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| From Seattle Sketcher
Gabriel Campanario: Today was a sad day with senseless loss of life in
Paris, where 12 people were murdered by gun-toting terrorists in the
offices of the satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo. Read more: http://seati.ms/1xRizHk More Seattle Sketcher: http:// *** 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 |
Thursday, January 8, 2015
#JeSuisCharlie
Monday, January 5, 2015
My letter to the NYTimes RE Dennis B. Ross: Stop Giving Palestinians a Pass
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| A Palestinian boy looks out through a hole in his family house, that witnesses said was damaged by Israeli shelling during the July-August war between Israel and Hamas-led Gaza militants, in the east of Gaza City January 4, 2015. PHOTO OF THE DAY (REUTERS/Suhaib Salem) |
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/01/05/opinion/stop-giving-palestinians-a-pass.html?ref=opinion
Dear Editor,
As Hussein Ibish, of the American Task Force on Palestine, succinctly points out in his recent column on the Israel/Palestine conflict: "Palestinians and their profoundly moral cause are in deep trouble."
Ross is right that "Palestinian political culture is rooted in a narrative of injustice; its anticolonialist bent and its deep sense of grievance treats concessions to Israel as illegitimate. Compromise is portrayed as betrayal, and negotiations — which are by definition about mutual concessions — will inevitably force any Palestinian leader to challenge his people by making a politically costly decision."
But Ross is very very wrong to insist that there needs to be "a resolution of the Palestinian refugee issue that allows Israel to retain its Jewish character." Religion should be a personal private matter, not a state funded mandate. Please don't give Israel a green light to define its supposed Jewishness by perpetually pushing indigenous non-Jewish men, women and children into poverty and forced exile.
Do you really want to live in a world where religion or race dictates who gets citizenship rights and respect? Do you really want to set that formal official legal precedent for Da'esh (ISIS), Hezbollah, & Hamas!
The hard choice is not about refugees' return, for international law already clearly affirms the universal right to return to live in peace. The hard choice is to accept that Israel will remain Israel, and the process of refugee return and reparations will take time, and good will on everyone's part... Refugee resettlement and relocation in a sovereign Palestinian state, or elsewhere, should be encouraged and empowered not to affirm Israel's supposed Jewishness, but so that the people of historic Palestine can be free to find jobs and security and a better way forward for everyone's sake.
Sincerely,
Anne Selden Annab
NOTES
Israeli settlers stone two cars belonging to US consulate staff : US security staff reportedly unholster weapons during standoff in Jerusalem between US consular party and far-right settlers from illegal West Bank outpost
Israeli forces demolish house under construction in Hebron
Hamas confirmed on Sunday that it has banned a visit by Palestinian orphans from the Gaza Strip to Israel because it was in the context of “normalization” with Israelis.
During World War II, the Allies adopted the Four Freedoms—freedom of speech, freedom of religion, freedom from fear, and freedom from want—as their basic war aims.... The United Nations Charter "reaffirmed faith in fundamental human rights, and dignity and worth of the human person" and committed all member states to promote "universal respect for, and observance of, human rights and fundamental freedoms for all without distinction as to race, sex, language, or religion".
A Christmas poem... in Growing Gardens for Palestine: Star Street Bethlehem Palestine 2014
14 beautiful synagogues that were restored by Muslims
US general rebrands Isis 'Daesh' after requests from regional partners
A Palestinian’s journey from stone-throwing to conflict resolution
“The United States casts its lot with the problem solvers, the healers, and the builders,” US Undersecretary of State for Political Affairs Wendy Sherman in a September speech, quoted by CSM in their recent editorial
Kerry heads to talks on Palestinian statehood bid: "There are a lot of different folks pushing in different directions out there, and the question is can we all pull in the same direction," Kerry said Friday, when asked about his meeting with Netanyahu."
Jordan's King: World must stand up to radicals
What Will Israel Become?
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
Palestinian
Refugees (1948-NOW)
refused their right
to return... and
their right to live
in peace free from
religious bigotry
and injustice.
"Where,
after all, do universal human rights begin?
The Golden Rule... Do unto others as you would have them do unto you
The Golden Rule... Do unto others as you would have them do unto you
To honor a tragic history, we must work for peace : "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." Ziad Asali
Tala Haikal: Empathy Is Essential to Humanity
Hussein Ibish: Non-violent resistance is Palestine’s most powerful weapon
ATFP Calls for De-Escalation between Israel and the Palestinians
Five Reasons to Walk the Holy Land
“Your living is determined not so much by what life brings to you as by the attitude you bring to life; not so much by what happens to you as by the way your mind looks at what happens.” Khalil Gibran (1883-1931), born in Lebanon, immigrated to the United States in 1895 where he grew up to become a beloved poet and respected writer.
"There is some good in the worst of us and some evil in the best of us. When we discover this, we are less prone to hate our enemies" Martin Luther King Jr. (1929 – 1968) American minister, humanitarian and social activist- a cherished leader of the Civil Rights Movement in the United States, whose inspiring words continue to influence and empower diplomatic efforts to bring more justice, more security, more peace and more jobs to more people, every one and every where.
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