We should not be funding Israel's war on the indigenous First and Forever People of historic Palestine.

Freedom, Justice, Equality

 Dear President & Senators

America's freedom is a wonderful thing !   I am so proud of our Founding Fathers & Mothers who talked & thought their way towards and into the creation of our Declaration of Independence and our Bill of Rights: Happy 4th of July!

I am also so very proud of all Americans who valiantly fought in WWII to defeat Hitler and his horrible Nazi Holocaust.  Racism was wrong and evil then, and it is wrong and evil now as Jews-preferred Israel cruelly persecutes, impoverishes, and displaces indigenous Arab men, women and children all through out the Holy Land.

Our so-called "friend" Israel uses American money and weaponry to terrorize and kill Palestinians. Furthermore Israeli forces attack journalists and deliberately cut off electricity and telecommunications to prevent Israeli war crimes being documented and exposed worldwide.

Israel is not defending itself, it is in the process of intentionally tormenting Palestinian families and destroying Palestinian homes. Our own Trail of Tears, the ethnic cleansing and forced displacement of approximately 60,000 indigenous First and Forever People of America between 1830-1850, was a huge and heinous tragedy.  We know better now, we live in a more aware world where racism of any kind is known to be evil and wrong.  At least we say it is wrong- but here we are with our elected officials and far too many of our our religious leaders plus our failing fourth estate ignoring sovereign Israel's very real crimes against humanity and the indigenous First and Forever People of historic Palestine.

Real Freedom, Democracy and Equality is an ongoing project here in the USA, and we have a good foundation on which to build.... BUT not as long as our elected officials and religious leaders and our failing fourth estate continue idolize and admire Zionist Israel, a very foreign country that has no constitution and no respect for the native non-Jewish Palestinians.

We should not be funding Israel's war on the indigenous First and Forever People of historic Palestine.

Sincerely,

Anne Selden Annab

NOTES

1776 Our Declaration of Independence states:  "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness." https://www.archives.gov/founding-docs/declaration-transcript

Our Bill of Rights Amendment I: "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances."  https://www.archives.gov/founding-docs/bill-of-rights-transcript

1948's Universal Declaration of Human Rights preamble "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" https://www.un.org/en/about-us/universal-declaration-of-human-rights

Nakba is an Arabic word meaning “catastrophe” and refers to Israel’s ethnic cleansing of Palestine, its exiling of Palestinians and making them into refugees, its dispossession of Palestinian property, its destruction of Palestinian cities, towns, and villages, and its attempt to erase the existence of the Palestinian people from its homeland in 1948.  https://imeu.org/article/the-nakba-and-palestine-refugees-imeu-questions-and-answers

http://anniesnewletters.blogspot.com/search/label/Notes

https://imeu.org/

https://badil.org/

https://bdsmovement.net/get-involved/what-to-boycott

https://www.palestineremembered.com/index.html

Palestine- - Matson photo Library of Congress

I Support Palestine Because I Believe in Basic Human Rights & The Rule of Fair and Just Laws... International Day of Solidarity with #Palestine November 29, 2021

1920 Good old days.. Coffee shop #Palestine

1930 Women embroidering a dress, Ramallah, Palestine - every village had its own patterns & designs.

1940s Sheep sellers at the Damascus Gate - Jerusalem, #Palestine.

2021 Arrested development and poverty take a $57 billion economic toll in #Palestine due to Israeli policies & Israeli violence

FULLY Understanding & Respecting the Right of Return is the Key for Building a Just and Lasting Peace in the Holy Land... For Everyone's Sake.

The key for return

Embroidery by Hejar Abu Saleem [Ajjur, district of Hebron], Amman Jordan

When 700,000 Palestinians fled from or were thrown out of their homes during the Nakba in 1948, they took their house keys with them, convinced that they would come back after a week or two and re-open their front doors. The keys have been passed on from generation to generation as a reminder of their lost homes and as lasting symbols of their ‘right of return’. The Palestinian right of return or compensation was internationally recognized by the United Nations General Assembly Resolution 194, adopted on 11 December 1948.

My letter PUBLISHED in CSM: US hypocrisy on Israel

 [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.csmonitor.com/Commentary/Readers-Respond/2013/1216/Readers-Write-Democrats-didn-t-lose-to-personality-US-hypocrisy-on-Israel

US hypocrisy on Israel

Thank you for Katrina Lantos Swett's Nov. 18 commentary, "JFK was right about religious freedom's promise." True religious freedom would indeed curb sectarian strife and extremism. And yes, American diplomats and forward thinkers should be advocating for such freedom worldwide. But how will countries in the Middle East be able to hear, much less understand, that message when so many American religious, political, and business leaders praise and protect Israel as "The Jewish State" while turning a blind eye to its persecution of Palestinians and other Arabs?

Calls for US support of religious freedom will be sanctimonious hypocrisy as long as we fail to insist on real democracy and a fully secular end to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in line with international law and human rights.

Anne Selden Annab
Mechanicsburg, Pa.

Veteran Ashrawi insists right of return is inalienable and timeless

Veteran PLO official Hanan Ashrawi has stressed that the rights of the Palestinian people are inalienable, and the right of return is at the top of those rights. Citing UN Resolution 194 and the Geneva Convention of 1951 on the Status of Refugees, the PLO executive Committee member insisted that such rights, individually and collectively, cannot be waived and will not become obsolete with the passage of time.
In a statement released on Thursday to commemorate World Refugee Day, Ashrawi said: "This day embodies Arab and international solidarity with our people's rights, particularly their right to return to their homes from which they were forcibly displaced in 1948. Until today, they are still pressed under two injustices: the Israeli occupation on one hand and exile on the other."
Pointing out that Israel bears responsibility for producing and perpetuating this human tragedy in a stark violation of international conventions, particularly the Geneva Convention, Dr Ashrawi noted that the number of Palestinian refugees now stands at 5.3 million according to the UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA). "This represents the largest number among the world's refugees," she added.
- See more at: http://www.middleeastmonitor.com/news/middle-east/6357-veteran-ashrawi-insists-right-of-return-is-inalienable-and-timeless#sthash.y1gUxjbz.dpuf

Veteran PLO official Hanan Ashrawi has stressed that the rights of the Palestinian people are inalienable, and the right of return is at the top of those rights. Citing UN Resolution 194 and the Geneva Convention of 1951 on the Status of Refugees, the PLO executive Committee member insisted that such rights, individually and collectively, cannot be waived and will not become obsolete with the passage of time.
In a statement released on Thursday to commemorate World Refugee Day, Ashrawi said: "This day embodies Arab and international solidarity with our people's rights, particularly their right to return to their homes from which they were forcibly displaced in 1948. Until today, they are still pressed under two injustices: the Israeli occupation on one hand and exile on the other."
Pointing out that Israel bears responsibility for producing and perpetuating this human tragedy in a stark violation of international conventions, particularly the Geneva Convention, Dr Ashrawi noted that the number of Palestinian refugees now stands at 5.3 million according to the UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA). "This represents the largest number among the world's refugees," she added.
- See more at: http://www.middleeastmonitor.com/news/middle-east/6357-veteran-ashrawi-insists-right-of-return-is-inalienable-and-timeless#sthash.y1gUxjbz.dpuf

Veteran PLO official Hanan Ashrawi has stressed that the rights of the Palestinian people are inalienable, and the right of return is at the top of those rights. Citing UN Resolution 194 and the Geneva Convention of 1951 on the Status of Refugees, the PLO executive Committee member insisted that such rights, individually and collectively, cannot be waived and will not become obsolete with the passage of time.
In a statement released on Thursday to commemorate World Refugee Day, Ashrawi said: "This day embodies Arab and international solidarity with our people's rights, particularly their right to return to their homes from which they were forcibly displaced in 1948. Until today, they are still pressed under two injustices: the Israeli occupation on one hand and exile on the other."
Pointing out that Israel bears responsibility for producing and perpetuating this human tragedy in a stark violation of international conventions, particularly the Geneva Convention, Dr Ashrawi noted that the number of Palestinian refugees now stands at 5.3 million according to the UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA). "This represents the largest number among the world's refugees," she added.
- See more at: http://www.middleeastmonitor.com/news/middle-east/6357-veteran-ashrawi-insists-right-of-return-is-inalienable-and-timeless#sthash.y1gUxjbz.dpuf

Veteran PLO official Hanan Ashrawi has stressed that the rights of the Palestinian people are inalienable, and the right of return is at the top of those rights. Citing UN Resolution 194 and the Geneva Convention of 1951 on the Status of Refugees, the PLO executive Committee member insisted that such rights, individually and collectively, cannot be waived and will not become obsolete with the passage of time.
In a statement released on Thursday to commemorate World Refugee Day, Ashrawi said: "This day embodies Arab and international solidarity with our people's rights, particularly their right to return to their homes from which they were forcibly displaced in 1948. Until today, they are still pressed under two injustices: the Israeli occupation on one hand and exile on the other."
Pointing out that Israel bears responsibility for producing and perpetuating this human tragedy in a stark violation of international conventions, particularly the Geneva Convention, Dr Ashrawi noted that the number of Palestinian refugees now stands at 5.3 million according to the UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA). "This represents the largest number among the world's refugees," she added.
- See more at: http://www.middleeastmonitor.com/news/middle-east/6357-veteran-ashrawi-insists-right-of-return-is-inalienable-and-timeless#sthash.y1gUxjbz.dpuf

"This day embodies Arab and international solidarity with our people's rights, particularly their right to return to their homes from which they were forcibly displaced in 1948." - See more at: http://www.middleeastmonitor.com/news/middle-east/6357-veteran-ashrawi-insists-right-of-return-is-inalienable-and-timeless#sthash.y1gUxjbz.dpuf

"This day embodies Arab and international solidarity with our people's rights, particularly their right to return to their homes from which they were forcibly displaced in 1948." - See more at: http://www.middleeastmonitor.com/news/middle-east/6357-veteran-ashrawi-insists-right-of-return-is-inalienable-and-timeless#sthash.y1gUxjbz.dpuf

 Veteran Ashrawi insists right of return is inalienable and timeless

1) If Palestinians don't work to create their state, they will never have one

2) Peace depends on reasonable people on both sides compromising in order to reach an agreement based on the creation of a Palestinian state alongside Israel. 

 http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2012/12/31/a-serious-look-at-fayyad.html

A Serious Look at Fayyad by Hussein Ibish