Friday, July 30, 2010

Arab leaders back Palestinian Authority president on Israel talks

"We haven't discussed when and how the direct negotiations will start -- this is a matter for the Palestinian side to decide," Hamad said at the foreign ministers' meeting in Cairo. He said the ministers had originally opposed endorsing direct talks but were willing to relent because of the serious situation in the region.

Arab leaders back Palestinian Authority president on Israel talks

Thursday, July 29, 2010

UN envoy deplores takeover of Palestinian homes by Israeli settlers

Breakthrough? Abbas gets Arab backing to enter Israeli-Palestinian peace talks. - CSMonitor.com

Palestinian children fly kites on the beach of Beit Lahiya in the northern Gaza Strip during a summer camp organised by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) July 29, 2010. REUTERS/Mohammed Salem (GAZA - Tags: SOCIETY IMAGES OF THE DAY)

Thousands of Palestinian children fly kites in an attempt to break the world record for the number of kites fly, in town of Beit Lahiya, northern Gaza Strip, Thursday, July 29, 2010. More than 7,200 kites were raised in the air on Thursday, setting a new world record in an event sponsored by the United Nations.(AP Photo/Khalil Hamra)

The Arab Peace Initiative committee meeting in Cairo. Arab officials have agreed in principle to the holding of direct Middle East peace negotiations and left it up to Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas to decide when to start talks with Israel(AFP/Khaled Desouki)

Daoud Kuttab: Will someone please pay attention to the suffering of those crossing the bridge?

http://www.daoudkuttab.com/?p=694

"More people are leaving the West Bank than visiting it..."

Will someone please pay attention to the suffering of those crossing the bridge?

This Week in Palestine: Millennium Development Goals (MDGs)

Delivering Development under Duress
By Maxwell Gaylard

Is Civic Engagement the Missing Equation for Accomplishing the MDGs?
By Geoffrey D. Prewitt

The Other Neglected Conflict
By Mercedes San Roman Ruiz

MDGs, Local Authorities, and Good Governance
By Rasha Alyatim, Mona Ishaq, and Fahd Abu-Saymeh

Culture: A Palestinian Strength to Be Built Upon
By Nader Atta

Gender Equality at the Heart of Achieving the MDGs
By Julien Vaissier

Future Hope Increasing Universal Access to Prevention, Treatment, and Care in the Occupied Palestinian Territory
By Veronique Maeva Fages

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http://www.thisweekinpalestine.com/details.php?id=3192&ed=185&edid=185
http://www.undp.ps

United Nations Development Programme

UNDP/PAPP's Magazine

Wednesday, July 28, 2010

Under Occupation-- oil painting by Ismail Shammout

Under Occupation 2004 oil painting by Ismail Shammout

Arab News: Why Muslims should rethink Palestine

"Muslims must stand, hand in hand, with people from all different backgrounds, not as exclusive owners of the Palestinian struggle, but as proud contributors to a global movement that wishes to ensure that justice is served, rights are attained and peace for all is realized." Ramzy Baroud

Why Muslims should rethink Palestine

IBISHBLOG: The Palestinian conundrum on direct negotiations

"The bottom line is this: the ideal scenario for Netanyahu is to continue to sit there and say that he wants immediate talks without any preconditions and that he is the one who is saying yes, while the Palestinians continue to say no, even if it is for understandable and justifiable reasons. Therefore, it is essential that the Palestinians find a way to say yes as soon as possible, and that the Obama administration and all parties that are serious about resolving the conflict find a means to help them do that. They need something to show for their efforts thus far, and it doesn't have to be that dramatic. Everyone interested in peace needs the Palestinians to say yes, and the PLO leadership clearly wants to, but they do have to be given a reason to justify that decision to their own people." Hussien Ibish

The Palestinian conundrum on direct negotiations

Tuesday, July 27, 2010

Free the Tabouleh

" “It took me 18 months to convince Guinness to enter it under ‘Palestine’ - not ‘occupied West Bank,’ not even ‘occupied Palestine,’ simply Palestine.”

Abdulhadi’s food campaign began when he heard from a friend who’d flown in from the U.S. — he himself lived for years in New York — that El Al, the Israeli national airline, served musakhan, chicken and onion on pita bread spiced with purple sumac, as an “Israeli national dish.”

Abdulhadi found that hard to digest. “Everyone knows musakhan is Palestinian. They’ve tried it before with hummus and falafel. Israeli chutzpah, I call it.” "

Free the Tabouleh

By JERROLD KESSEL and PIERRE KLOCHENDLER,

I.H.T. Op-Ed Contributor July 23, 2010

FORGIVENESS -- By Ibtisam Barakat ابتسام بركات

Palestinian Sun Bird Oil Painting by Ismail Shammout

FORGIVENESS -- By Ibtisam Barakat ابتسام بركات

I understood forgiveness when I understood its opposite which is to stay stuck with the key in my hand, waiting for those who did the harm to "regret it", to "apologize", to "do something". But they don't.. The permission for me to move on is not up to them even if I thought so! Only I can give myself permission to not feel like a victim and to move on toward my goals and life, knowing that wounds are part of life.. an important part of life..

Forgiveness does not mean approving of the behavior that caused hurt, or trusting again those who hurt us if they have not changed dramatically. It simply means that one finally realizes she or he HAS all that it takes to heal one's life and need not wait for those who hurt us to heal us.... because they will not. Our waiting is only a waste of our lives..

We realize that we have the capacity to repair things using our own creative ways, brilliance and healthy relationships.. which we often discover at times of hardship.. And we learn something about living in the world with our intelligence ready to do its work, rather than refer to old formulas and rigidity of traditions and habits -- be they personal or social.

We learn to stop participating in disrespectful relationships right from the start because disrespect in any form is harmful and is a prelude to more harm.

Forgiveness means becoming "strong at the broken places," to put it in Hemingway's words, and wise at the places we previously were not wise. The biggest wisdom in my opinion is not to seek to do to others what was done to us.. But simply learn that the behavior that hurt is really a bad one, whether it comes from others or from us, and it should not be honored by being repeated.

That way we become leaders in the world, leading our lives and the consciousness of the planet to a more intelligent way of being. There is nothing moral about forgiveness. We are not better than others and they are not better than us.

Forgiveness is simply the most intelligent response to having been hurt because it gives us the reality -- that we are not victims -- before, during or after being hurt. So when we negotiate with life and others, we do it from a place of full power and entitlement to our full rights, not half or a quarter or even 99%.

Because we are not victims, WE DO NOT BEG! We never beg for solutions or respect or validation. We find new, real, honest and powerful solutions. We experiment with possibilities. We initiate. We change our minds. We change our behaviors. We research. We make mistakes. We make better proposals next. We work WITH others but we do not work FOR them disregarding ourselves!

And we do not wait for others to donate solutions and expect to be treated as equals too. They will not treat us as equals if we wait for them to LEAD our lives for us. And the choice will have been ours to act "helpless" when we have everything anyone ever had or has -- our creativity and will to live in full dignity, possibility and wellness. We too can invent things no one has ever heard of -- in terms of thoughts, objects, behaviors or solutions. Why not!

And we never settle for anything less than our full rights. We also support the full rights of all others. We never ever settle for others being treated as better or worse than us.

We are human beings who respond to life by learning and improving and discovering more of ourselves and more of how to live well with others, all others, in the world. That is why we forgive. And the exciting journey continues..

In freedom and forgiveness,

-- Ibtisam Barakat 2010.

Saturday, July 24, 2010

What are human rights?

http://www.ohchr.org/EN/Issues/Pages/WhatareHumanRights.aspx

What are human rights?

Human rights are rights inherent to all human beings, whatever our nationality, place of residence, sex, national or ethnic origin, colour, religion, language, or any other status. We are all equally entitled to our human rights without discrimination. These rights are all interrelated, interdependent and indivisible.

Universal human rights are often expressed and guaranteed by law, in the forms of treaties, customary international law , general principles and other sources of international law. International human rights law lays down obligations of Governments to act in certain ways or to refrain from certain acts, in order to promote and protect human rights and fundamental freedoms of individuals or groups.

Universal and inalienable

The principle of universality of human rights is the cornerstone of international human rights law. This principle, as first emphasized in the Universal Declaration on Human Rights in 1948, has been reiterated in numerous international human rights conventions, declarations, and resolutions. The 1993 Vienna World Conference on Human Rights, for example, noted that it is the duty of States to promote and protect all human rights and fundamental freedoms, regardless of their political, economic and cultural systems.

All States have ratified at least one, and 80% of States have ratified four or more, of the core human rights treaties, reflecting consent of States which creates legal obligations for them and giving concrete expression to universality. Some fundamental human rights norms enjoy universal protection by customary international law across all boundaries and civilizations.

Human rights are inalienable. They should not be taken away, except in specific situations and according to due process. For example, the right to liberty may be restricted if a person is found guilty of a crime by a court of law.

Interdependent and indivisible

All human rights are indivisible, whether they are civil and political rights, such as the right to life, equality before the law and freedom of expression; economic, social and cultural rights, such as the rights to work, social security and education , or collective rights, such as the rights to development and self-determination, are indivisible, interrelated and interdependent. The improvement of one right facilitates advancement of the others. Likewise, the deprivation of one right adversely affects the others.

Equal and non-discriminatory

Non-discrimination is a cross-cutting principle in international human rights law. The principle is present in all the major human rights treaties and provides the central theme of some of international human rights conventions such as the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination and the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women.

The principle applies to everyone in relation to all human rights and freedoms and it prohibits discrimination on the basis of a list of non-exhaustive categories such as sex, race, colour and so on. The principle of non-discrimination is complemented by the principle of equality, as stated in Article 1 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights: “All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights.”

Both Rights and Obligations

Human rights entail both rights and obligations. States assume obligations and duties under international law to respect, to protect and to fulfil human rights. The obligation to respect means that States must refrain from interfering with or curtailing the enjoyment of human rights. The obligation to protect requires States to protect individuals and groups against human rights abuses. The obligation to fulfil means that States must take positive action to facilitate the enjoyment of basic human rights. At the individual level, while we are entitled our human rights, we should also respect the human rights of others.

Annie's New Letters (& notes)

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Friday, July 30, 2010