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Saturday, February 1, 2014

My letter to the Economist RE Scarlett Johansson and SodaStream ...& the very real plight of the Palestinians.

"Occupation is Not Green: Boycott SodaStream!"
RE: Scarlett Johansson and SodaStream
http://www.economist.com/blogs/democracyinamerica/2014/01/scarlett-johansson-and-sodastream

Dear Editor,

The BDS/Boycott Israel movement is just one of many nonviolent ways international empathy and compassion for the people of Palestine is being made manifest.  Palestine centered artwork, poetry readings, books, films, websites, blogs and other forums abound in every language. Endorsing or scorning the pro-Palestine BDS movement is in many ways totally irrelevant. Endorsing or scorning Israel's institutionalized bigotry and ongoing violations of international law and universal human rights is what really counts.

Oxfam acted with honor, dignity, intellectual acuity and crystal clear clarity in voicing concern in their official statement regarding Scarlett Johansson's choice: “Oxfam is opposed to all trade from Israeli settlements, which are illegal under international law,” because companies profiting from Israel's occupation “further the ongoing poverty and denial of rights of the Palestinian communities that we work to support.”

Obviously, other than a flurry of negative publicity for a person working in an industry where there is no such thing as bad publicity, Scarlett Johansson won't be, and should not be punished for her choice.  Scarlett Johansson's choice was to honor a business contract with a financial award, and presumably a financial punishment if she broke her contract with Sodastream.  Johansson choice was not a "Sophie's Choice" moment. In fact it might have a huge upside. Scarlett Johansson's beauty and star power helped Oxfam raise awareness and funds for their good works and now, thanks to an online avalanche of clever photoshopped memes and subsequent news articles, her beauty and star power PLUS her naive cluelessness are rapidly advancing awareness of the very real plight of the Palestinians.  

Sincerely,
Anne Selden Annab

NOTES
UNITED NATIONS: Give Peace a Chance... The year 2014 has been proclaimed the International Year of Solidarity with the Palestinian People

ATFP's Ziad Asali: Israel Needs Peace with Palestine to Avoid Looming Boycotts


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
The Office of International Religious Freedom
( http://www.state.gov/j/drl/irf/ )

Palestinian Refugees (1948-NOW) refused their right to return... and their right to live in peace free from religious bigotry and injustice.
Refugees, Borders & Jerusalem
"Where, after all, do universal human rights begin? In small places, close to home - so close and so small that they cannot be seen on any maps of the world. Yet they are the world of the individual person; the neighborhood he lives in; the school or college he attends; the factory, farm, or office where he works. Such are the places where every man, woman, and child seeks equal justice, equal opportunity, equal dignity without discrimination. Unless these rights have meaning there, they have little meaning anywhere. Without concerted citizen action to uphold them close to home, we shall look in vain for progress in the larger world."Eleanor Roosevelt

UN Resolution 194 from 1948 : The 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 in equity, should be made good by the Governments or authorities responsible

Refugees and the Right of Return
We call for a just solution to our refugee issue in accordance with UN General Assembly Resolution 194. Our position on refugees is also included and supported in the Arab Peace Initiative (API), which calls for “a just solution to the Palestinian refugee problem to be agreed upon in accordance with UN General Assembly Resolution 194.” A just solution to the refugee issue must address two aspects: the right of return and reparations.

The Arab Peace Initiative

Emanating from the conviction of the Arab countries that a military solution to the conflict will not achieve peace or provide security for the parties, the council:
1. Requests Israel to reconsider its policies and declare that a just peace is its strategic option as well.
2. Further calls upon Israel to affirm:
I- Full Israeli withdrawal from all the territories occupied since 1967, including the Syrian Golan Heights, to the June 4, 1967 lines as well as the remaining occupied Lebanese territories in the south of Lebanon.
II- Achievement of a just solution to the Palestinian refugee problem to be agreed upon in accordance with U.N. General Assembly Resolution 194.
III- The acceptance of the establishment of a sovereign independent Palestinian state on the Palestinian territories occupied since June 4, 1967 in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, with East Jerusalem as its capital.
3. Consequently, the Arab countries affirm the following:
I- Consider the Arab-Israeli conflict ended, and enter into a peace agreement with Israel, and provide security for all the states of the region.
II- Establish normal relations with Israel in the context of this comprehensive peace.

John Kerry defends US foreign policy “The reason we’re so devoted to finding a solution is simple: Because the benefits of success and the dangers of failure are enormous for the United States, for the world, for the region and, most importantly of all, for the Israeli and Palestinian people,” US secretary of state John Kerry at the World Economic Forum in Davos.

“You have to understand that the progressive forces in the Arab world, those that support having a visible relationship with Israel, cannot reach out to it until the Palestinian problem is resolved,” said one Jordanian official. “Moreover, this should also be Israel’s interest, because the only way to stop the Islamic movements from seizing control in the West Bank is through an agreement with the Palestinians.”

Hanan Ashrawi tells The Times of Israel: Jews and members of all religions would have the right to apply for Palestinian citizenship. But “Palestine” could not accept “ex-territorial Jewish enclaves” where residents maintained their Israeli citizenship status

EU warns Israel, Palestinians of the cost of peace failure

MIFTAH: Anti- corruption youth strategy; young Palestinians put a corruption-free society as their priority "...This is their future, they say, because in the end, it is the youth that seeks a society free of corruption that will offer them the opportunity to obtain the right job and the right social status based on their own merits, not on grounds of nepotism and favoritism."   


Analysis: Why Palestinian leadership is right to engage in peace talks

Ziad Asali of ATFP: Why Palestinians are puzzled by the 'Jewish state' demand... Netanyahu's demand for recognition of Israel as a Jewish state bizarrely inserts Palestinians into the 'Who is a Jew' debate


  • 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

 Live by the Golden Rule


Friday, January 31, 2014

UNITED NATIONS: Give Peace a Chance... The year 2014 has been proclaimed the International Year of Solidarity with the Palestinian People


The year 2014 has been proclaimed the International Year of Solidarity with the Palestinian People by the United Nations Generak Assembly through the adoption of resolution A/RES/68/12 on 26 November 2013.

The Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People will organize events throughout 2014, in cooperation with Governments, relevant organizations of the United Nations system, intergovernmental organizations and civil society organizations.

“The objective of the  International Year of Solidarity with the Palestinian People is to promote solidarity with the Palestinian people as a central theme, contributing to international awareness of

(a) core themes regarding the question of Palestine, as prioritized by the Committee,

(b) obstacles to the ongoing peace process, particularly those requiring urgent action such as settlements, Jerusalem, the blockade of Gaza and the humanitarian situation in the occupied Palestinian territory and;

(c) mobilization of global action towards the achievement of a comprehensive, just and lasting solution of the question of Palestine in accordance with international law and the relevant resolutions of the United Nations.”
 ***

Welcome Message

Welcome to the website of the Permanent Observer Mission of the State of Palestine to the United Nations in New York. We are proud to serve the State of Palestine by protecting and advancing the rights and interests of the Palestinian people in the international arena as we strive to end the Israeli occupation which began in 1967 and for the independence of our nation on the basis of the two-State solution. Here you will find information on the State of Palestine’s activities relating to its commitment to the rule of law and multilateral diplomacy. We hope you find the content of this website informational and useful.

Sincerely,
Dr. Riyad Mansour
Ambassador, Permanent Observer of
the State of Palestine to the United Nations

 ***

ATFP's Ziad Asali: Israel Needs Peace with Palestine to Avoid Looming Boycotts

[AS ALWAYS PLEASE GO TO THE LINK TO READ GOOD ARTICLES IN FULL: HELP SHAPE ALGORITHMS (and conversations) THAT EMPOWER DECENCY, DIGNITY, JUSTICE & PEACE... and hopefully Palestine] 
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/ziad-j-asali-md/israel-needs-peace-with-p_b_4682405.html

"... Because of their national narrative, religious views, or ideological perspectives, many Israelis view the settlements as perfectly legitimate. What they must recognize, however, is that they are alone in this opinion, globally. And Israel cannot remain deeply connected to the international system and global economy, and especially the West, while continuing to flout basic the international laws governing occupied territories.

The European policy is sound, and an approach I have long supported. Back in 2010, I noted that "while those of us at the American Task Force on Palestine firmly oppose Israel's delegitimization, we also oppose the occupation and support peaceful, nonviolent efforts to end it. We have strongly supported Palestinian efforts to build the institutional, infrastructural, economic and administrative framework of the Palestinian state under occupation, in order to end the occupation. We have also supported nonviolent protest efforts such as popular boycott of settlement goods that call attention to the important and undeniable distinction between Israel itself on the one hand and the occupation and the settlements on the other hand."

The new EU, and now German, policies are fully in line with this formula. The international community must do more to clarify to Israelis that their settlement policies are not acceptable and that the whole world sees a vital distinction between the legitimate state of Israel and the illegitimate and illegal settlements in the occupied Palestinians territories..." President, American Task Force on Palestine

"The message from Israel's most senior security and business professionals is clear, rational and certainly correct: however much some Israelis might want to continue the occupation, the future of Israel requires a peace agreement and a state of Palestine."

***

Palestine & The United Nations

My letters to CSM & The Guardian RE "Palestinian workers back Scarlett Johansson's opposition to SodaStream boycott" & John Kerry in final push to disprove cynics on Middle East peace deal

"Israel Needs Peace with Palestine to Avoid Looming Boycotts" Ziad J. Asali (ATFP on facebook I CAN SEE PALESTINE)
RE John Kerry in final push to disprove cynics on Middle East peace deal
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/jan/30/john-kerry-israel-palestinian-ambitious-peace-deal-fade

Dear Editor,

I hope it works. I hope that Israelis can find the courage and compassion to fully respect international law and universal basic human rights... and I hope Palestinians can find the courage and compassion to forgive all who have conspired to oppress, impoverish and displace them.

I hope both Israelis and Palestinians start seriously investing in and empowering a fully secular two state solution to end the Israel-Palestine conflict, and that negotiations are the beginning of a transition away from institutionalized bigotry and religious extremism in the Holy Land.

I hope that the rule of fair and just laws is allowed to flourish, and that living side by side in peace and security individual by individual, family by family, community by community and country by country becomes the interwoven norm... with positive ramifications for the entire region.

Sincerely,
Anne Selden Annab

***

RE Palestinian workers back Scarlett Johansson's opposition to SodaStream boycott (+video)
http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Security-Watch/2014/0130/Palestinian-workers-back-Scarlett-Johansson-s-opposition-to-SodaStream-boycott-video

Dear Editor,

"Changing the world one sip at a time" the Scarlett Johansson ad has become an online meme for Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Pretty face plus ugly facts culled from years of depressing news reports and photographic evidence explaining the Israel-Palestine conflict make for an intriguing and reinvigorating combination. Perhaps in the end it will help add up into a tipping point for a just and lasting peace and security with a plethora of good job opportunities for both Israelis and Palestinians.

Even in a fully free society people need to earn a living and most know to refrain from saying insulting things about their employer ... Of course Palestinian workers at the Israeli factory built in an Israeli settlement in the West Bank like having a job and being able to feed their families!  Knowing the very real plight and suffering of the Palestinians, it is utterly cruel and quite shortsighted for your report on the topic to set these very vulnerable Palestinians up as opposition to international calls for Israel to end it's invasive and illegal settlement policies.

Negotiations for a just and lasting peace based on full respect for international law and universal basic human rights are not helped by obfuscations. I applaud OxFam's clear and straightforward response to the Scarlett Johansson scandal: “Oxfam respects the independence of our ambassadors,” the group’s official statement reads. “Oxfam believes that businesses that operate in settlements further the ongoing poverty and denial of rights of the Palestinian communities that we work to support. Oxfam is opposed to all trade from Israeli settlements, which are illegal under international law.”

Sincerely,
Anne Selden Annab

NOTES

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
The Office of International Religious Freedom
( http://www.state.gov/j/drl/irf/ )

Palestinian Refugees (1948-NOW) refused their right to return... and their right to live in peace free from religious bigotry and injustice.
Refugees, Borders & Jerusalem
"Where, after all, do universal human rights begin? In small places, close to home - so close and so small that they cannot be seen on any maps of the world. Yet they are the world of the individual person; the neighborhood he lives in; the school or college he attends; the factory, farm, or office where he works. Such are the places where every man, woman, and child seeks equal justice, equal opportunity, equal dignity without discrimination. Unless these rights have meaning there, they have little meaning anywhere. Without concerted citizen action to uphold them close to home, we shall look in vain for progress in the larger world."Eleanor Roosevelt

UN Resolution 194 from 1948 : The 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 in equity, should be made good by the Governments or authorities responsible

Refugees and the Right of Return
We call for a just solution to our refugee issue in accordance with UN General Assembly Resolution 194. Our position on refugees is also included and supported in the Arab Peace Initiative (API), which calls for “a just solution to the Palestinian refugee problem to be agreed upon in accordance with UN General Assembly Resolution 194.” A just solution to the refugee issue must address two aspects: the right of return and reparations.

The Arab Peace Initiative

Emanating from the conviction of the Arab countries that a military solution to the conflict will not achieve peace or provide security for the parties, the council:
1. Requests Israel to reconsider its policies and declare that a just peace is its strategic option as well.
2. Further calls upon Israel to affirm:
I- Full Israeli withdrawal from all the territories occupied since 1967, including the Syrian Golan Heights, to the June 4, 1967 lines as well as the remaining occupied Lebanese territories in the south of Lebanon.
II- Achievement of a just solution to the Palestinian refugee problem to be agreed upon in accordance with U.N. General Assembly Resolution 194.
III- The acceptance of the establishment of a sovereign independent Palestinian state on the Palestinian territories occupied since June 4, 1967 in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, with East Jerusalem as its capital.
3. Consequently, the Arab countries affirm the following:
I- Consider the Arab-Israeli conflict ended, and enter into a peace agreement with Israel, and provide security for all the states of the region.
II- Establish normal relations with Israel in the context of this comprehensive peace.

John Kerry defends US foreign policy “The reason we’re so devoted to finding a solution is simple: Because the benefits of success and the dangers of failure are enormous for the United States, for the world, for the region and, most importantly of all, for the Israeli and Palestinian people,” US secretary of state John Kerry at the World Economic Forum in Davos.

“You have to understand that the progressive forces in the Arab world, those that support having a visible relationship with Israel, cannot reach out to it until the Palestinian problem is resolved,” said one Jordanian official. “Moreover, this should also be Israel’s interest, because the only way to stop the Islamic movements from seizing control in the West Bank is through an agreement with the Palestinians.”

Hanan Ashrawi tells The Times of Israel: Jews and members of all religions would have the right to apply for Palestinian citizenship. But “Palestine” could not accept “ex-territorial Jewish enclaves” where residents maintained their Israeli citizenship status

EU warns Israel, Palestinians of the cost of peace failure

MIFTAH: Anti- corruption youth strategy; young Palestinians put a corruption-free society as their priority "...This is their future, they say, because in the end, it is the youth that seeks a society free of corruption that will offer them the opportunity to obtain the right job and the right social status based on their own merits, not on grounds of nepotism and favoritism."   


Analysis: Why Palestinian leadership is right to engage in peace talks

Ziad Asali of ATFP: Why Palestinians are puzzled by the 'Jewish state' demand... Netanyahu's demand for recognition of Israel as a Jewish state bizarrely inserts Palestinians into the 'Who is a Jew' debate

  • 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

 Live by the Golden Rule

"Changing the world one sip at a time"... Scarlett Johansson ad becomes online meme for Israeli-Palestinian conflict

online meme
***
Scarlett Johansson ad becomes online meme for Israeli-Palestinian conflict: The web has been flooded with images featuring Scarlett Johansson Photoshopped into some grim pictures of West Bank territories. A major political meme these days has been inspired by the actress’s cooperation with an Israel-based company.
.

***
NYTIMES Scarlett Johansson Chooses SodaStream Over Oxfam After Dispute About West Bank Factory: Forced to choose between two endorsement deals, the actress Scarlett Johansson decided Wednesday to end her charitable work on behalf of Oxfam, an antipoverty group that opposes trade with Israeli settlements, and continue as a paid “brand ambassador” for SodaStream, a company that manufactures products in the occupied West Bank.

The break with Oxfam comes a week after the charity said that it was engaged in “a dialogue” with the actress, who had helped raise funds for nearly a decade, and days before the broadcast of Ms. Johansson’s Super Bowl commercial for SodaStream’s home carbonation machines.

Oxfam’s stated position is that “trade from Israeli settlements, which are illegal under international law,” should be discouraged because companies profiting from the continued occupation “further the ongoing poverty and denial of rights of the Palestinian communities that we work to support.” ...READ MORE

***
The Guardian Scarlett Johansson is right – the face of SodaStream doesn't fit with Oxfam: Thanks to the star's involvement with the Israeli company, illegal settlement activity is under increased scrutiny
Israeli settlements (including Maale Adumim) are built on land seized from the Palestinians during the 1967 war. By the standards of the Geneva convention, the Rome Statute and the international court of justice, they have been developed illegally by Israel. Israel has thumbed its nose at international law and continued to build its settlements, including industrial parks such as the one that houses SodaStream.

The European Union has called the E1 parcel of land that Israel plans to build on, extending from Maale Adumim, a violation of international humanitarian law. Johansson, in other words, had become the face of illegal Israeli settlement activity.

Johansson's new job posed a serious problem for Oxfam. The charity has over the years taken a strong position against Israel's illegal settlement construction at the same time as it has worked to deliver much-needed goods and services to the encaged population in the occupied Palestinian territories. In a powerful briefing paper from 2012, Oxfam called on Israel to "immediately halt the construction of all illegal settlements" and end "policies and practices that are illegal under international law and harm the livelihood of Palestinian civilians"...READ MORE

****
JERUSALEM January 30, 2014 (AP)
Scarlett Johansson has parted ways with the international charity Oxfam because of a dispute over her work for SodaStream, a company operating in a West Bank settlement that features the Hollywood star in an ad that will air during the Super Bowl.

Johansson became the latest casualty of a widening campaign to boycott the settlements, drawing attention to a larger debate about whether Israel will become an international pariah, at a steep economic price, if it fails to reach a peace deal with the Palestinians.

Israeli Finance Minister Yair Lapid stoked such fears this week, warning that if negotiations break down "and we enter a reality of a European boycott, even a very partial one, Israel's economy will retreat backward and every Israeli citizen will feel it straight in the pocket." ...READ MORE

****
& via many various viral (in my world) twitter & facebook posts

Burst the Bubble: Boycott SodaStream



***
Oxfam has accepted Scarlett Johansson’s decision to step down after eight years as a Global Ambassador and we are grateful for her many contributions.

“Oxfam respects the independence of our ambassadors,” the group’s official statement reads. “However Oxfam believes that businesses that operate in settlements further the ongoing poverty and denial of rights of the Palestinian communities that we work to support. Oxfam is opposed to all trade from Israeli settlements, which are illegal under international law.”   ...Read more

Who is OxFam.... "Around the globe, Oxfam works to find practical, innovative ways for people to lift themselves out of poverty and thrive. We save lives and help rebuild livelihoods when crisis strikes. And we campaign so that the voices of the poor influence the local and global decisions that affect them.

We work directly with communities and we seek to influence the powerful to ensure that poor people can improve their lives and livelihoods and have a say in decisions that affect them.

In all we do, Oxfam works with partner organizations and alongside vulnerable women and men to end the injustices that cause poverty."

Change Lives – Donate Now

Today, one out of eight people in our world goes to bed hungry each night. But we see a future in which no one does.

Right now, with your gift to Oxfam, you have the opportunity to help change peoples' lives. From supporting better farming methods to helping disaster survivors rebuild, your gift will empower poor people to feed their families and build a better future in the more than 90 countries where we work.

Your gift will go to work right away. Make a tax-deductible donation today.

Thursday, January 30, 2014

My letter to the NYTimes RE Why Kerry is Scary by Thomas L. Friedman

Israel's anti-Palestine wall
RE Why Kerry is Scary by Thomas L. Friedman
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/01/29/opinion/friedman-why-kerry-is-scary.html?ref=international

Dear Editor,

Talking Israel away from peace, Friedman seeks to annihilate the refugee's right of return...  Who is next is the question that needs to be asked: This is not just about Israel, nor is it about being Jewish- it is about the future of fair and just laws.

The right of return is a normal every day thing we do every time we walk out a door no matter who we are or where we live. The right of return is not a complicated or esoteric concept, it simply is how civilization works.

The right of return is firmly rooted international law and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights... and Golden Rule thinking. It is a tool for peace and security for every man, woman and child on earth. 

Do we really want to set the official precedent for every community and country on earth, from this day forward, to feel free to harass, oppress, impoverish, imprison and/or displace targeted 'others'.

Demanding that the Palestinians ratify Israel's state sponsored religion is a bad idea with dangerous ramifications.  Ending the Israel-Palestine conflict with a fully secular two sate solution is a good idea with beneficial ramifications for the entire region.

Sincerely,
Anne Selden Annab

NOTES
“You have to understand that the progressive forces in the Arab world, those that support having a visible relationship with Israel, cannot reach out to it until the Palestinian problem is resolved,” said one Jordanian official. “Moreover, this should also be Israel’s interest, because the only way to stop the Islamic movements from seizing control in the West Bank is through an agreement with the Palestinians.”

Hanan Ashrawi tells The Times of Israel: Jews and members of all religions would have the right to apply for Palestinian citizenship. But “Palestine” could not accept “ex-territorial Jewish enclaves” where residents maintained their Israeli citizenship status

ATFP Briefing: Yarmouk Camp Crisis

John Kerry defends US foreign policy “The reason we’re so devoted to finding a solution is simple: Because the benefits of success and the dangers of failure are enormous for the United States, for the world, for the region and, most importantly of all, for the Israeli and Palestinian people,” US secretary of state John Kerry at the World Economic Forum in Davos.

EU warns Israel, Palestinians of the cost of peace failure

MIFTAH: Anti- corruption youth strategy; young Palestinians put a corruption-free society as their priority "...This is their future, they say, because in the end, it is the youth that seeks a society free of corruption that will offer them the opportunity to obtain the right job and the right social status based on their own merits, not on grounds of nepotism and favoritism."   

ATFP Briefing: Richard Wright, the Director of the UNRWA New York Representative Office will join Andrew Tabler from WINEP and ATFP's Hussein Ibish to discuss the dire situation of those Palestine Refugees trapped inside Yarmouk, including updates on recent interventions by UNRWA 1-22-2014


Analysis: Why Palestinian leadership is right to engage in peace talks

Ziad Asali of ATFP: Why Palestinians are puzzled by the 'Jewish state' demand... Netanyahu's demand for recognition of Israel as a Jewish state bizarrely inserts Palestinians into the 'Who is a Jew' debate

The monster that won't die: Al-Qaeda is making yet another appalling comeback "There have always been differences within al-Qaeda, those who have either successfully seized or been granted permission to use the name as a kind of franchise, and other salafi-jihadi or "takfiri" groups. But while the parent organization based in Pakistan and Afghanistan seems to be increasingly irrelevant, the political ideology and program of mass murder that are now synonymous with al-Qaeda seem at least as robust as ever, if not more so. It is the monster that, for the past decade, simply will not die."

  • 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 Office of International Religious Freedom ( http://www.state.gov/j/drl/irf/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

American Task Force on Palestine (ATFP) supports Palestinian institution-building, good governance, anti-corruption measures, economic development, and improved living standards. ATFP categorically and unequivocally condemns all violence against civilians, no matter the cause and who the victims or perpetrators may be. http://www.americantaskforce.org/

                                                                                               The Arab Peace Initiative

Tuesday, January 28, 2014

“You have to understand that the progressive forces in the Arab world, those that support having a visible relationship with Israel, cannot reach out to it until the Palestinian problem is resolved,” said one Jordanian official. “Moreover, this should also be Israel’s interest, because the only way to stop the Islamic movements from seizing control in the West Bank is through an agreement with the Palestinians.”

[AS ALWAYS PLEASE GO TO THE LINK TO READ GOOD ARTICLES IN FULL: HELP SHAPE ALGORITHMS (and conversations) THAT EMPOWER DECENCY, DIGNITY, JUSTICE & PEACE... and hopefully Palestine]    

Jordan's King Abdullah, right, speaking to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas at the Royal Palace in Amman, Jan. 10, 2012. Photo by Reuters

A new, improved Jordanian option

'You have to understand that the progressive forces in the Arab world, those that support having a visible relationship with Israel, cannot reach out to it until the Palestinian problem is resolved,' said one Jordanian official.

By | Jan. 27, 2014

The recent surprise visit to Jordan by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is indicative of the importance the premier attributes to the Hashemite kingdom’s role in advancing the diplomatic process, and particularly to its role in the future, if and when a Palestinian state is established. The substance of Netanyahu’s talks with King Abdullah a week and a half ago have not leaked, but the king’s positions and strategic plans can be discerned from off-the-record conversations with senior Jordanian officials, some of them with direct access to the royal palace.

The most important message emerging from the talks with the Jordanians is their assessment that it is vital to achieve an Israeli-Palestinian agreement that will lead to the end of the conflict. Such an agreement will not only allow Jordan to publicly improve its relations with Israel, but will have far-reaching implications for Israel’s relations with other countries in the region.. READ MORE

ATFP (The American Task Force on Palestine) categorically and unequivocally condemns all violence against civilians, no matter the cause and who the victims or perpetrators may be.

Hanan Ashrawi tells The Times of Israel: Jews and members of all religions would have the right to apply for Palestinian citizenship. But “Palestine” could not accept “ex-territorial Jewish enclaves” where residents maintained their Israeli citizenship status

Times of Israel

Palestinians: Yes to Jews, no to settlers in our state

Netanyahu raised issue of settlers remaining in a future Palestine during recent talks with John Kerry, Palestinian official says

The Palestinian refusal to accept Israeli settlers in their future state does not stem from anti-Jewish sentiment, Palestinian officials said on Monday. Hanan Ashrawi, a member of the PLO Executive Committee, told The Times of Israel that Jews and members of all religions would have the right to apply for Palestinian citizenship. But “Palestine” could not accept “ex-territorial Jewish enclaves” where residents maintained their Israeli citizenship status, she said. 
 
 "....In an interview with official PA daily Al-Ayyam Monday, Erekat said the Palestinian position has nothing to do with singling out Jews.

“If Netanyahu argues that these positions are against Jews, we say to him that two Jews were elected in 2009 as members of Fatah’s Revolutionary Council: Ilan Halevi and Uri Davis,” Erekat said. “Our position is against settlements, considering them illegal and contrary to all international laws.”

Hanan Ashrawi, a member of the PLO’s Executive Committee, said that a clear distinction must be made between settlers and Jewish individuals who choose to live in a Palestinian state.

“Any person, be he Jewish, Christian or Buddhist, will have the right to apply for Palestinian citizenship,” Ashrawi told The Times of Israel. “Our basic law prohibits discrimination based on race or ethnicity.”

She added, however, that Palestinians would not accept “ex-territorial Jewish enclaves,” where residents will maintain their Israeli citizenship status. Abbas, she said, had no problem with Jews within the Palestinian state, including in the international security force deployed in the Jordan Valley.
 
 Hanan Ashrawi, a member of the PLO Executive Committee

ATFP Briefing: Yarmouk Camp Crisis



Published on Jan 27, 2014
The American Task Force on Palestine (ATFP) hosted a briefing on the Palestinian Refugees in Syria and the crisis at Yarmouk on Wednesday, January 22. The event that was held at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C, examined the crisis from numerous angles, including its humanitarian and regional components, and placed it in the context of international responsibilities towards the victims.

The panelists included the acting head of the DC UNRWA office Christopher McGrath; WINEP Senior Fellow Andrew J. Tabler; and ATFP Senior Fellow Hussein Ibish. It was moderated by ATFP Executive Director Ghaith Al-Omari.

John Kerry defends US foreign policy

“The reason we’re so devoted to finding a solution is simple: Because the benefits of success and the dangers of failure are enormous for the United States, for the world, for the region and, most importantly of all, for the Israeli and Palestinian people,” US secretary of state John Kerry at the World Economic Forum in Davos.

ATFP American Task Force on Palestine:

Sec Kerry speech in Davos 2014 Palestine part