My letter to the New Yorker RE The New Way of War: Killing the Kids

Ma'an News July 5 2014 American teen brutalized by Israeli police 'to be tried Sunday'

RE The New Way of War: Killing the Kids
http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/newsdesk/2014/07/the-new-way-of-war-killing-the-kids.html

Dear Editor,

Thank you for publishing the warning "The New Way of War: Killing the Kids".  Perhaps if more people understand the fact that children and families really do bear the brunt of suffering due to violent campaigns, more individuals, groups and governments will be motivated to find ways to help promote justice and peace rather than kick-start hostility and more and more war.

The problem is wide spread, and the solutions will be too, with many different approaches and opinions, personal efforts and local initiatives on how to build and protect safe inclusive communities and stable economies for everyone's sake. 

One thing Americans can do to help empower justice and peace worldwide: Object to Israel's Jews-only settlement projects.  Advocating an end to the Israel-Palestine conflict with negotiations shaping a two state solution based on full respect for international law and universal basic human rights would go a long way towards pulling the entire region away from escalating sectarian strife and scorn for diplomacy.

Sincerely,
Anne Selden Annab

NOTES  http://anniesnewletters.blogspot.com/search/label/Notes

NYTimes: "How can a lasting political settlement be achieved if Israel continues refusing both the two-state and the one-state solutions?" Ali Jarbawi

The International Monetary Fund on Thursday said the economy in the West Bank and Gaza is weakening and urged Israel to lift restrictions on the Palestinians.

BBC Video of American Task Force on Palestine's President Dr. Ziad Asali on the Violence in Palestine & Israel

Palestine's Saeb Erekat: Mideast peace impossible without international action:  "As long as no action is taken on the economic, political, and diplomatic levels, Prime Minister Netanyahu, Foreign Minister Lieberman, Housing Minister Ariel, and Economy Minister Bennett will continue along the same path, which is one of apartheid and colonization rather than one of justice, peace, and reconciliation."

UN officials deplore murder of Palestinian boy in Jerusalem ... “We call for strict compliance with international law by all relevant actors to avoid further loss of life, injuries and suffering.”

Statement by U.S. Secretary of State, John Kerry, on the Abduction and Murder of Muhammad Hussein Abu Khdeir... "The world has too often learned the hard way that violence only leads to more violence and at this tense and dangerous moment, all parties must do everything in their power to protect the innocent and act with reasonableness and restraint, not recrimination and retribution."

JORDAN TIMES: "It is the absence of peace between Israelis and Palestinians that breeds hatred and violence, and it is Israel’s occupation of Palestinian land that deprives its citizens of security."

UNWRA asks: What makes Palestine refugees poor?

Click by Click Culpability ... a Growing Gardens for Palestine poem by Anne Selden Annab

The Echo Chamber & ISIS

Self-fulfilling prophecies are a danger to Iraq and Syria... Let’s not wish ourselves into cataclysm before it’s too late.

Why it's way too soon to give up on the Arab Spring

"A strong advocate for mutual understanding and respect between Americans and Arabs, Naomi Shihab Nye has created a cultural space in America for people to come together to celebrate their commonalities alongside their differences. Her artistic spirit has inspired millions..."

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.

This Week in Palestine promotes the Palestinian cultural image as an expression of embodied experience, a mode of communication, and a form for understanding our society, history, ecology, and ultimately ourselves... Taking a very close look at Palestinian public diplomacy and promoting Palestine.

Abbas: Israel wants PA without authority: " “Israel’s acts in the West Bank are unjustified, their ways of searching the houses, assaulting locals and killing innocent people are rejected. Israel has taken away all authority from the Palestinian Authority..."

Bethlehem Arab Women's Union, a Sunbula partner, is among the oldest income generation projects in Palestine, starting in1949 as a first aid center for refugees from the Nakba. Visit their embroidery workshop at the heart of Bethlehem's Old City, near the Church of Nativity.

UNESCO supports Jordan, Palestine proposal on Jerusalem

UNESCO | Building peace in the minds of men and women... Emergency Nomination- Palestine: Land of Olives and Vines - Cultural Landscape of Southern Jerusalem, Battir, inscribed on World Heritage List and on List of World Heritage in Danger

UNESCO grants Battir endangered heritage status

Elton Performs at Starry Starry Night Benefit for Palestinian refugee children

CNN: Presbyterian Church dumps companies it says help Israel suppress Palestinians

"I advocate a two-state solution, based upon the pre-1967 borders, that includes recognition of the plight of, and redress for, the refugees from 1948, and also guarantees equal rights under law for all citizens of the region, whatever their religion or ethnic background..." The Rolling Stones and Tel Aviv: EXCELLENT letter by Roger Waters (of Pink Flyod) in the NYTimes

"A multiplication of new crises, and at the same time old crises that seem never to die": More than 50 million displaced worldwide, half are children, many of them caught up in conflicts or persecution that world powers have been unable to prevent or end, UNHCR said in its annual Global Trends report.... Afghan, Syrian and Somali nationals accounted for 53 percent of the 11.7 million refugees under UNHCR's responsibility. Five million Palestinians are looked after by a sister agency UNRWA.

‘War’s Human Cost’: World's population of displaced tops 50 million, UN refugee agency reports... By the end of 2013, an estimated 51.2 million people worldwide were considered to be forcibly displaced due to persecution, conflict, generalized violence, or human rights violations

“one family torn apart by war is too many”

CSPAN to Cover Live ATFP's Iraq Crisis Panel, Monday, June 23, 2014 -National Press Club- Washington DC

"I have yet to meet a refugee who wanted to be a refugee and even less so, who wished to remain a refugee. Palestine refugees are no different. Their call for a just and lasting solution to their plight must be heard." UNWRA's Pierre Krähenbühl on World Refugee Day

A Palestinian Christian family that preaches non-violence from a farm in the West Bank is battling to hold on to land it has owned for 98 years. Now surrounded by Israeli settlements, the family is a living example of the idea of peaceful resistance.

Ziad J. Asali: Crisis in Iraq Risks Regional Conflagration

The saga of Prof. Dajani is a subset of a broader Arab struggle between the forces of intelligence and stupidity: "The whole Arab world is at a turning point. If it continues to allow the stupidity and ignorance lobby, in all its myriad forms, to insist on cultural insularity, chauvinism, and deafness to the outside world, it will remain utterly stuck and unable to successfully join and compete in a globalizing world. But if the intelligence and knowledge constituency, as embodied by Prof. Dajani and so many other important leading Arabs, succeed in turning their societies away from decades of enforced parochialism, they will be among the most important groups in building a better future for the Middle East." Hussein Ibish

Palestinians villagers fear encroaching Israeli settlement bloc... Palestinian villager Ismail Taha: "It's stealing, and we have no means to defend ourselves. While they have biased courts, police and an army, we have no money and no power. We're peaceful, but..."

Visual map of how the Israeli ID system is stratified to limit democratic access to home ownership, security, services & participation in the polical system which creates and sustains the Israeli ID system

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

UNITED NATIONS: International Year of Solidarity with the Palestinian People 2014

Reasonable voices & helpful resources ...America for Palestine MAY 2014

The American Task Force on Palestine supports Palestinian institution-building, good governance, anti-corruption measures, economic development, and improved living standards. ATFP holds that these same values are relevant to the broader Arab world, and that the question of Palestine is inextricably linked to regional realities and developments.

ATFP provides an independent voice for Palestinian-Americans and their supporters and advances human rights and peace. It categorically and unequivocally condemns all violence against civilians, no matter the cause and who the victims or perpetrators may be.

The Arab villages lost since Israel's war of independence - Guardian Interactive: ...Pre 1948 ...March 1948 ... May 1948 ...June 1948 ...Oct 1948 ...July 1949 ...Now

Remembering the Nakba: Israeli group puts 1948 Palestine back on the map Zochrot aims to educate Israeli Jews – through tours and a new phone app – about a history obscured by enmity and denial

Growing Gardens for Palestine: "And it's up to all of us together"... a Spring poem for Palestine & peace

Peace Building ... civic muscle

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 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." American Task Force on Palestine's born in Jerusalem Dr. Ziad Asali: To honor a tragic history, we must work for peace 

My letter to the Telegraph RE Nazi 'perfect Aryan' poster child was Jewish

Hessy Taft recently presented the Yad Vashem Holocaust Memorial in Israel with a Nazi magazine featuring her baby photograph on the front cover, and told the story of how she became an unlikely poster child for the Third Reich Photo: Ohad Zwigenberg, Yedioth Ahoronot

RE Nazi 'perfect Aryan' poster child was Jewish.
 http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/germany/10938062/Nazi-perfect-Aryan-poster-child-was-Jewish.html

Dear Editor,

What a wonderful story! It is always good to hear of people who escaped from the horrors of the Nazi Holocaust. A wonderful story, except for one detail ... since the adorable baby Hessy Taft and her family eventually found safety, security, a home, jobs, freedom and a future here in the United States, I think she should have given that magazine cover and her story to an American museum.

Sincerely,
Anne Selden Annab

***

Visual map of how the Israeli ID system is stratified to limit democratic access to home ownership, security, services & participation in the polical system which creates and sustains the Israeli ID system

NYTimes: "How can a lasting political settlement be achieved if Israel continues refusing both the two-state and the one-state solutions?" Ali Jarbawi

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/07/04/opinion/israel-reacts-to-the-kidnappings-in-the-west-bank.html?ref=opinion

The Opinion Pages | Contributing Op-Ed Writer Ali Jarbawi

The Deadly Politics of Revenge

Israel Reacts to the Kidnappings in the West Bank

RAMALLAH, West Bank — The murder of three settlers in the West Bank has given Israel the excuse it was waiting for to set a huge military operation in motion. Even before the bodies of the missing young men were discovered on Monday, an Israeli incursion into Palestinian territories was in full swing. There were break-ins at houses, offices and universities, hundreds of arrests and several killings across the West Bank. The action has now expanded to the demolition in Hebron of the homes of two suspects in the case, and extensive bombardment of the Gaza Strip.

This can’t be explained as merely a reaction to the killing of the three Israelis, who were abducted on June 12. Exacting revenge on the entire Palestinian civilian population under occupation, whom Israel is obliged by international law to protect, is extremely disproportionate. The current operation...READ MORE

 [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]  

The International Monetary Fund on Thursday said the economy in the West Bank and Gaza is weakening and urged Israel to lift restrictions on the Palestinians.

Rubhiya Abd al-Rahman Darwish, 75, was taken to the hospital after
Israeli forces fired Skunk water with a cannon into her home... Darwish, the 75-year-old woman who passed out after soldiers sprayed the putrid-smelling water into her window, expressed her resignation at the repeated Israeli attacks on her home.

A refugee originally from the village of Malha near Jerusalem, Darwish was forced to leave her home with her family when Zionist forces came and expelled them from the town in 1948.

"Where should we go?" she asked, sitting on the couch of her small apartment as she looked up at the roughly-patched up window broken by the water cannon.

"They kicked us out of our homeland, and what are we supposed to do? Where are we supposed to go?"  (MaanImages/Alex Shams) Israeli forces spray Bethlehem homes with putrid-smelling water

 [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.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=709934

IMF urges Israel to lift restrictions on Palestinian economy

WASHINGTON (AFP) -- The International Monetary Fund on Thursday said the economy in the West Bank and Gaza is weakening and urged Israel to lift restrictions on the Palestinians.

After briefing the international donor community and the Palestinian Authority, IMF mission chief Christoph Duenwald said in a statement that the authority is "doing a commendable job" managing the economy in difficult circumstances.

He said the global donor community needed to step up to help fill a "sizable" financing gap this year for the authority.

"Against the background of rising political uncertainty, the economy of the West Bank and Gaza is weakening," he said.

"Unemployment, particularly youth unemployment, currently at 43 percent, continues to rise from already high levels," he added.

"Continued donor support is vital at this time, as is a comprehensive easing of Israeli restrictions to underpin the Palestinian reform efforts."

According to a February forecast, the IMF saw the economy in the West Bank and Gaza growing 2.5 percent this year, up from 1.5 percent in 2013.

BBC Video of American Task Force on Palestine's President Dr. Ziad Asali on the Violence in Palestine & Israel

Published on Jul 2, 2014

ATFP President Dr. Zaid Asali spoke today on BBC America TV about the upsurge in violence in Palestine and Israel. A Palestinian boy in East Jerusalem was kidnapped and murdered in an apparent act of vengeance two days after the bodies of three kidnapped and murdered Israeli teenagers were discovered in the occupied West Bank.

 ***

ATFP provides an independent voice for Palestinian-Americans and their supporters and advances human rights and peace. It categorically and unequivocally condemns all violence against civilians, no matter the cause and who the victims or perpetrators may be.

ATFP builds effective and durable working relationships with government departments and agencies, think tanks and NGOs, and the media. It has developed lines of communication with the US and other relevant governments in order to pursue its policy advocacy goals.  AFTP’s Board of Directors is made up of noted Palestinian Americans who agree with these principles.

American Task Force on Palestine

A Decade of Achievement: Answers to Frequently Asked Questions About ATFP

 - Introduction
The founding mission of the American Task Force on Palestine (ATFP) was, and remains, to impact decision-making in Washington on the importance of a two-state solution to the American national interest. Having just completed its first decade of work advocating for peace and Palestine, and embarking on its second decade, ATFP is issuing the following detailed set of explanations of exactly what it is, what it does and why. They are also intended to highlight and explicate ATFP's accomplishments during its first decade, which have far exceeded its expectations at its founding 10 years ago.

My letter to USAToday RE ISIS poses threat beyond Iraq: Column by Dennis Ross

RE ISIS poses threat beyond Iraq: Column by Dennis Ross  July 2, 2014

http://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/2014/07/02/isis-threat-iraq-iran-obama-response-column/12112913/

Dear Editor,

Ending the Israel-Palestine conflict with a fully secular two state solution ASAP would go a long towards thwarting ISIS, escalating injustice, religious tyranny, and terror...  Right now Jews-preferred Israel's economic success and security for coreligionists only VS the very real plight and suffering of the Palestinians serves as an example for Islamists, as well as a rally cry.  

Sincerely,
Anne Selden Annab

NOTES
Palestine's Saeb Erekat: Mideast peace impossible without international action:  "As long as no action is taken on the economic, political, and diplomatic levels, Prime Minister Netanyahu, Foreign Minister Lieberman, Housing Minister Ariel, and Economy Minister Bennett will continue along the same path, which is one of apartheid and colonization rather than one of justice, peace, and reconciliation."

UN officials deplore murder of Palestinian boy in Jerusalem ... “We call for strict compliance with international law by all relevant actors to avoid further loss of life, injuries and suffering.”

Statement by U.S. Secretary of State, John Kerry, on the Abduction and Murder of Muhammad Hussein Abu Khdeir... "The world has too often learned the hard way that violence only leads to more violence and at this tense and dangerous moment, all parties must do everything in their power to protect the innocent and act with reasonableness and restraint, not recrimination and retribution."

JORDAN TIMES: "It is the absence of peace between Israelis and Palestinians that breeds hatred and violence, and it is Israel’s occupation of Palestinian land that deprives its citizens of security."

UNWRA asks: What makes Palestine refugees poor?

Click by Click Culpability ... a Growing Gardens for Palestine poem by Anne Selden Annab

The Echo Chamber & ISIS

Self-fulfilling prophecies are a danger to Iraq and Syria... Let’s not wish ourselves into cataclysm before it’s too late.

Why it's way too soon to give up on the Arab Spring

"A strong advocate for mutual understanding and respect between Americans and Arabs, Naomi Shihab Nye has created a cultural space in America for people to come together to celebrate their commonalities alongside their differences. Her artistic spirit has inspired millions..."

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.

This Week in Palestine promotes the Palestinian cultural image as an expression of embodied experience, a mode of communication, and a form for understanding our society, history, ecology, and ultimately ourselves... Taking a very close look at Palestinian public diplomacy and promoting Palestine.

Abbas: Israel wants PA without authority: " “Israel’s acts in the West Bank are unjustified, their ways of searching the houses, assaulting locals and killing innocent people are rejected. Israel has taken away all authority from the Palestinian Authority..."

Bethlehem Arab Women's Union, a Sunbula partner, is among the oldest income generation projects in Palestine, starting in1949 as a first aid center for refugees from the Nakba. Visit their embroidery workshop at the heart of Bethlehem's Old City, near the Church of Nativity.

UNESCO supports Jordan, Palestine proposal on Jerusalem

UNESCO | Building peace in the minds of men and women... Emergency Nomination- Palestine: Land of Olives and Vines - Cultural Landscape of Southern Jerusalem, Battir, inscribed on World Heritage List and on List of World Heritage in Danger

UNESCO grants Battir endangered heritage status

Elton Performs at Starry Starry Night Benefit for Palestinian refugee children

CNN: Presbyterian Church dumps companies it says help Israel suppress Palestinians

"I advocate a two-state solution, based upon the pre-1967 borders, that includes recognition of the plight of, and redress for, the refugees from 1948, and also guarantees equal rights under law for all citizens of the region, whatever their religion or ethnic background..." The Rolling Stones and Tel Aviv: EXCELLENT letter by Roger Waters (of Pink Flyod) in the NYTimes

"A multiplication of new crises, and at the same time old crises that seem never to die": More than 50 million displaced worldwide, half are children, many of them caught up in conflicts or persecution that world powers have been unable to prevent or end, UNHCR said in its annual Global Trends report.... Afghan, Syrian and Somali nationals accounted for 53 percent of the 11.7 million refugees under UNHCR's responsibility. Five million Palestinians are looked after by a sister agency UNRWA.

‘War’s Human Cost’: World's population of displaced tops 50 million, UN refugee agency reports... By the end of 2013, an estimated 51.2 million people worldwide were considered to be forcibly displaced due to persecution, conflict, generalized violence, or human rights violations

“one family torn apart by war is too many”

CSPAN to Cover Live ATFP's Iraq Crisis Panel, Monday, June 23, 2014 -National Press Club- Washington DC

"I have yet to meet a refugee who wanted to be a refugee and even less so, who wished to remain a refugee. Palestine refugees are no different. Their call for a just and lasting solution to their plight must be heard." UNWRA's Pierre Krähenbühl on World Refugee Day

A Palestinian Christian family that preaches non-violence from a farm in the West Bank is battling to hold on to land it has owned for 98 years. Now surrounded by Israeli settlements, the family is a living example of the idea of peaceful resistance.

Analysis: Presbyterian church shows Israel tough love "Presbyterians can use this opportunity to straighten the White House's spine based on what the administration already knows: Israel is intentionally blocking progress in the peace talks while jeopardizing US strategic interests in the region, not to mention the fate of Palestinians and Israelis alike."

"As long as Israel subjects Palestinian athletes to detention and violence, their seat at the table of international sports will be never be short of precarious."

Iraqi Christians flee homes amid militant push: During the past 11 years, at least half of the country's Christian population has fled the country, according to some estimates, to escape frequent attacks by Sunni Muslim militants targeting them and their churches.

Ziad J. Asali: Crisis in Iraq Risks Regional Conflagration: " Iraqi Shiites will continue to defeat their own purposes if they attempt to marginalize the Sunni community in a sectarian and exclusionary manner. Iraqi Sunnis cannot achieve their own goals by banding together around fanatical extremists."

The saga of Prof. Dajani is a subset of a broader Arab struggle between the forces of intelligence and stupidity: "The whole Arab world is at a turning point. If it continues to allow the stupidity and ignorance lobby, in all its myriad forms, to insist on cultural insularity, chauvinism, and deafness to the outside world, it will remain utterly stuck and unable to successfully join and compete in a globalizing world. But if the intelligence and knowledge constituency, as embodied by Prof. Dajani and so many other important leading Arabs, succeed in turning their societies away from decades of enforced parochialism, they will be among the most important groups in building a better future for the Middle East." Hussein Ibish

Palestinians villagers fear encroaching Israeli settlement bloc... Palestinian villager Ismail Taha: "It's stealing, and we have no means to defend ourselves. While they have biased courts, police and an army, we have no money and no power. We're peaceful, but..."

Visual map of how the Israeli ID system is stratified to limit democratic access to home ownership, security, services & participation in the polical system which creates and sustains the Israeli ID system

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

UNITED NATIONS: International Year of Solidarity with the Palestinian People 2014

Reasonable voices & helpful resources ...America for Palestine MAY 2014

The American Task Force on Palestine supports Palestinian institution-building, good governance, anti-corruption measures, economic development, and improved living standards. ATFP holds that these same values are relevant to the broader Arab world, and that the question of Palestine is inextricably linked to regional realities and developments.

ATFP provides an independent voice for Palestinian-Americans and their supporters and advances human rights and peace. It categorically and unequivocally condemns all violence against civilians, no matter the cause and who the victims or perpetrators may be.

The Arab villages lost since Israel's war of independence - Guardian Interactive: ...Pre 1948 ...March 1948 ... May 1948 ...June 1948 ...Oct 1948 ...July 1949 ...Now

Remembering the Nakba: Israeli group puts 1948 Palestine back on the map Zochrot aims to educate Israeli Jews – through tours and a new phone app – about a history obscured by enmity and denial

Growing Gardens for Palestine: "And it's up to all of us together"... a Spring poem for Palestine & peace

Peace Building ... civic muscle

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 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." American Task Force on Palestine's born in Jerusalem Dr. Ziad Asali: To honor a tragic history, we must work for peace 

Palestine's Saeb Erekat: Mideast peace impossible without international action

(MaanImages/file)

http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=708864

 [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]  

Analysis: Mideast peace impossible without international action
By Saeb Erekat

Saeb Erekat is chief Palestinian negotiator for the PLO.

The predicted "death" of the two-state solution, which has been repeated consistently for many years now, has led to a sense of complacency and a lack of urgency regarding the current situation. In the government of Israel, this does not provoke major concern, because the present coalition's political platform is focused on consolidating colonization rather than achieving peace. This is a government that believes it can indefinitely maintain a system whereby one group of people is privileged and another oppressed.

Among the Israeli public, it is not a central concern due to the fact that Israel is not paying any price for its systematic violations of human rights and international law, allowing its people to turn a blind eye to the millions persecuted in their name. But something is clear: We are at the point of no return. Whether we achieve a two-state solution based on the 1967 borders, or enter into a long struggle for civil rights in order to defeat Israeli apartheid throughout historic Palestine, it will fall to the international community to decide.

Palestine recognized Israeli sovereignty over 78 percent of our homeland back in 1988. This painful and historic compromise was not a tactical move, but a strategic choice. We have worked tirelessly to implement, on the ground, the vision of two sovereign, democratic states living side by side in peace and security. We have made every effort to reach a just and lasting peace, from the adoption of non-violent methods to resist the Israeli occupation to diplomatic steps, within the international arena, seeking to achieve overdue Palestinian rights.

Acceding to multilateral treaties also helps Palestine to shape itself as a peace-loving state that respects human rights and a responsible actor on the international stage. And yet, all such Palestinian moves have been answered with aggressive responses from Israel, resulting in an absurd situation whereby acts such as sitting at the negotiating table or signing treaties on women's and children's rights, are met with further settlement announcements, increased violence against Palestinians, and economic sanctions on an already captive economy.

Although some sectors within Israel understand the urgency of the situation, the lack of decisive international action has undermined those who want a negotiated two-state solution and has empowered the extremists leading the Israeli government coalition. As long as no action is taken on the economic, political, and diplomatic levels, Prime Minister Netanyahu, Foreign Minister Lieberman, Housing Minister Ariel, and Economy Minister Bennett will continue along the same path, which is one of apartheid and colonization rather than one of justice, peace, and reconciliation.

The European Union took an important step by publishing guidelines prohibiting European funding to settlements. This is a step in the right direction, but there is much more to be done in order to tackle the Israeli settlement enterprise, the main obstacle to peace. If the international community believes in the two-state solution, simple actions such as recognizing the State of Palestine; supporting Palestine's access to international treaties; ensuring that international companies have no contracts with, investments in, or trade with, Israeli entities that have direct or indirect links to settlements; or in the case of Europe, asking Israeli settlers to apply for visas, will go a long way toward achieving this.

The reality of the "end of the two-state solution" has been reflected in the EU Heads of Mission Report on East Jerusalem and reports on human rights and freedom of worship from the U.S. State Department. It can be read in every document produced by UN organizations and can be seen all over the occupied State of Palestine. The reality is no secret. What is required, however, is more active steps from all third party states, steps which will bring their operative policy in line with their declared policy, and most importantly, with international law.

It is time for the international community to empower those within Israel who want peace rather than colonization. It is time to stop treating Israel as a state above the law. It is time for Israel to revoke dozens of laws and hundreds of policies that discriminate against Palestinian Christians and Muslims. It is time to end the immorality of prolonging the exile and occupation of an entire nation due to the incapacity of the international community to hold Israel accountable for decades of forced displacement, occupation, and colonization.

Over the years I have come to know many Israelis. My belief in the prospects of peace was boosted, most of the time, after those personal encounters. I feel that many Israelis resent the notion of forever being occupiers. However, their government continues to avoid the only logical conclusion.

Time does not stand still. Israelis are approaching the point where they must make a fateful choice: Are they ready to opt for the two-state solution, or abandon it forever? I am one of those who believe a two-state solution is still possible, but I am not naïve. Without international action, the prospects for a just and lasting peace will remain elusive.

UN officials deplore murder of Palestinian boy in Jerusalem ... “We call for strict compliance with international law by all relevant actors to avoid further loss of life, injuries and suffering.”

Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process Robert Serry briefs the Security Council (March 2012). UN Photo/Devra Berkowitz

http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=48185#.U7STyyRRYRw

2 July 2014 – Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and the United Nations Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process have both condemned the murder of a Palestinian teenager in Jerusalem, and called on both Israelis and Palestinians to refrain from exacerbating an already tense situation.

Mohammed Abu Khdair, 17, was reportedly seen being forced into a car early on Wednesday. Media reports say his partly burnt body was found in a forest on the outskirts of Jerusalem. The killing comes in the wake of the recent murder of three Israeli teenagers, which had been widely condemned by the UN.

Mr. Ban, in a statement issued by his spokesperson, described the murder of the Palestinian teenager as a “despicable act” and called for the perpetrators to be promptly brought to justice.

“The Secretary-General reiterates his call on all parties to ensure that tensions do not escalate further, leading to more loss of life,” the statement added.

UN Special Coordinator Robert Serry also called for the perpetrators of such “heinous acts” to be brought to justice. “There can be no justification for the deliberate killing of civilians – any civilians,” he said in a statement issued in Jerusalem.

Mr. Serry repeated his call on all sides to do everything they can not to further exacerbate an already tense atmosphere.

The UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) also strongly condemned the killing of the Palestinian boy, as well as the recent murder of the three Israeli teenagers.

“At the same time, we urge maximum restraint from all parties to prevent the situation from deteriorating further,” UNRWA spokesperson Chris Gunness said in a statement. “We call for strict compliance with international law by all relevant actors to avoid further loss of life, injuries and suffering.”

Recalling that collective punishment is illegal under international law, UNRWA called on the Israeli authorities to refrain from punishing individuals for offences they themselves have not personally committed.

The agency stressed that the human impact on all sides caused by the events of the last three weeks is “grave.” From 13 June to 1 July, seven Palestinians have been killed, including five registered refugees, while almost 200 have been injured.


related news: Palestinians in Syria’s Yarmouk camp now without aid for one month – UN

UN urges ‘maximum restraint’ as tensions rise after missing Israeli teens found dead

United Nations Seminar on Assistance to Palestinians People Reviews Socioeconomic, Humanitarian Situation in Occupied Territory

Avoid Escalating ‘Highly Tense’ West Bank Situation, Secretary-General Stresses, in Message for United Nations Seminar on Assistance to Palestinian People

Statement by Bureau of Committee on Exercise of Inalienable Rights of Palestinian People on Situation in Occupied Palestinian Territory

 

Statement by U.S. Secretary of State, John Kerry, on the Abduction and Murder of Muhammad Hussein Abu Khdeir... "The world has too often learned the hard way that violence only leads to more violence and at this tense and dangerous moment, all parties must do everything in their power to protect the innocent and act with reasonableness and restraint, not recrimination and retribution."

http://www.state.gov/secretary/remarks/2014/07/228699.htm?goMobile=0

Abduction and Murder of Muhammad Hussein Abu Khdeir

Press Statement

John Kerry
Secretary of State

Washington, DC

July 2, 2014

---

The United States condemns in the strongest possible terms the despicable and senseless abduction and murder of Muhammad Hussein Abu Khdeir. It is sickening to think of an innocent 17 year old boy snatched off the streets and his life stolen from him and his family. There are no words to convey adequately our condolences to the Palestinian people.

The authorities are investigating this tragedy, a number of Israeli and Palestinian officials have condemned it, and Prime Minister Netanyahu has been emphatic in calling for all sides “not to take the law into their own hands”. Those who undertake acts of vengeance only destabilize an already explosive and emotional situation. We look to both the Government of Israel and the Palestinian Authority to take all necessary steps to prevent acts of violence and bring their perpetrators to justice. The world has too often learned the hard way that violence only leads to more violence and at this tense and dangerous moment, all parties must do everything in their power to protect the innocent and act with reasonableness and restraint, not recrimination and retribution.

******

Churches for Middle East Peace

Churches for Middle East Peace expresses its abhorrence and dismay at the news that the three Israeli students abducted on June 12 were found dead yesterday near Hebron in the West Bank. This is a horrific act for which there can be no excuse or rationale.

We also deplore the disproportionate response to the kidnappings by Israeli security forces that has contributed to the deaths of several Palestinian youths. This violence clearly is a symptom of a long conflict and occupation that must be resolved if more tragic losses are to be avoided.

We call on all parties to exercise maximum restraint at this difficult time.

My letter to the Guardian RE Noam Chomsky

Palestinian Refugees (1948-NOW) refused their right to return... and their right to live in peace free from religious bigotry and injustice.

RE Israel boycott campaign risks backfiring, says Noam Chomsky: US philosopher argues that parallels between BDS campaign and action against apartheid-era South Africa are misleading

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/jul/02/bds-boycott-campaign-israel-noam-chomsky

Dear Editor,

Noam Chomsky is obsessed with convincing every audience he can reach to follow his lead in ignoring the vital importance of fully respecting the Palestinian refugees inalienable right to return- a basic human right affirmed and reaffirmed again and again by the United Nations formally and officially since 1948. 

I suspect if Chomsky's own security, his own inheritance and his own home and citizenship and his own ability to find and keep a job or an audience were on the line, he'd be much less inclined to endorse, promote, and whitewash Israels' cruel refusal to respect the Palestinians' basic human rights, including but not limited to the Palestinian refugees right to return to original homes and lands to live in peace.

And I suspect if he were a Palestinian trapped in the territories Israel illegally occupies, forced to deal day in and day out with sovereign Israeli insanities, he'd have a very different stance on nonviolent Boycott campaigns... But I don't think one needs to endorse BDS to be a firm believer in the importance of the universal right to return.

For most people on planet earth the Israel-Palestine conflict is an intellectual exercise with many different motivations for watching the news and weighing in- for some it is an emotional quest; for some it is a religious obsession; for some it is a job; for some it is a puzzle; for some it is entertainment; for some it is a chance to be an agent provocateur; for some it is an opportunity to be a bigot; for some it is an ego trip...etc... but for the Palestinians and their kith and kin it is a day in and day out harassment campaign and a never ending nightmare where refugees become refugees over and over and over, because clearly Israel wants the land but not the native non-Jewish population of that land.

I think ending the Israel-Palestine conflict as soon as possible with a fully secular two state solution based on full respect for international law and universal basic human rights ( including but not limited to the right to return to original homes and lands to live in peace) is the best way forward- for everyone's sake.

Sincerely,
Anne Selden Annab

NOTES
JORDAN TIMES: "It is the absence of peace between Israelis and Palestinians that breeds hatred and violence, and it is Israel’s occupation of Palestinian land that deprives its citizens of security."

UNWRA asks: What makes Palestine refugees poor?

Click by Click Culpability ... a Growing Gardens for Palestine poem by Anne Selden Annab

The Echo Chamber & ISIS

Self-fulfilling prophecies are a danger to Iraq and Syria... Let’s not wish ourselves into cataclysm before it’s too late.

Why it's way too soon to give up on the Arab Spring

"A strong advocate for mutual understanding and respect between Americans and Arabs, Naomi Shihab Nye has created a cultural space in America for people to come together to celebrate their commonalities alongside their differences. Her artistic spirit has inspired millions..."

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.

This Week in Palestine promotes the Palestinian cultural image as an expression of embodied experience, a mode of communication, and a form for understanding our society, history, ecology, and ultimately ourselves... Taking a very close look at Palestinian public diplomacy and promoting Palestine.

Abbas: Israel wants PA without authority: " “Israel’s acts in the West Bank are unjustified, their ways of searching the houses, assaulting locals and killing innocent people are rejected. Israel has taken away all authority from the Palestinian Authority..."

Bethlehem Arab Women's Union, a Sunbula partner, is among the oldest income generation projects in Palestine, starting in1949 as a first aid center for refugees from the Nakba. Visit their embroidery workshop at the heart of Bethlehem's Old City, near the Church of Nativity.

UNESCO supports Jordan, Palestine proposal on Jerusalem

UNESCO | Building peace in the minds of men and women... Emergency Nomination- Palestine: Land of Olives and Vines - Cultural Landscape of Southern Jerusalem, Battir, inscribed on World Heritage List and on List of World Heritage in Danger

UNESCO grants Battir endangered heritage status

Elton Performs at Starry Starry Night Benefit for Palestinian refugee children

CNN: Presbyterian Church dumps companies it says help Israel suppress Palestinians

"I advocate a two-state solution, based upon the pre-1967 borders, that includes recognition of the plight of, and redress for, the refugees from 1948, and also guarantees equal rights under law for all citizens of the region, whatever their religion or ethnic background..." The Rolling Stones and Tel Aviv: EXCELLENT letter by Roger Waters (of Pink Flyod) in the NYTimes

"A multiplication of new crises, and at the same time old crises that seem never to die": More than 50 million displaced worldwide, half are children, many of them caught up in conflicts or persecution that world powers have been unable to prevent or end, UNHCR said in its annual Global Trends report.... Afghan, Syrian and Somali nationals accounted for 53 percent of the 11.7 million refugees under UNHCR's responsibility. Five million Palestinians are looked after by a sister agency UNRWA.

‘War’s Human Cost’: World's population of displaced tops 50 million, UN refugee agency reports... By the end of 2013, an estimated 51.2 million people worldwide were considered to be forcibly displaced due to persecution, conflict, generalized violence, or human rights violations

“one family torn apart by war is too many”

CSPAN to Cover Live ATFP's Iraq Crisis Panel, Monday, June 23, 2014 -National Press Club- Washington DC

"I have yet to meet a refugee who wanted to be a refugee and even less so, who wished to remain a refugee. Palestine refugees are no different. Their call for a just and lasting solution to their plight must be heard." UNWRA's Pierre Krähenbühl on World Refugee Day

A Palestinian Christian family that preaches non-violence from a farm in the West Bank is battling to hold on to land it has owned for 98 years. Now surrounded by Israeli settlements, the family is a living example of the idea of peaceful resistance.

Analysis: Presbyterian church shows Israel tough love "Presbyterians can use this opportunity to straighten the White House's spine based on what the administration already knows: Israel is intentionally blocking progress in the peace talks while jeopardizing US strategic interests in the region, not to mention the fate of Palestinians and Israelis alike."

"As long as Israel subjects Palestinian athletes to detention and violence, their seat at the table of international sports will be never be short of precarious."

Iraqi Christians flee homes amid militant push: During the past 11 years, at least half of the country's Christian population has fled the country, according to some estimates, to escape frequent attacks by Sunni Muslim militants targeting them and their churches.

Ziad J. Asali: Crisis in Iraq Risks Regional Conflagration: " Iraqi Shiites will continue to defeat their own purposes if they attempt to marginalize the Sunni community in a sectarian and exclusionary manner. Iraqi Sunnis cannot achieve their own goals by banding together around fanatical extremists."

The saga of Prof. Dajani is a subset of a broader Arab struggle between the forces of intelligence and stupidity: "The whole Arab world is at a turning point. If it continues to allow the stupidity and ignorance lobby, in all its myriad forms, to insist on cultural insularity, chauvinism, and deafness to the outside world, it will remain utterly stuck and unable to successfully join and compete in a globalizing world. But if the intelligence and knowledge constituency, as embodied by Prof. Dajani and so many other important leading Arabs, succeed in turning their societies away from decades of enforced parochialism, they will be among the most important groups in building a better future for the Middle East." Hussein Ibish

Palestinians villagers fear encroaching Israeli settlement bloc... Palestinian villager Ismail Taha: "It's stealing, and we have no means to defend ourselves. While they have biased courts, police and an army, we have no money and no power. We're peaceful, but..."

Visual map of how the Israeli ID system is stratified to limit democratic access to home ownership, security, services & participation in the polical system which creates and sustains the Israeli ID system

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

UNITED NATIONS: International Year of Solidarity with the Palestinian People 2014

Reasonable voices & helpful resources ...America for Palestine MAY 2014

The American Task Force on Palestine supports Palestinian institution-building, good governance, anti-corruption measures, economic development, and improved living standards. ATFP holds that these same values are relevant to the broader Arab world, and that the question of Palestine is inextricably linked to regional realities and developments.

ATFP provides an independent voice for Palestinian-Americans and their supporters and advances human rights and peace. It categorically and unequivocally condemns all violence against civilians, no matter the cause and who the victims or perpetrators may be.

The Arab villages lost since Israel's war of independence - Guardian Interactive: ...Pre 1948 ...March 1948 ... May 1948 ...June 1948 ...Oct 1948 ...July 1949 ...Now

Remembering the Nakba: Israeli group puts 1948 Palestine back on the map Zochrot aims to educate Israeli Jews – through tours and a new phone app – about a history obscured by enmity and denial

Growing Gardens for Palestine: "And it's up to all of us together"... a Spring poem for Palestine & peace

Peace Building ... civic muscle

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 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." American Task Force on Palestine's born in Jerusalem Dr. Ziad Asali: To honor a tragic history, we must work for peace 

My letter to LATimes RE Editorial: Moving in the wrong direction again?

Jerusalem American Task Force on Palestine's (emailed) News Roundup photo

RE Editorial Israel vs. Hamas: Moving in the wrong direction again?
http://www.latimes.com/opinion/editorials/la-ed-israel-teenagers-kidnapped-killed-20140702-story.html

Dear Editor,

The headline "Israel vs. Hamas" was not very good, but the editorial calling for calm was... and "Israel, Palestinians must find reasons to negotiate rather than seeking excuses to walk away" really was an excellent prepackaged tweet/facebook post provided to your readers.

Quite clever of you to make it temptingly easy for smartphone users and tablet fans to help publicize the importance of negotiations to end the Israel-Palestine conflict.   However, I did not stumble across your editorial via facebook or twitter, and although I do think your editorial was good, I won't be tweeting it or posting it on facebook. 

Social media is a wonderful thing in many ways- but always keep in mind most Americans are not on twitter and that tallys of what is "liked" and posted on social media is not an accurate poll of public opinion.  Social media is and always will be a subset of people who happen to have the money, the time and the interest to be online and in the mood to click 'like' for something that momentarily catches their attention in a rapidly moving avalanche of information overload. We're all just surfing on the tippy top of a fathomless sea.

I saw your editorial headlined with some other important headlines in an email of daily news & commentary round up sent out by ATFP The American Task Force on Palestine.  I read ATFP's emails because I like the fact that ATFP takes both America and Palestine seriously and that  "ATFP provides an independent voice for Palestinian-Americans and their supporters and advances human rights and peace. It categorically and unequivocally condemns all violence against civilians, no matter the cause and who the victims or perpetrators may be."

I do hope many people read your editorial as I think you tried to be fair to both Israelis and Palestinians in concluding "This conflict, like other conflicts around the world, has killed many innocent children. Some are Israeli children who have died at the hands of terrorists. Others are Palestinian children who have become collateral damage in repeated Israeli assaults on Hamas and other groups. The tragedy for parents, for neighbors, for communities is real either way. The latest deaths must not become a justification for an escalation of violence, for the continued death of innocents or for yet another downward spiral in the depressing and destabilizing war that so often seems to be moving in exactly the wrong direction."

I also hope more Palestinians and Palestinian Americans follow ATFP's lead in taking Palestinian statehood [and mainstream outreach & media work] seriously.

Sincerely,
Anne Selden Annab
American homemaker & poet

NOTES
http://www.americantaskforce.org/
http://anniesnewletters.blogspot.com/search/label/Notes