"The legitimate anger felt by many at the ongoing injustices suffered by the Palestinian people is being exploited by extremists to garner support for their own illegitimate causes. The moderates in the Arab world, in Israel, and in the Quartet, should grasp this opportunity to come together strongly behind the Arab Peace Initiative -- and be prepared to take some political risks in order to find a solution. Furthermore, the U.S. government must show leadership and resolve to reach a mutually acceptable solution with all parties."

The New Arab Awakening

Why Middle East moderates need to seize the opportunity in Egypt to craft a new political movement.

BY ANWAR GARGASH | JULY 9, 2013

http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2013/07/09/the_new_arab_awakening_uae_moderates_middle_east?page=0,1 

The rejection by Egyptians of their Islamist government marks a turning point -- not only for that country, but for the entire Middle East. Over the course of the past couple weeks, the Egyptian people have made a clear and powerful statement that political Islam cannot and should not be allowed to suppress the broader popular will for moderation and tolerance. Islamism, or any ideology for that matter, is no replacement for competent and responsible leadership. But let us not discount this momentous opportunity: the second Egyptian revolution is a bellwether for moderates in the region who should now seek to regain the initiative.

The rejection by Egyptians of their Islamist government marks a turning point -- not only for that country, but for the entire Middle East. Over the course of the past couple weeks, the Egyptian people have made a clear and powerful statement that political Islam cannot and should not be allowed to suppress the broader popular will for moderation and tolerance. Islamism, or any ideology for that matter, is no replacement for competent and responsible leadership. But let us not discount this momentous opportunity: the second Egyptian revolution is a bellwether for moderates in the region who should now seek to regain the initiative....READ MORE

My letter to the NYTimes/IHT RE Dangerous Divisions in the Arab World

The Golden Rule

RE Dangerous Divisions in the Arab World
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/29/opinion/dangerous-divisions-in-the-arab-world.html?ref=global&_r=0

Dear Editor,

Good editorial. I totally agree with your conclusion about the dangerous divisions in the Arab world... and the importance of EVERY ONE stepping up to unequivocally honor the principles embedded in the United Nations Charter and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

Israel and Palestine should show the way with a negotiated settlement to once and for all end the Israel-Palestine conflict with the creation of two fully secular independent sovereign states living side by side in peace and security.

A fair and just settlement based on international law, full respect for universal basic human rights and the Arab Peace Initiative would be a win win situation for the people of Israel and the people of Palestine, as well as all their neighbors.

Sincerely,
Anne Selden Annab

NOTES:
ATFP Translates- A sectarian Cancer is Consuming the Arab World

" Regardless of what happens in Syria, leaders in neighboring countries need to move quickly to reverse the sectarian slide. That means stating unequivocally that they are committed to the equal rights of all citizens and to ensuring that Shiites and other minorities can practice their religions without fear. Such principles are embedded in the United Nations Charter and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. More broadly, it will require an acknowledgment that elections do not alone produce democracies; that governments need to be inclusive; and that nurturing hatreds, for whatever reason, inevitably backfires and makes stable societies impossible." New York Times Editorial: Dangerous Divisions in the Arab World

Live by the Golden Rule

"Legislature should "make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof..." Thomas Jefferson

Palestinian Refugees (1948-NOW) refused their right to return... and their right to live in peace free from religious bigotry and injustice.

What is an Israeli settlement.... it is a tax payer plus charity investment in highways, housing, freedom, jobs, security, and respect for Jewish Israelis, while the native non-Jewish Palestinians are persecuted, impoverished, pushed into forced exile- and demonized for objecting to such institutionalized bigotry and blatant injustice.

From Palestinians' point of view, the law [Israel's Absentee Property Law] has always been controversial. The rights of refugees are a core issue in their conflict with Israel.

Leaders must seize opportunity for peace and security... "The Arab League's peace initiative has regained relevance. The initial position between the parties is bleak, but the status quo is not an alternative. The Israelis and the Palestinians must now seize what is perhaps the last opportunity to create peace and security."

Palestinian Wedding Singer Enchants the World

"In 1949, the international community accepted Israel's UN membership upon two conditions: That they respect resolutions 181 (two states) and 194 (refugee rights). Neither has been honored. In fact, 65 years later, Israel has not even acknowledged what it did in 1948." Saeb Erekat

Jordan's King Abdullah II explains that extremism has "grown fat" off of the longstanding conflict between Israel and the Palestinians.

American Task Force on Palestine Alarmed by "Price Tag" Violence, Welcomes Israeli and Jewish-American Condemnation

From the archives... 1971 & 1967

“Were you really shot in a fight over water?” He winces out his answer: “It wasn’t about politics. It wasn’t about the Muslim Brotherhood. It was about water.”

This Week in Palestine: Palestinian Institutions A Story of Perseverance ... Salam Fayyad "This was not about roads, buildings, or infrastructure, despite their importance. This plan was about statehood, citizen participation, and enfranchisement. It was based on the vision of establishing a functional framework where government is accountable and citizens participate in the widest and most effective way possible in decision-making and governance."

Palestine now recognised by greater power than US or Israel – Google

"I come from there and I have memories... "

*******

The Balfour Declaration of 1917

".... it being clearly understood that nothing
          shall be done which may prejudice the civil and religious
          rights of existing non-Jewish communities in Palestine....

The Office of International Religious Freedom ( http://www.state.gov/j/drl/irf/)   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

"Legislature should "make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof..." Thomas Jefferson

Palestinian Refugees(1948-NOW) refused their right to return... and their right to live in peace free from religious bigotry and injustice.

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

Empowering Peace & Palestine

Refugees and the Right of Return

Palestinian refugees must be given the option to exercise their right of return (as well as receive compensation for their losses arising from their dispossession and displacement) though refugees may prefer other options such as: (i) resettlement in third countries, (ii) resettlement in a newly independent Palestine (even though they originate from that part of Palestine which became Israel) or (iii) normalization of their legal status in the host country where they currently reside.  What is important is that individual refugees decide for themselves which option they prefer – a decision must not be imposed upon them.

UN Resolution 194 from 1948  : The refugees wishing to return to their homes and live at peace with their neighbours should be permitted to do so at the earliest practicable date, and that compensation should be paid for the property of those choosing not to return and for loss of or damage to property which, under principles of international law or in equity, should be made good by the Governments or authorities responsible.

"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 neighborhood 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 concerted citizen action to uphold them close to home, we shall look in vain for progress in the larger world." Eleanor Roosevelt

Selecting ... poem by Anne Selden Annab

Bernard d'Agesci (1757-1828), La justice,
Holds scales in one hand and in the other hand a book with "Dieu, la Loi, et le Roi" on one page and the Golden rule on the other page.

      Selecting

Always
things can go either way... we
the people more often than not will
what will be
with our energy
and investments:

So break away from naysayers
and negative nasty connections
for they build delusions
full of wounds
and failure.

Cherish good
seek it out
find it where you are now-
willing better times to come

Be of those who welcome life
negotiated step by step
to be balance
to be walking forward
to be dancing along the way
with whim as goodness wins...

Be of the will that gets things done
Be of the way where the Golden Rule
illuminates

Be of the stars
guiding ships
where bridges can't reach

Be of the will
willing
to shape destiny.

                                                 poem copyright ©2013 Anne Selden Annab

A positive role model... ATFP's Miriam Awadallah

Miriam Awadallah: "After Assaf clinched the title of Arab Idol, my excitement was wild. His victory has been described as finally giving the Palestinian people a reason to celebrate, but his win is so much more than a good reason to party. The Palestinian people have long craved an Assaf-esque figure to provide them with a less antagonizing face to the world. The attractive man singing his heart out on stage is a far cry from the masked, camouflaged men the American public is used to seeing when presented with images of Palestinians.

His career as a singer is considered to be a sin in the eyes of the Islamists who are gaining momentum in the region. Hamas has not exactly been his biggest fan; they recently attempted to censor him in Gaza, and gave him a lukewarm reception upon his homecoming despite being a Palestinian hero.

The Mufti of Nablus also issued a “Fatwa” against watching the same show he was competing on. Assaf represents the broader modern, secular trends of the Middle East, empowering the factions that are joining hands and protesting in the streets of Egypt and elsewhere.

Palestinian youth now have a positive role model, who is empowering them to show the world the beauty of their culture. With sectarian violence raging on next door in Syria and Lebanon, Assaf , the new “goodwill ambassador” of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), can lead his millions of Arab fans to a path of tolerance, coexistence and peace."

http://www.sharnoffsglobalviews.com/assaf-idol-130/

[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]

My letter to CSM RE The two-state solution for Israel and Palestinians needs a big boost

Freedom of Worship illustration by Norman Rockwell
"In the future days, which we seek to make secure, we look forward to a world founded upon four essential human freedoms.
The first is freedom of speech and expression—everywhere in the world.
The second is freedom of every person to worship God in his own way—everywhere in the world.
The third is freedom from want—which…means economic understandings which will secure to every nation a healthy peacetime life for its inhabitants—everywhere in the world..." President Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1941

RE The two-state solution for Israel and Palestinians needs a big boost: Those on the extremes of the Palestinian and Israeli conflict don’t see a two-state solution as viable ­– or preferable. Secretary of State John Kerry and those in the center with practical ideas about how to achieve two peaceful states must strengthen their voices.
http://www.csmonitor.com/Commentary/Opinion/2013/0627/The-two-state-solution-for-Israel-and-Palestinians-needs-a-big-boost?nav=87-frontpage-entryCommentary

Dear Editor,

The one state situation is what already is and has been for decades, with a Jews-preferred Israel easily able to find more and more excuses (and ways) to usurp more and more Palestinian land, liberty, and life.  Making a cruel situation even worse Islamists have been thriving on the Israel-Palestine conflict, ensuring that Israel perceives Palestinians as terrorist threats rather than as real people.

Noticing and hopefully strengthening reasonable voices is a good idea- but only if those reasonable voices firmly respect universal basic human rights and the rule of fair and just laws.

The goal must be a just and lasting peace: A fully secular two state solution is the best way forward and for everyone's sake religion should not be- and can not be- the determining factor as to who gets full citizenship, freedom, respect, job opportunities, subsidies and security in any sovereign nation state.

America survived the end of slavery- Israel can survive the end of its own institutionalized bigotry.

Sincerely,
Anne Selden Annab

NOTES
Live by the Golden Rule

"Legislature should "make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof..." Thomas Jefferson

Palestinian Refugees (1948-NOW) refused their right to return... and their right to live in peace free from religious bigotry and injustice.

What is an Israeli settlement.... it is a tax payer plus charity investment in highways, housing, freedom, jobs, security, and respect for Jewish Israelis, while the native non-Jewish Palestinians are persecuted, impoverished, pushed into forced exile- and demonized for objecting to such institutionalized bigotry and blatant injustice.

From Palestinians' point of view, the law [Israel's Absentee Property Law] has always been controversial. The rights of refugees are a core issue in their conflict with Israel.

Leaders must seize opportunity for peace and security... "The Arab League's peace initiative has regained relevance. The initial position between the parties is bleak, but the status quo is not an alternative. The Israelis and the Palestinians must now seize what is perhaps the last opportunity to create peace and security."

"In 1949, the international community accepted Israel's UN membership upon two conditions: That they respect resolutions 181 (two states) and 194 (refugee rights). Neither has been honored. In fact, 65 years later, Israel has not even acknowledged what it did in 1948." Saeb Erekat

Jordan's King Abdullah II explains that extremism has "grown fat" off of the longstanding conflict between Israel and the Palestinians.

American Task Force on Palestine Alarmed by "Price Tag" Violence, Welcomes Israeli and Jewish-American Condemnation

From the archives... 1971 & 1967

“Were you really shot in a fight over water?” He winces out his answer: “It wasn’t about politics. It wasn’t about the Muslim Brotherhood. It was about water.”

This Week in Palestine: Palestinian Institutions A Story of Perseverance ... Salam Fayyad "This was not about roads, buildings, or infrastructure, despite their importance. This plan was about statehood, citizen participation, and enfranchisement. It was based on the vision of establishing a functional framework where government is accountable and citizens participate in the widest and most effective way possible in decision-making and governance."

Palestine now recognised by greater power than US or Israel – Google

"I come from there and I have memories... "

*******

The Balfour Declaration of 1917

".... it being clearly understood that nothing
          shall be done which may prejudice the civil and religious
          rights of existing non-Jewish communities in Palestine....

The Office of International Religious Freedom ( http://www.state.gov/j/drl/irf/)   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

"Legislature should "make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof..." Thomas Jefferson

Palestinian Refugees(1948-NOW) refused their right to return... and their right to live in peace free from religious bigotry and injustice.

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

Empowering Peace & Palestine

Refugees and the Right of Return

Palestinian refugees must be given the option to exercise their right of return (as well as receive compensation for their losses arising from their dispossession and displacement) though refugees may prefer other options such as: (i) resettlement in third countries, (ii) resettlement in a newly independent Palestine (even though they originate from that part of Palestine which became Israel) or (iii) normalization of their legal status in the host country where they currently reside.  What is important is that individual refugees decide for themselves which option they prefer – a decision must not be imposed upon them.

UN Resolution 194 from 1948  : The refugees wishing to return to their homes and live at peace with their neighbours should be permitted to do so at the earliest practicable date, and that compensation should be paid for the property of those choosing not to return and for loss of or damage to property which, under principles of international law or in equity, should be made good by the Governments or authorities responsible.

"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 neighborhood 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 concerted citizen action to uphold them close to home, we shall look in vain for progress in the larger world." Eleanor Roosevelt

My letter to Forbes RE Is The Arab-Israeli Conflict Really About Economics?

"East Jerusalemites [Palestinians] barely make ends meet. East Jerusalem’s economy is so underdeveloped that it even lags behind major cities of the West Bank, such as Ramallah, Hebron, and Nablus. A large number of residents, estimated to be as high as 85 percent, live in abject poverty. Despite facing impossible conditions, however, most of us continue to persevere and somehow keep both the grandeur and mystical nature of Jerusalem close to our hearts. It is, after all, our home." Hiba Husseini This Week in Palestine: JerusalemThe Light, the Air, the Mystique, and the Universality – Lament and Verve (photo by George Azar)

RE Is The Arab-Israeli Conflict Really About Economics?
http://www.forbes.com/sites/realspin/2013/06/26/is-the-arab-israeli-conflict-really-about-economics/

Dear Forbes,

I'd say YES- the Arab-Israeli conflict is very much about economics, including the economics of charity as well as state funds (and taxpayers money here and there) generously subsidizing Jewish citizens while the native non-Jewish Palestinians have been (and continue to be) very much oppressed and pushed into poverty as well as forced exile, fragmenting families and communities for more than half a century.

UNWRA exists today because Israel refuses to respect the Palestinians basic human rights, including but not limited to every refugee's inalienable and universal right to return to original homes and lands. 

The economics of Israel's home demolition polices and checkpoints all through out the illegally occupied territories provide Israelis with jobs while bankrupting Palestinians...  Feeding on the Israel-Palestine conflict and making a bad situation even worse AND obviously inspired by Israel's current success as a religion based nation state, Islamists seek to create an Islamic version of Israel to replace not only Israel but all the countries in the Middle East. 

Ending the Israel-Palestine conflict ASAP with a fully secular two state solution that FULLY honors and empowers universal basic human rights and the rule of fair and just laws to help curtail religious idiocy, corruption and cruelty is the best way forward... for everyone's sake. 

Sincerely,
Anne Selden Annab

NOTES
Jordan's King Abdullah II explains that extremism has "grown fat" off of the longstanding conflict between Israel and the Palestinians.

Live by the Golden Rule

Palestinian Refugees (1948-NOW) refused their right to return... and their right to live in peace free from religious bigotry and injustice.

"Legislature should "make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof..." Thomas Jefferson

What is an Israeli settlement.... it is a tax payer plus charity investment in highways, housing, freedom, jobs, security, and respect for Jewish Israelis, while the native non-Jewish Palestinians are persecuted, impoverished, pushed into forced exile- and demonized for objecting to such institutionalized bigotry and blatant injustice.

Leaders must seize opportunity for peace and security... "The Arab League's peace initiative has regained relevance. The initial position between the parties is bleak, but the status quo is not an alternative. The Israelis and the Palestinians must now seize what is perhaps the last opportunity to create peace and security."

From the archives... 1971 & 1967

From Palestinians' point of view, the law [Israel's Absentee Property Law] has always been controversial. The rights of refugees are a core issue in their conflict with Israel.

"In 1949, the international community accepted Israel's UN membership upon two conditions: That they respect resolutions 181 (two states) and 194 (refugee rights). Neither has been honored. In fact, 65 years later, Israel has not even acknowledged what it did in 1948." Saeb Erekat

“Were you really shot in a fight over water?” He winces out his answer: “It wasn’t about politics. It wasn’t about the Muslim Brotherhood. It was about water.”

Palestine now recognised by greater power than US or Israel – Google

This Week in Palestine: Palestinian Institutions A Story of Perseverance ... Salam Fayyad "This was not about roads, buildings, or infrastructure, despite their importance. This plan was about statehood, citizen participation, and enfranchisement. It was based on the vision of establishing a functional framework where government is accountable and citizens participate in the widest and most effective way possible in decision-making and governance."

"I come from there and I have memories... "

*******
The Balfour Declaration of 1917

".... it being clearly understood that nothing
          shall be done which may prejudice the civil and religious
          rights of existing non-Jewish communities in Palestine....

The Office of International Religious Freedom ( http://www.state.gov/j/drl/irf/)   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

"Legislature should "make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof..." Thomas Jefferson

Palestinian Refugees(1948-NOW) refused their right to return... and their right to live in peace free from religious bigotry and injustice.

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

Empowering Peace & Palestine

Refugees and the Right of Return

Palestinian refugees must be given the option to exercise their right of return (as well as receive compensation for their losses arising from their dispossession and displacement) though refugees may prefer other options such as: (i) resettlement in third countries, (ii) resettlement in a newly independent Palestine (even though they originate from that part of Palestine which became Israel) or (iii) normalization of their legal status in the host country where they currently reside.  What is important is that individual refugees decide for themselves which option they prefer – a decision must not be imposed upon them.

UN Resolution 194 from 1948  : The refugees wishing to return to their homes and live at peace with their neighbours should be permitted to do so at the earliest practicable date, and that compensation should be paid for the property of those choosing not to return and for loss of or damage to property which, under principles of international law or in equity, should be made good by the Governments or authorities responsible.

"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 neighborhood 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 concerted citizen action to uphold them close to home, we shall look in vain for progress in the larger world." Eleanor Roosevelt

Washington Post: Palestinians find an unlikely hero in ‘Arab Idol’ contest show winner

[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.washingtonpost.com/blogs/worldviews/wp/2013/06/24/palestinians-find-an-unlikely-hero-in-arab-idol-contest-show-winner/

"Assaf, with his good looks and easy smile, represents a publicity coup for the Palestinian cause and makes ordinary Palestinians happy to show the world, corny as it is, that Gaza is not just about rockets and strife, but singing and dreaming."

Palestinian singer Mohammad Assaf holds a Palestinian flag after he won the title of the television talent show “Arab Idol,” in Beirut, Lebanon. (EPA/MBC PRESS OFFICE)

JERUSALEM — It was a most improbable story of a moonlighting wedding singer from a Palestinian refugee camp in the Gaza Strip, who barged his way into an audition and went on to win hearts across the Middle East — and on Saturday night was declared the winner of the “Arab Idol” singing contest.

Fireworks exploded over the West Bank city of Ramallah and people poured into the streets there and in the Gaza Strip to celebrate what fans called a dream come true for Mohammad Assaf, the fresh-faced 22-year-old college student from Khan Younis.

He closed down his competitors by singing, in English, the Backstreet Boys hit “I Want It That Way.” Here’s the video:

http://youtu.be/zSgbAWnA4mw

Al Jazeera reported that after Assaf won the Idol title he was named Youth Ambassador for United Nation’s agency for Palestinian refugees, a goodwill ambassador by Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, and handed a diplomatic passport — READ MORE

 http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/worldviews/wp/2013/06/24/palestinians-find-an-unlikely-hero-in-arab-idol-contest-show-winner/
 [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]

Palestinian singer Mohammed Assaf crowned the “Arab Idol”... “a rocket of peace, not war”

http://english.alarabiya.net/en/life-style/entertainment/2013/06/23/Young-Palestinian-singer-Assaf-crowned-the-Arab-Idol-.html

Saturday, 22 June 2013

Immediately after he was crowned, Mohammed Assaf was named UNRWA’s goodwill ambassador. (Al Arabiya)  

Al Arabiya

Young Palestinian singer from Gaza Strip Mohammed Assaf was crowned on Saturday the “Arab Idol,” a singing contest organized by the Middle East Broadcasting Center (MBC).

Immediately after he was crowned, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) named him a goodwill ambassador for peace, while Palestinian President Mohamoud Abbas offered him a position of “diplomatic standing.”

Assaf, who came ahead of two other contestants, Syria’s Farah Yousef and Egypt’s Ahmed Jamal, dedicated his award to the Palestinian people.

The 23-year-old Gazan singer brought together divided Palestinians in celebrations throughout the Palestinian territories in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.

The handsome, tuxedo-clad Assaf won after weeks of anticipation from his army of followers, who had been glued to big screens in cafes and restaurants across Gaza and the occupied West Bank, listening as his powerful voice propelled him through the competition every weekend, AFP reported.

His mother, wearing a traditional Palestinian embroidered dress, wept as she wrapped the Palestinian black, green, white and red flag around her shoulders.

In northern Lebanon, Palestinian refugees in the Beddawi camp fired gunshots into the air and took to the streets, honking their car horns to celebrate Assaf’s win.

Shortly afterwards, a spontaneous demonstration broke out in Beddawi to celebrate the occasion.

Born in Misrata, Libya, Assaf grew up in the overcrowded Khan Yunis refugee camp in the Gaza Strip, one of the world’s poorest and most densely-populated places where Israel severely restricts the movement of people, goods and financial aid.

The Islamist Hamas movement, which has controlled Gaza since 2007, disapproves of what it considers un-Islamic shows, such as Arab Idol, but has not officially clamped down on support for Arab Idol or Assaf, according to AFP.

Rocket of peace

In a previous episode of the program, popular Lebanese singer and jury member Ragheb Alama had described Assaf as “the best rocket” to have come out of Gaza, and as “a rocket of peace, not war,” according to AFP.

Announcing Assaf’s nomination as regional ambassador for youth minutes after his win, the agency’s chief Filippo Grandi said: “All Palestinians share in his success. Mohammed’s music is a universal language and speaks to all of us. How fantastic that a Palestine refugee from Gaza should bring us all together in this way.”

(With AFP)

[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]

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

Leaders must seize opportunity for peace and security... "The Arab League's peace initiative has regained relevance. The initial position between the parties is bleak, but the status quo is not an alternative. The Israelis and the Palestinians must now seize what is perhaps the last opportunity to create peace and security."

[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.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=603808

Gunilla Carlsson is Sweden's Minister for International
Development Cooperation.

By Gunilla Carlsson

As I now return to Palestine and Israel, I do so with increasing frustration that the chance of a two-state solution risks being squandered.

Developments on the ground speak for themselves. The illegal settlements are expanding and displacing Palestinians who are forced to endure daily harassment and blockades. Many people have to spend hours at checkpoints on their way to school or work. Some are plagued by the fear of being thrown out of house and home. In Gaza, almost total isolation continues.

Every year, the Palestinians' internal political divisions are growing, as is the violence. And on the other side of the barbed wire, the Israelis are living in growing insecurity and isolation, in a region in a process of rapid change.

There is a risk that this frustration will grow and that the world will turn its back on the Israelis and Palestinians. We have a joint responsibility for, and self-interest in, continuing to fight for peace in the Middle East. Twenty years after the Oslo Accords there is still a chance to reach a two-state solution. The United States is currently making significant efforts to enable the parties to return to the negotiating table. The EU is ready to support these negotiations.

The Arab League's peace initiative has regained relevance. The initial position between the parties is bleak, but the status quo is not an alternative. The Israelis and the Palestinians must now seize what is perhaps the last opportunity to create peace and security. Time is running out, and it is not a day too early.

Despite continued occupation and a lack of political progress, Palestinian state-building has advanced. The international community shares the assessment of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank that the Palestinian institutions live up to the demands that can be made of a functioning state. Today there is a basis -- albeit a fragile one -- for a Palestinian state.

A new strategy will soon be drafted for Sweden’s development cooperation with our Palestinian partners. Sweden will continue to take its responsibility. We will continue our commitment to the whole of the Palestinian territories -- the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and Gaza.

We will focus on contributing to Palestinian state-building efforts. At the same time, we will take the lead in combating the negative development in "Area C" of the West Bank, where the Palestinian institutions are not allowed to operate and where the settlements are displacing the local population.

Sweden's development assistance should make a difference where it is most urgently needed. The Palestinians have become the most aid-dependent people in the world. Development assistance to Palestine is associated with very major risks and the challenges are considerable.

Development assistance requires political progress to yield long-term sustainable results. The occupation and the expanding Israeli settlements are the main obstacles to a two-state solution and also explain the aid dependency. Freedom of movement for people and goods within and out of the Palestinian territories must improve dramatically if the economy is to take off and unemployment is to be reduced. This applies in particular to Gaza, where Israel must do a great deal more. Its isolation is morally reprehensible and politically counterproductive and makes development assistance more expensive.

As for the Palestinians, they must deepen their reform policies, combat all forms of violence and fully respect human rights. The political divisions must end and democratic elections must be held.

Sweden is also an important donor to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East, having contributed approximately $56 million last year. UNRWA has been in existence since 1949 and currently supports five million refugees in the region. We will continue to help alleviate suffering by financing homes, medical care and education. But in the long run this is unsustainable, including from a donor perspective.

In Israel in particular, there are many people who claim that now is not the time to make peace with the Palestinians. When the region is in flames, there is a danger of short-sightedness taking over. And in a cruel twist of fate, the Syrian conflict is forcing Palestinian refugees to move again. They have become the refugees of refugees in the Middle East.

Growing regional instability means that the window of opportunity for a two-state solution is closing. But history will condemn those who do not see the opportunity to find a peaceful solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict before it is too late.

Israel must realize that occupation is an unsustainable policy in the long run -- for its own sake and for international, regional and economic reasons. Cooperating with the Palestinians is where the opportunities lie -- not in threatening the country’s democracy and security.

The Palestinians must come together in a shared vision of democracy and use peaceful means to achieve recognition from and coexistence with their neighboring country Israel. And this must be followed up with resolute leadership for a united Palestine – for and with all Palestinians.

Frustration must not be allowed to prevail. The Israeli and Palestinian leaders must seize this opportunity for peace and security now.

From the archives... 1971 & 1967

From the archive, 11 June 1971: Inter-faith municipality urged for Old City of Jerusalem

'History has placed our three communities here, and we have to find a spiritual as well as a physical way of coexistence'

http://www.guardian.co.uk/theguardian/2013/jun/11/jerusalem-religion-inter-faith-municipality

An Orthodox nun holds a candle during a procession along the Via Dolorosa in Jerusalem's Old City. Photograph: Baz Ratner/REUTERS

A plan for making the Old City of Jerusalem into an "inter-faith municipality" was suggested yesterday by the Anglican Archbishop in Jerusalem, the Most Rev George Appleton, when he spoke to the Council of Christians and Jews in London on "The cost of peacemaking."

He reminded his audience, which included the Chief Rabbi, the Rev Dr Immanuel Jakobovits, that the holy city was only a small area, a little more than one kilometre square, with 26,000 people living inside it. But millions revered it, were moved by it to remember sacred events, and were often better people because of those thoughts...READ MORE

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"Created with the approval of the United Nations, the existence of Israel ought to be guaranteed by that body as long as Israel is amenable to the actions of that body. The borders drawn at the time of partition and affirmed by the United Nations in 1956 must be respected by Israeli and Arab alike until and unless they are changed by procedures of negotiation under the aegis of that body." Rev Harold Bosley, Senior Minister Christ Church, Methodist, New York, July 10, 1967: Letter in the New York Times Israeli Territorial Claims
http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F70B1FFA3A5E137A93C5A8178CD85F438685F9

My letter to the Washington Post RE Restrictions on Palestinians living in Israel with spouses now in its 10th year

 Waze, an Israeli mobile satellite navigation application, is seen on a smartphone in this photo illustration taken in Tel Aviv May 9, 2013. Nir Elias/REUTERS  Israeli drivers forgo traditional GPS devices to ride Waze craze

RE Restrictions on Palestinians living in Israel with spouses now in its 10th year
http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/middle_east/temporary-ban-on-palestinians-living-in-israel-with-spouses-now-in-its-10th-year/2013/06/12/79507158-d328-11e2-b3a2-3bf5eb37b9d0_story.html

Dear Editor,

Right now the personal loss and continuing impoverishment created by the Israel/Palestine conflict is mainly felt by the men, women and children of Palestine- and the situation is bound to get worse as Islamists and one-state activists actively sabotage support for a two state solution to actually end the Israel/Palestine conflict.  

Boycott Israel too easily becomes a boycott of reasonable, rational, realistic mainstream efforts to free Palestine from a horrific status quo.

AP reports this week that Israel is moving ahead with plans to build more than 1,000 settler homes in the [illegally occupied] West Bank.  The catch 22 of refusing to negotiate while Israel invests in ongoing settlement projects and land grabs traps Palestinians... Given time and no negotiations there will be nothing left of Palestine except stories of exile.

"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." ATFP's Ziad Asali: To honor a tragic history, we must work for peace

Sincerely,
Anne Selden Annab

NOTES
Jordan's King Abdullah II said Saturday extremism has "grown fat" off of the longstanding conflict between Israel and the Palestinians.

From Palestinians' point of view, the law [Israel's Absentee Property Law] has always been controversial. The rights of refugees are a core issue in their conflict with Israel.

John Kerry makes unscheduled   sandwich stop in West Bank ...Kerry is urging an economic package to boost the Palestinian economy. Perhaps as a signal of his commitment, he insisted on paying for his food.

Time Magazine Pictures of the Week: May 10 – May 17... Palestinian refugee children play in front of their family house in Jabaliya Refugee camp, in the Gaza Strip.

"In 1949, the international community accepted Israel's UN membership upon two conditions: That they respect resolutions 181 (two states) and 194 (refugee rights). Neither has been honored. In fact, 65 years later, Israel has not even acknowledged what it did in 1948." Saeb Erekat

Why Ending the Occupation and Peace with Israel is Still the Palestinian National Goal...

“Were you really shot in a fight over water?” He winces out his answer: “It wasn’t about politics. It wasn’t about the Muslim Brotherhood. It was about water.”

Former Palestinian fighter now battles for a middle path: Palestinian Mohammed Dajani, from a prominent Jerusalem family, has become a vocal advocate for pragmatism and peace.

Songs and Pictures from Palestine

Palestine now recognised by greater power than US or Israel – Google

Fayyad Steps Down, Not Out

This Week in Palestine: Palestinian Institutions A Story of Perseverance ... Salam Fayyad "This was not about roads, buildings, or infrastructure, despite their importance. This plan was about statehood, citizen participation, and enfranchisement. It was based on the vision of establishing a functional framework where government is accountable and citizens participate in the widest and most effective way possible in decision-making and governance."

"I come from there and I have memories... "

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The Balfour Declaration of 1917

".... it being clearly understood that nothing
          shall be done which may prejudice the civil and religious
          rights of existing non-Jewish communities in Palestine....

The Office of International Religious Freedom ( http://www.state.gov/j/drl/irf/)   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

"Legislature should "make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof..." Thomas Jefferson

Palestinian Refugees(1948-NOW) refused their right to return... and their right to live in peace free from religious bigotry and injustice.

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

Empowering Peace & Palestine

Refugees and the Right of Return

Palestinian refugees must be given the option to exercise their right of return (as well as receive compensation for their losses arising from their dispossession and displacement) though refugees may prefer other options such as: (i) resettlement in third countries, (ii) resettlement in a newly independent Palestine (even though they originate from that part of Palestine which became Israel) or (iii) normalization of their legal status in the host country where they currently reside.  What is important is that individual refugees decide for themselves which option they prefer – a decision must not be imposed upon them.

UN Resolution 194 from 1948  : The refugees wishing to return to their homes and live at peace with their neighbours should be permitted to do so at the earliest practicable date, and that compensation should be paid for the property of those choosing not to return and for loss of or damage to property which, under principles of international law or in equity, should be made good by the Governments or authorities responsible.

"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 neighborhood 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 concerted citizen action to uphold them close to home, we shall look in vain for progress in the larger world." Eleanor Roosevelt