On World Food Day, we are reminded that food is so much more than just what we eat... 16 Pictures of the World's Kitchens Show the Hearts of Homes

Photograph by Ed Kashi, National Geographic

Prayer for Protection
A four-year-old boy prays for his father, who was kidnapped by jihadists in Iraq, in this 2008 photo. Like many Arab Christians, this boy and his family were driven from their home in Iraq and relocated to Syria.
 

16 Pictures of the World's Kitchens Show the Hearts of Homes

On World Food Day, we are reminded that food is so much more than just what we eat.

By Anna Lukacs, National Geographic

PUBLISHED October 16, 2015

 http://news.nationalgeographic.com/2015/10/151016-kitchens-world-food-day-cooking-pictures-photography/

[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 (& America & Iraq & Syria & Lebanon & Jordan ...etc...)] 

My letter to the NYTimes RE The Cycle of Violence in Israel editorial

Modern Technology

RE  The Cycle of Violence in Israel editorial
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/10/16/opinion/the-cycle-of-violence-in-israel.html?ref=international
& The Israeli-Palestinian Tumult: Clashing Perspectives an excellent letter by Shelly Altman, co-chairman of Jewish Voice for Peace New Haven

Dear Editor,

The cycle of violence is very much generated by sovereign Israel's investment in Jews-preferred policies and settlement projects in the illegally occupied territories: "I’m a South African who lived through apartheid, I have no hesitation in saying that Israel’s crimes are infinitely worse than those committed by the apartheid regime of South Africa." former U.N. Special Rapporteur John Dugard. http://www.democracynow.org/blog/2015/5/6/ex_un_official_john_dugard_israel

Alan E. Steinweis writing recently in the NYTimes, about Bad History : Ben Carson Is Wrong on Guns and the Holocaust points out that "It is preposterous to argue that the possession of firearms would have enabled them [Jewish people being persecuted by the Nazis] to mount resistance against a systematic program of persecution implemented by a modern bureaucracy, enforced by a well-armed police state, and either supported or tolerated by the majority of the German population."

That was 60 years ago- long before sophisticated computers and cellphones and satellites and drones and all sorts of ways for a sovereign government to interfere with an oppressed people's quest for freedom, justice, and equality.

Clueless American politicians like Hilary Clinton use their public podium to make a bad situation worse by ignoring the very real plight of the Palestinians. So do "Pro-Palestine" apologists for Hamas and armed Palestinian resistance.

There are however some clear headed thinkers who refuse to accept an insane and cruel status quo, such as Palestinian businessman Sam Bahour who writes in his most recent article Palestinians must not fall into this trap, again!  "To cover up its crimes, Israel needs to feed all the western stereotypes of Palestinians as violent and subhuman rather than hungry for freedom and equal rights."

And your recent letter writer Shelly Altman, co-chairman of Jewish Voice for Peace New Haven, who states the facts "There are more than 500 checkpoints restricting their movement in the West Bank itself. The Palestinians have endured Israeli military occupation, arrests without charge, arrests of children, home demolitions and the uprooting of olive groves."

And your own editorial, which is basically good despite the fact that it really should have but did not fully show the big picture by pointing out who is in sovereign power with a very strong formal military and a plethora of modern technology that is being deployed to [torture,] silence and destroy the native non-Jewish men women and children of historic Palestine. Your conclusion is very true that "it should be clear that a peace agreement is the only chance Israelis and Palestinians have to stop the cycles of stabbings, shootings, bombings and fear"

Sincerely,
Anne Selden Annab

NOTES
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

Unclench your fist... Live by the Golden Rule...

“Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.”

Words to Honor: The United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights

Article 1.

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 Net ... a poem

...Forwards ...a poem

... The Connectors ... a poem

..Destroying Careers and Countries

RECRUIT ... a poem

... There Are Clues

Click by Click Culpability

America/Israel/Palestine 1776

... In Growing Gardens for Palestine: I ask you not to bomb

Translating the Obvious ... A poem for peace in Growing Gardens for Palestine

Trust... A poem for peace in Growing Gardens for Palestine

... Ibrahim's Estate... The Promised Land: In Celebration of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights & Peace Day

"To cover up its crimes, Israel needs to feed all the western stereotypes of Palestinians as violent and subhuman rather than hungry for freedom and equal rights." Sam Bahour: Palestinians must not fall into this trap, again!

Palestinians must not fall into this trap, again!

Sam Bahour 14 October 2015

 

"Israel has a single gamebook against the legitimate Palestinian struggle for freedom and independence, that of using their well-oiled military machine to squash any Palestinian who attempts to resist occupation. Israel since 1948 and 1967 has routinely used war and violence to seize more land, all the while pushing Palestinians to either turn violent or emigrate."

[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 (& America)]

https://opendemocracy.net/arab-awakening/sam-bahour/palestinians-must-not-fall-into-this-trap-again

 

Sam Bahour ‏@SamBahour 2h2 hours ago

Palestinians mustn't fall into this trap, again http://972mag.com/palestinians-mustnt-fall-into-this-trap-again/112765/ … via @972mag #Palestine #Israel

Palestinians must not fall into this trap, again! @SamBahour http://bit.ly/palestinians-must-not-fall-into-this-trap … #alshabaka #Palestine #Israel  

 Sam Bahour serves as a policy adviser to Al-Shabaka, the Palestinian Policy Network, and is chairman of Americans for a Vibrant Palestinian Economy. He blogs at ePalestine.com.

My letter to the NYTimes RE Leaderless Palestinian Youth, Inspired by Social Media, Drive a Rise in Violence

"Where, after all, do universal human rights begin?"

RE: Leaderless Palestinian Youth, Inspired by Social Media, Drive a Rise in Violence
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/10/14/world/middleeast/leaderless-palestinian-youth-inspired-by-social-media-drive-a-rise-in-violence.html?emc=edit_ee_20151014&nl=todaysheadlines-europe&nlid=22789767&_r=0

Dear Editor,

Violent Palestinians make Israel look good, convincing outsiders, as well as most Israelis, that Israel has no choice but to be punitive.

It is a tragic situation with plenty of blame on all sides, as well as on many an outsider weighing in to exasperate the conflict, as the Israel-Palestine conflict grinds on and on with disastrous consequences for the native non-Jewish men, women and children of historic Palestine.

A fully secular two state end to the Israel-Palestine conflict based on full respect for human rights and fair and just laws laws (including but not limited to full respect for the Palestinian refugees inalienable right to return to original homes and lands) would go a long way towards ending the hate, hostility, suffering, savage brutality, and social media propaganda inspired by the injustice and religious extremism that is the Israel-Palestine conflict today.

Sincerely,
Anne Selden Annab

NOTES:
"The maintenance of the status quo helps perpetuate the occupation rather than end it, thereby providing cover for continued establishment and expansion of colonies in Jerusalem and other parts of the West Bank, as well as Israel’s plans to further isolate the West Bank and maintain control over its resources, as Israel is able to continue blockading the Gaza Strip and controlling its resources. Furthermore, it leaves the burden and costs of administering daily life under occupation to the Palestinians, making the occupation a profitable project for Israel." Palestinians want 1967 lands to be put under UN protection http://www.maannews.com/Content.aspx?id=768144

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

Unclench your fist... Live by the Golden Rule

Words to Honor: The United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights

Article 1.

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.




Translating the Obvious ... A poem for peace in Growing Gardens for Palestine by Anne Selden Annab  


Ibrahim's Estate... The Promised Land: A Poem In Celebration of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights & Peace Day

This Week in Palestine: Uniquely Palestinian..."... find your own edge, and your own way of being Palestinian, one that isn’t bound by a certain reality but celebrated with the most random and small details and loves."

October 2015, Issue 210

Uniquely Palestinian

Cover Photo: Elegant Palestinian embroidery.

Photo courtesy of: Purple Threads.

Editor Message

By: Tala Abu Rahmeh

What is uniquely Palestinian? Olive oil? Struggle? Stones? A map hung on every wall of historical importance and rights being constantly re-debated?

Perhaps that’s part of being Palestinian, but it can’t be all of it. We are all so uniquely different and special and terrible in our own little ways, and that is what makes us the most beautiful.

In this lovely new issue, we have so many stories about what makes a Palestinian Palestinian. We present to you “Embroidery as a Source of Palestinian Identity,” by Hanan Karaman Munayyer; “Jerusalem’s Palestinian Identity and Intangible Heritage,” by the ever-brilliant Ali Qleibo; “One border, Two Worlds” by Fida Jiryis, about the worlds on either side of an Israeli checkpoint; two lovely and difficult articles by Mariam Barghouti and Hasheema Afaneh; Al-Shajara al-Mubaraka by Nada Atrash and Sami Backleh; and many other pieces that bring to life the beauty and ordinariness of being Palestinian.

Our personality of the month is Albert Aghazarian, and our artist of the month is Osama Said, both special and inspiring, and a delight to read about

We hope that in these articles you find your own edge, and your own way of being Palestinian, one that isn’t bound by a certain reality but celebrated with the most random and small details and loves.

May you always be free, and may you always be you.

***

 http://thisweekinpalestine.com/embroidery-as-a-source-of-palestinian-identity/

Embroidery as a Source of Palestinian Identity

By: Hanan Karaman Munayyer

 "...International museum exhibits of traditional Palestinian costumes are some of the best ambassadors to the world, communicating a wealth of positive cultural information to audiences whose only knowledge of Palestine is usually of war images and violence. More of such beautiful cultural images of Palestine are needed to counteract the negativity faced by Palestinians every day."

[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 (& America)]

My letter to the NYTimes RE Mahmoud Abbas Gives Up on Peace

"Gandhi proved that non-violence – the principle and the practice – can change history,” Mr. Ban noted. “His mass campaigns of non-violent civil disobedience helped pave the way for the independence of India, and have inspired countless movements for change across the world.”UN NEWS 10-2-2015 UN Photo: “Non-Violence,” a sculpture by Karl Fredrik Reutersward, sits permanently outside UN Headquarters in New York

 RE Mahmoud Abbas Gives Up on Peace
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/10/02/opinion/mahmoud-abbas-gives-up-on-peace.html
Dear Editor,

"But the failure of everyone — Palestinians, Israelis and Americans — to build on the promise of Oslo is a tragedy for all. "  Very very true.

However it is not the details of Oslo or any other road map or plan that is being abandoned, it is the basic premise that state building, diplomacy and negotiations to shape a just and lasting peace for both Israel and Palestine that is being forsaken and rejected.

We are all to blame, everyone of us worldwide weighing in full of passion and rage or indifference. We have all failed- Palestinians, Israelis, Americans; poets and reporters, preachers and politicians, cartoonists and mathematicians, businesses and charities and aide and activists and everyone else. All flawed.

Now what. I say move on forward, knowing that we are all flawed. Move forward calmly and carefully for peace in peace with peace for both Israel and Palestine... for everyone's sake.  A fully secular two state solution based on full respect for universal human rights and the rule of fair and just laws is reasonable and right.

Sincerely,
Anne Selden Annab

NOTES

Palestinians Get Approval to Fly Flag at United Nations in a bid for statehood... "It is a symbolic thing, but another step to solidify the pillars of the state of Palestine in the international arena," said Riyad Mansour, the Palestinian representative to the UN.

Palestinian man holds a flag during a protest outside the Damascus Gate, east Jerusalem in support of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas' bid for statehood

Palestinian flag set to fly at UN New York HQ

In Paris, Palestinian prime minister Rami Hamdallah on Thursday called the flag vote "a step on the road towards Palestine becoming a full member of the United Nations."

Mansour [Riyad Mansour, the Palestinian representative to the UN] said the initiative had the potential to "give our people some hope that the international community is still supporting the independence of the state of Palestine.

"Things are bleak, gloomy, the political process is dead, Gaza is being suffocated. This flag resolution is like the small light of a candle to keep hope alive for the Palestinian people."

NYTimes report: Palestinians Get Approval to Fly Flag at United Nations

Iconic Palestine mountain gazelle now endangered, say scientists ...the animals could soon go the same way as their closest relatives who once lived in Syria and Egypt and are now believed to be extinct.

The Palestine mountain gazelle – under threat from loss of habitat, predation and collisions with road traffic. Photograph: Alamy

Numbers of the gazelles, whose habitat is in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories – including a population that lives in the hills on the outskirts of Jerusalem – have dropped to about 2,000 identified individuals.... Just 200 of the animals survive in Turkey.

 “The damage to the gazelle population stems from the chopping up of their habitats due to construction, paving of roads and erection of fences."...... "It is therefore vital to maintain contiguous open areas and ecological corridors, especially in gazelle habitats."

My letter to CSM RE Refugee crisis: Israelis invoke Holocaust as they debate how to respond

BETHLEHEM (Ma'an) -- Riham Dawabsha, the mother of 18-month-old Ali Dawabsha who was burned alive in an arson attack by Israeli extremists on July 31, died from her injuries late Sunday, after fighting for her life for over a month.... Israeli settlers smashed the windows of two homes in Duma, before throwing flammable liquids and Molotov cocktails inside, killing infant Ali, who was trapped inside the house, and critically injuring the other family members.... Israeli settlers have carried out at least 142 attacks on Palestinians in occupied East Jerusalem and the West Bank since the start of this year, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs... Only 1.9 percent of complaints submitted by Palestinians against Israeli settler attacks result in a conviction, the Israeli human rights group Yesh Din reported.

RE Refugee crisis: Israelis invoke Holocaust as they debate how to respond- Israel is building a new fence along its border with Jordan amid widespread soul searching over whether it should allow Middle Eastern refugees to come in.
http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Middle-East/2015/0911/Refugee-crisis-Israelis-invoke-Holocaust-as-they-debate-how-to-respond

Dear Editor,

Israel's obsession with demographics created and continues to perpetuate the Palestinian refugee crisis which began in 1948 with the Arab-Israel war. UN Resolution 194 from 1948 clearly outlines the expectation that those 750,000 Palestinian men women and children, those 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..."   http://www.unrwa.org/content/resolution-194

Today more than ever, the international community- and American newspapers- need to be more honest about Israel and the huge harm that Israel's demographic obsessions have done to the region.

Israel, in violation of international law, has already built a divisive land grabbing wall on Palestinian land in the West Bank, while at the same time generously subsidizing Jewish settlements in the illegally occupied territories. Palestinians who had hoped to build a Palestinian state alongside Israel on the remnant remaining of what was historic Palestine 70 years ago do not have control of their own land, airspace or borders.

Ending the Israel-Palestine conflict ASAP with a fully secular two state solution that FULLY respects The Universal Declaration of Human Rights, would go a long way towards calming down the entire region, as well as setting a good example as to how modern nation-states based on the rule of fair and just laws are more secure, more prosperous, more sane and a much better alternative than a religious state: Tax payers here and there should not be forced to fund and empower Jewish or Islamic religious "scholars" and schemes- and endless war with escalating refugee crises.

Sincerely,
Anne Selden Annab

The Golden Rule : a general rule for how to behave that says that you should treat people the way you would like other people to treat you

PA to pressure Israel to allow refugees seeking asylum into Palestine

[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 (& America)]

Palestinian Refugee Camp

http://www.maannews.com/Content.aspx?id=767448
Sept. 5, 2015

RAMALLAH (Ma'an) -- President Mahmoud Abbas is hoping to build international pressure on Israel to allow Palestinian refugees seeking asylum into the occupied Palestinian territory, the Palestinian Authority official news agency Wafa reported Saturday.

Abbas reportedly directed the Palestinian ambassador to the UN, Riyadh Mansour, to work with UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon toward "appropriate and necessary action" to allow Palestinians refugees displaced by conflict in foreign countries to take refuge in the territory.Abbas told Wafa that allowing refugees to return to the occupied Palestinian territory was not only a humanitarian mission, but also a right of every Palestinian refugee.

Wafa reported that Abbas' office "has been making contacts with the UN, EU and other relevant actors, urging them to pressurize the Israeli government to allow Palestinian refugees back into the oPT."

Palestinian refugees living across the Middle East are among millions severely affected by conflict in Syria, Iraq and parts of Lebanon.

While the Palestinian population in Iraq has fallen by more than two thirds since the US-led invasion in 2003, the Palestinian population has seen further devastation in Syria's four-year conflict.

According to Palestinian legal rights group Badil, as of April, around 80,000 Palestinian refugees had fled Syria, while of the 480,000 Palestinians remaining, 280,000 were internally displaced and 95 percent were in dire need of humanitarian assistance.

According to the Action Group for Palestinians in Syria, a rally took place in May where Palestinian refugees in the country demanded that the Palestinian leadership take them out of war-torn Syria and "bring them back to their homeland Palestine."The action group says that at least 228 families, consisting of 884 Palestinian refugees, fleeing Syria were allowed to enter the Gaza Strip between Feb. 2011 and Oct. 2014.

The right of return for all refugees is guaranteed by international law under the Geneva Conventions.

Up to 800,000 Palestinians were expelled from their homes in modern-day Israel during the 1948 war, and today their descendants number approximately five million, spread across the world.

However, Israel, which disputes the Palestinian right of return, has tightly controlled Palestinian borders since it occupied the territory in 1967.

In late 2012, Abbas called on Ban Ki-moon to help Palestinian refugees in Syria return to the occupied territory, but with no result.

The issue of refugees has come to international attention in recent weeks, with thousands of asylum-seekers making the treacherous journey by land and sea to Europe.

Heart-rending pictures of a toddler's lifeless body washed ashore on a Turkish beach sparked horror on Wednesday as the cost of .... a growing refugee crisis hit home.

Wearing a red T-shirt and blue shorts, the child -- identified as three-year-old Aylan Kurdi -- is believed to be one of least 12 Syrians who died when their boats sank trying to reach Greece.

Istanbul (AFP) - Heart-rending pictures of a toddler's lifeless body washed ashore on a Turkish beach sparked horror on Wednesday as the cost of Europe's growing refugee crisis hit home.

The images of a tiny child lying face down in the surf at one of Turkey's main tourist resorts has once more put a human face on the dangers faced by tens of thousands of desperate people who risk life and limb to seek a new life in Europe.

From my old friend Palestinian-American Mike Hanini Odetalla's facebook wall:

#Refugees taken in by:
#SaudiArabia: 0
#Qatar: 0
#Kuwait: 0
#Emirates: 0
#Bahrain: 0

****** 

The archaeologist who looked after ancient ruins of Palmyra in Syria for 40 years, Khaled al-Asaad, was taken hostage {and murdered by Daesh/ISIS} after IS seized the Unesco World Heritage site this year BBC News 2015

 

A cloud rises above where the Temple of Baal Shamin stood in Palmyra until {Daesh/ISIS}Isis blew it up in August 2015... Isis is destroying the ‘Venice of the sands’ piece by piece – and worse atrocities may be yet to come.

Kidnapping and Sex Slavery: Covering ISIS' Religious Justification for Rape

The New York Times

Aug 14, 2015 - Rukmini Callimachi discusses how she worked to tell the stories of Yazidi women and girls held as sex slaves by the Islamic State.

*************

FYI

#‎Jordan‬ hosts second largest number of {Syrian} ‪#‎refugees‬ per capita — 2015 report ‪#‎Amman‬ ‪#‎JO‬ #Jordan http://ow.ly/RJ6yP

According to official figures, there are some 1.4 million Syrians in Jordan. - See more at: http://www.jordantimes.com/news/local/jordan-hosts-second-largest-number-refugees-capita-%E2%80%94-report#sthash.TLNe3Xcq.dpuf

Refugees from 44 nations, including Somalis, Iraqis and Sudanese, reside in Jordan, according to the UNHCR. - See more at: http://www.jordantimes.com/news/local/jordan-hosts-second-largest-number-refugees-capita-%E2%80%94-report#sthash.TLNe3Xcq.dpu

My letter to the NYTimes RE Roger's Cohen's Middle Eastern Zen

MOHAMMED OMER: Gaza, Gulag on the Mediterranean AUG. 24, 2015

RE: Roger's Cohen's Middle Eastern Zen
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/08/28/opinion/roger-cohen-middle-eastern-zen.html?ref=international

Dear Editor,

Roger's Cohen's Middle Eastern Zen is only possible because his world view totally ignores the part Jews-preferred Israel has played in creating and sustaining a mind boggling long and huge and increasingly complicated refugee crisis.

The Middle East with scarce water and lots of religious extremism goaded on by all who invest in bigotry- including Israel- might only last long enough for many MANY more people to suffer in many MANY more ways as the people there are living thinking feeling human beings who would rather not be stuck in impoverished refugee camps, walled ghettos and jobless quagmires for generations to come.

Daesh/ISIS is decidedly more despicable and cruel than Israel, but that is no reason for foolish Americans to fund, empower, and then excuse or ignore Israel's ongoing persecution, oppression and displacement of the native non-Jewish people of historic Palestine.

Now more than ever is a good time to insist that Israel start seriously respecting international law and universal human rights: A just and lasting peace, a fully secular peace shaping fair and just laws, for both Israel and Palestine as two fully separate, fully sovereign nation states, would go a long way towards freeing all the people from perpetual hostilities, escalating pollution and poverty- and crowded refugee camps.

Sincerely,
Anne Selden Annab

Middle East Refugee Crisis 2013 photo: Syria-Iraq border

 "Tens of thousands of people, mainly from Africa and the Middle East, have put to sea this year in the hope of reaching Europe, often dangerously packed into small vessels that were never designed to cross the Mediterranean.

Those who make it ashore and others traveling by land have increasingly tried to make their way north via the Balkans, causing tension among countries along the route... "

8-27-2015: Up to 50 refugees found dead in truck in Austria, European leaders 'shaken'