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Monday, October 26, 2015

My letter to the Guardian RE "A galaxy" of "Star authors call for Israeli-Palestinian dialogue rather than boycotts"

The voice that connects things (Mahmoud Darwish ) Reading Room 2010 Sculptures and installations made by using books as the main production material by Pierre Lionel Matte of Norway..." To counterbalance the black/white descriptions of culture and identities I chose poems by Palestinian writer, Mahmoud Darwish." 
RE "A galaxy" of "Star authors call for Israeli-Palestinian dialogue rather than boycotts"
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/oct/22/star-authors-jk-rowling-hilary-mantel-israel-palestinian-boycott-guardian-letter

Dear Sir,

Not too long ago a huge galaxy of star citizens (as well as regular folk and many a nobody) through out all the world thought slavery and the slave trade was a normal part of life. Excuses abounded, even religious texts were deployed to bully everyone into subserviently accepting a totally toxic and cruel situation. 

I suspect there were many dialogues and "negotiations" between masters and slaves.  Perhaps some dialogues and "negotiations" even made life a teeny tiny little bit easier for an individual slave or two- but all in all slavery continued on as a very cruel status quo and toxic situation...   Just as America's southern plantation owners saw no reason to end slavery, Israel sees no reason to stop usurping Palestine land, resources, and life.

Israel, a fully sovereign and free nation state, sees no reason to end its divisive and discriminatory anti-Palestine/anti-Palestinian policies. 

Israel sees no reason to respect international law; no reason to live by The Golden Rule - Do unto others as you would have them do unto you- and no reason to honor and uphold The Universal Declaration of Human Rights: "Whereas recognition of the inherent dignity and of the equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human family is the foundation of freedom, justice and peace in the world"  http://www.un.org/en/documents/udhr/

What a huge shame that Harry Potter's brilliant creator is using her fame and popularity to help perpetuate the very real plight and suffering of the native non-Jewish population of historic Palestine.

The global information age is here: Modern day boycott campaigns focused in on advocating a nonviolent way to bring attention to a very cruel status quo and toxic situation are a natural response, and boycott campaigns are bound to grow more popular and more pervasive as more and more people world wide figure out that Israeli propaganda has been very misleading: Let's start with the fact that there really is such a thing as a Palestinian.

One of my favorite Palestinians is the poet Mahmoud Darwish born in Palestine March 13, 1941 - died August 9, 2008. His words live on ... "About Darwish’s work, the poet Naomi Shihab Nye has said, “Mahmoud Darwish is the Essential Breath of the Palestinian people, the eloquent witness of exile and belonging, exquisitely tuned singer of images that invoke, link, and shine a brilliant light into the world’s whole heart. What he speaks has been embraced by readers around the world—his in an utterly necessary voice, unforgettable once discovered.” https://www.poets.org/poetsorg/poet/mahmoud-darwish

Sincerely,
Anne Selden Annab

NOTES
Smithsonian has a fascinating article on slavery in America, disclosing shocking facts- and once common words- that I never knew until this week.  "Retracing Slavery's Trail of Tears" by tells of hidden history such as "A coffle of slaves being marched from Virginia west into Tennessee, c. 1850." ..."It took four months to assemble the big “coffle,” to use a once-common word that, like so much of the vocabulary of slavery, has been effaced from the language."



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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

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Article 1.
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