My letter to the Washington Post RE Shibley Telhami's EXCELLENT op-ed "How Israel’s Jewishness is overtaking its democracy"

Discrimination is treatment or consideration of, or making a distinction in favor of or against, a person or thing based on the group, class, or category to which that person or thing is perceived to belong to rather than on individual merit.

RE How Israel’s Jewishness is overtaking its democracy By Shibley Telhami
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/monkey-cage/wp/2016/03/08/how-israels-jewishness-is-overtaking-its-democracy/?postshare=7211457441647491&tid=ss_tw

[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 (& America ...etc...)]

Dear Editor,

Kudos to Shibley Telhami for writing such a frankly honest, well researched, carefully thought out, sensible and compassionate op-ed "How Israel’s Jewishness is overtaking its democracy" ... and Kudos to the Washington Post for publishing it.

We are warned by Telhami that right now in Israel "79 percent of all Jews, including 69 percent of Hilonim (secular Jews) say that Jews deserve “preferential treatment” in Israel — so much for the notion of democracy with full equal rights for all citizens."

From afar, preferential treatment might sound and seem relatively harmless at first glance, but please look at the horrific ramifications and the very real plight and suffering of countless Palestinian men, women, and children as numerous "pro-Israel" pundits, politicians, religious leaders, propagandists, and apologists worldwide camouflage Israel's misguided quest to oppress and impoverish the native non-Jewish population of the Holy Land as a struggle for "Jewish" freedom and security. 

The ongoing Israel-Palestine conflict has been galvanizing bigotry, extremism, escalating violence and despair- making the entire region much less safe, much less secure, and much less free as Islamists follow Israel's myopic lead of scorning respect for universal human rights and the rule of fair and just laws. 
 
In 1946, horrified by the Nazi Holocaust, " world leaders decided to complement the UN Charter with a road map to guarantee the rights of every individual everywhere." This carefully thought out international Bill of Rights became The Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948.  Article 27 of the universal declaration wisely states with visionary hope that " Everyone has the right freely to participate in the cultural life of the community, to enjoy the arts and to share in scientific advancement and its benefits."

Communities and countries that value peace and progress value every child (regardless of supposed race or religion), investing emotionally, intellectually and financially in providing opportunities for all to flourish. Religion should be a personal private matter: Every individual has their own personal idea of what God is and/or isn't. We might employ prayers, rituals and traditions shared by others, but to be Jewish, or Muslim, or Christian, or Buddhist, or Hindu, or whatever is to be a unique individual with a unique life story still unfolding. 

A just and lasting peace and security for all people, regardless of their supposed race or religion, is in every one's best interest: Ending the Israel-Palestine conflict with a fully secular two state solution based on FULL respect for international law and universal human rights to free both Israel and Palestine from the chaos and cruelty of the current situation is the best way forward.

Sincerely,
Anne Selden Annab

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

My letter to the NYTimes RE An Anti-Semitism of the Left by Roger Cohen

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (10 December 1948) sets out, for the first time, fundamental human rights to be universally protected.

RE: An Anti-Semitism of the Left
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/03/08/opinion/an-anti-semitism-of-the-left.html?ref=international&_r=0

Dear Editor,

It is totally tragic that your columnist, Roger Cohen, is so quick to make excuses for and help perpetuate modern Israel's deluded obsession with being "Jewish", a misguided and dangerously myopic obsession that has motivated Israel to cruelly oppress, impoverish, displace and push into forced exile countless native non-Jewish men, women and children. It is also totally tragic that some very misguided and dangerously myopic people have decided to support Hamas and Hezbollah.

Yes there is most definitely "the fundamental link between murderous European anti-Semitism and the decision of surviving Jews to embrace Zionism in the conviction that only a Jewish homeland could keep them safe" as Cohen says... But the world was very different in the 1930s in many many ways. Most people then simply did not understand the perils of racism, and the scientific inaccuracies that shaped racist thought. 

Take into account the fact that in 1948, when Israel declared itself "The Jewish State", America had yet to hear Martin Luther King's inspiring 1963 speech "I have a dream", which points out and objects to "the manacles of segregation and the chains of discrimination."

In today's more enlightened world, it is international law and The Universal Declaration of Human Rights that helps keep Jewish men, women and children safe.  The Universal Declaration of Human Rights should also help keep Palestinians safe, but Israel refuses to be a Golden Rule thinker when it comes to the native non-Jewish men, women and children of the Holy Land.

The crucial importance of ending bigotry and injustice is a universal need, a universal need that is not and never should be limited to one particle race, religion, or gender.

Rather than being mired in blame games and paranoia about "The Left" or Jews, or Arabs and Palestinians, or blacks or whites or what ever let us keep in mind what President John F. Kennedy wisely pointed out in 1958: "Let us not seek the Republican answer or the Democratic answer, but the right answer. Let us not seek to fix the blame for the past. Let us accept our own responsibility for the future."

Sincerely,
Anne Selden Annab

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

My letter to the NYTimes RE "New Proposal to Divide Jerusalem Unites People Against It"

James Madison 1751-1836, fourth President of the United States (1809–17) & founding father known as the "Father of the Constitution" for his pivotal role in drafting and promoting the U.S. Constitution and the Bill of Rights.

RE: New Proposal to Divide Jerusalem Unites People Against It
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/03/07/world/middleeast/new-proposal-to-divide-jerusalem-unites-people-against-it.html?emc=edit_th_20160307&nl=todaysheadlines&nlid=22789767

Dear Editor,

Imagine if an American city decided it wanted to be "Christian", and as such required that all ID cards and license plates feature a person's supposed religion, enabling the powers that be and countless pencil pushers as well as strangers on the street to easily discriminate in many many different ways against those deemed to be the "wrong" religion and a demographic threat.  Put aside the fact that in America today, due to our laws and our Bill of Rights, this can't happen- yet... Just imagine the consequences for countless innocent people. Imagine the ramifications and cumulative damage over decades of such a policy.  That is Israel today.

Article 1. of The Universal Declaration of Human Rights quite rightly points out that " 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."

Jerusalem is a world treasure. It behooves us all, regardless of our religion or lack thereof, to compassionately refuse to buy into and empower the institutionalized bigotry, injustice, and escalating violence imposed by an Israel obsessed with displacing and destroying the native non-Jewish population of the Holy Land. 

Expecting and insisting on a fully secular two state solution based on FULL respect for international law and The Universal Declaration of Human Rights to once and for all end the Israel-Palestine conflict, for everyone's sake, is the right thing to do and the best way forward. 

Sincerely,
Anne Selden Annab

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

 

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which was adopted by the UN General Assembly on 10 December 1948, was the result of the experience of the Second World War.

My letter to the NYTimes RE Only Separation Can Lead to a Two-State Solution

RE: Only Separation Can Lead to a Two-State Solution
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/02/29/opinion/international/only-separation-can-lead-to-a-two-state-solution.html?ref=international&_r=3

Dear Editor,

When Israel was established in 1948, it's "Jewishness" was self proclaimed- but has Israel ever really been Jewish?  Or has Israel's "Jewishness" been a myopically dangerous myth incentivizing an ongoing quest to build a modern religion based nation state that uses taxpayers' money and world wide donations to empower Jewish citizens while impoverishing and pushing the native non-Jewish population of the region into poverty, forced exile and despair...

Is this really the example the civilized world wants to set for the future of all countries- and all individuals and groups who are struggling for freedom, justice, and security?

Yes there should be peace between Israel and Palestine, but for the rule of fair and just laws to win a lasting peace, progress, and security for all the people, it must be a fully secular two state solution whereby two separate nation states, one called Israel and one called Palestine, are fully sovereign and fully democratic.  International law and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights are key to ending the Israel-Palestine conflict once and for all.  

Interim plans based on Israeli laws that reinforce institutionalized bigotry and placate myopic Israeli thinkers are obviously appealing to Israelis who have been raised to believe that Israel's supposed Jewishness and "security zones" are more important than the rule of fair and just laws. 

Real friends don't let friends drive drunk: Religion should be a personal, private matter. America's founders and freedom fighters were not perfect, but they were wise enough to research and learn from history, separating church from state and laying the groundwork whereby in time slaves were free and Jim Crow laws were dismantled. Violence did not create American freedom- good ideas and enlightened people did... and still do.

Sincerely,
Anne Selden Annab

NOTES
THE GOLDEN RULE: Do until others as you would have them do unto you.

Israel demolishes West Bank homes, displacing 36 Palestinians:  "Nickolay Mladenov, UN special coordinator for the Middle East peace process, said last month the number of such demolitions has tripled on average since the start of the year. "Since the beginning of 2016, Israel has demolished, on average, 29 Palestinian-owned structures per week, three times the weekly average for 2015,""

Arab Israeli professor breaks barriers at home and abroad: "Despite the realities of life as an Arab in Israel, [Hossam] Haick says he wouldn't want to be anywhere else... "Escaping from reality is easy," said Haick, surrounded by beakers and tubes. "By staying, maybe we can contribute to the society from which we came."" 

Roger Waters: Pink Floyd star on why his fellow musicians are terrified to speak out against Israel

Roots of the Recent Violence Between Israelis and Palestinians

Brief on Israeli excavations & latest settlement activities

"Israeli educators and academics are alleging that right-wing religious political appointees have meddled in a revision of a high school civics textbook to water down discussion of democracy." 

 Jewish or democratic? A textbook battle for Israel's soul.

"We have decided to immediately work together on a report, which will include recommendations for relaunching the two-State perspective. We will do this in coordination with the UN Security Council and with the main regional actors: Jordan, Egypt, Saudi Arabia – on the basis of the Arab Peace Initiative. And we will do this in strong coordination with the parties. This is why yesterday I called Benjamin Netanyahu and Mahmoud Abbas, who assured to me their willingness to engage in this new process."  Federica Mogherini: A report to relaunch the two-State perspective

"The purpose of separation of church and state is to keep forever from these shores the ceaseless strife that has soaked the soil of Europe in blood for centuries." James Madison 1751-1836, fourth President of the United States (1809–17) & founding father known as the "Father of the Constitution" for his pivotal role in drafting and promoting the U.S. Constitution and the Bill of Rights.