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Saturday, October 11, 2014

In a common struggle for education and against extremism: "“If with my humble efforts the voice of tens of millions of children in the world who are living in servitude is being heard, congratulations to all,” Kailash Satyarthi on winning the Nobel Peace Prize 2014

Malala Yousafzai, with her father, Ziauddin, spoke in Birmingham, England, after learning she had won the Nobel prize. Darren Staples/REUTERS
Reaching across gulfs of age, gender, faith, nationality and even international celebrity, the Norwegian Nobel Committee on Friday awarded the 2014 peace prize to Malala Yousafzai of Pakistan and Kailash Satyarthi of India.

The award joined You-safzai, a Pakistani teen who attained worldwide fame when she was shot by the Taliban in 2012 for promoting girls’ education, with Satyarthi, a veteran of campaigns to fight child labor and trafficking...READ MORE

***
Malala Yousafzai speaks in Britain about winning the Nobel Peace Prize with Indian activist Kailash Satyarthi, who speaks with journalists at this home in New Delhi after the announcement.
“I’m thankful to my father for not clipping my wings and for letting me to fly.” Malala Yousafzai

Today is International Day of the Girl Child! To mark the day, Hina Jilani calls on the international community and civil society to work together to improve the lives of girls and women.


“Have the courage to take action. Society is ready to change.”

Today is International Day of the Girl Child! To mark the day, Hina Jilani calls on the international community and civil society to work together to improve the lives of girls and women.

Read her blog: http://theelders.org/article/lets-not-be-afraid-challenge-traditions-harm-girls

 [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]


Opinion

Let's not be afraid to challenge the traditions that harm girls

“Have the courage to take action. Society is ready to change.”

Marking the International Day of the Girl Child, Hina Jilani calls on the international community and civil society to work together to improve the lives of girls and women.

In the international community we talk about the family as being the basic unit of society. Today we see that the family has become the biggest locus of violence, especially against women and children.
If we do not address issues like child marriage, we will never expect the family – or allow it – to become a unit which is able to give dignity and equality to all its members.

Challenging culture and tradition

We need to correct the perception that any harmful practice is a part of what we call culture and tradition, which people can be proud of. Harmful practices should not be equated with culture and tradition.

Even if some parts of the world consider harmful practices a part of culture or tradition, we must remember that those who are harmed by these cultural and traditional practices are women.
Are women not a part of that society? Are they only subjects of culture, with no hand in making culture?

Culture and tradition in themselves evolve out of historical changes. They should not be allowed to become obstructions to change.

International community: have the courage to act

Local and international actors need to understand that child marriage is an issue that has gone from the local to the international. It is not an issue that the international community is using or is imposing on national and local communities.

There are political movements in these countries. I come from such a movement. We don't deal with figures; we leave that to UNICEF and the United Nations. We deal with actual lives, so we are not talking about child marriage and its effects on society, and on girls and women in the abstract. We have faces to show you; we have victims to put before you; and our society has seen those faces.

The international community needs to know that any initiative to eliminate and curb child marriage will receive the weight of those movements behind it.

Have the courage to take action. Society is ready to change – and accept change.

In Pakistan – my country – about two decades ago, there were a significant number of people, myself included who were trying to resist state-sponsored trends, trends which would have decimated women’s and girls’ rights. Instead, there have been legal reforms on child marriage, progressively making it better for women and girls. It’s still inadequate, but when these positive reforms were implemented, there was no resistance from the broader society.

We must work together

Governments should make sure that they have courage to take the step, to ensure that they are not being overcautious. They must not submit to the influence of interest groups, of religious lobbies, of conservative lobbies. This is not the time to either become an apologist or be defensive, or over-romanticise what is certainly something which has proved to be – figures have proved it, data has proved it, research has proved it – definitely harmful for the world’s population, whether they are girls or women.

It is time that local and national movements – and international initiatives – become mutually reinforcing and strengthening. We need to work together to ensure that local initiatives and movements do have an impact. Because local pressure as well as international pressure can force governments to change. To make sure that state social policy and the weight of state social policy is put behind laws – so that these laws have impact.

The work for the defence of human rights must prioritise the welfare and the protection of the girl child.

Governments have the duty to protect. At the same time, civil society also has the duty to promote and defend human rights.


The Elders were impressed that men in nearby Ambo Meske village were willing to discuss gender equality. Many men have taken part in courses that raise issues such as family care, non-violence, alcohol abuse and sharing domestic duties.

My letter to the NYTimes RE Editorial Having to Rebuild Gaza, Again

In 2013, there were 399 incidents of Israeli settler violence against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs... Israeli attacks on the fall harvest are a key way that Palestinians are forced out of their homes and their lands confiscated for settlement construction, as the loss of a year's crop can signal destitution for many.

RE Having to Rebuild Gaza, Again
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/11/opinion/having-to-rebuild-gaza-again.html?ref=opinion

Dear Editor,

Your editorial on rebuilding Gaza again correctly concludes "It is little wonder, absent a credible peace process, that so many donor nations are reluctant to pour money into what many see as a black hole.

Obviously the plight of the Palestinians is dire and as things are right now it is bound to get worse.

In rebuilding Gaza, everyone but Israel is expected to pay Alan Philps points out that: "Aid agencies, big and small, are keenly aware that the vital work they do in Gaza and the West Bank can be seen as reducing the burden of occupation on Israel. Since Israel primarily controls access to Gaza by land, air and sea, it should be responsible for the welfare of the Gazans. Yet this burden is borne by US and European taxpayers and other international donors.

Meanwhile in the West Bank "Dozens of Israeli settlers protected by soldiers burned and damaged olive trees on Palestinian lands in the Yasuf village near Salfit in the northern West Bank on Friday" Settlers attack Palestinian olive farmers for 2nd time in 2 days

I think Hamas should step down for Palestine's sake, and all Islamists in Gaza should surrender or destroy their lethal weaponry... Ending the Israel-Palestine conflict ASAP with a fully secular two state solution based on full respect for international law and universal human rights- creating a fully sovereign free Palestine to live alongside and with Israel in peace and security, is the best way forward.

As Taliban attack survivor Malala Yousafzai (the young girl who recently won the Nobel Peace Prize) said in her inspiring address to the United Nations last year  "Let us wage a glorious struggle against illiteracy, poverty and terrorism. Let us pick up our books and pens - they are the most important weapons". 

Sincerely,
Anne Selden Annab

NOTES
"There is a vicious circle of mutual self-reinforcement between state and society failure on the one hand and the rise of extremist non-state actors on the other." Ziad Asali: Confronting ISIL: The Day and Decade "After"

Malala Yousafzai of Pakistan and Kailash Satyarthi of India jointly won the Nobel Peace Prize on Friday for risking their lives to fight for children's rights... "widening the concept of peace work to include efforts to improve human rights, fight poverty and clean up the environment."

New Ibish article: Hisham, Hope and Despair..."The crucial point is that the one thing that is certain is that the choices that we make individually and collectively will have a direct and profound impact on the short, medium and long-term outcomes. And, therefore, our choices must be carefully considered, deliberate and purposive, while apathy and inaction are not options."

To promote the values of dialogue, tolerance and mutual respect, among religions and cultures... Let’s teach our youth to build, not destroy

Ashrawi: The recognition of Palestine is Human, Moral, Legal, and Political Imperative

"Let’s not feed Islamophobic bigotry... The great divide is not between faiths, but one between intolerant zealots of any tradition and the large numbers of decent, peaceful believers likewise found in each tradition." Nicholas Kristof

Last Thursday, the United Nations released a report that could provide us with one of the keys to defeating ISIS. Unfortunately, it received almost zero media attention.

"We see martyrs, children as young as 7, being portrayed as resistance fighters after being slaughtered by Israeli forces. Although we would like to convince ourselves that they have died for “the cause”, they have in fact died because of the cause." Mariam Barg

Hussein Ibish: US has a responsibility to rein in Israeli settlements

Tala Haikal: "It may not be possible to immediately free all the kidnapped girls and women due to the scope of the conflict with ISIS and the geographical dispersal of the captives in various locations. Some of these women and girls can be freed only once ISIS is destroyed."

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

UN report spotlights 'staggering' Islamic State atrocities in Iraq... "The group, which is fighting in Iraq and Syria, has carried out a wide range of atrocities, including mass executions, abductions, rape and other forms of sexual and physical violence against women and children"

USA Today... Sweden PM says nation will recognize Palestinian state: "It doesn't change a thing on the ground," Ibish said. "It changes the number of countries that have recognized the Palestinian state. It changes the Western commitment to a two-state solution, (and) it does put more pressure on Israel to make concessions."

Vatican seeks Mideast Christians' right of return

Salam Fayyad: How To Fix the Israeli-Palestinian Peace Process

Excellent letter in the Guardian by Chris Doyle: Trouble and shock in the West Bank

US sharply criticizes new Israeli housing project

Non-violent resistance is Palestine’s most powerful weapon

Tala Haikal: Empathy Is Essential to Humanity

Normalizing Intelligent Conversations, Diplomatic Support, and Hope for Palestine... ATFP Panel Briefing: Israeli-Palestinian War in a New Regional Landscape.

ATFP... American Task Force on Palestine

ATFP Calls for De-Escalation between Israel and the Palestinians

Ziad Asali

International Year of Solidarity with the Palestinian People 2014

UNRWA photo and film archive for Palestine refugees

About UNWRA: ’The Long Journey of Palestine Refugee Women’ candidly portrays the lives and experiences of Palestine refugee women, this collection is a testament not only to their own strength and dignity, but also to the richness and resilience of their community.

Walking Palestine & The Abraham Path... a creative space for stories that highlight the unique culture, heritage and hospitality of the region

It's time for Palestinians and Israelis to share a just peace... It's time for freedom from occupation... It's time for equal rights.... It's time for the healing of wounded souls..... World Week for Peace in Palestine Israel: "Let my people go!"... 21 - 27 September 2014 An initiative of the Palestine Israel Ecumenical Forum (PIEF) of the World Council of Churches

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

1948

Time and time again I have watched the cycle of incitement and spin sabotage support for Palestine

Clarifying why Arab and Muslim Americans should be smart rather than stupid

Live by the Golden Rule

An Anne Frank Moment ... a poem by Anne Selden Annab

"Where, after all, do universal human rights begin?

America/Israel/Palestine 1776
America/Israel/Palestine 1948: All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights.They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.

The Golden Rule... Do unto others as you would have them do unto you

Friday, October 10, 2014

My letter to Ma'an News RE Salaita & Analysis: On the incivility of Palestinians By Heike Schotten

Palestinian girls walk past the rubble of a building that was destroyed  during the Israeli army summer's military offensive on the Gaza Strip, on Oct. 2, 2014, in Khan Younis (AFP/Said Khatib, File) UNRWA to make biggest ever Gaza aid plea
RE Analysis: On the incivility of Palestinians By Heike Schotten,
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=730563

Dear Editor,

No wonder America's mainstream media shies away from more fully covering the Israel-Palestine conflict... as all the world's eyes are on Palestinian statehood, American's loudest activists for Palestine are doing everything but promoting support for Palestinian statehood. 

I feel deep sorrow for all the children of Palestine, not just the ones killed in and by the Israel-Palestine conflict, but also the ones stuck living in the ongoing Israel-Palestine conflict with all its many dangers and negative ramifications.

Salaita is not stuck in stateless limbo. 

Salaita has the freedom to find another job, whereas countless Palestinians do not have that freedom.

Salaita is free to travel, and free to keep his own children safe from Israeli bullets and bombs, whereas countless Palestinians do not have that freedom.

Salaita is a grown man making his own choices, living in a safe and secure, fully sovereign nation state where you are free to speak out, but so is everyone else:

MAYBE Zionists once 'owned' the conversation, and MAYBE Zionists did help prod the university to reconsider the wisdom of hiring Salaita, but in the age of the internet with blogs, online journals, comment sections, facebook, tweets, and forwards Zionists most certainly do not own the conversation, although they do tend to make many intelligent and diplomatic contributions in many forums.

I think Ma'an news, which is supposed to be about and for Palestine, should look for and publish pro-Palestine writers who actually support statehood and diplomacy for Palestine

My personal favorites to follow are the folks at ATFP - the American Task Force on Palestine.  As Hussein Ibish says in his most recent article: Hisham, Hope and Despair..."The crucial point is that the one thing that is certain is that the choices that we make individually and collectively will have a direct and profound impact on the short, medium and long-term outcomes. And, therefore, our choices must be carefully considered, deliberate and purposive, while apathy and inaction are not options." 
 https://now.mmedia.me/lb/en/commentaryanalysis/564209-hisham-hope-and-despair

And as ATFP's (born in Jerusalem) founder Ziad Asali wisely points out with a pertinent twitter retweet on the same basic topic: To promote the values of dialogue, tolerance and mutual respect, among religions and cultures... Let’s teach our youth to build, not destroy

 http://anniesnewletters.blogspot.com/2014/10/to-promote-values-of-dialogue-tolerance.html

Sincerely,
Anne Selden Annab,
American homemaker & poet

Malala Yousafzai of Pakistan and Kailash Satyarthi of India jointly won the Nobel Peace Prize on Friday for risking their lives to fight for children's rights... "widening the concept of peace work to include efforts to improve human rights, fight poverty and clean up the environment."

In this Feb. 18, 2014 file photo, Malala Yousafzai, visits Zaatari refugee camp near the Syrian border in Mafraq, Jordan. Children's rights activists Yousafzai, 17, of Pakistan and Kailash Satyarthi of India were awarded the Nobel Peace Prize Friday, Oct. 10, 2014. (AP Photo/Mohammad Hannon, File)

[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://news.yahoo.com/malala-kailash-satyarthi-win-nobel-peace-prize-090630266.html

Malala, Satyarthi win Nobel Peace Prize

OSLO, Norway (AP) — Malala Yousafzai of Pakistan and Kailash Satyarthi of India jointly won the Nobel Peace Prize on Friday for risking their lives to fight for children's rights.

Malala, a 17-year-old student and education activist, is the youngest ever Nobel winner. She was shot in the head by a Taliban gunman two years ago for insisting that girls also have the right to an education.

Satyarthi, 60, has been at the forefront of a global movement to end child slavery and exploitative child labor since 1980, when he gave up his career as an electrical engineer. The grassroots activist has led the rescue of tens of thousands of child slaves and developed a successful model for their education and rehabilitation. He has also survived several attempts on his life.

"This is an honor for all my fellow Indians, as well as an honor for all those children in the world whose voices were never heard before properly," Satyarthi told India's NDTV network.

The Nobel committee's announcement reflected a delicate diplomatic balance, naming one activist from Pakistan and another from India, two countries that are long-time bitter rivals; one Muslim and one Hindu; both sexes; an elder statesman of child's rights and a youthful advocate who had herself been a victim.

The Nobel Committee said it was an important point to reward both an Indian Hindu and a Pakistani Muslim for joining "in a common struggle for education and against extremism." The two will split the Nobel award of $1.1 million.

By highlighting children's rights, committee widened the scope of the peace prize, which in its early days was given for efforts to end or prevent armed conflicts.

"It is a prerequisite for peaceful global development that the rights of children and young people be respected," the committee said. "In conflict-ridden areas in particular, the violation of children leads to the continuation of violence from generation to generation."

Malala was barely 11 years old when she began championing girls' education in Pakistan, speaking out in TV interviews. The Taliban had overrun her home town of Mingora, terrorizing residents, threatening to blow up girls' schools, ordering teachers and students into the all-encompassing burqas.

She was critically injured on Oct. 9, 2012, when a Taliban gunman boarded her school bus and shot her in the head. She survived through luck — the bullet did not enter her brain — and by the quick intervention of British doctors visiting Pakistan.

Flown to Britain for specialist treatment at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham, she underwent numerous surgeries but made a strong recovery.

Malala currently lives with her father, mother and two brothers in Birmingham, attending a local school. She has been showered with human rights prizes, including the European Parliament's Sakharov Award.

The Nobel committee said Satyarthi was carrying on the tradition of another great Indian, Mahatma Gandhi.

"Showing great personal courage, Kailash Satyarthi, maintaining Gandhi's tradition, has headed various forms of protests and demonstrations, all peaceful, focusing on the grave exploitation of children for financial gain," the committee said.

The founder of the Nobel Prizes, Swedish industrialist Alfred Nobel, said the prize committee should give the prize to "the person who shall have done the most or the best work for fraternity between nations, for the abolition or reduction of standing armies and for the holding and promotion of peace congresses."

The committee has interpreted those instructions differently over time, widening the concept of peace work to include efforts to improve human rights, fight poverty and clean up the environment.

"The struggle against suppression and for the rights of children and adolescents contributes to the realization of the "fraternity between nations" that Alfred Nobel mentions in his will," the committee said.

Former Indian diplomat Lalit Mansingh praised the Nobel committee's choices this year.

"The Nobel committee is always aware of the international situation and is conscious of helping in conflict resolution. The award, especially at a time when India-Pakistan relations are under stress, is a nice gesture," he said.

The Nobel Prizes in medicine, chemistry, physics and literature were announced earlier this week. The economics award will be announced on Monday.

All awards will be handed out on Dec. 10, the anniversary of Nobel's death in 1896.

Thursday, October 9, 2014

Ashrawi: The recognition of Palestine is Human, Moral, Legal, and Political Imperative

WAFA IMAGES 2014/9/25
[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://english.wafa.ps/index.php?action=detail&id=26735

RAMALLAH, October 9, 2014 – (WAFA) – PLO Executive Committee member Hanan Ashrawi stated Thursday that the recognition of Palestine is a human, moral, legal and political imperative.

The PLO Executive Committee Department of Culture and Information said in a press release that a few days ahead of the British parliamentary vote on the recognition of the State of Palestine, Ashrawi met with correspondents from British media outlets in Palestine to reiterate the official call of the PLO for all states to recognize the State of Palestine as a “human, moral, legal, and political imperative.”

Ashrawi said: “We welcome and appreciate the initiative of a group of British parliamentarians to ask their government to recognize the State of Palestine.  If the British parliament vote reflects British public opinion, it will support the motion.  This would be the first clear step taken by the UK as part of the process of historical rectification of the disastrous consequences of the Balfour Declaration and the British Mandate over Palestine that ended in 1948 with the creation of the State of Israel.”

“During the past few weeks we have received many messages from British friends representing political parties, civil society, churches, and others in support of the motion to recognize the State of Palestine.  We call upon all of them to pursue such efforts in order to obtain a victory on October 13 for the universal cause of justice in the British Parliament. Regardless of the non-binding nature of the vote, it will have a significant impact on the British government’s policies and upcoming decisions on Palestine,” added Ashrawi.

Ashrawi expressed her utter rejection of “the position of those who insist that Palestinian sovereignty is subject to Israeli approval”, concluding: “our independence is a natural right as per international law, and it high time for freedom and justice to prevail.”

K.F./ T.R. 

New Ibish article: Hisham, Hope and Despair..."The crucial point is that the one thing that is certain is that the choices that we make individually and collectively will have a direct and profound impact on the short, medium and long-term outcomes. And, therefore, our choices must be carefully considered, deliberate and purposive, while apathy and inaction are not options."

Denial is not only pointless; it's no longer possible without becoming downright delusional. (AFP Photo/STR)
[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]

https://now.mmedia.me/lb/en/commentaryanalysis/564209-hisham-hope-and-despair

Hisham, Hope and Despair
Hisham Melhem is correct about the collapse of "Arab civilization," but hope remains

On 18 September, Hisham Melhem – the distinguished Arab journalist and de facto "dean" of the Arabic-language press corps in Washington – published a brilliant, ringing and profoundly significant cri de coeur in the American news magazine Politico. Its impact has reverberated powerfully throughout the Middle East-related commentariat, particularly in the United States. Surveying the wreckage of Arab culture and civilization as normatively understood over most of the past 100 years or so – in other words, what most Arabs thought we knew about ourselves, and which now lies largely in ruins – he conducts an unflinching, overdue and merciless autopsy of what he declares to be, at least for the rest of his own lifetime, a social, economic and political corpse.

All serious observers who care about the Arabs and the Arab world must either immediately acknowledge an instinctive and heartbroken identification with Melhem's anguish, or continue kidding themselves. Denial is not only pointless; it's no longer possible without becoming downright delusional. The profound crisis in the contemporary Arab social order and political culture is simply a fact. It can, and must, be analyzed and interrogated. But it cannot be dismissed or even downplayed.

Details aside, it's just impossible for any serious or honest person to take issue with the essence of Melhem's grim analysis. Many once-promising Arab societies have ...READ MORE

Destroying Careers and Countries


     Destroying Careers and Countries

A "safety" net catches the clueless
with buoyant defiance
in the face of facts.

The net is but a small part of life,
every crowd has its own independent net
tangling victims into perpetual victim-hood.

The net is not the ground,
not firm earth- not freedom
or flying- or good advice...

The net traps the falling in debacle,
distorting reality as if fiasco & failure
are glorious victory and solid proof

that a targeted 'other' is utterly
despicable and wrong
wrong wrong.

The net is made sticky by idiots
praising all the worst & promising
the impossible.

The net nurtures delusions
and divisiveness while children
go hungry and wars get worse.


"Let’s not feed Islamophobic bigotry... The great divide is not between faiths, but one between intolerant zealots of any tradition and the large numbers of decent, peaceful believers likewise found in each tradition." Nicholas Kristof

Cultural diversity is a driving force of development... an asset that is indispensable for poverty reduction and the achievement of sustainable development:  Do One Thing For Diversity and Inclusion a facebook page
[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.nytimes.com/2014/10/09/opinion/nicholas-kristof-the-diversity-of-islam.html?ref=opinion

The Diversity of Islam


A few days ago, I was on a panel on Bill Maher’s television show on HBO that became a religious war.

Whether or not Islam itself inspires conflict, debates about it certainly do. Our conversation degenerated into something close to a shouting match and went viral on the web. Maher and a guest, Sam Harris, argued that Islam is dangerous yet gets a pass from politically correct liberals, while the actor Ben Affleck denounced their comments as “gross” and “racist.” I sided with Affleck.

After the show ended, we panelists continued to wrangle on the topic for another hour with the cameras off. Maher ignited a debate that is rippling onward, so let me offer three points of nuance.

First, historically, Islam was not particularly intolerant, and it initially elevated the status of women. Anybody looking at the history even of the 20th century would not single out Islam as the bloodthirsty religion; it was Christian/Nazi/Communist Europe and Buddhist/Taoist/Hindu/atheist Asia that set records for mass slaughter.

Likewise, it is true that the Quran has passages hailing violence, but so does the Bible... READ MORE

"No religion exists in a vacuum. On the contrary, every faith is rooted in the soil in which it is planted. It is a fallacy to believe that people of faith derive their values primarily from their Scriptures. The opposite is true. People of faith insert their values into their Scriptures, reading them through the lens of their own cultural, ethnic, nationalistic and even political perspectives." 

Tuesday, October 7, 2014

Last Thursday, the United Nations released a report that could provide us with one of the keys to defeating ISIS. Unfortunately, it received almost zero media attention.

"... this fight is not Islam versus the West. Rather, it’s everyone who doesn’t want to live under ISIS’ brutal dictatorship versus ISIS." 


Who is ISIS killing the most of by far? Muslims. But that fact is barely covered by US media. 

[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.thedailybeast.com/articles/2014/10/07/isis-s-gruesome-muslim-death-toll.html

ISIS’s Gruesome Muslim Death Toll

The group’s killing of Westerners gets attention. But ISIS has killed far more Muslims, and publicizing that fact would harm it more.
 
Last Thursday, the United Nations released a report that could provide us with one of the keys to defeating ISIS. Unfortunately, it received almost zero media attention.

What makes this 26-page report (PDF) so powerful is that it describes to us the gruesome circumstances in which ISIS has killed fellow Muslims. We are talking beheadings, killing of women for objecting to ISIS’ policies, and executing Sunni Muslim clerics for refusing to swear allegiance to ISIS.

Why is this important? This information can hopefully help dissuade other Muslims from joining or financially supporting ISIS. And it may even persuade other Muslim countries to join or increase their efforts in fighting ISIS. The reason being that slaughtering fellow Muslims is seen as universally wrong across the Muslim world and as a violation of Islamic values. In fact, Al Qaeda has even publicly criticized ISIS for this very conduct.

Now the report also details ISIS’ horrific actions against Christians, Yazidis, and other minorities. But these events—along with the grisly beheadings of American journalists and Western aid workers- have been covered extensively by our media.

The killing of Muslims has not, and part of the reason may be because we lacked facts surrounding those events. After all, ISIS releases videos of its gruesome actions that it wants the world media to discuss but doesn’t publicize events it understands can hurt its cause.

This report changes that. It provides us with evidence we were missing about the specifics of ISIS’ actions...READ MORE

To promote the values of dialogue, tolerance and mutual respect, among religions and cultures... Let’s teach our youth to build, not destroy

"We must protect our young from the vicious ISIS campaign that preys on innocent minds promising them paradise and a better life. We need to provide our young with the proper religious education and awareness to renounce violence and extremism and to promote the values of dialogue, tolerance and mutual respect, among religions and cultures." Khaled Almaeena

   Let’s teach our youth to build, not destroy

http://english.alarabiya.net/en/views/news/middle-east/2014/10/06/Let-s-teach-our-youth-to-build-not-to-destroy.html

[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]

  Anne Selden Annab retweeted

*** 

IMHO

The Marketplace of Ideas is (and always will be) an ongoing dialogue.

Listen, really listen and learn to look for the best, the most honest and honorable and intelligent. 

Empower decency, dignity, diplomacy, and civilization itself at every opportunity. 
 
START in small ways every day- find & promote good ideas and good role models

Take the time to click forward or "like" or retweet or recommend, highlighting the best and brightest and most helpful essays and comments.

Accept responsibility for your own part in making things better or worse. 

AND ALWAYS
REMEMBER
The Golden Rule

The Golden Rule... Do unto others as you would have them do unto you
&
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights because...
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.
 

My letter to the NYTimes RE Palestine’s ‘Nuclear Option’ by Ali Jarbawi & The Community of Expulsion For Israel, a Time of Self-Scrutiny by Roger Cohen

Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen in 1789 Jean-Jacques-François Le Barbier - [1]
The Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen (1789) guarantees freedom of religion, as long as religious activities do not infringe on public order in ways detrimental to society. Includes "Eye of providence" symbol (eye in triangle)
RE: Palestine’s ‘Nuclear Option’ by The Community of Expulsion For Israel, a Time of Self-Scrutiny by
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/07/opinion/palestines-nuclear-option.html?ref=opinion

Dear Editor,

Comparing two op-eds that might have been positioned as contrast (not balance), I thought Roger Cohen's op-ed "The Community of Expulsion For Israel, a Time of Self-Scrutiny" was compelling and beautiful- a sign of hope for Israel.  I thought "Palestine’s ‘Nuclear Option’" (and Abbas's most recent U.N. speech which Jarbawi praises as "one of his best ") was not so good. 

Cohen is focused on character building and affirming the belief that Israel can be better than it has been.  Jarbawi is... well, he is obviously not interested in winning over an American audience- or in calling for Palestinians to support state building efforts and diplomacy.  He is more bothered by "the global preoccupation with confronting the Islamic State, which has reached the level of obsession" than by the massive damage that ISIL (Islamic State/Da'esh) is inflicting on the region as they murder any one who does not agree with them, as well as kidnap women and girls- young girls- to use as sex slaves

Jarbawi concludes his grumbling diatribe/righteous indignation by offering up horrible advice for his audience: "As it stands, the Authority performs a role that comforts Israel. Israel gets the Authority to keep it safe through “security cooperation,” while Israelis are absolved of responsibility for their occupation while avoiding its costs. Indeed, until Mr. Abbas takes a tangible step toward dissolving the Authority, the international community, especially Israel and America, will not take him seriously, and his demands will remain nothing but complaints."

Further disenfranchising Palestinians by voluntarily erasing the Palestinian Authority and rejecting security cooperation with Israel is a risky game that is most likely going to make the very real plight of the Palestinians much much worse...  Instead of asking Palestinians to give up, why not start demanding that HAMAS step down for Palestine's sake- dissolve the tyrannical grip Islamists have on Palestine, and actually convince Israel and America to take a fully secular two state peace seriously. 

Sincerely,
Anne Selden Annab

NOTES
"We see martyrs, children as young as 7, being portrayed as resistance fighters after being slaughtered by Israeli forces. Although we would like to convince ourselves that they have died for “the cause”, they have in fact died because of the cause." Mariam Barg

"There is a vicious circle of mutual self-reinforcement between state and society failure on the one hand and the rise of extremist non-state actors on the other." Ziad Asali: Confronting ISIL: The Day and Decade "After"

Hussein Ibish: US has a responsibility to rein in Israeli settlements

Tala Haikal: "It may not be possible to immediately free all the kidnapped girls and women due to the scope of the conflict with ISIS and the geographical dispersal of the captives in various locations. Some of these women and girls can be freed only once ISIS is destroyed."

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

UN report spotlights 'staggering' Islamic State atrocities in Iraq... "The group, which is fighting in Iraq and Syria, has carried out a wide range of atrocities, including mass executions, abductions, rape and other forms of sexual and physical violence against women and children"

USA Today... Sweden PM says nation will recognize Palestinian state: "It doesn't change a thing on the ground," Ibish said. "It changes the number of countries that have recognized the Palestinian state. It changes the Western commitment to a two-state solution, (and) it does put more pressure on Israel to make concessions."

Vatican seeks Mideast Christians' right of return

Salam Fayyad: How To Fix the Israeli-Palestinian Peace Process

Excellent letter in the Guardian by Chris Doyle: Trouble and shock in the West Bank

US sharply criticizes new Israeli housing project

Non-violent resistance is Palestine’s most powerful weapon

Tala Haikal: Empathy Is Essential to Humanity

Normalizing Intelligent Conversations, Diplomatic Support, and Hope for Palestine... ATFP Panel Briefing: Israeli-Palestinian War in a New Regional Landscape.

ATFP... American Task Force on Palestine

ATFP Calls for De-Escalation between Israel and the Palestinians

Ziad Asali

International Year of Solidarity with the Palestinian People 2014

UNRWA photo and film archive for Palestine refugees

About UNWRA: ’The Long Journey of Palestine Refugee Women’ candidly portrays the lives and experiences of Palestine refugee women, this collection is a testament not only to their own strength and dignity, but also to the richness and resilience of their community.

Walking Palestine & The Abraham Path... a creative space for stories that highlight the unique culture, heritage and hospitality of the region

It's time for Palestinians and Israelis to share a just peace... It's time for freedom from occupation... It's time for equal rights.... It's time for the healing of wounded souls..... World Week for Peace in Palestine Israel: "Let my people go!"... 21 - 27 September 2014 An initiative of the Palestine Israel Ecumenical Forum (PIEF) of the World Council of Churches

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

1948

Time and time again I have watched the cycle of incitement and spin sabotage support for Palestine

Clarifying why Arab and Muslim Americans should be smart rather than stupid

Live by the Golden Rule
An Anne Frank Moment ... a poem by Anne Selden Annab

"Where, after all, do universal human rights begin?

America/Israel/Palestine 1776
America/Israel/Palestine 1948: All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights.They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.

The Golden Rule... Do unto others as you would have them do unto you

Hussein Ibish: US has a responsibility to rein in Israeli settlements

"Israeli leaders and others were livid at Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas’s recent United Nations speech, which included the hyperbolic claim that Israel is guilty of “genocide” in Gaza. This unusually strong language from Mr Abbas was undoubtedly aimed at a domestic audience and designed to express the anger and frustration of Palestinians who seemingly have no viable strategy for moving forward towards national liberation.

Even though such remarks – including Israel’s own hyperbolic claims on social media recently that that “Hamas = ISIL” – aren’t helpful, they don’t actually change the strategic equation on the ground. They are, in both cases, snapshots of a political moment, and crucially one that can pass quickly without leaving a deep scar.

The same cannot be said for ­Israel’s latest announcement of impending settlement activity in occupied East Jerusalem. Plans for 2,610 new settler housing units were revealed last week in the so-called Givat Hamatos settlement, to the south of Jerusalem." Hussein Ibish 


[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 American Task Force on Palestine (ATFP): Established in 2003, its mission is to articulate and educate about the United States national interest in helping to create a Palestinian state living alongside Israel in peace, security and dignity. ATFP is committed to strengthening Palestinian-American relations at every level. The Task Force 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.