My letter to the Washington Post RE U.N. Panel Backs Gaza Report, Rights Council's Vote Decried by Israelis, Hailed by Palestinians

Palestinians ride a cart past a house destroyed in January's Israeli military offensive, in Jebaliya, northern Gaza Strip, late Friday, Oct. 16, 2009. The U.N. Human Rights Council voted Friday to endorse a Gaza war crimes report and send it to the Security Council, possibly setting up international prosecution of Israelis and Palestinians accused of war crimes. (AP Photo / Hatem Moussa)

RE: U.N. Panel Backs Gaza Report, Rights Council's Vote Decried by Israelis, Hailed by Palestinians
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/10/16/AR2009101600959.html

Dear Editor,

I hope some good can come out of this contentious Goldstone report, and that it does not become yet another distraction- another way to put off making Palestine a real state for its citizens rather than an ongoing crisis and a world wide rally call for angry dissidents and extremists.

In light of that I wish that in addition to covering the news concerning the UN Panel backing the Gaza report the Washington Post had also headlined and covered the recent ATFP Gala "Palestine Alongside Israel: Liberty, Security, Prosperity" held at the Ritz-Carlton in Washington DC, and National Security Advisor Gen. James L. Jones' speech there, representing President Obama at the Fourth Annual Gala of the American Task Force on Palestine...

"Throughout the past several months, I believe that our policy has been clear, unambiguous and consistent. We have called on all parties to meet their responsibilities and to take steps to promote an environment in which negotiations can prosper and succeed. These steps were never meant as an end in themselves but as a way to relaunch talks on the core issues of the conflict: security for both Israelis and Palestinians, borders, refugees and Jerusalem." National Security Advisor Gen. James L. Jones. http://www.americantaskforce.org/remarks_national_security_advisor_gen_james_l_jones

Sincerely,
Anne Selden Annab

A Jordanian boy flies a kite depicting a Palestinian flag, which belongs to members of the Follow the Women Foundation, after they arrived at the Amman Citadel on their bicycles as part of their tour within the region October 15, 2009. About 300 women from 30 countries took part in an event cycling through the Middle Eastern countries to promote peace and empower women in the region. REUTERS/Ali Jarekji

The Arab Peace Initiative

Jordan Times Editorial: One Hopes...

http://www.jordantimes.com/?news=20744

One hopes…

Israel is threatening that it will not enter into any negotiations with the Palestinians if the international community should in any way, shape or form endorse the Goldstone report on Israeli war crimes in Gaza.

This takes an awful lot of nerve, considering the context.

Israel is refusing to recognise that Palestinian refugees, like refugees all over the world, have a right of return to the homes and lands from where they were deported. Israel refuses to accept the 1967 borders as the starting point for negotiations to create two states. For example, it considers occupied East Jerusalem its, alone. It considers large settlement blocks as non-negotiable. It considers the Jordan Valley as well as the Golan Heights of supreme strategic military importance, and hence also non-negotiable.

Israel is in effect willing to negotiate only over what is left of the occupied West Bank once East Jerusalem; settlement blocks and the Jordan Valley are taken out of the equation. And over this remaining 12 or 13 per cent of historic Palestine, Israel still wants to negotiate. But not if the Palestinians have the nerve to set preconditions for talks.

Israeli preconditions, you see, only look like preconditions, they are in fact an entirely rational framework for a government that considers it has divine entitlement to the land.

Israel, furthermore, rejects any suggestion that its military or political leaders could possibly be guilty of war crimes. The fact that an independent committee of world-renowned jurors should raise that possibility only shows that the world is inherently anti-Semitic. That one of those jurors should happen to be both Jewish and a Zionist matters not to the paranoid mind.

It is tempting to wonder what the Palestinians did to deserve an enemy like this. More puzzling, perhaps, is the world’s abject failure to deal with what is clearly a rogue state with a rogue-state mentality.

How long can this continue? How long can a country that clearly has so much contempt for international law, for the demands of peace and for human rights continue to lead the world by its nose?

One hopes that this current Israeli government, composed as it is of settlers, bigots and rejectionists, will finally force the scales from everyone’s eyes. One hopes.

15 October 2009

National Security Advisor James Jones to Address ATFP Gala Oct. 15

National Security Advisor James Jones to Address ATFP Gala Oct. 15

Media contact: Hussein Ibish, (202) 438-7297

Washington, DC, Oct. 9 – ATFP is pleased to announce that National Security Advisor to the President, General James Jones, USMC (Ret), will be the featured keynote speaker at the Fourth Annual Gala of the American Task Force on Palestine. Prior to his appointment as National Security Advisor, General Jones served as the State Department’s Special Envoy for Middle East Regional Security.

Entitled “Palestine Alongside Israel: Liberty, Security, Prosperity,” the Gala will be held on Oct. 15 in Washington, DC, and will honor Dr. Najat Arafat Khelil, Dr. Shibley Telhami, and Dr. Fuad Jubran for their contributions to the fields of Conflict Resolution, Scholarship, and Science & Medical Education. At the Gala ATFP will also present a Special Recognition to Amb. Robert H. Pelletreau commemorating 20 years of US-Palestinian diplomacy.

Who: National Security Advisor James Jones
What: American Task Force on Palestine Fourth Annual Gala
Where: Ritz-Carlton, 1150 22nd street, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20037
When: Thursday, October 15, 6:30PM
Attire: Black tie

The Gala will feature a silent auction of approximately 150 works of art and crafts.
For more information on the auction and the items available:
http://www.americantaskforce.org/gala_2009/silent_auction

To view the Gala Host Committee:
http://www.americantaskforce.org/fourth_annual_gala_honorary_host_committee

To Purchase Tickets online:
http://www.americantaskforce.org/gala_2009

For more information:
http://www.americantaskforce.org/gala_2009

Tree of Life

My letter to the Boston Globe RE The doomed Mideast ‘peace process’ By Jeff Jacoby

RE: The doomed Mideast ‘peace process’ By Jeff Jacoby
http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/editorial_opinion/oped/articles/2009/10/14/the_doomed_mideast_peace_process/

Dear Editor,

Israel is the one most eager to dismiss diplomatic initiatives to end the Palestine/Israel conflict. Fact is Israel has spent the past 61 years systemically and intentionally destroying Palestinian homes and usurping Palestinian land: Israel's settlers assisted by ardent propagandists both here and there, seek to sabotage all hope of peace and justice today so that a basically borderless Israel can usurp even more Arab land and push even more Arabs into poverty, forced exile, despair and extremism tomorrow.

Sincerely,
Anne Selden Annab

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.

My letter to USA Today RE Obama Peace Prize not without some merit

"...and acknowledging that Israel isn't always right and that the Palestinians aren't always wrong is a better road to a more peaceful world than the ones taken by prior U.S. administrations." DeWayne Wickham


RE: Obama Peace Prize not without some merit by DeWayne Wickham
http://blogs.usatoday.com/oped/2009/10/column-obama-peace-prize-not-without-some-merit-.html#more

Dear Editor,

Good to see a positive as well as thoughtful response to our President Barack Obama winning the Nobel Peace Prize, framing the story so as to move forward in a positive direction... Seems to me that we can choose to believe in diplomacy, decency and hope- or we can be snide cynics ushering in a futile future of global negativity where pessimism and pervasive nastiness negate all noble attempts to end ignorance, cruelty and violent conflicts.

I think it is very important to support optimism- and accountability: Peace and possibility start with each and every one of us, with how we choose to interact, who we opt to listen to, and where we decide to put our time and energy... One by one by one we help build a better world- or not.

Sincerely,
Anne Selden Annab

From King to Obama

EXHIBITION: Portrays America in the 1960s, where the Civil Rights Movement helped pave the way for Barack Obama's historic election victory. From 25 Sep.

GOOD NEWS: In a surprise, Obama wins Nobel Peace Prize

File - U.S. President Barack Obama addresses the 64th session of the United Nations General Assembly, in this Sept. 23, 2009 file photo. President Obama on Friday Oct. 9, 2009 won the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize for 'his extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples,' the Norwegian Nobel Committee said.(AP Photo/Richard Drew, File)

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091009/ap_on_re_eu/eu_nobel_peace

OSLO – President Barack Obama won the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize on Friday for "his extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples," the Norwegian Nobel Committee said, citing his outreach to the Muslim world and attempts to curb nuclear proliferation.

A different day by Ziad Asali

8 - 14 October 2009 Issue No. 967 Reader's corner

http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/2009/967/letters.htm

A different day

Sir -- Things have changed over the past decade between Palestinians and the United States, and much for the better. Yasser Arafat was enticed to attend the Camp David meeting in 2000 with the promise that he would not be blamed if it failed. It did, and he was. President Mahmoud Abbas was recently invited to attend the New York meeting without any such promise. He was not blamed, and the meeting was not a failure.

The meeting dealt with both an immediate crisis and a long term strategic goal. The crisis was generated by Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu's refusal to budge on the total settlement freeze proposed by the US administration and by Abbas refusing to negotiate without it.

Entering the trilateral meeting, the Palestinians had no expectations that President Barack Obama could deliver a 100 per cent freeze or even find a way out of the crisis, let alone offer a commitment and a mechanism to advance a major strategic goal. However, Obama refused to yield on his own demand for a freeze, set it aside for now, and responded by demanding an even more ambitious and strategic goal: the resumption of final status issues, which Netanyahu did not exactly seek. In his speech to the UN General Assembly, Obama spelled out the parameters for these negotiations: security for all, borders, refugees and Jerusalem. And to add clarity, he said the goal was to end the occupation that began in 1967, and declared settlement activity illegitimate.

Netanyahu may have won the first round on freezing the settlements, but he lost the case on their legitimacy. Moreover, the end game is about establishing a Palestinian state, and that is very much in play. Netanyahu's commitment to a two-state solution, now twice expressed in official pronouncements, will be seriously tested in new negotiations.

He stymied the quest for a settlement freeze, but he has yet to prove that his opposition was to this one specific issue, rather than to negotiating a genuine end to the conflict.

Ziad Asali
Washington
USA

Re: Please do all you can to help end the Israel/Palestine conflict.

from my Senator:

Thank you for contacting my office regarding the state of affairs in Israel and the Palestinian Territories.

Having recently returned from a visit to the Middle East, where I met with Israeli and Arab leaders, I believe that Israel and its rivals are ready to take a rational step toward peace. But it won't happen unless the United States steps in and acts as a catalyst. Only the United States possesses the authority and the trust -- muted though it may be -- to bring the contending sides together and reach a comprehensive agreement based on a two-state formula.

The precedents are there. In the Yom Kippur War, it was the United States that negotiated the armistice and brought about disengagement. The historic Camp David Accords, pledging Israel's return of the Sinai, would not have happened without the leadership of President Jimmy Carter. President Bill Clinton came within a hair's breadth of forging a comprehensive settlement between Israel and the Palestinian Authority. I have long urged a renewed U.S. role in stimulating dialogue between Israel and Syria, as well as Israel and the Palestinian Authority. For the past eight years, the United States has played a subdued role, emerging occasionally to encourage the sides to talk.

President Barack Obama's appointment of special envoys to the Middle East, Pakistan and Afghanistan signals a dramatic shift from the detachment of the Bush years. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton confirmed this new approach when she declared in her confirmation hearings: "Despite the seemingly intractable problems in the Middle East, we cannot give up on peace." I personally welcome this return to an activist U.S. role. The world should, too.

The Obama administration takes office at a time when the current conflict may move each side closer to compromise if it doesn't drive them further apart. For Israel, that means cessation of hostilities, withdrawal and steps toward a Palestinian state. For Hamas, it means an end to the rocket attacks and acceptance of Israel's right to exist.

During my meeting with President Bashar al-Assad of Syria in Damascus in December 2008, there was a clearly articulated readiness to resume stalled negotiations under Turkish sponsorship once the Israeli-Hamas conflict ends. President Assad was engaged and welcoming of the prospect.

The battle with Hamas has interrupted, but not derailed, the peace process. It is significant that not one of Israel's adversaries, with the exception of Iran, sided with Hamas' rocket attacks. Egypt backed the Israeli action, noting the aggressive stance taken by Hamas. Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Salam Fayyad conceded that Israel had acted in self-defense.

And while there has been widespread anger over the scope of Israel's response, reflecting the mood on the Arab street, there has also been recognition of Israel's right to defend itself. President Assad expressly said that he recognized Israel's security interests.

Forty-five years ago, John F. Kennedy told graduating seniors at American University that peace was the "necessary rational end of rational man." He continued, "peace does not require that each love his neighbor; it requires only that they live together in mutual tolerance." This is a pragmatic formula that should suit rational men in pursuit of rational self- interests.

Thank you again for writing. The concerns of my constituents are of great importance to me, and I rely on you and other Pennsylvanians to inform me of your views. Should you have any further questions, please do not hesitate to contact my office or visit my website at

http://specter.senate.gov.

Sincerely,

Arlen Specter

My letter sent 9-16-2009 via congress.org

Please do all you can to help end the Israel/Palestine conflict.

Video of Wilson Center panel on Ibish one-state book | Ibishblog

Video of Wilson Center panel on Ibish one-state book | Ibishblog

Shared via AddThis

My letter to The Daily Star RE Credit Barack Obama with resolve on a Palestinian state By Hussein Ibish

RE: Credit Barack Obama with resolve on a Palestinian state By Hussein Ibish
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=10&categ_id=5&article_id=107229

Dear Sir,

Excellent to see "Credit Barack Obama with resolve on a Palestinian state" By Hussein Ibish. I like Ibish's Ibishblog www.ibishblog.com and his many thoughtful contributions to a very difficult and often confusing conversation concerning Palestine- and America. His most recent blog post today is a wise warning: Palestine on the brink: only a quick de-escalation can prevent an explosion

It really would be a horrible and senseless tragedy, if after all these years of valiantly struggling to be free, the remnants left of historic Palestine end up totally sabotaged, torn asunder and destroyed by various extremists and hate mongers who scorn the current efforts to bring about a just and lasting peace for Israel and Palestine based on the Arab Peace Initiative.

Sincerely,
Anne Selden Annab

Midnight Prayers by Artist: Helen Zughaib (ATFP Silent Auction)

Midnight Prayers
by Artist: Helen Zughaib

Measurements: 33x39
Donated By: Helen Zughaib
Created: 2009

Limited Edition piece of a set of twenty, done by Lebanese-American artist Helen Zughaib. U.S. President Barack Obama donated the original piece to Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Al Maliki. Features nontraditional use of space and perspective.

Starting Bid: $1,200.00
Bid Increments: $100
Market Value: $1,600.00

Silent Auction 2009

The Gala will feature a silent auction of approximately 150 works of art and crafts. For more information on the auction and the items available:
http://www.americantaskforce.org/gala_2009/silent_auction

To view the Gala Host Committee:
http://www.americantaskforce.org/fourth_annual_gala_honorary_host_committee

For more information:
http://www.americantaskforce.org/gala_2009

To Purchase Tickets online:
https://www.americantaskforce.org/civicrm/contribute/transact?reset=1&id=2

Gala 2009: Palestine Alongside Israel: Liberty, Security, Prosperity

Media contacts: Hussein Ibish, (202) 438-7297

UN News Centre: Palestine Rights Bureau Says Situation in East Jerusalem ‘Deeply Disturbing’

http://www.un.org/News/Press/docs/2009/gapal1137.doc.htm
5 October 2009

General Assembly

GA/PAL/1137

Department of Public Information • News and Media Division • New York

Palestine Rights Bureau Says Situation in East Jerusalem ‘Deeply Disturbing’

This statement was issued today by the bureau of the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People on the situation in occupied East Jerusalem:

Further to the statement by the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People of 19 May 2009, expressing concern about illegal and provocative Israeli policies and measures in occupied East Jerusalem, the bureau of the Committee is once again, compelled to voice its alarm about recent developments in the city.

The situation in East Jerusalem is deeply disturbing. The Israeli authorities continue to expand illegal settlements in and around East Jerusalem, as well as take discriminatory measures against the city’s Palestinian residents. On 2 August, following a decision by the Israeli High Court of Justice, Israeli security forces had forcibly evicted nine Palestinian families -- 53 refugees registered by United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), including 20 children -- from their homes in the Sheikh Jarrah neighbourhood of East Jerusalem. Their property was handed over to a settler organization.

Moreover, on 7 September, Defence Minister Ehud Barak approved the construction of 455 new settlement units. On the same day, the Israel Land Administration published tenders for the construction of 486 units in the “Pisgat Ze’ev” settlement. There are also plans to build 14,000 housing units in the area of the Palestinian village of Al-Walaja, south-west Jerusalem, which would become the largest settlement project in the vicinity of East Jerusalem since the construction of the “Pisgat Ze’ev”, “Gilo” and “Har Homa” settlements.

Most recently, the violent incidents at the Al-Haram Al-Sharif compound demonstrate how tense and explosive the situation in the city is. Any illegal or provocative actions, in particular at or near the city’s holy sites, are prone to escalate into large-scale violence with far-reaching implications.

The bureau of the Committee states most emphatically that continued house demolitions, eviction of Palestinian residents, settlement construction, transfer of settlers or any other legal or administrative measures aimed at altering the status and physical and demographic character of occupied East Jerusalem constitute violations of international law and must be rescinded by the occupying Power. These unilateral policies and actions also sabotage the important efforts by the Quartet and its partners to relaunch permanent status negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians. Moreover, they call into question the credibility of official declarations by the Israeli Government regarding its readiness to resume serious negotiations with the declared goal of reaching a two-State solution to the conflict on the basis of the 1967 borders.

East Jerusalem remains part of the Occupied Palestinian Territory. Achieving a negotiated solution of the question of Jerusalem based on international law and relevant United Nations resolutions is absolutely essential for resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and crucial for a durable peace in the whole region. The bureau of the Committee stresses that in the absence of the political will on the part of the Israeli Government to adhere to its obligations, the international community must shoulder the responsibility of ensuring respect for the norms of international law.

The bureau of the Committee also urges the Security Council to implement its own resolutions on the question of Jerusalem. The members of the Quartet must also ensure the implementation by the parties of their obligations under the Road Map. The Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People, for its part, pledges to continue to work in support of a comprehensive, just and lasting solution of the question of Palestine. The status and the future of the Holy City of Jerusalem remain an important integral part of any such settlement.

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Palestinian Rights Committee Adopts Annual Report, Noting Concern at Israeli Settlement Activity, Other Issues

Palestine Rights Bureau Says Situation in East Jerusalem ‘Deeply Disturbing’

Palestine Refugee Agency Has Saved Countless Lives, Offered Hope to Generations