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http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/10/19/the-reign-of-terror/?_php=true&_type=blogs&ref=opinion&_r=0
Dear Editor,
We no longer live in a world of limited communication. Multiple sources are shaping a huge marketplace of ideas. The complexity of modern conflict can be traced- documented- researched- analyzed by multiple professionals and amateurs in multiple public and private forums. Not everyone watches Fox News. Not everyone subscribes to the NYTimes. And not everyone one believes in conspiracy theories... Tomis Kapitan is wrong about "popular conceptions about contemporary political conflicts, making it difficult to speak intelligently about their real sources"... AND he does Palestine (and peace) no favors by asserting that Hamas and Hezbollah tactics do not qualify as terrorism.
HAMAS & Hezbollah are not as obviously bad as ISIL/The Islamic State/Da'esh, but they certainly have not helped free Palestine. Their rhetoric and their actions are geared to exasperate conflict and sabotage negotiations for a just and lasting peace between Israel and Palestine based on international law and full respect for universal human rights.
Arming religion with lethal weaponry is a bad idea. I am not a fan of Israeli policy towards the native non-Jewish population of the Holy Land, but that is no reason to excuse Islamist militants who are making the plight of the Palestinians much worse: Hamas uses violence to goad Israel into pulverizing Gaza because the more Palestinians suffer the more Israel can be blamed and hated as heart breaking photos of Palestinian children in the rubble proliferate on the internet, rousing rage internationally (and recruitment for ISIS) among those who still care about Palestine. Extremists and anti-Israel activists thrive but a wider pro-Palestine audience dwindles because Hamas and their apologists convince reasonable people to veer away from supporting Palestine and state building efforts.
Meanwhile, ISIS/ISIL/The Islamic State/Da'esh is rising up, reaching towards Palestine. The Islamic State's plundering impoverishes locals, while conveniently killing any and all who object. Singing happy songs about peace to heavily armed genocidal religious militants who enslave captured woman and girls to use as sex slaves and/or domestic servants is not going to magically inspire ISIS/ISIL/The Islamic State/Da'esh to abandon their wicked ways. Islamists are the epitome of skewed reason and perpetual warfare.
Sincerely,
Anne Selden Annab
NOTES
" ISIL is clearly exceptionally unpopular outside of the areas it controls. That’s a good thing. On the other hand, because it poses as a group that brings order to chaos, and because most people prefer any form of law and order to mere anarchy, ISIL has managed to win hearts and minds in some parts of Syria and Iraq where it has falsely posed as a champion of local Sunni populations and a generalised Islamic universalist and apocalyptic agenda." Hussein Ibish
Kerry: 'Imperative' to resume Israel-Palestinian talks: "There wasn't a leader I met with in the region who didn't raise with me spontaneously the need to try to get peace between Israel and the Palestinians, because it was a cause of recruitment and of street anger and agitation,"
U.N. Security Council urges stronger campaign against [Da'esh] Islamic State
“It’s always easy to get money for F-16s, but not so much for food and cash,” says Andrew Harper, head of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in Jordan, which says it may have to cut cash assistance programs for 20,000 families in November and December due to lack of funding.
Arabs from Israel risk arrest for 'Arab Idol' show... Israel and Suha Arraf Differ on Nationality of ‘Villa Touma’... & Escape to a World of Palestinian Surprises
My letter to the NYTimes RE Room for Debate: Should Nations Recognize a Palestinian State?
My letter to USAToday RE "Palestinian advocacy misunderstood: Objections" by Andrew Dalack & Bayan Founas, National Students for Justice in Palestine
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
Our words have a way of echoing out into either war or peace.... My Published Letters 2014
Citizens of the Earth
Hussein Ibish: The three-way Israeli-Palestinian impasse- Israel, the PA and Hamas are all trapped in their own policies with no idea how to move forward.
In #Palestine #Olive Trees witnessed foreign invaders for thousands of years...
THIS WEEK IN PALESTINE: Ethnographic Habitat, Place Memories, and Cultural Identity
UK Parliament votes to recognize Palestinian state- a symbolic move intended to increase pressure for a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Dorothy Shea: "Palestinians should be applauded for largely eliminating the gender gap in education. Unlike in some parts of the Middle East and North Africa, Palestinian girls and young women enjoy equal access to education as their male counterparts."
Islamic State Seeks to Justify Enslaving Yazidi Women and Girls in Iraq... The article on slavery confirms practices documented by Human Rights Watch, which says Yazidi women and girls were forced to marry Islamic State fighters and shipped out in busloads from Iraq to Syria to be sold off as prizes
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Translating the Obvious ... A poem for peace in Growing Gardens for Palestine by Anne Selden Annab
U.S. calls for renewed commitment to lasting Mideast peace: "... a renewed commitment from everybody to work for peace that meets the aspirations of all, for Israelis, for Palestinians for all people of this region"
New Ibish article: Hisham, Hope and Despair..."The crucial point is that the one thing that is certain is that the choices that we make individually and collectively will have a direct and profound impact on the short, medium and long-term outcomes. And, therefore, our choices must be carefully considered, deliberate and purposive, while apathy and inaction are not options."
To promote the values of dialogue, tolerance and mutual respect, among religions and cultures... Let’s teach our youth to build, not destroy
Ashrawi: The recognition of Palestine is Human, Moral, Legal, and Political Imperative
"Let’s not feed Islamophobic bigotry... The great divide is not between faiths, but one between intolerant zealots of any tradition and the large numbers of decent, peaceful believers likewise found in each tradition." Nicholas Kristof
Last Thursday, the United Nations released a report that could provide us with one of the keys to defeating ISIS. Unfortunately, it received almost zero media attention.
"We see martyrs, children as young as 7, being portrayed as resistance fighters after being slaughtered by Israeli forces. Although we would like to convince ourselves that they have died for “the cause”, they have in fact died because of the cause." Mariam Barg
Hussein Ibish: US has a responsibility to rein in Israeli settlements
Tala Haikal: "It may not be possible to immediately free all the kidnapped girls and women due to the scope of the conflict with ISIS and the geographical dispersal of the captives in various locations. Some of these women and girls can be freed only once ISIS is destroyed."
UN report spotlights 'staggering' Islamic State atrocities in Iraq... "The group, which is fighting in Iraq and Syria, has carried out a wide range of atrocities, including mass executions, abductions, rape and other forms of sexual and physical violence against women and children"
Vatican seeks Mideast Christians' right of return
US sharply criticizes new Israeli housing project
Non-violent resistance is Palestine’s most powerful weapon
Tala Haikal: Empathy Is
Essential to Humanity
Normalizing Intelligent Conversations, Diplomatic Support, and Hope for Palestine... ATFP Panel Briefing: Israeli-Palestinian War in a New Regional Landscape.
ATFP... American Task Force on Palestine
ATFP Calls for De-Escalation between Israel and the Palestinians
International Year of Solidarity with the Palestinian People 2014
UNRWA photo and film archive for Palestine refugees
About UNWRA: ’The Long Journey of Palestine Refugee Women’ candidly portrays the lives and experiences of Palestine refugee women, this collection is a testament not only to their own strength and dignity, but also to the richness and resilience of their community.
Walking Palestine & The Abraham Path... a creative space for stories that highlight the unique culture, heritage and hospitality of the region
It's time for Palestinians and Israelis to share a just peace... It's time for freedom from occupation... It's time for equal rights.... It's time for the healing of wounded souls..... World Week for Peace in Palestine Israel: "Let my people go!"... 21 - 27 September 2014 An initiative of the Palestine Israel Ecumenical Forum (PIEF) of the World Council of Churches
Palestinian Refugees (1948-NOW) refused their right to return... and their right to live in peace free from religious bigotry and injustice.
1948
Time and time again I have watched the cycle of incitement and spin sabotage support for Palestine
Clarifying why Arab and Muslim Americans should be smart rather than stupid
Live by the Golden Rule
An Anne Frank Moment ... a poem by Anne Selden Annab
"Where, after all, do universal human rights begin?
1940s: The United Nations General Assembly adopts resolution 194 (III), resolving that “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, and that compensation should be paid for the property of those choosing not to return and for loss of or damage to property which, under principles of international law or equity, should be made good by the Governments or authorities responsible.”
America/Israel/Palestine 1776
Normalizing Intelligent Conversations, Diplomatic Support, and Hope for Palestine... ATFP Panel Briefing: Israeli-Palestinian War in a New Regional Landscape.
ATFP... American Task Force on Palestine
ATFP Calls for De-Escalation between Israel and the Palestinians
International Year of Solidarity with the Palestinian People 2014
UNRWA photo and film archive for Palestine refugees
About UNWRA: ’The Long Journey of Palestine Refugee Women’ candidly portrays the lives and experiences of Palestine refugee women, this collection is a testament not only to their own strength and dignity, but also to the richness and resilience of their community.
Walking Palestine & The Abraham Path... a creative space for stories that highlight the unique culture, heritage and hospitality of the region
It's time for Palestinians and Israelis to share a just peace... It's time for freedom from occupation... It's time for equal rights.... It's time for the healing of wounded souls..... World Week for Peace in Palestine Israel: "Let my people go!"... 21 - 27 September 2014 An initiative of the Palestine Israel Ecumenical Forum (PIEF) of the World Council of Churches
Palestinian Refugees (1948-NOW) refused their right to return... and their right to live in peace free from religious bigotry and injustice.
1948
Time and time again I have watched the cycle of incitement and spin sabotage support for Palestine
Clarifying why Arab and Muslim Americans should be smart rather than stupid
Live by the Golden Rule
An Anne Frank Moment ... a poem by Anne Selden Annab
"Where, after all, do universal human rights begin?
1940s: The United Nations General Assembly adopts resolution 194 (III), resolving that “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, and that compensation should be paid for the property of those choosing not to return and for loss of or damage to property which, under principles of international law or equity, should be made good by the Governments or authorities responsible.”
America/Israel/Palestine 1776
America/Israel/Palestine 1948: 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
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