My letter to the NYTimes RE Let It Bleed by Roger Cohen

The Rolling Stones -- Doom And Gloom (Lyric Video)

 Rolling Stones & Roger Cohen (comfortably numb)

VS 

Roger Waters & Free Thinkers every where advocating compassion and peace with the rule of fair and just laws and full respect for universal human rights (The truth will set us free...We Shall Overcome (for Palestine))

 

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RE Let It Bleed by Roger Cohen
 http://www.nytimes.com/2014/06/10/opinion/cohen-let-it-bleed.html?ref=opinion

Dear Editor,

But for Roger Waters and Nick Mason, founding members of Pink Floyd, wisely (and courageously) using their fame to help draw serious international attention to the very real plight of the Palestinians, New York Times columnist Roger Cohen would not have bothered to write a column about Israeli “apartheid”... and the mainstream marketplace of ideas would have less food for thought regarding ending the Israel-Palestine conflict with a just and lasting peace.

Boycott boycott and BDS if you want, boycott J-Street & AIPAC, boycott cute kitten videos too if you want- but realize that there is a big world out there beyond the echo chambers, and most people are able to research and think for themselves- and come to their own conclusions. 

Whatever Zionism and Israeli Jewishness was supposed to mean when Israel was officially established in 1948, obviously something has gone very very wrong:  Right now Israel's supposed Jewishness is an economic advantage and an ego trip for people who are Jewish, but for the native non-Jewish men, women and children of the Holy Land it is a nightmare - and a lie. 

In 1948, in response to what we now know was only the beginning of a massive and ongoing displacement of Palestinians, the United Nations General Assembly passed Resolution 194, which points out quite clearly in paragraph 11 that "…the [Palestinian] refugees wishing to return to their homes and live at peace with their neighbors should be permitted to do so at the earliest practicable date"

The fight for the right of return of all Palestinian refugees is about keeping future communities and work places and history books and tourist attractions worldwide honest and inclusive.  What is good for the goose- is good for the gander.

The fight for the right of return of all Palestinian refugees is a fight for the rule of fair and just laws, and universal basic human rights... and honoring the idea that home and family matter, as does personal choice.  Refugees should not be forced to return.

The return of all Palestinian refugees, with many Palestinians opting to relocate and invest their talents into building a sovereign Palestinian state living alongside Israel in peace and security, will not be the end of Israel, nor will it be the end of the Jewish People.

What is needed in the Holy Land is indeed very simple — real justice shaping two states for two peoples. One called Israel and one called Palestine.  What is needed is a fully secular two state end to the Israel-Palestine conflict firmly based on FULL respect for international law and universal basic human rights- including but not limited to the Palestinian refugees inalienable right to return to original homes and lands to live in peace.

Sincerely,
Anne Selden Annab

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