History writing that aims at damage control

An excellent letter regarding Zionist propaganda by Prof Emeritus Ralph M Coury in the Financial Times

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High quality global journalism requires investment. Please share this article with others using the link below, do not cut & paste the article. 

http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/b8f5fce6-9af2-11e3-b0d0-00144feab7de.html?siteedition=intl#axzz2u4ZqcRmY

Ralph M Coury: "...The fact is that the “heresy” of which Shavit speaks was a main current in Zionist speculations from the outset. The new settlers, Theodor Herzl (the founder of the Zionist movement) writes in his diary in 1895, should “gently” expropriate the natives’ property and “try to spirit the penniless population across the border by procuring employment for it in the transit countries, while denying it any employment in our own country. The property-owners will come over to our side. But the process of expropriation and the removal of the poor must be carried out discreetly and circumspectly. Let the owners of immovable property believe that they are cheating us, selling us things for more than they are worth. But we are not going to sell them anything back.” (The Complete Diaries, NY, 1960, vol 1, P88.) "

*** 

Theodor Herzl

This Week in Palestine: Human Rights in Palestine

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http://www.thisweekinpalestine.com/details.php?id=4190&edid=227&ed=227

....Every time my children Basil and Taima cry because they are hungry or cold, I am immediately transported to Al-Yarmouk, and I imagine toddlers my children’s age crying endlessly, not having eaten for days, or even worse, not crying at all as they slowly slip into eternal silence. The world remains oblivious, uninterested, and unmoved by the Palestinian plight. And our cause is often diluted to a situation of two neighbours unable to live together, which could not be farther from the truth. This is why an issue on human rights had to be produced. This Week in Palestine’s main mission is to document and celebrate Palestine rather than mourn her, but this issue is far from celebratory. Nor is it mournful. If anything it is a solid documentation on the status of human rights in Palestine. We cover everything: prisoners, women, children, business, and human rights. We share the world’s pain on losing Nelson Mandela, as we also lost one of our own human rights champions, Eyad Sarraj. This issue is serious, well written, and heavy. It need not be taken lightly. However, you will, no doubt, feel a few rays of hope shimmering somewhere within its folds.

So read on. And could someone please send a copy to Scarlett Johansson!

Riyam Kafri AbuLaban
Content Editor

Human Rights in Palestine

• Palestine’s New United Nations Status Brings Human Rights Obligations
  By Mutaz M. Qafisheh

 
• The Rights of Palestinian Children
  By June Kunugi and Monica Awad

 
• Let It Out
  By Laila Joseph

 
• Eulogy for Dr. Eyad Sarraj

 
• Palestinian Women between the Hammer of Colonialism and the Anvil of Patriarchy Stateless and Invisible
  By Maha Abu-Dayyeh

 
• Social Security Is a Human Right
  By Mounir Kleibo

 
• The Status of Human Rights in Palestine
  By Randa Siniora

• Artist of the Month
  Amer Shomali

 
• Book of the Month
  Golda Slept Here

 
• Exhibition Review
  Interstice

 
• Film Review
  Suspended Times

 
• Personality of the Month
  Mamdouh Aker

 
• Picturesque Palestine
  Picturesque Palestine

The Offices of the Palestinian Liberation Organisation in East Jerusalem forcefully closed by Israel in 2001. Photo by George Azar.

Palestinians will not sway on principles, Abbas tells Kerry

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http://www.worldbulletin.net/world/129311/palestinians-will-not-sway-on-principles-abbas-tells-kerry

At a Wednesday meeting in Paris, Palestinian Authority (PA) President Mahmoud Abbas reiterated to US Secretary of State John Kerry that the PA would not accept any agreement that didn't uphold five "fixed" principles as spelt out by the Palestinian side.

 World Bulletin / News Desk
 

Palestinian Authority (PA) President Mahmoud Abbas has reiterated to US Secretary of State John Kerry that the PA would not compromise on longstanding Palestinian principles in ongoing peace talks with Israel, an Abbas spokesman said on Thursday.

At a Wednesday meeting in Paris, Abbas reiterated to Kerry that the PA would not accept any agreement that didn't uphold five "fixed" principles as spelt out by the Palestinian side.

"The Palestinian position is fixed," Abbas spokesman Nabil Abu Rudeinah told official Palestinian news agency Wafa.

"We will not recognize a 'Jewish state,' nor will we approve illegal [Jewish-only] settlements," he said. "We are committed to achieving a Palestinian state based on the 1967 borders, with Al-Quds [occupied east Jerusalem] as its capital."

Abbas also called for a "just solution" to the issue of Palestinian refugees and the release of all Palestinian prisoners languishing in Israeli jails, according to the spokesman.

Direct US-brokered peace talks between Israel and Palestine resumed in Washington last summer after a nearly three-year pause.

Abbas is the president of the PA-controlled West Bank, while the Gaza Strip has been governed by Hamas – the PA's political rival – since 2007.

Earlier this month, Hamas Prime Minister Ismail Haniya said his group would reject any framework peace agreement hammered out by the PA and Israel.

Kerry, during his visit to the region last month, presented both sides with a proposed framework for an eventual peace agreement that addresses "final status issues" – namely, borders, security, the fate of Palestinian refugees and the status of Jerusalem.

About 500,000 Israelis now live in more than one hundred Jewish-only settlements built since Israel occupied the West Bank and East Jerusalem in 1967. The Palestinians want these areas, along with the Gaza Strip, in which to establish their future state.

Palestinians insist that the issue of Israeli settlement-building must be addressed before a comprehensive final-status agreement can be reached.

This Week in Palestine: The Rights of Palestinian Children

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http://www.thisweekinpalestine.com/details.php?id=4192&ed=227&edid=227

UNICEF-SoP/El Baba.

UNICEF-SoP/El Baba.

UNICEF-SoP/Izhiman.

UNICEF-SoP/Izhiman.

The Rights of Palestinian Children
By June Kunugi and Monica Awad

Pop quiz: Which human rights treaty is the most widely and rapidly ratified in the world? Answer: The Convention on the Rights of the Child, which marks its 25th anniversary this year. Advocates for children’s rights and human-rights sceptics alike nod their heads and say, “Of course, people will agree to anything for children…”

The reality of the situation of children in the world today shows that there is still far, far more that needs to be done to achieve the standards and principles set by the Convention. Yet there is no denying that much has been achieved since its entry into force. As a binding instrument of international law, it has guided legal reforms to better protect children, and set the best interests of the child as the principle by which actions and decisions should be taken on behalf of children.

The State of Palestine is demographically a very young state. Out of a total of 4.4 million Palestinians residing in the State, there are more than two million children below the age of 18 (more than 1.2 million children in the West Bank and more than 860,000 in Gazai), comprising 47 percent of the total population.ii Given this proportion, the Palestinian agenda should be a children’s agenda, focused on investing in them and maximising their potential as the most strategic, cost-effective, and morally right approach to building state, economy, and society.

Measures to protect children’s rights in the State of Palestine are deep-rooted in Palestinian history. Between 1995 and 2004, the Palestinian Authority and non-governmental organisations with the participation of children worked diligently to promote and advocate for the rights of children, which culminated in the development of the first Palestinian Child’s Rights Law.

Challenges to the fulfilment of Palestinian children’s rights

Yet despite these milestones, Palestinian children are born and grow up in an environment in which there are many challenges and obstacles to the fulfilment of their rights, including their rights to survival, to quality education, and to protection from violence. Due to the decades-long occupation coupled with internal instabilities and strife, children continue to live with acute levels of distress, poverty and other deprivations, and violence.

Adolescents between the ages of 10 and 18 comprise nearly a fifth of the Palestinian population and are considered among the most vulnerable groups of children. They are more exposed to violence, child labour, substance abuse, school drop-out, and early marriage. They live in an environment marked by increasing vulnerabilities and violence, and a lack of safe play areas, particularly for girls. One-third of adolescents aged 16 to 17 are out of school. The majority of them are boys - 41 percent of 16- to 17-year-old boys are out of school.iii Adolescents also lack opportunities to develop their skills, talents, and self-confidence, and to participate constructively in their communities. Alternatives to formal education are lacking as opportunities for vocational education remain limited. All these trends put adolescents at higher risk of violence, abuse, and exploitation.

Children with disabilities are at an even higher risk of violence, abuse, and exploitation. Although the Ministry of Education and Higher Education (MoEHE) has recently adopted an inclusive education policy, children with disabilities still face a wide range of physical, social, and environmental barriers to full participation in society, including reduced access to health care, education, and other support services. They are also thought to be at significantly greater risk of violence than their peers without disabilities.

Violence against children in the home, in school, and in the community is one of the most pressing issues faced by Palestinian children. A 2011 survey by the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics found that 51 percent of children aged 12 to 17 years were exposed to violence inside the household, by a member of the household.iv It also showed that 69 percent of children in the same age group had been exposed to psychological violence, and 34 percent to physical violence by their parents.v The impact of the occupation and conflict-related violence, and the widespread acceptance and perpetuation of violence within society present major challenges to securing children’s rights to protection and their ability to live in a safe environment.

While mortality rates among children under 5 years of age dropped from 33 per 1,000 live births in 1990 to 23 in 2010, due to the Ministry of Health’s dedicated efforts and support from the international community, there is now a need to focus on tackling neonatal mortality (during the first 28 days of a child’s life), which accounts for an overwhelming majority of deaths of children under the age of 5. Another major obstacle to child survival is injuries and accidents, the majority of them traffic-related, which reportedly are the single largest factor of deaths of children under the age of 4.vi

Children also face challenges due to inadequate access to quality basic services. With the lack of Palestinian control over water resources, children and families lack access to safe, sufficient, and affordable water. In the West Bank the Barrier has cut off certain Palestinian communities from their water sources and caused damage to community water networks; wastewater from some Israeli settlements flows downhill into Palestinian communities and seeps into groundwater and surface water sources alike.vii In Gaza, water quality is the main issue, as the aquifer has been contaminated with sewage, toxic chemicals, and seawater, and the World Health Organization has assessed that up to 95 percent of it is unfit to drink.

In Gaza, the closure has seriously inhibited rehabilitation of conflict-damaged infrastructure and slowed new construction of sanitation facilities. Poor sanitation infrastructure and poor water management and hygiene practices at household level represent major obstacles. These include sub-optimal cleaning of water tanks and cisterns, and poor hygiene standards, which contribute to depriving children of their rights to safe water, sanitation, and hygiene.

While enrolment rates of children in basic education are very good, quality education is still not provided.viii Poor learning environment marked by increased violence in schools, including in classrooms, is a major obstacle to quality education for many of the 1.2 million students attending 2,573 schools in the West Bank and Gaza. Children are learning in dilapidated, overcrowded, and unsuitable school premises. Teachers are too often under-qualified and under-motivated, using outdated methods and curricula. Restrictions on access and movement, and harassment of school children by soldiers and settlers have a damaging effect on learning outcomes.... READ MORE

Analysis: EU aid to Palestinians -- help or hindrance?

"EU member states are today much more aware than before that their aid has not made possible the creation of an independent Palestinian state," she [Caroline du Plessix, a French political scientist specializing on EU policy towards the two-state-solution] said, adding: "The EU is trying to figure out what the best strategy may be. Member states need to show that their policy is reaching its ends and is effective. But if the main solution still is the two-state-solution and we are not really going in that direction, this policy is not sustainable and cannot go on for ever."

A general view shows a section of Israel's controversial separation
barrier in the West Bank village of Al-Ram on the outskirts of
Jerusalem on December 7, 2012. (AFP/File Ahmad Gharabli)

"... One beneficiary of the EU's direct assistance to the PA is 49-year-old Said Samara, a teacher at the Secondary Boarding School in Ramallah.
"As a teacher, I hope that this aid will continue. But as a teacher, and for my students, I also need some hope for an independent Palestinian country""

 

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http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=674797

The UN Works and Relief Agency for Palestinian Refugees (UNRWA) faces similar challenges. This year it has a deficit of $65 million in its core budget and struggles with declining international funding.

Israeli Settlers destroy 700 olive tree saplings near Ramallah... Israel's army is often present during attacks and rarely intervenes to protect Palestinians from settler violence.

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http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=674735

Settlers destroy 700 olive tree saplings near Ramallah
21/02/2014

NABLUS (Ma'an) – Extremist settlers destroyed over 700 newly planted olive tree saplings north of Ramallah on Wednesday, a Palestinian Authority official said.

Ghassan Daghlas, who monitors settlement activity in the northern West Bank, told Ma'an that a group of settlers from the illegal outpost of Ade Ad carried out the attack.

Over 700 saplings belonging to Mahmoud and Rabah Hizma were either uprooted or broken in the al-Sadir area in Turmusayya.

An identity card belonging to one of the perpetrators was found at the scene.

Settlers routinely attack Palestinians and their property to intimidate local communities to leave their land.

Israel's army is often present during attacks and rarely intervenes to protect Palestinians from settler violence.

My letter to the NYTimes RE "Is a Boycott of Israel Just?"

Kerry to see Palestinian leader in Paris

RE: Is a Boycott of Israel Just?
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/19/opinion/the-case-for-the-israel-boycott.html?ref=opinion

Dear Editor,

I really appreciated the many letters you published regarding "Is a Boycott of Israel Just?". So much food for thought and so many passionate and concerned people willing to step up to weigh in! Times have really changed.

Keeping things in perspective, a bit of research proves quickly that the Boycott/BDS Boycott movement is very much indebted to various Israeli NGOs, Israeli activists, and Israeli academics who have been instrumental in documenting, organizing, preserving, and distributing information concerning the very real plight of the Palestinians. 

Meanwhile America has been instrumental in funding and sustaining UNWRA which was established by United Nations General Assembly resolution 302 (IV) of 8 December 1949 to carry out direct relief and works programmes for Palestine refugees... " In the absence of a solution to the Palestine refugee problem, the General Assembly has repeatedly renewed UNRWA's mandate, most recently extending it until 30 June 2014." http://www.unrwa.org/who-we-are

Bad news, negative stereotypes and extremist rhetoric tend to make news headlines and shape opinion columns regarding the Middle East, but fact is people are people every where- many are good and decent and some are not. Many want to make a just and lasting peace and some do not. Among those who do desire a just and lasting peace not all agree on the best way forward, or even the right way to phrase anything. Worldwide religious extremism, bigotry, sectarian strife and terrorism are being fueled by the Israel-Palestine conflict.

Full respect for international law and universal human rights should be shaping negotiations and conversations aimed at ending the Israel-Palestine conflict as soon as possible- for everyone's sake. 

Sincerely,
Anne Selden Annab

NOTES
It’s important for people to know how far the Palestinians have come to put an end to the conflict with Israel.

Palestinians seek UN heritage status for ancient village

"Since the beginning of our struggle for Cremisan, we have been determined to tell the world about the story of a small Palestinian community that, like many others, is threatened once again with dispossession and colonization..."

Israel confiscates Palestinian land near Nablus

BADIL: Six decades after their initial forced displacement from their homeland, Palestinian refugees and IDPs still lack access to voluntary durable solutions and reparations (which include return, restitution, compensation) based on international law, UN resolutions and best practice.

The Palestinian Refugee's Right of Return: No issue is more emblematic of the 20th century Palestinian experience than the plight of the approximately seven million Palestinian refugees.

The number of Palestinian structures (including many Palestinian homes) demolished by the Israeli authorities in the Jordan Valley in 2013 more than doubled, from 192 in 2012 to 393 in 2013

The Palestinian Authority has decided to remove the section detailing religious affiliation on Palestinian identity cards... ensures the equality of all Palestinians, regardless of their religion.

Excellent letter published in the Baltimore Sun: Academic freedom and Israel by Carole C. Burnett

Reflections By An ARAB JEW by Ella Habiba Shohat "When my grandmother first encountered Israeli society in the '50s, she was convinced that the people who looked, spoke and ate so differently--the European Jews--were actually European Christians. Jewishness for her generation was inextricably associated with Middle Easterness. My grandmother, who still lives in Israel and still communicates largely in Arabic, had to be taught to speak of "us" as Jews and "them" as Arabs. For Middle Easterners, the operating distinction had always been "Muslim," "Jew," and "Christian," not Arab versus Jew. The assumption was that "Arabness" referred to a common shared culture and language, albeit with religious differences."

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

History of the United Nations' Universal Declaration of Human Rights: "The Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which was adopted by the UN General Assembly on 10 December 1948, was the result of the experience of the Second World War. With the end of that war, and the creation of the United Nations, the international community vowed never again to allow atrocities like those of that conflict happen again. World leaders decided to complement the UN Charter with a road map to guarantee the rights of every individual everywhere. The document they considered, and which would later become the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, was taken up at the first session of the General Assembly in 1946. " http://www.un.org/en/documents/udhr/history.shtml

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

More than sixty years ago, back in 1949, the Application of Israel for admission to membership in the United Nations (A/818) clearly pointed out that Israel was directly contravening "the previous recommendations of the United Nations in at least three important respects: in its attitude on the problem of Arab refugees, on the delimitation of its territorial boundaries, and on the question of Jerusalem." http://unispal.un.org/UNISPAL.NSF/85255e950050831085255e95004fa9c3/1db943e43c280a26052565fa004d8174?OpenDocument  


Dr. Zogby: This Time Must Be Different

Jordan's King urges Arab, Islamic organisations to serve nation’s causes in US... peace efforts should lead to the two-state solution based on international resolutions and the 2002 Arab Peace Initiative, which, he said, was a historical turning point.

Ziad Asali : The Road to the Arab Civil State

Children of the occupation: growing up in Palestine

ISRAELI DEMOLITIONS OF PALESTINIAN PROPERTY IN THE JORDAN VALLEY, 2013... UNITED NATIONS OCHA MAP

Free to Fund Palestine ... a Growing Gardens for Palestine poem by Anne Selden Annab

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/ )

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.

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

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.

EU warns Israel, Palestinians of the cost of peace failure

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 Universal Declaration of Human Rights: Article 1

• 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

***

"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." ATFP's Ziad Asali: To honor a tragic history, we must work for peace ....

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/

It’s important for people to know how far the Palestinians have come to put an end to the conflict with Israel.

MAEN RASHID AREIKAT

plodelegation.us

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Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/2014/02/17/3941493/plo-ambassador-our-vision-of-peace.html#storylink=cpy

http://www.miamiherald.com/2014/02/17/3941493/plo-ambassador-our-vision-of-peace.html

"... It’s important for people to know how far the Palestinians have come to put an end to the conflict with Israel. In 1988, the Palestine National Council took the historic step of recognizing U.N. resolutions 242 and 338, presenting our historic compromise to resolve the conflict by explicitly accepting the establishment of a Palestinian state in the West Bank including East Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip — 22 percent of what used to be the historic land of Palestine.

In 1993, and upon the signing of the Oslo Accords, the PLO and Israel exchanged mutual letters of recognition. We remain committed to the strategic objective of having an independent, sovereign, viable, and contiguous Palestinian state that can live side by side with Israel in peace and security.

The Palestinian leadership has shown serious and sincere willingness to deal with all the complex issues separating Palestinians from Israelis...

• Borders: Any future Palestinian state will be based on the 1967 borders with agreed minor and reciprocal (in quantity and quality) land swaps. This is not only a Palestinian position but rather a U.S. and an international position....READ MORE

PLO Ambassador: Our vision of peace

Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/2014/02/17/3941493/plo-ambassador-our-vision-of-peace.html#storylink=cpy

Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/2014/02/17/3941493/plo-ambassador-our-vision-of-peace.html#storylink=cpy

My letter to the NYTimes RE Abbas, Talking to Israeli Students About Peace, Finds a Receptive Audience

The Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas, left, struck a conciliatory tone as he met with Israeli students Sunday in Ramallah. Nasser Nasser/Associated Press The New York Times

RE: Abbas, Talking to Israeli Students About Peace, Finds a Receptive Audience
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/17/world/middleeast/abbas-talking-to-israeli-students-about-peace-finds-a-receptive-audience.html?ref=middleeast&_r=0

Dear Editor,

Right now, with negotiations under way, diplomacy will either end the Israel-Palestine conflict with a just and lasting sovereign secure peace shaped by a two state solution based on full respect for international law and universal human rights as well as The Arab Peace Initiative... or the conflict will continue to escalate from bad to worse, with horrific ramifications for the entire region.

Abbas suggesting that he does not intend “to drown Israel with millions of refugees” takes a huge risk, for that remark is easily misconstrued, when really it should stir thought as the reality of return takes shape.

I firmly believe that full formal respect for the right of return is crucial, thus I have to seriously wonder about the logistics of return. Not the hype for or against, but the actual logistics of actual return to original homes and lands, and/or resettlement. No matter what happens it will take time and cooperation to end the very real plight of the Palestinians. Even if every Palestinian refugee is forced to return to Israel to be Israeli it will take time and a huge amount of preparation as transition policies and housing and infrastructure and support systems need to be built.

I think the PLO's position The PLO Negotiations Affairs Department (NAD) makes sense and is very reasonable and helpful: " Israel’s recognition of the right of return will pave the way to negotiating how that right will be implemented. Choice is a critical part of the process. Our refugees must be allowed to choose how to implement their rights and normalize their status. The options for our refugees should be: return to Israel, return/resettlement to a future Palestinian state, integration in host states, or resettlement in third-party states. Rehabilitation in the form of professional training, education, medical services, provision of housing, etc will also be a necessary component of each of the options."

Sincerely,
Anne Selden Annab

NOTES
Palestinians seek UN heritage status for ancient village

"Since the beginning of our struggle for Cremisan, we have been determined to tell the world about the story of a small Palestinian community that, like many others, is threatened once again with dispossession and colonization..."

Israel confiscates Palestinian land near Nablus

BADIL: Six decades after their initial forced displacement from their homeland, Palestinian refugees and IDPs still lack access to voluntary durable solutions and reparations (which include return, restitution, compensation) based on international law, UN resolutions and best practice.

The Palestinian Refugee's Right of Return: No issue is more emblematic of the 20th century Palestinian experience than the plight of the approximately seven million Palestinian refugees.

The number of Palestinian structures (including many Palestinian homes) demolished by the Israeli authorities in the Jordan Valley in 2013 more than doubled, from 192 in 2012 to 393 in 2013

The Palestinian Authority has decided to remove the section detailing religious affiliation on Palestinian identity cards... ensures the equality of all Palestinians, regardless of their religion.

Some Excellent letters in the NYTimes regarding Israel and America’s Support

NYTimes: Camels Had No Business in Genesis

Excellent letter published in the Baltimore Sun: Academic freedom and Israel by Carole C. Burnett

Reflections By An ARAB JEW by Ella Habiba Shohat "When my grandmother first encountered Israeli society in the '50s, she was convinced that the people who looked, spoke and ate so differently--the European Jews--were actually European Christians. Jewishness for her generation was inextricably associated with Middle Easterness. My grandmother, who still lives in Israel and still communicates largely in Arabic, had to be taught to speak of "us" as Jews and "them" as Arabs. For Middle Easterners, the operating distinction had always been "Muslim," "Jew," and "Christian," not Arab versus Jew. The assumption was that "Arabness" referred to a common shared culture and language, albeit with religious differences."

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

History of the United Nations' Universal Declaration of Human Rights: "The Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which was adopted by the UN General Assembly on 10 December 1948, was the result of the experience of the Second World War. With the end of that war, and the creation of the United Nations, the international community vowed never again to allow atrocities like those of that conflict happen again. World leaders decided to complement the UN Charter with a road map to guarantee the rights of every individual everywhere. The document they considered, and which would later become the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, was taken up at the first session of the General Assembly in 1946. " http://www.un.org/en/documents/udhr/history.shtml

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

More than sixty years ago, back in 1949, the Application of Israel for admission to membership in the United Nations (A/818) clearly pointed out that Israel was directly contravening "the previous recommendations of the United Nations in at least three important respects: in its attitude on the problem of Arab refugees, on the delimitation of its territorial boundaries, and on the question of Jerusalem." http://unispal.un.org/UNISPAL.NSF/85255e950050831085255e95004fa9c3/1db943e43c280a26052565fa004d8174?OpenDocument  


Dr. Zogby: This Time Must Be Different

Jordan's King urges Arab, Islamic organisations to serve nation’s causes in US... peace efforts should lead to the two-state solution based on international resolutions and the 2002 Arab Peace Initiative, which, he said, was a historical turning point.

Ziad Asali : The Road to the Arab Civil State

Children of the occupation: growing up in Palestine

ISRAELI DEMOLITIONS OF PALESTINIAN PROPERTY IN THE JORDAN VALLEY, 2013... UNITED NATIONS OCHA MAP

Free to Fund Palestine ... a Growing Gardens for Palestine poem by Anne Selden Annab

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/ )

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.

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

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.

EU warns Israel, Palestinians of the cost of peace failure

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 Universal Declaration of Human Rights: Article 1

• 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

"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." ATFP's Ziad Asali: To honor a tragic history, we must work for peace ....

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/

Small Victories

14 Febuary 2014

[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.unrwa.org/newsroom/features/small-victories

Beirut
"Our parents told us about the Nakba of 1948," says Lama. "We didn't experience that. But we are having our nakba now, and it's painful." A Palestine refugee from Syria, Lama represents a link in the chain of Palestinian suffering; she heard the stories of 1948 from her parents and will tell the story of the Syrian conflict to her children and grandchildren.

This story begins in Yarmouk, the besieged Palestine refugee camp in Damascus. Lama's husband, Mohammad Jaafari, explains that shrapnel destroyed the family home, and when the situation grew worse, he and Lama fled with their three children to Lebanon. After three nights of exhaustion, deprivation and displacement, they arrived in Beddawi refugee camp, but like many of the Palestine refugees from Syria seeking shelter in Lebanon, they found new challenges waiting for them.

"We spent that morning walking aimlessly through the roads and alleys," Mohammad continues, adding that they were unable to go for long because of medical problems - he and one of his daughters, 7-year-old Tala, suffer from epidermolysis bullosa, a disease of the connective tissue.

"We were no longer living in an impoverished world in Syria - that's why we feel this humiliation, indignity and deprivation," Lama adds. What makes it worse is her worries about Tala: "Her disease is worse day after day. I had to stop sending her to school because the students there didn't accept her. There is no cure for her disease, there is no treatment provided to us." Losing her home was one thing, but losing her daughter's future is another blow.

Adjusting to Lebanon has been a slow, difficult process. After the first few tiring days in Beddawi, the family received shelter and financial assistance from the UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) that made it possible for them to rent a two-room house. The rent, however, is expensive, and the house quickly grew crowded as relatives joined them in fleeing from the conflict engulfing Syria.

In these circumstances, every small success is important. "At the end of 2013, with cash assistance from UNICEF, we were able to buy winter clothes for our children to protect them from the bitter cold," Lama says, adding that the rest of the money was spent on blankets and covers.

UNICEF is one of the largest UNRWA partners in supporting education and health activities for Palestine refugee children; in the fields of education, protection and health and sanitation, UNICEF has provided UNRWA with over US$ 4.0 million since the beginning of the conflict, along with generous in-kind assistance. Since 2011, UNICEF has also provided US$ 1.2 million to support regular UNRWA education efforts, including learning support activities and back-to-school kits.

  

How You Can Help

Palestinians seek UN heritage status for ancient village

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http://news.yahoo.com/palestinians-seek-un-heritage-status-ancient-village-200207340.html

A picture taken on June 17, 2012 shows Palestinian children swimming in the ancient spring in the West Bank village of Battir, located between Jerusalem and Bethlehem (AFP Photo/Menahem Kahana)

A picture shows a Palestinian farmer irrigating her land in the West Bank village of Battir, located between Jerusalem and Bethlehem, on June 17, 2012 (AFP Photo/Menahem Kahana)

Jerusalem (AFP) - Palestinian officials have filed an urgent request with UNESCO to receive World Heritage status for a West Bank village whose ancient terraces are under threat from the Israeli separation barrier. 

The request to put the agricultural community of Battir on the UN cultural agency's list of protected sites was filed earlier this month, a village official said on Sunday. 

"We applied 15 days ago and we heard today that they have accepted (to consider) our application," said Mahmud Abu Arab, a member of Battir's village council.

"They will send a delegation to check the area," he told AFP, without saying when the visit would take place. 

Battir was added to UNESCO's tentative list in 2012, and the UN body will vote on the application to upgrade its status in June.

Battir, which straddles the Green Line just south of Jerusalem, is famous for its ancient terraces and Roman-era irrigation system which is still used by the villagers for their crops.

But the village has come under threat from Israeli plans to erect part of the West Bank separation barrier there, which experts say will irretrievably damage the water system. 

The Palestinians won membership in UNESCO in October 2011 and quickly moved to submit a number of sites for recognition, including an emergency application for Bethlehem's Church of the Nativity which was approved in June the following year, despite Israeli objections.

Battir residents are currently locked in a high-profile court battle to change the route of the barrier, which is being led by Friends of the Earth Middle East (FoEME) and supported by Israel's Nature and Parks Authority.

"Since the beginning of our struggle for Cremisan, we have been determined to tell the world about the story of a small Palestinian community that, like many others, is threatened once again with dispossession and colonization..."

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http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=672660

A general view of part of the Cremisan valley in Beit Jala.
(MaanImages/Charlie Hoyle)

In Cremisan, our land represents our existence

By Ibrahim Shomali

Father Ibrahim Shomali is the Parish Priest of Beit Jala, Bethlehem District.

Since the beginning of our struggle for Cremisan, we have been determined to tell the world about the story of a small Palestinian community that, like many others, is threatened once again with dispossession and colonization.

Beit Jala had already lost two thirds of its lands to the Israeli settlements of Gilo and Har Gilo, leaving our town with only 4,500 dunams of land. Our land represents not only our heritage and our olives represent not only our presence: they represent our existence.

As Palestinians we have gone for painful stories. In Beit Jala, we saw the refugees flee in 1948, the settlements grow since 1967, and the oppression engendered by a military occupation that aims at annexing our land. We witnessed the historic compromise made by the PLO, recognizing Israel on 78 percent of historic Palestine, which we all believed would bring peace.

But Israel decided otherwise through its insatiable appetite for land. Since the PLO recognized Israel and accepted a two-state solution on the 1967 border, Israel has accelerated settlement construction and other elements of its colonial enterprise. Our town, due to its proximity to Jerusalem, was a natural target for Israeli settlements.

When Israel announced its plans to build the annexation wall, Palestine went to the International Court of Justice, and in 2004 obtained an unequivocal opinion: The construction of the wall in the occupied Palestinian territory, including in and around East Jerusalem, and its associated regime, violate international law. Nevertheless, Israel has continued to build the wall with impunity.

For the Bethlehem district, and Beit Jala particularly, the annexation wall meant, in the words of Bishop Desmond Tutu said, to be condemned by strangulation. We saw how Israel continued to usurp our land.

First, Israel severed our connection with Jerusalem for first time in Christianity's 2,000-year history. Second, Israel denied us access to our lands and natural resources, including our water. And now, Cremisan, the beautiful valley of our kindergarten, convent and winery, and the home of our yearly procession, will disappear behind this illegal wall.

The wall is being used to link the settlements of Gilo and Har Gilo, consolidating the Israeli annexation of our land.

As a parish priest, I could not remain indifferent to these destructive acts. Our duty as clergy is to provide hope and fight for love, justice and peace. Israeli settlements and their network of walls, fences, checkpoints and settler-only roads destroy any prospect for peace.

I could not let my community’s hope for their future be fully extinguished. And since the world was deaf and blind to our predicament, we decided to call upon God for help. We mobilized our community to pray every Friday on the land and amongst the olive trees that Israel aims to take.

We decided to pray with the olive trees, because they represent our history rooted in this land. These olive trees alone stood with Jesus Christ at the Gethsemane, according to our Holy Bible. They cried with him, and now we were crying with them.

Our prayers brought international attention. Suddenly, hundreds of communities around the world were praying for Cremisan. The Holy See rallied to our cause. The Government of Palestine lent us support, with President Abbas dedicating his Christmas message to our nonviolent campaign to keep our land. The Archbishop of Westminster, Cardinal Vincent Nicols, prayed for us during his Christmas homily.

Dozens of archbishops, bishops and priests from Italy, France, Spain, Brazil, Argentina, Andorra, Belgium, South Africa, Canada, the United States, Germany, Sweden, Norway, Portugal, Jordan and Egypt, joined our prayers at Cremisan. The World Council of Churches and numerous Catholic, Evangelical and Orthodox communities prayed in communion with the people of Beit Jala.

I myself delivered a letter to His Holiness Pope Francis, who also committed himself to our cause. The Catholic Church has remained united against the annexation wall, despite Israeli allegations to the contrary.

Paradoxically, the only place where Palestinians can attempt to defend their land from Israeli expansionism are the Israeli courts. Unable to bring our case in international courts, we depended on the ingenuity of our lawyers and the steadfastness of our people. Recognizing the justness of our cause, the Israeli Supreme Court delayed the case at least until July 30th.

We hope that the visit of His Holiness Pope Francis in May will highlight the struggle of the Palestinian people, Christians and Muslims, for justice and freedom. Then we will hope for another miracle: the definitive end of the Cremisan wall, the end to the nightmare of the occupation, with its illegal settlements, fences and walls.