rights Watch reported
recently.
I
won’t lower myself to answer the slur of anti-Semitism yet again. But
it is spurious and a smokescreen. It is a charge that should be reserved
for extremist bigots; not thinking people who believe in equal rights
for all, including Jews and Palestinians.
I
advocate a two-state solution, based upon the pre-1967 borders, that
includes recognition of the plight of, and redress for, the refugees
from 1948, and also guarantees equal rights under law for all citizens
of the region, whatever their religion or ethnic background.
The
Israeli government has repeatedly rejected such a course. That is why I
support B.D.S., a nonviolent global movement vital to applying pressure
on this settlement- and occupation-hungry government.
“To stand by silent and indifferent is the greatest sin of all.”
That
is why Nick Mason and I protested the Rolling Stones’ gig in Tel Aviv.
Their crossing of the picket line was, willy-nilly, an endorsement of
the occupation. We will not stand silently by.
I
would like to ask Mr. Cohen and his J Street friends what they would
propose as an alternative to B.D.S. to encourage the Israeli government
to change its reckless course?
Roger Waters, New York
The writer is one of the founding members of Pink Floyd.
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