Moving Forward
Friday, May 2, 2014
Poughkeepsie, NY
What does a just resolution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict look
like? How can dignity and security be restored to Palestinians and Jews
on the ground in the Middle East? Americans for Peace Now Campus
Outreach Manager Aaron Mann, The American Task Force on Palestine Youth
Outreach Coordinator Tala Haikal and J Street U Mid-Atlantic Campus
Organizer Andrew Gordon-Kirsch will speak to how their work addresses
these key questions and more. Join Vassar students for an honest
discussion with three leading Washington-based organizations who share a
vision of two states for two peoples.
A conversation with
***
Thursday, May 01, 2014
“We really wanted to show that it’s possible to have a conversation
about this issue that’s productive, pragmatic and focused on what could
actually help people,” Boxerman said. “We believe that via the two-state
solution, you are being pro-Israel, pro-Palestine and pro-peace.”
Ghaith al-Omari, an executive director of the
American Task Force on Palestine: “You can’t deal with this conflict by denying the other...”
ProPalestine
ProDiplomacy
ProSovereignStatehood
ProUniversalHumanRights
ProCompassion
ProDemocracy
ProJustice
ProPeace
ProTheRuleofFair&JustLaws... ProPeacewithIsrael
“Where, after all, do universal human rights begin? In small places,
close to home – so close and so small that they cannot be seen on any
maps of the world. Yet they are the world of the individual person; the
neighbourhood he lives in; the school or college he attends; the
factory, farm or office where he works. Such are the places where every
man, woman and child seeks equal justice, equal opportunity, equal
dignity without discrimination. Unless these rights have meaning there,
they have little meaning anywhere. Without concerned citizen action to
uphold them close to home, we shall look in vain for progress in the
larger world.”
Eleanor Roosevelt, “In Our Hands” (1958 speech delivered on the tenth anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights)
What are human rights?
The concept of human rights acknowledges that every single human
being is entitled to enjoy his or her human rights without distinction
as to race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other
opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status.
Human rights are legally guaranteed by human rights law,
protecting individuals and groups against actions that interfere with
fundamental freedoms and human dignity. They are expressed in treaties,
customary international law, bodies of principles and other sources of
law. Human rights law places an obligation on States to act in a
particular way and prohibits States from engaging in specified
activities. However, the law does not establish human rights. Human
rights are inherent entitlements which come to every person as a
consequence of being human.
The following are some of the most important characteristics of human rights:
- Human rights are founded on respect for the dignity and worth of each person;
- Human rights are universal, meaning that they are applied equally and without discrimination to all people;
- Human rights are inalienable, in that no one can have
his or her human rights taken away; they can be limited in
specific situations (for example, the right to liberty can be
restricted if a person is found guilty of a crime by a court of
law);
- Human rights are indivisible, interrelated and
interdependent, for the reason that it is insufficient to respect
some human rights and not others. In practice, the violation of
one right will often affect respect for several other rights.
- All human rights should therefore be seen as having
equal importance and of being equally essential to respect for the
dignity and worth of every person.
Article 1 of The Universal Declaration of Human Rights:
- 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.
