Sunday, September 7, 2014

Because We Know How to Make Dreams Come True! This Week in Palestine

September 2014, Issue 197 An Eye on Science

[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://thisweekinpalestine.com/because-we-know-how-to-make-dreams-come-true/

Because We Know How to Make Dreams Come True!

By: Aref F. Husseini

Abandon your fears, listen to your passion, explore
the depths of science.

Reach the sky with innovation.

One day I asked my mother the question I ask every year: “What do you want for Mother’s Day?”

And she gave her usual answer: “I only want you to be happy.” This answer meant that I had to make an effort to think about what gift to give her. After a few moments of silence following the ritual answer, however, and in a timid, kind, and humble voice, she spoke. Aha! She started to talk about computers, software, Skype, Viber, WhatsApp, and free-of-charge long-distance communication; I realised that she wanted a smartphone!

My mother, in her seventies, has never wanted to have anything to do with science and technology, but somehow she has now discovered that she needs a smartphone. So when I asked whether she wanted an iPhone or an Android, she inquired about the difference between the two but ultimately left the choice up to me.

Because-We-Know-How-2 — Young researchers. courtesy of Al Nayzak.

This change in my mother’s attitude toward technology reminded me of her astonishment when I made a major shift in my career to establish Al Nayzak Organization for Scientific Innovation. Back then she wondered: “Why?” My answer: “To build a generation that produces rather than consumes science and technology.” Ten years ago, when this project took its first steps in Jerusalem before spreading all over Palestine, my mother only laughed. But now, she asked for a smartphone and made a conscious effort to passionately investigate the different types and specifications in an attempt to understand the various technical details. I reminded her of that funny incident ten years ago when I had said – with complete optimism – “Let’s hope that ten years from now you will have a new smartphone whose label says ‘Made in Palestine’!”

This anecdote made me extremely happy and proud to have established Al Nayzak, which is a unique initiative that looks for young talents in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM), and plants an ambitious vision in the hearts of our community: “To develop, root, and reinforce a new culture that embraces science, and to announce this culture among Palestinian youth so that their competence in productive applied sciences would provide them with better economic opportunities that would lead to their future prosperity.”

♦ Al Nayzak is a non-profit, non-partisan Palestinian organisation that was established in 2003 by a group of Palestinian scientific innovators. It specialises in supportive education, entrepreneurship, scientific innovation, and research and development. Al Nayzak’s five branches are located in Jerusalem, Ramallah, Nablus, Hebron, and Gaza, in addition to its Science and Technology House (museum) in Birzeit’s old city.

Al Nayzak’s approach is to make scientific-thinking skills become an inherent part of the lives of Palestinian people. In order to do this, it applies empirical tools to help individuals acquire thinking skills and relate them to genuine savoir-faire and technology. In this way they become capable not only of facing challenges in their journey to achieve excellence but also of helping to develop their environment and build a modern Palestinian society.

Because-We-Know-How-3 — A scientific exhibition. courtesy of Al Nayzak.

We have adopted a number of annual programmes that target various age groups, including Talented Students Incubators for kids and adolescents from 10 to 14; Young Researchers for those from 14 to 17; Scientific and Technological Entrepreneurship (STEP) for school students from 14 to 17; Made in Palestine (MIP) for those who are 18 and above; and Tafkeer, thinking technology for schoolteachers. There are also a number of complementary projects to convey a message of science and knowledge to all segments of the society.

Our science home is managed by a team of specialists who possess unique scientific experiences in applied sciences and engineering, in addition to a group of psychosocial and pedagogic counselling experts. It serves all Palestinian areas through its offices in Jerusalem, Ramallah, Gaza, and Nablus, as well as in the House of Science and Technology in the Old City of Birzeit. It benefits from a widespread network of coordinators all over the country. Al Nayzak has opted for an approach of annual programmes rather than projects of limited duration and embraces the scientific talents of people 10 years old or above. Its core programmes include the following:

1. Talented Students Incubators

The Incubator is an interactive annual programme designed to host talented students and others with exceptional intellectual abilities. At the beginning of the programme students in the third grade are assessed through specialised psychological and technical exams. Successful students then become eligible to embark on a four-year journey to develop their talents and acquire leadership skills to become pioneers within their society. The tools are tailored to the specific abilities and needs of the students.

2.Young Researchers – Badir (Initiate)

Adolescents: Agents of Positive Change

The Young Researcher programme enables adolescents to discover knowledge and explore social phenomena using a number of scientific applications that are of interest to them. They are encouraged to think outside the box and have their own vision of their community’s issues.

The programme is structured to combine scientific research and practical application. Results of the research are published to help implement initiatives in the community and respond to certain topics.

Adolescents are first oriented to the basics of scientific research and critical observation for the purpose of problem solving in their communities. They learn to apply logical analysis and subjective criticism in choosing their research topics using scientific methods until they can formulate their conclusions/recommendations. They then use their research results to raise public awareness through the “Advocacy through Innovation” campaign. They share their observations through social media, workshops, and field visits. Some of the proposed solutions have been broadcast on video spots and local TV channels. Afterwards, the adolescents start to lead community-based initiatives and volunteer work to help solve the problems which they discussed in their research and which affect their daily lives as adolescents. As such, they use their acquired skills to work for positive change.

Upon their graduation from the programme, the young researchers become members of Al Nayzak Volunteer Unit, which represents a “national taskforce” that provides a role model for other projects in the community.

3. Palestinian Science and Technology
Program – STEP

Launched in 2013, STEP supports Palestinian students with innovative projects and research ideas in various fields of applied science, engineering, and technology. The programme disseminates a culture of science and technology research and innovation by empowering the students with the necessary capacities to implement unique and original projects to help their communities to develop in order to keep up with the latest advancements in science and technology.

Applicants to STEP receive an intensive, specialised training in various topics, including scientific research methodologies and professional scientific writing. Furthermore, applicants receive technical and professional support and specialised counselling by Al Nayzak professionals. The first and second round marked a milestone with the submission of over 950 projects by 1,780 students from various schools in the West Bank and Jerusalem. Eighty-two projects prepared by 167 students were shortlisted and made it to the nation-wide closing exhibition and ceremony that were attended by 5,000 visitors. The 15 winning projects provided implementers with the opportunity to participate in a scientific trip to the United States to enrol in an intensive training programme at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum and NASA in the areas of engineering, sciences, and physics. Furthermore, the winning projects were displayed at the Air and Space Museum to be seen by thousands of visitors.

4. MIP- Made in Palestine incubator for
entrepreneurismand scientific innovation

Made in Palestine/Made in Jerusalem is one of Al Nayzak’s annual programmes. It aims to support innovative ideas in science, engineering, and technology; and it links the academic experience gained at university level with the technical skills needed to enter into the world of business, in an effort to provide solutions to the technological, scientific, and industrial problems encountered by the local community.

The core focus of the programme is to afford Palestinian innovators both inside and outside universities with genuine opportunities to achieve their hopes and aspirations. They would be able to use their capacities to develop new products or solve technical problems using creative methods and mechanisms. The programme has been a phenomenal success in preparing the ground for a culture of innovation and celebrating creativity in Palestine. Moreover, the participants have achieved the highest scores in local and international competitions such as “Made in the Arab World” and “Stars of Science.”

5. “Tafkeer” Thinking Technology – integrating
technologyin education

Because-We-Know-How-4 — At the Science House, Birzeit. courtesy of Al Nayzak.

Thinking Technology is a distinguished educational technology programme that aims to develop an effective Palestinian model for the integration and use of technology in the educational process in schools. It targets dozens of schools of various governmental, private, and UNRWA systems, focusing on four main areas: advancing the teaching-learning physical environment at schools; developing students’ skills in critical thinking and technological production; on-the-job teacher training, and creating Arabic innovative e-content that is made available in the Apple store and the Google play store.

6. House of Science – Pilot National Science and
TechnologyMuseum (NaSM

Crowning its series of achievements and a 10-year journey of innovation, the organisation inaugurated in 2013 the first Science and Technology House in Palestine, where visitors enjoy hands-on activities, all dedicated to creating a culture of scientific thinking. This constitutes a pilot project prior to the establishment of the National Science and Technology Museum in Palestine. For this purpose, Al Nayzak has invested all of its efforts in its first ten years of operation to building local Palestinian technical capacities, with the vision of designing and building high-quality, scientific hands-on exhibitions and exhibits, and developing interactive activities for visitors around each exhibit.

The Science House received approximately ten thousand visitors during its first year of operation.

7. The first Innovation Park and STEM
School … in Jerusalem

Al Nayzak has implemented an initiative to establish the first Innovation Park and Talented Students School in Palestine to be located in Jerusalem. This school aims to educate students who believe in excellence. We desperately need a national Jerusalemite educational system that is not based on rote learning but rather aims to motivate creative and critical thinking and analysis. As a result of communication technology, all the information we search for has become available online. However, the important question is: How should we deal with this mass of information? And how can we use this accumulated information to promote analytical capacities that enable us to use our understanding to innovate and create and build knowledge-based capital?

The Innovation Park comprises an elementary and secondary school that specialise in science, technology, engineering, and math. It provides diversified facilities, including a gym, a swimming pool, playgrounds, traditional and digital libraries, and indoor and outdoor theatres. It also hosts a scientific garden that is open to the public round the clock.

8. Art of Science – Art in Science

Because-We-Know-How-5 — At the Science House, Birzeit. courtesy of Al Nayzak.

Science is an essential art that impacts our daily activities and constitutes a vital component of human culture. We have therefore worked on several programmes that merge art and drama with science to explain concepts that would be hard to clarify using traditional methods.

The Scientific Theatre is a live interactive stage performance that presents scientific methodology, igniting the audience’s imagination regarding research and facilitating the discovery of real answers to serious problems that they encounter in their lives.

“Why can’t we connect the refrigerator to lightning if lightning is electricity? Why does hair stand when it is charged with electricity?”

This is what the Scientific Theater play character (main actor) asks on stage.

There you have a summary of Al Nayzak, ten years after its establishment. A simple idea; tons of patience, passion, and daily effort have brought about remarkable success. Over the next ten years we will continue our programmes and transform them into national programmes that are accessible to all Palestinians who are interested in science, engineering, and technology. Together with our partners, we look forward to inaugurating the National Science and Technology Museum. And we will set up the Innovation Park’s network to start in Jerusalem, connecting other governorates nationwide; it will reflect Al Nayzak’s path with a first step in Jerusalem and steady steps to every other town in Palestine.

And we hope that, ten years from now, this Jerusalem-based national institution will be able to offer my mother a smartphone that is “made in Palestine”!

Alnayzak

Birzeit, Old City

+97022819523

+97022819522

Jerusalem office:

9 Ali Ben Abi Taleb St.

+9726285387

+97226263086

Gaza office:

Al Rimal,Omar Muhkhtar St.

Al Rashiden Bldg., 4 Floor

+97082825282

Hebron office:

Al Manara Square

Al Rashiden Bldg.,4 floor

+97022223752

Homepage: www.alnayzak.org

The Science and Technology House
Birzeit-Old Town…Palestine
Note: The House’s activities are for Children ages 6-100 years.

In 2013, Al Nayzak Organization celebrates its ten year anniversary with the opening of the Saadeh Science and Technology House. The organization hopes for it to be the destination for all those seeking knowledge in an interactive and nontraditional manner, as well as it hopes for it to bring out the ties between science and technology and our everyday life.

For My Identity, I Sing! Al Mada


For My Identity, I Sing! Across Palestine, spring flowers are filling the landscape with their vibrant red, yellow and purple colors, welcoming in the new season and the transformative renewal that comes with it. On Friday, April 18, 2014, in the National Theater of Palestine, East Jerusalem, a different type of blossoming took place as boys and girls aged 14 to 17 from East Jerusalem took to the stage for an hour-long public performance of original songs. This event was the first in a series of concerts for the Al-Mada project “For My Identity, I Sing!,” an 18-month long cultural and arts education initiative, that is being completed with funding from Welfare Association. This project gives Jerusalem area youth the chance to explore their identity and issues of importance through musical and artistic expression.

Al Mada

Our Vision

Al Mada believes in the dignity and worth of every individual and the communities we serve. Our vision is a Palestine where music and the arts are at the heart of a culturally vibrant and healthy community life. We work on the basis that everyone contributes towards making social changes and that the power of art can be used to achieve truly sustainable development if individuals are enabled to contribute to the shaping of their societies. Communication, integrity, innovation, respect and diversity are the core values, which inform every aspect of our work.

Our Mission

Specializing in music, art and music therapy, Al Mada Association for Arts based development affirms the importance of the arts in promoting individual and collective wellbeing. Bringing musical and art therapies to advance self expression, inclusion, therapy, social justice and advocacy is at the core of its inception and the focus which drives the organization to work with Palestine’s most vulnerable communities. Al Mada’s art therapists do direct interventions with a number of vulnerable groups; train teachers, community and health workers, so all programs are sustainable and work with care givers who receive no counseling themselves. Through partnerships with the Palestinian Authority institutions, international, local and civil society organizations, Al Mada is able to pool resources and extend program reach in areas including gender, education, culture, poverty reduction and mental health.

Across Palestine, spring flowers are filling the landscape with their vibrant red, yellow and purple colors, welcoming in the new season and the transformative renewal that comes with it.

On Friday, April 18, 2014, in the National Theater of Palestine, East Jerusalem, a different type of blossoming took place as boys and girls aged 14 to 17 from East Jerusalem took to the stage for an hour-long public performance of original songs. This event was the first in a series of concerts for the Al-Mada project “For My Identity, I Sing!,” an 18-month long cultural and arts education initiative, that is being completed with funding from Welfare Association. This project gives Jerusalem area youth the chance to explore their identity and issues of importance through musical and artistic expression.

***

In 2012, John came to Palestine with Remember Shakti for the first solidarity concert by major international artists. In 2010, John donated his entire cash prize award from the Jazzahead Festival in Germany to support Al-Mada’s music therapy center in Ramallah, the first of its kind in Palestine.

A letter from John McLaughlin

Dear Friends: I would like to make a short statement.

I will be making a second solidarity concert in Ramallah soon, and I’ve been asked a number of times why I do this.

It is my personal conviction that the Palestinian people need much more international support.

The situation has been bad for many people in Palestine for too long, and it is not getting any better, to the contrary, it keeps getting worse.

My wife and I have been working alongside a very dedicated Arts-Based Community Development NGO in Ramallah known as Al Mada.

There is a simple reason for our desire to support our friends in Al Mada, it is because they are helping to cure traumatized children and adults through the use of music and music therapy.

We feel that in a world full, of conflict, this is the right cause.

Al Mada’s work is non-political and so is our support for them.

They work with justice, equality and dignity in mind, and so do we.

It is our personal responsibility to show support and encouragement to the people who every day are helping children and adults to conquer their trauma, and give them another opportunity to live more free and creative lives.

Our Approach

We seek to bring a sense of joy and relief from what is often a very stressful life in Palestine. Through our programs, we are able to help individuals to connect both with themselves and with others in their immediate community.

Community development requires a collaborative, holistic approach. We support change that comes from within communities, through their own members, resources, capacities and diversities and believe that individuals and groups can be empowered to be thriving community members through artistic creative processes. The arts provide a space and a platform where individuals can express, create and heal and are a powerful tool to advocate for concerns and rights, thus advocacy represents another important component of our work.

Our objectives

To introduce the arts as a developmental tool with considerable potential to empower individuals.
To strengthen the role of the arts in Palestinian society at a time when the arts are overlooked and underfunded.
To introduce and develop a Palestinian specific approach to music and expressive art therapy.
To establish that development should not be limited to infrastructure or economic growth and is not strictly measurable by the GDP of a country, but is more accurately reflected in terms of quality of life.
To provide a non-threatening platform through which to advocate for causes which impact Palestinian society as a whole.
To compliment and support the work of the public sector which delivers critical services under challenging conditions.

A hands-on approach is emphasized during training, as participants are introduced to theory and different concepts, while going through a process of practical exercises and “living the experience”. In addition, trainees have the opportunity to put into practice the acquired tools and knowledge by working in communities at the grassroots level before their training ends.

In 2013, Al Mada developed and completed an arts-based child protection and educational project with generous support from the Qattan Foundation and in partnership with UNICEF. This innovative project resulted with the production of our first CD for children called I Love Life.

This family-friendly CD introduces pre-school and primary school children to new educational concepts in a stimulating and thought-provoking way through 8 original songs. The album’s songs were composed by the Palestinian musician and composer Odeh Turjman, the founder and artistic director of Al-Mada, and the lyrics were written by Khaled Juma’, a Palestinian poet from Gaza who has written lyrics for numerous songs for children and adults. The songs are about children’s rights and touch on the themes of equality, the right to life, protection from child labor, and safety from conflict.

The album was recorded and edited in Al-Mada’s state-of-the-art recording studio by a team of professional musicians and technicians and a group of eight Palestinian children aged 8-12. 2000 copies of the CD were printed and 1000 of them were distributed to kindergartens and schools across the occupied Palestinian Territories in partnership with the Ministry of Education, UNRWA and ANERA. Our goal is to increase the number of children who have access to this CD in Palestine and to make it available regionally and in the diaspora, as well.

The idea for I Love Life came from the shortage of local/Palestinian musical resources that are directed at children. Educators, especially, lack creative and educational supplies and have been forced to rely on outdated materials and to use educational resources from countries that have little cultural relevance to children living in Palestinian society.

Al-Mada believes that art and creativity are essential to healthy child development and committed to strengthen the role of music in the educational process for Palestinian children.

We are thrilled to have created a culturally- and linguistically- sensitive product that is specific to the Palestinian context, while also spreading awareness about universal topics, such as human rights, peace, the environment and respect for oneself and community. Even adults highly enjoy this unique CD and we hope you will, too!
Contact Al-Mada to purchase a copy of I Love Life

Al-Mada: The power of music is universal, eliminating barriers. It reaches us, no matter who or where we are. Whether it makes us dance or sing along, or evokes tears or laughter, music always touches us in ways nothing else can.

"The chaplets of coins are thought by some to have inspired the halo in sacred art."... Color photos of Palestine from the December 1926 issue of National Geographic magazine (Vol L, VI), "In the Birthplace of Christianity,"

The Institute for Palestine Studies Color photos of Palestine from the December 1926 issue of National Geographic magazine (Vol L, VI), "In the Birthplace of Christianity," recently donated to IPS's private library. Original captions included in the photo descriptions.

"Palestine is a land of comely young women and handsome old men. The years which affect the fleeting beauty of the former bring dignity and character to the faces of the latter, who are at their best when in repose, gossiping among themselves, soaking up the sun, or lazily spinning a handful of snowy yarn."

"Moslem and Christian Neighbors of El-Bireh and Ramallah. Among the peasants and small-town dwellers of Palestine, the veil is seldom used for concealment. But convention makes it difficult to obtain photographs of women. This convention, which has a religious significance for the Moslems, is often equally strong among Christians. The woman here is a Moslem matron of El-Bireh. The chaplets of coins are thought by some to have inspired the halo in sacred art."

"A Turbaned Patriarch. Palestine is a land of comely young women and handsome old men. The years which affect the fleeting beauty of the former bring dignity and character to the faces of the latter, who are at their best when in repose, gossiping among themselves, soaking up the sun, or lazily spinning a handful of snowy yarn."

"Moslem and Christian Neighbors of El-Bireh and Ramallah. A schoolgirl of the Christian town of Ramallah."

"Palestine's Tourist Port As Seen from Mount Carmel. The curving bay between Haifa and Acre, historic harbor for a vast hinterland, is poorly protected and often rough. But the former has displaced Jaffa as a passenger port to the Holy Land. Haifa is rapidly growing up the side of Carmel and contains most of the few factories that Palestine possesses. The automobile highway connecting the seaport with Tyre and the Phoenician coast runs on the white sands that cut like a shining sickle blade around the blue bay. In the background are the hills of Galilee, beyond which, on clear days, Mount Hermon lifts its snowy head."

“An Arab Shepherd of Palestine. His headgear consists of a square of white cotton secured by a thick, double black cord of goat’s hair. His aba, or cloak, is folded up, so as to leave his legs free for climbing.”

“A Christian schoolgirl of Ramallah. A scarf such as that worn by this young woman may have served Ruth when she gleaned an ephah of barley in the fields of Boaz. It is heavy with silk embroidery and fringe. The dark gown is that worn on workdays or by those in mourning. Among the four main types of costumes seen in Palestine, those of Ramallah are the most attractive. “

“A Mohammedan Sheik of El-Bireh. Intent on his string of beads, the adult Moslem’s chief toy, this patriarch rests amid the wild flowers which intrude into his vineyard. Behind the field where he sits in silent meditation, two football teams are being coached by an American athletic instructor.”

“Moslem women weeding a grain field of Samaria. Dominating the south end of the plain of El Makhna is Huwara, whose women are remarked for their fanaticism and their beauty. The most beautiful women arouse the greatest jealousy and hence are kept in the closest seclusion. These agriculturists are pulling the tares from the young wheat, for it is not until the grain is high that wheat and tares are allowed to grow together until the harvest. “

“The Softly Rolling Slopes of Galilee. It was in such flower-carpeted fields, gently dropping away to curving valleys and commanding distant views of the Sea of Galilee, that Jesus preached the Sermon on the Mount and attracted his Disciples. The Galilee landscape, setting for so many homely but deathless parables, makes a poetic appeal to the knowing eye and the understanding heart.”

The Institute for Palestine Studies

"Olives" photograph from 1918-1935

"Before Their Diaspora" A photographic history of the Palestinians, 1876-1948, by Walid Khalidi

See more photographs: http://ow.ly/e10oA http://ow.ly/i/Y92H

Friday, September 5, 2014

RECRUIT ... a poem

Israeli soldiers set fire to olive trees in Hebron Ma'an News 05/09/2014: Jewish settlers routinely threaten and harass local Palestinians in Hebron's Old City in an effort to force them to hand over their properties for the expansion of Jewish settlements.

RECRUIT

The crazies
take religion,
make it mean

as in cruel.

The crazies
want your kids
want your kids
want your world
want you

to hate...

to become killer or killed.

The crazies
in a global globbing
of Islamic State/Israel/Leila Khaled

RECRUIT

Lure the weak
and tortured
lure the concerned
lure the kind
lure the compassionate
lure the sensitive
lure the naive
lure the hurt
lure the brutes
into fiery sermons
and excuses...

Become killer or killed.

It is an international
action adventure...

Wordsmiths here forge
and glinting swords there
behead the journalists.

The crazies
want you
to be momentum
making empathy into war.

Thursday, September 4, 2014

For all its empty boasting, Hamas’s strategy of armed struggle has once again been exposed as not merely a dead-end for securing Palestinian rights, but a disaster.

"Resilient"

USA Today Cartoon August 2014

Palestinian women look at the shattered remains of a building complex that was destroyed by Israel this month. The best form of resistance to such brutality is non-violent, argues Hussein Ibish. (AFP PHOTO/ROBERTO SCHMIDT)

"Although in the West it is sometimes thought Palestinians mainly refer to militants as “martyrs,” in fact they define everyone who perishes in the conflict with Israel as a martyr. The term has traditionally been used indiscriminately, including everyone from babies killed in their sleep to suicide bombers.

Not only is there no need to dispense with the concept of martyrdom in the Palestinian cause. There is a crying need to clarify the term and strictly apply it to those who willingly risk – and unfortunately who will have to also give – their own lives for freedom without trying to harm others. Those who damage the Palestinian cause through counterproductive violence should be excluded from this honorific. But so, too, should random victims.

Martyrdom status should instead be reserved for those who actually act like martyrs and who step forward to accept injury or death, without evil intent towards anyone else, in order to free their people from outrageous oppression.

Religious leaders, especially, and other Palestinian opinion-shapers, would be key figures in a conscious, coordinated and sustained campaign for as long as it takes to change the way martyrdom is understood in Palestinian society.

Is this an absurd pipe-dream? Possibly. But there is no other way to successfully unleash the massive power potentially at the disposal of the Palestinian people. Israel would have no effective answer to a campaign of non-violence, and the power-dynamics between the occupier and occupied would be totally upended..." HUSSEIN IBISH of ATFP, September 2, 2014

Non-violent resistance is Palestine’s most powerful weapon

[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]

Monday, September 1, 2014

My letter to the Wash Post RE On growing up in Ferguson and Palestine By Naomi Shihab Nye

Winged Victory. Detail from the statue 161-69.A.D. Vatican museum.

RE On growing up in Ferguson and Palestine By Naomi Shihab Nye
http://www.washingtonpost.com/posteverything/wp/2014/08/28/on-growing-up-in-ferguson-and-gaza/

Dear Editor,

Naomi Shihab Nye's mother's advice “Be your best self” is perfect advice, for any child, and any conscientious writer attempting to influence public opinion about current events in hopes that eventually more people will be more willing to help shape a more enlightened and compassionate conversation producing a more enlightened and compassionate world with real freedom, justice, job opportunities, decent wages, respect and security for more and more people, regardless of supposed race or religion.

"Be your best self" takes huge courage and honesty, and diplomatic skills. I think a good example of "Be your best self" effort is the American Task Force on Palestine's Hussein Ibish and his tireless work to help convince Americans to support a two state solution to once and for all end the Israel-Palestine conflict, for everyone's sake.

Ibish's most recent op-ed Palestinians Must Redefine Martyrdom for Nonviolent Resistance, wisely concludes that "Martyrdom status should instead be reserved for those who actually act like martyrs and who step forward to accept injury or death, without evil intent towards anyone else, in order to free their people from outrageous oppression."

Seems to me the main thing the people of Ferguson and the people of Palestine have in common, other than the alluring poet, Naomi Shihab Nye, is that they need jobs and a way out of poverty. They need state building efforts whereby every citizen has a chance to live in peace and security. There are many factors that can make things better or worse. For instance, here in America, the rule of fair and just laws can only go so far- in an age of global corporations with CEOs amassing colossal personal fortunes while their workers lucky enough to have a living wage haven't had a raise in years can not help but impoverish all local communities.

Sincerely,
Anne Selden Annab

NOTES
US urges Israel to reverse appropriation of land for West Bank settlement: Israel has claimed almost 1,000 acres near Bethlehem, in a move Palestinians say will only increase tension

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

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

Vatican Urges Muslim Leaders To Condemn The Islamic State Formerly Known As ISIS

The Real Middle East Crisis Is Economic "While Western observers focus on political issues in the Middle East, people in the region are themselves preoccupied with economic matters"

NYTimes: Resisting Nazis, He Saw Need for Israel. Now He Is Its Critic.

Dean Obeidallah in The Daily Beast: Searching for a Palestinian Dr. King

There Are Clues

Where is the Palestinian Gandhi?

Zogby: What we found was that there has been a continued erosion in the favorable ratings Americans have of both Arabs and Muslims, posing a threat to the civil rights and political inclusion of both Arab Americans and American Muslims.

"This is a time of national crisis, I will be honest with you, that does require commitment to non-violence of the kind that would give everyone the time needed to rebuild, to unify, but at the same time to agree with Israel and the world on a date certain for ending the occupation." Palestine's Salam Fayyad

ATFP Calls for De-Escalation between Israel and the Palestinians - See more at: http://www.americantaskforce.org/in_media/pr/2014/07/08/1404792000#sthash.591SYEYV.dpuf

ATFP Calls for De-Escalation between Israel and the Palestinians

UPDATE: American Task Force on Palestine Advocacy Efforts During the Ongoing Tragic Hostilities : As tragic and appalling hostilities erupted again between Israelis and Palestinians, the American Task Force on Palestine (ATFP) engaged in intensive advocacy efforts to call for an immediate cease-fire to save lives and spare the innocent. On July 8th, ATFP issued a formal press release calling for de-escalation between Israel and the Palestinians...READ MORE

UNITED NATIONS: International Year of Solidarity with the Palestinian People 2014

Normalizing Intelligent Conversations, Diplomatic Support, and Hope for Palestine: American Task Force on Palestine (ATFP) Panel on Israeli-Palestinian War in a New Regional Landscape... & a firm call for an immediate ceasefire

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

In Growing Gardens for Palestine... A poem Dedicated to Abu Yusuf

THE Arab Peace Initiative

Emanating from the conviction of the Arab countries that a military solution to the conflict will not achieve peace or provide security for the parties, the council:

1. Requests Israel to reconsider its policies and declare that a just peace is its strategic option as well.

2. Further calls upon Israel to affirm:

I- Full Israeli withdrawal from all the territories occupied since 1967, including the Syrian Golan Heights, to the June 4, 1967 lines as well as the remaining occupied Lebanese territories in the south of Lebanon.

II- Achievement of a just solution to the Palestinian refugee problem to be agreed upon in accordance with U.N. General Assembly Resolution 194.

III- The acceptance of the establishment of a sovereign independent Palestinian state on the Palestinian territories occupied since June 4, 1967 in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, with East Jerusalem as its capital.

3. Consequently, the Arab countries affirm the following:

I- Consider the Arab-Israeli conflict ended, and enter into a peace agreement with Israel, and provide security for all the states of the region.

II- Establish normal relations with Israel in the context of this comprehensive peace.

Side by Side: Parallel Histories of Israel-Palestine... "An eye-opening—and inspiring—new approach to thinking about one of the world’s most deeply entrenched conflicts"

"I have yet to meet a refugee who wanted to be a refugee and even less so, who wished to remain a refugee. Palestine refugees are no different. Their call for a just and lasting solution to their plight must be heard." UNWRA's Pierre Krähenbühl on World Refugee Day

America/Israel/Palestine 1776

America/Israel/Palestine 1948: 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.

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

Tuesday, August 26, 2014

Vatican Urges Muslim Leaders To Condemn The Islamic State Formerly Known As ISIS

[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.huffingtonpost.com/2014/08/12/vatican-condemns-isis-muslim-leaders_n_5671497.html?ncid=txtlnkusaolp00000592

The Huffington Post | By Yasmine Hafiz

Posted: 08/12/2014

The unspeakable crimes committed by the Islamic State, a self-identified Sunni militant group formerly known as ISIS (Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham) or ISIL (Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant) get worse every day. Beheadings, stonings, live burials, and crucifixions are all tactics used by the extremists as they attempt to wipe out Iraq and Syria's minority religious groups, like the Yazidis and the Shiites.

As the Islamic State claims to be waging war in the name of Islam, with the end goal of restoring the Islamic Caliphate, it is up to Muslim leaders to denounce their actions and reject any sort of religious justification for the horrors they have wrought in Iraq and Syria.

Many have already done that. Iyad Ameen Madani, the Secretary General for the Organization of Islamic Cooperation called the actions of the Islamic State a "crime that cannot be tolerated" in July. Sunni and Shiite Muslim leaders from the UK made a video to condemn the Islamic State in July, and professors from the ancient and influential al-Azhar University in Cairo, Egypt, have also publicly rejected the Caliphate. Most recently, the Grand Mufti Shawqi Allam, Egypt's top Muslim scholar, denounced the Islamic State as an "extremist and bloody group" on Tuesday.

The Vatican is encouraging more Muslim leaders to speak out against the Islamic State. A statement released Tuesday by the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue said in part:

The dramatic plight of Christians, Yezidis and other religious communities and ethnic minorities in Iraq requires a clear and courageous stance on the part of religious leaders, especially Muslims, as well as those engaged in interreligious dialogue and all people of good will.

All must be unanimous in condemning unequivocally these crimes and in denouncing the use of religion to justify them. If not, what credibility will religions, their followers and their leaders have? What credibility can the interreligious dialogue that we have patiently pursued over recent years have?

Religious leaders are also called to exercise their influence with the authorities to end these crimes, to punish those who commit them and to reestablish the rule of law throughout the land, ensuring the return home of those who have been displaced. While recalling the need for an ethical management of human societies, these same religious leaders must not fail to stress that the support, funding and arming of terrorism is morally reprehensible.

In the statement, the Vatican noted that, "the majority of religious institutions and Muslim politicians" oppose the "Restoration of the Caliphate" proposed by the Islamic State.

As coexistence is the basis on which healthy relationships between religions are founded, the current atrocities perpetrated by ISIS against minority groups are a threat to interreligious dialogue, the statement implied. "No cause, and certainly no religion, can justify such barbarity," it said.

My letter to the NYtimes RE The Making of a Disaster by Roger Cohen

Israel's Gaza offensive causes 5 billion USD losses: "Israel said its war was against militants and against Hamas, but this factory and other factories do not belong to Hamas. So the aim is to keep our economy weak and broken."

RE: The Making of a Disaster
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/08/26/opinion/roger-cohen-the-making-of-a-disaster.html?ref=opinion

Dear Editor,

Isis is a goddess in Ancient Egyptian religious beliefs. According to wikipedia "She was worshiped as the ideal mother and wife as well as the patroness of nature and magic. She was the friend of slaves, sinners, artisans and the downtrodden, but she also listened to the prayers of the wealthy, maidens, aristocrats and rulers.^[1] " http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isis

Why taint the beauty, dignity, and history of the name Isis by dubbing the Islamist thugs "ISIS". ISIL was the name first used and I think we should stick with that as it stands for the "Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant "

"ISIS" also is "is is", whereas ISIL sounds like "is ill" which is a much healthier subliminal message.

That was one thing I found wrong with Roger's Cohen recent column pontificating about the rise of the murderous anti-Western Islamists who killed many an Arab Muslim and many an Arab Christian before they beheaded the American journalist James Foley. A much more glaring flaw with even more dangerous ramifications than the tainting of a beautiful name "ISIS" is Cohen's failure to even glance at Israel, as if Israeli rhetoric and Israeli actions do not matter ... and as if Israel has not played a pivotal role in the rise of religious extremism and violence in the Middle East.

Islamists and potential recruits for ISIL can not help but look at Israel's success in building a strong heavily armed state with privileges, good jobs, and preferential housing for Jews, while the native non-Jewish population of historic Palestine is pushed into poverty and forced exile- and Palestinian refugee camps are bombed to smithereens by Israel's army.

Israel ignores the Arab Peace Initiative and sabotages diplomatic efforts to end the Israel-Palestine conflict day after day after day, perpetuating and actively exasperating the plight of the Palestinians rather than respecting international law and universal basic human rights by making peace with and for Palestine, for everyone's sake.

ISIL did not grow through American weakness. ISIL grew because it wanted to grow and it finds victory as well as funds in being cruel to the people it conquers and torments. ISIL is fully accountable for what ISIL does, and must be fully blamed and criticized for its crimes, just as Israel should be held fully accountable for what it does with American made weaponry and HAMAS should be held fully accountable for what it does with its home made rockets.

Sincerely,
Anne Selden Annab

NOTES
The Real Middle East Crisis Is Economic "While Western observers focus on political issues in the Middle East, people in the region are themselves preoccupied with economic matters"

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

NYTimes: Resisting Nazis, He Saw Need for Israel. Now He Is Its Critic.

Dean Obeidallah in The Daily Beast: Searching for a Palestinian Dr. King

There Are Clues

Where is the Palestinian Gandhi?

Zogby: What we found was that there has been a continued erosion in the favorable ratings Americans have of both Arabs and Muslims, posing a threat to the civil rights and political inclusion of both Arab Americans and American Muslims.

"This is a time of national crisis, I will be honest with you, that does require commitment to non-violence of the kind that would give everyone the time needed to rebuild, to unify, but at the same time to agree with Israel and the world on a date certain for ending the occupation." Palestine's Salam Fayyad

ATFP Calls for De-Escalation between Israel and the Palestinians - See more at: http://www.americantaskforce.org/in_media/pr/2014/07/08/1404792000#sthash.591SYEYV.dpuf

UNITED NATIONS: International Year of Solidarity with the Palestinian People 2014

In Growing Gardens for Palestine... A poem Dedicated to Abu Yusuf

THE Arab Peace Initiative

Emanating from the conviction of the Arab countries that a military solution to the conflict will not achieve peace or provide security for the parties, the council:

1. Requests Israel to reconsider its policies and declare that a just peace is its strategic option as well.

2. Further calls upon Israel to affirm:

I- Full Israeli withdrawal from all the territories occupied since 1967, including the Syrian Golan Heights, to the June 4, 1967 lines as well as the remaining occupied Lebanese territories in the south of Lebanon.

II- Achievement of a just solution to the Palestinian refugee problem to be agreed upon in accordance with U.N. General Assembly Resolution 194.

III- The acceptance of the establishment of a sovereign independent Palestinian state on the Palestinian territories occupied since June 4, 1967 in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, with East Jerusalem as its capital.

3. Consequently, the Arab countries affirm the following:

I- Consider the Arab-Israeli conflict ended, and enter into a peace agreement with Israel, and provide security for all the states of the region.

II- Establish normal relations with Israel in the context of this comprehensive peace.

Side by Side: Parallel Histories of Israel-Palestine... "An eye-opening—and inspiring—new approach to thinking about one of the world’s most deeply entrenched conflicts"

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

Annie's New Letters (& notes)

Labels

Sunday, September 7, 2014

Because We Know How to Make Dreams Come True! This Week in Palestine