My letter to CSM RE In Jordan slashed UN food aid, limited job opportunities- how can refugees survive...

Support for Palestinian Statehood Getty photo UK House of Commons London October 2014 ( September 2011 Mahmoud Abbas saluted in West Bank after Palestine statehood speech at UN: Celebratory mood in Ramallah as thousands of Palestinians gather to hear their president's demand for state recognition)

RE  In Jordan, slashed UN food aid has even 'well off' Syrians feeling the pinch: With Jordan limiting job opportunities and the UN reducing food aid, even middle-class refugees from war-torn Syria are asking how, and where, they can survive.
http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Middle-East/2014/1016/In-Jordan-slashed-UN-food-aid-has-even-well-off-Syrians-feeling-the-pinch

Dear Editor,

Jordan has had to deal with a huge diaspora of Palestinian refugees since 1948, and now there are also many Iraqi and Syrian men, women and children being pushed into forced exile and poverty. 

Seems to me lifting marginalized people out of poverty starts with ending conflict and war- specifically not caving in to, or being manipulated by the bigoted militants and criminals who are wrecking havoc all over in the Middle East, exasperating refugee crises and despair everywhere.   Bigotry, militancy, and religious tyranny are rapidly ruining lives, making bad situations substantially worse by fostering more extremism and terror, rather than nurturing peace with compassion and the rule of fair and just laws.

As Hussein Ibish (of the American Task Force on Palestine) wisely points out in his article concerning Arabs & civilization: Hisham, Hope and Despair..."The crucial point is that the one thing that is certain is that the choices that we make individually and collectively will have a direct and profound impact on the short, medium and long-term outcomes. And, therefore, our choices must be carefully considered, deliberate and purposive, while apathy and inaction are not options."

One war with numerous negative ramifications that can and should be ended as soon as possible is the Israel-Palestine conflict. A fully secular two state solution to end the conflict by creating a fully sovereign and free Palestine living in and with peace and security alongside Israel is the best way forward: International law and full respect for universal human rights must be empowered at every turn, for every one's sake. 

Limiting rights, respect and citizenship to a preferred religion is wrong. Palestinian refugees need to be able to return to Israel, and they also need the option of relocating to Palestine or elsewhere.  Jordan will be better able to deal with refugees and shaping a regional peace when Israel respects universal human rights and U.N. Resolution 194 resolving that Palestinian “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...”

Sincerely,
Anne Selden Annab

NOTES
Kerry: 'Imperative' to resume Israel-Palestinian talks: "There wasn't a leader I met with in the region who didn't raise with me spontaneously the need to try to get peace between Israel and the Palestinians, because it was a cause of recruitment and of street anger and agitation,"

U.N. Security Council urges stronger campaign against [Da'esh] Islamic State

“It’s always easy to get money for F-16s, but not so much for food and cash,” says Andrew Harper, head of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in Jordan, which says it may have to cut cash assistance programs for 20,000 families in November and December due to lack of funding.

Arabs from Israel risk arrest for 'Arab Idol' show... Israel and Suha Arraf Differ on Nationality of ‘Villa Touma’... & Escape to a World of Palestinian Surprises

My letter to the NYTimes RE Room for Debate: Should Nations Recognize a Palestinian State?

My letter to USAToday RE "Palestinian advocacy misunderstood: Objections" by Andrew Dalack & Bayan Founas, National Students for Justice in Palestine

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

Our words have a way of echoing out into either war or peace.... My Published Letters 2014

Citizens of the Earth

Hussein Ibish: The three-way Israeli-Palestinian impasse- Israel, the PA and Hamas are all trapped in their own policies with no idea how to move forward.

In #Palestine #Olive Trees witnessed foreign invaders for thousands of years...

THIS WEEK IN PALESTINE: Ethnographic Habitat, Place Memories, and Cultural Identity

UK Parliament votes to recognize Palestinian state- a symbolic move intended to increase pressure for a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Dorothy Shea: "Palestinians should be applauded for largely eliminating the gender gap in education. Unlike in some parts of the Middle East and North Africa, Palestinian girls and young women enjoy equal access to education as their male counterparts."

Islamic State Seeks to Justify Enslaving Yazidi Women and Girls in Iraq... The article on slavery confirms practices documented by Human Rights Watch, which says Yazidi women and girls were forced to marry Islamic State fighters and shipped out in busloads from Iraq to Syria to be sold off as prizes

UK MPs To Vote On Recognition Of Palestine... "Dr Hanan Ashrawi, executive committee member of the PLO, told Sky News the Palestinian cause must be "rescued" to prevent jihadists [from] using it to fuel radicalisation and further extremism in the region."

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

U.S. calls for renewed commitment to lasting Mideast peace: "... a renewed commitment from everybody to work for peace that meets the aspirations of all, for Israelis, for Palestinians for all people of this region"

New Ibish article: Hisham, Hope and Despair..."The crucial point is that the one thing that is certain is that the choices that we make individually and collectively will have a direct and profound impact on the short, medium and long-term outcomes. And, therefore, our choices must be carefully considered, deliberate and purposive, while apathy and inaction are not options."

To promote the values of dialogue, tolerance and mutual respect, among religions and cultures... Let’s teach our youth to build, not destroy

Ashrawi: The recognition of Palestine is Human, Moral, Legal, and Political Imperative

"Let’s not feed Islamophobic bigotry... The great divide is not between faiths, but one between intolerant zealots of any tradition and the large numbers of decent, peaceful believers likewise found in each tradition." Nicholas Kristof

Last Thursday, the United Nations released a report that could provide us with one of the keys to defeating ISIS. Unfortunately, it received almost zero media attention.

"We see martyrs, children as young as 7, being portrayed as resistance fighters after being slaughtered by Israeli forces. Although we would like to convince ourselves that they have died for “the cause”, they have in fact died because of the cause." Mariam Barg

Hussein Ibish: US has a responsibility to rein in Israeli settlements

Tala Haikal: "It may not be possible to immediately free all the kidnapped girls and women due to the scope of the conflict with ISIS and the geographical dispersal of the captives in various locations. Some of these women and girls can be freed only once ISIS is destroyed."

UN report spotlights 'staggering' Islamic State atrocities in Iraq... "The group, which is fighting in Iraq and Syria, has carried out a wide range of atrocities, including mass executions, abductions, rape and other forms of sexual and physical violence against women and children"

Vatican seeks Mideast Christians' right of return

US sharply criticizes new Israeli housing project

Non-violent resistance is Palestine’s most powerful weapon

Tala Haikal: Empathy Is Essential to Humanity

Normalizing Intelligent Conversations, Diplomatic Support, and Hope for Palestine... ATFP Panel Briefing: Israeli-Palestinian War in a New Regional Landscape.

ATFP... American Task Force on Palestine

ATFP Calls for De-Escalation between Israel and the Palestinians

International Year of Solidarity with the Palestinian People 2014

UNRWA photo and film archive for Palestine refugees

About UNWRA: ’The Long Journey of Palestine Refugee Women’ candidly portrays the lives and experiences of Palestine refugee women, this collection is a testament not only to their own strength and dignity, but also to the richness and resilience of their community.

Walking Palestine & The Abraham Path... a creative space for stories that highlight the unique culture, heritage and hospitality of the region

It's time for Palestinians and Israelis to share a just peace... It's time for freedom from occupation... It's time for equal rights.... It's time for the healing of wounded souls..... World Week for Peace in Palestine Israel: "Let my people go!"... 21 - 27 September 2014 An initiative of the Palestine Israel Ecumenical Forum (PIEF) of the World Council of Churches

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

1948

Time and time again I have watched the cycle of incitement and spin sabotage support for Palestine

Clarifying why Arab and Muslim Americans should be smart rather than stupid

Live by the Golden Rule

• “Forgiving is not forgetting; it’s actually remembering - remembering and not using your right to hit back.”

An Anne Frank Moment ... a poem by Anne Selden Annab

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

1940s: The United Nations General Assembly adopts resolution 194 (III), resolving that “refugees wishing to return to their homes and live at peace with their neighbours should be permitted to do so at the earliest practicable date, and that compensation should be paid for the property of those choosing not to return and for loss of or damage to property which, under principles of international law or equity, should be made good by the Governments or authorities responsible.”

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

Kerry: 'Imperative' to resume Israel-Palestinian talks: "There wasn't a leader I met with in the region who didn't raise with me spontaneously the need to try to get peace between Israel and the Palestinians, because it was a cause of recruitment and of street anger and agitation,"

"...  We need "to find a way to create two states that can live together side by side, two peoples, with both of their aspirations being respected," Kerry added.

"I still believe that's possible, and I still believe we need to work towards it."

He said the unresolved Israel-Palestinian conflict was fueling recruitment for the Islamic State militant group.

"There wasn't a leader I met with in the region who didn't raise with me spontaneously the need to try to get peace between Israel and the Palestinians, because it was a cause of recruitment and of street anger and agitation," Kerry said.

"People need to understand the connection of that. And it has something to do with humiliation and denial and absence of dignity," he added.

Kerry was the architect of the resumption of the Israeli-Palestinian peace process between July 2013 and April, which broke down after Israel announced plans for 700 new illegal settlements..."

[AS ALWAYS PLEASE GO TO THE LINK TO READ GOOD ARTICLES IN FULL: HELP SHAPE ALGORITHMS (and conversations) THAT EMPOWER DECENCY, DIGNITY, JUSTICE & PEACE... and hopefully Palestine]

 http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=733668

Kerry: 'Imperative' to resume Israel-Palestinian talks

 ***

Al-Aqsa is located in East Jerusalem, a part of the internationally recognized Palestinian territories that have been occupied by the Israeli military since 1967... Al-Aqsa Mosque (Arabic:المسجد الاقصى al-Masjid al-Aqṣā, IPA: [ʔælˈmæsdʒɪd ælˈʔɑqsˤɑ] ( listen), "the Farthest Mosque") also known as Al-Aqsa and Bayt al-Muqaddas, is the third holiest site in Islam and is located in the Old City of Jerusalem. The site on which the silver domed mosque sits, along with the Dome of the Rock, also referred to as al-Haram ash-Sharif or "Noble Sanctuary,"

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.

U.N. Security Council urges stronger campaign against [Da'esh] Islamic State

The U.N. Security Council chamber, a gift from Norway, was designed by Norwegian artist Arnstein Arneberg. A large mural by Per Krohg (Norway), symbolizing the promise of future peace and individual freedom, covers most of the east wall.

[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://news.yahoo.com/u-n-security-council-urges-stronger-campaign-against-011023522.html

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - The United Nations Security Council on Friday pushed for a bombing campaign in Iraq against Islamic State militants and associated extremist groups to be strengthened and expanded. 

A U.S.-led military coalition has been bombing Islamic State fighters who hold a large swathe of territory in both Iraq and Syria, two countries involved in complex multi-sided civil wars in which nearly every country in the Middle East has a stake.

U.S. President Barack Obama on Tuesday told military leaders from more than 20 countries working with the coalition that he was deeply concerned about the Islamic State's advances at the Syrian town of Kobani and in western Iraq.

"The members of the Security Council urged the international community, in accordance with international law, to further strengthen and expand support for the government of Iraq, including Iraqi Security Forces, in the fight against (Islamic State) and associated armed groups," it said in a statement.

Iraqi pilots who have joined Islamic State in Syria are training members of the group to fly in three captured fighter jets, a monitoring group said on Friday, saying it was the first time the militant group had taken to the air.

The 15-member Security Council "stressed that (Islamic State) must be defeated and that the intolerance, violence and hatred it espouses must be stamped out."

The United States has been trying to persuade Turkey to take an active role in the campaign against Islamic State. 

Ankara this week agreed to help equip and train some Syrian armed groups fighting the militants, as well as the Syrian government. U.S. and Turkish officials say talks are under way on allowing the use of Turkish facilities for countries engaged in the campaign against Islamic State.

(Reporting by Michelle Nichols; Editing by Ken Wills)

***

UN Security Council urges stronger campaign against ISIS

 

Palestinians want UN Security Council to vote on Israel pullout

“It’s always easy to get money for F-16s, but not so much for food and cash,” says Andrew Harper, head of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in Jordan, which says it may have to cut cash assistance programs for 20,000 families in November and December due to lack of funding.

Syrian refugees walk at Al Zaatari refugee camp in the Jordanian city of Mafraq, near the border with Syria, September 15, 2014.

[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.csmonitor.com/World/Middle-East/2014/1016/In-Jordan-slashed-UN-food-aid-has-even-well-off-Syrians-feeling-the-pinch

World Middle East

In Jordan, slashed UN food aid has even 'well off' Syrians feeling the pinch

With Jordan limiting job opportunities and the UN reducing food aid, even middle-class refugees from war-torn Syria are asking how, and where, they can survive.

By Christa Case Bryant, Staff writer October 16, 2014

Al-Ramtha and Amman, Jordan — Ahmed, a father of four, was sentenced to death in 2012 after Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s regime found rebel weapons in his home. With his connections he was able to get out of prison after eight months, and fled with his family to Jordan.

Today he’s thinking of returning to Syria because he’s lost his lifeline as a refugee: monthly United Nations food coupons.

Ahmed works illegally at a restaurant to support his four children, his sick mother, and his brother’s widow. He makes 200 Jordanian dinars a month ($280); rent alone is 140 dinars. Until last week, the UN’s World Food Programme (WFP) provided coupons of 24 JD ($34) per person per month that made it possible to scrape by. Now the coupons are being stopped.

“To die in our country is better than to stay here and ask people for charity,” he says.

Many of the estimated 3.2 million refugees who have fled Syria to neighboring countries come from middle-class backgrounds and have balked at conditions in refugee camps. Yet in Jordan it is becoming increasingly difficult to survive outside the camps as the government cracks down on those who leave without securing a sponsor.

Humanitarian organizations worry about refugees returning to a country in the throes of a war that’s already killed close to 200,000 people. But in Jordan and elsewhere, they face a bleak financial picture – due in part to crises ranging from Ukraine to the Ebola epidemic. That leaves aid agencies and refugees like Ahmed’s household in the border city of al-Ramtha, one of 12,000 cut from the WFP program, facing difficult choices.

“It’s always easy to get money for F-16s, but not so much for food and cash,” says Andrew Harper, head of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in Jordan, which says it may have to cut cash assistance programs for 20,000 families in November and December due to lack of funding.

$35 million a week for food coupons

The WFP is spending $35 million a week to provide food coupons for Syrians in their own country as well as in five neighboring countries: Jordan, Egypt, Lebanon, Turkey, and Iraq. Last month the organization announced impending cuts in all six countries, but last-minute donations postponed the cuts by a month.

In an effort to better target its resources, WFP has for the first time since the start of the Syrian refugee crisis removed 36,000 recipients in Jordan – about 7 percent – from the program. It plans to remove another 8 percent, based on an assessment that 15 percent of refugees can meet their basic needs.

The detailed assessment was carried out beginning in July and looked at factors involving the head of household, such as level of education, as well as the number of dependents, and chronic health issues in the family.

Jordan's per capita intake of refugees is equivalent to the US absorbing the entire population of Canada. The pressure on its small economy has made it almost impossible for Syrians to work here legally, as Jordan is keen to keep what jobs remain for its own citizens. As a result, even highly educated Syrians say it's difficult to provide for their families.

Take Awal al-Hamed, a lawyer whose wife is an agricultural engineer. After his house was bombed, he fled to Jordan and lobbied the Jordanian lawyer’s union with more than a dozen other Syrian lawyers for permission to work.

“If we open [this door], it will not be closed,” he recalls being told. His two sons, one of whom he says was top in his high school class, are studying at Egyptian universities on scholarships. But his daughter who was studying law at a Jordanian university had to drop out because of a lack of funds.
For Mr. Hamed, whose family also just got cut from the food coupons program, it’s not just about his family’s future but that of his country, since it means families won't be able to afford to pay for their children's schooling.

“The future of Syria needs these guys, because what happened is a huge disaster,” he says. “We need people to rebuild.”...READ MORE

Arabs from Israel risk arrest for 'Arab Idol' show... Israel and Suha Arraf Differ on Nationality of ‘Villa Touma’... & Escape to a World of Palestinian Surprises

In this Friday, Oct. 10, 2014 photo provided by MBC Press Office, Palestinian singer Manal Mousa, 25, performs during the Arab Idol Show broadcast by MBC Arabic satellite channel in Zouk Mosbeh neighborhood, north of Beirut, Lebanon. Her goal is to win Arab Idol, the Arab world's premiere television song competition. The journey Mousa and another singer Haitham Khalaily, 24, have taken from their villages in Israel to the competition in Lebanon could comprise a television drama of its own - featuring travel to an enemy country, Israeli security interrogations, and the complicated identity crisis of Israel's Arabs. (AP Photo/MBC Press Office)

[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://news.yahoo.com/arabs-israel-risk-arrest-arab-idol-show-143214862.html
Arabs from Israel risk arrest for 'Arab Idol' show

MAJD AL-KRUM, Israel (AP) — Their goal is to win Arab Idol, the Arab world's premiere television song competition.

But the journey Manal Mousa, 25, and Haitham Khalaily, 24, have taken from their villages in Israel to the competition in Lebanon could comprise a television drama of its own — featuring travel to an enemy country, Israeli security interrogations, and the complicated identity crisis of Israel's Arabs.

The two singers are competing for more than just fame: they want to be a part of the cultural world that has been largely off limits to them because of the decades-long Arab-Israeli conflict.

"This is a chance for Haitham," said Waheeb Khalaily, Haitham's father, in his home in Majd Al-Krum, a village in the Galilee, in northern Israel. "For the Arab world and the whole world to hear him and say that he represents a Palestinian people that clings to its land."

In the bitter conflict between Israel and its Arab neighbors, Arab-Israelis are stuck in the middle. Though citizens of the Jewish state, they share the ethnicity, language and culture of the Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.

Arabs who remained in Israel after its creation in 1948, and their descendants, today make up 20 percent of the population. Many identify as Palestinians rather than Israelis, watch Arab satellite television and dream of traveling throughout the Middle East. But their Israeli citizenship bars them from most Arab countries because Israeli passport holders are prohibited entry....READ MORE

******

The Hand That Feeds Bites Back

Israel and Suha Arraf Differ on Nationality of ‘Villa Touma’

Suha Arraf identified her film Villa Touma” as Palestinian at the Venice Film Festival. Israel, which helped fund the movie, objected. Credit Villa Touma

 http://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/19/movies/israel-and-suha-arraf-differ-on-nationality-of-villa-touma.html?emc=edit_tnt_20141018&nlid=67297737&tntemail0=y&_r=0

“Villa Touma,” a darkly comic fable directed by a Palestinian-Israeli screenwriter, Suha Arraf, had been experiencing an identity crisis well before it got to Canada. At the Venice Film Festival a week or so earlier, Ms. Arraf (“Lemon Tree”) listed the film as “Palestinian,” and in doing so kicked up a media and bureaucratic storm. Since most of her financing came from Israeli state sources, the political establishment argued that “Villa Touma” should have been considered Israeli. The Israeli Film Council demanded the return of more than $500,000 Ms. Arraf raised from the Israeli Film Fund, the Economic Ministry and the national lottery.

Suha Arraf, who wrote and directed “Villa Touma.” Credit Kathleen McInnis

The response online and in the Israeli press to Ms. Arraf, was not, generally speaking, kind. “It was crazy,” Ms. Arraf said in Toronto. “They said I stole Israeli money, they said I’m a whore, of course, and a suicide bomber.” She continued: “When I talk about it here, and people hear about the story, they start laughing and ask me to write a comedy about it. A comedy. Nobody would believe me if I wrote the script.”

Set in 2001, the film tells of three Christian sisters who have cloistered themselves since the 1967 Six-Day War inside their once-elegant Ramallah home in the West Bank (though, aside from some exteriors there, the film was largely shot in Haifa, Israel). When a niece comes to live with them, their insular existence starts to dissolve. Featured are the Palestinian actresses Nisreen Faour, Ula Tabari and Maria Zreik, along with Cherien Dabis, the Palestinian-American director (“Amreeka”), making what she called a long-delayed acting debut.

“It was so refreshing,” she said of Ms. Arraf’s script. “It’s about a world we’ve never seen, a segment of Palestinian society that’s just lost. It’s about women’s lives, their intimacy. The humor was there, the pacing was there.”...READ MORE

**********

GIGI HADID
Fashion Model, USA

“My dad was born in Palestine and immigrated at a very young age. I think the most inspiring thing about my parents is that they came from nothing and through hard work and determination they both reached their goals…they always taught me the importance of making a name for myself regardless of the past success of my family, be financially independent, and using my success to help the less fortunate.”

Read more about Gigi Hadid at Palestinian Surprises website: http://bit.ly/1vP1UCO

Sherri Muzher is a journalist, scholar, and activist who has dedicated much of her writings to dispelling Palestinian stereotypes, clarifying myths, and presenting the Palestinian perspective... Muzher was born and raised in Michigan. Her parents left the Occupied West Bank in 1969 with hopes of brighter days for their future children... Escape to a World of Palestinian Surprises

Palestinian Surprises Facebook Page

The Palestinian Surprises website and facebook page are tools for the Palestinian people to recognize and publicize the best of their achievements in Diaspora and the homeland, and to show our rich culture, heritage and history. These achievements are in science, education, politics, music and every aspect of Palestinian life! Palestinian Surprises is thus also a resource to dispel negative stereotypes of Palestine and of Palestinians.

My letter to the NYTimes RE Room for Debate: Should Nations Recognize a Palestinian State?

Pro-Palestinian supporters position a giant banner calling for a recognised Palestinian State, in Parliament Square, central London on October 13, 2014 (AFP Photo/Leon Neal)

RE: Recognition’s Diplomatic Leverage Could Strengthen Palestinian Rights
http://www.nytimes.com/roomfordebate/2014/10/16/should-nations-recognize-a-palestinian-state
http://www.nytimes.com/roomfordebate/2014/10/16/should-nations-recognize-a-palestinian-state/recognitions-diplomatic-leverage-could-strengthen-palestinian-rights

Dear Editor,

Delighted, and relieved, to see NYTimes Room for Debate asking if nations should recognize a Palestinian state, especially because crucial points were made such as pointing out that  "The Palestinian right to self determination, according to the United Nations, includes, aside from national sovereignty, “the inalienable right of the Palestinians to return to their homes and property from which they have been displaced and uprooted.”  " (Omar Barghouti - Recognition of a Palestinian State Without Full Rights Is Meaningless)

I agree with Nadia Hijab that you can't go wrong with rights!  But I think one can go wrong, very very wrong with one state activism.  One state is an empty promise with no real foundations, no workable plan, and no serious mainstream international support.   One state errs the same way Israel errs- by ignoring important UN Resolutions.

Day by day, year after year, decade after decade, as long as the Israel-Palestine conflict continues, Palestinian individuals are being further disenfranchised by Israeli antics, as well as by misguided  'pro-Palestine' activists (including agent provocateurs) who scorn diplomacy and sabotage support for Palestinian state building efforts...  Many 'pro-Palestine' activists like to dwell on generous U.S. aid to Israel, as if that is the only reason Israel is able to build and defend its Jews-only settlements in the illegally occupied territories, but these 'pro-Palestine' activists foolishly ignore massive U.S. aid to Palestinians, not only more recent state building efforts but also to UNWRA, The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees the relief and human development agency, established in 1948 which has helped keep Palestinian men, women and children from dying of hunger and thirst. 

Furthermore, many stateless Palestinians have been welcomed to America with full and equal rights and good job opportunities.  Diplomacy helps keep that door open for now, as well as for future generations.

Avital Leibovich, Israel's director of the Jerusalem office of the Jewish advocacy group AJC, has a good point that Only Negotiations Can Lead to Palestinian Statehood and she is right to point out that "A future Palestinian state will need to ensure the safety of its citizens and the security of its contiguous neighbors. A Palestinian government that cannot disarm Hamas, Islamic Jihad and other terrorist groups will not be able to provide that protection. " She is right to worry about Islamists (we all should be worried) and she is also right to conclude by asking if the Middle East needs another failed state.

Richard Ottaway states the obvious in realizing that a Vote to Recognize a Palestinian State Is a Wakeup Call for Israel ... I think it should also be a wakeup call for Palestinians and their supporters. Do you want Palestine to be a rally cry for Islamists and religious tyranny, or do you want Palestine to be a real nation state, a fully sovereign and free nation state of the people, for the people and by the people with fair and just laws and a future living alongside and with Israel in peace and security:  A fully secular two state solution firmly rooted in international law with full respect for universal human rights is the best way forward.

As American Task Force on Palestine's astute Ziad Asali (who was born in Jerusalem) says in his inspiring essay 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."

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

Our words have a way of echoing out into either war or peace.... My Published Letters 2014

Citizens of the Earth

Hussein Ibish: The three-way Israeli-Palestinian impasse- Israel, the PA and Hamas are all trapped in their own policies with no idea how to move forward.

In #Palestine #Olive Trees witnessed foreign invaders for thousands of years...

THIS WEEK IN PALESTINE: Ethnographic Habitat, Place Memories, and Cultural Identity

UK Parliament votes to recognize Palestinian state- a symbolic move intended to increase pressure for a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Dorothy Shea: "Palestinians should be applauded for largely eliminating the gender gap in education. Unlike in some parts of the Middle East and North Africa, Palestinian girls and young women enjoy equal access to education as their male counterparts."

Islamic State Seeks to Justify Enslaving Yazidi Women and Girls in Iraq... The article on slavery confirms practices documented by Human Rights Watch, which says Yazidi women and girls were forced to marry Islamic State fighters and shipped out in busloads from Iraq to Syria to be sold off as prizes

UK MPs To Vote On Recognition Of Palestine... "Dr Hanan Ashrawi, executive committee member of the PLO, told Sky News the Palestinian cause must be "rescued" to prevent jihadists [from] using it to fuel radicalisation and further extremism in the region."

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

U.S. calls for renewed commitment to lasting Mideast peace: "... a renewed commitment from everybody to work for peace that meets the aspirations of all, for Israelis, for Palestinians for all people of this region"

In a common struggle for education and against extremism: "“If with my humble efforts the voice of tens of millions of children in the world who are living in servitude is being heard, congratulations to all,” Kailash Satyarthi on winning the Nobel Peace Prize 2014

Today is International Day of the Girl Child! To mark the day, Hina Jilani calls on the international community and civil society to work together to improve the lives of girls and women: Let's not be afraid to challenge the traditions that harm girls

New Ibish article: Hisham, Hope and Despair..."The crucial point is that the one thing that is certain is that the choices that we make individually and collectively will have a direct and profound impact on the short, medium and long-term outcomes. And, therefore, our choices must be carefully considered, deliberate and purposive, while apathy and inaction are not options."

To promote the values of dialogue, tolerance and mutual respect, among religions and cultures... Let’s teach our youth to build, not destroy

Ashrawi: The recognition of Palestine is Human, Moral, Legal, and Political Imperative

"Let’s not feed Islamophobic bigotry... The great divide is not between faiths, but one between intolerant zealots of any tradition and the large numbers of decent, peaceful believers likewise found in each tradition." Nicholas Kristof

Last Thursday, the United Nations released a report that could provide us with one of the keys to defeating ISIS. Unfortunately, it received almost zero media attention.

"We see martyrs, children as young as 7, being portrayed as resistance fighters after being slaughtered by Israeli forces. Although we would like to convince ourselves that they have died for “the cause”, they have in fact died because of the cause." Mariam Barg

Hussein Ibish: US has a responsibility to rein in Israeli settlements

Tala Haikal: "It may not be possible to immediately free all the kidnapped girls and women due to the scope of the conflict with ISIS and the geographical dispersal of the captives in various locations. Some of these women and girls can be freed only once ISIS is destroyed."

UN report spotlights 'staggering' Islamic State atrocities in Iraq... "The group, which is fighting in Iraq and Syria, has carried out a wide range of atrocities, including mass executions, abductions, rape and other forms of sexual and physical violence against women and children"

Vatican seeks Mideast Christians' right of return

US sharply criticizes new Israeli housing project

Non-violent resistance is Palestine’s most powerful weapon

Tala Haikal: Empathy Is Essential to Humanity

Normalizing Intelligent Conversations, Diplomatic Support, and Hope for Palestine... ATFP Panel Briefing: Israeli-Palestinian War in a New Regional Landscape.

ATFP... American Task Force on Palestine

ATFP Calls for De-Escalation between Israel and the Palestinians

International Year of Solidarity with the Palestinian People 2014

UNRWA photo and film archive for Palestine refugees

About UNWRA: ’The Long Journey of Palestine Refugee Women’ candidly portrays the lives and experiences of Palestine refugee women, this collection is a testament not only to their own strength and dignity, but also to the richness and resilience of their community.

Walking Palestine & The Abraham Path... a creative space for stories that highlight the unique culture, heritage and hospitality of the region

It's time for Palestinians and Israelis to share a just peace... It's time for freedom from occupation... It's time for equal rights.... It's time for the healing of wounded souls..... World Week for Peace in Palestine Israel: "Let my people go!"... 21 - 27 September 2014 An initiative of the Palestine Israel Ecumenical Forum (PIEF) of the World Council of Churches

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

1948

Time and time again I have watched the cycle of incitement and spin sabotage support for Palestine

Clarifying why Arab and Muslim Americans should be smart rather than stupid

Live by the Golden Rule

• “Forgiving is not forgetting; it’s actually remembering - remembering and not using your right to hit back.”

An Anne Frank Moment ... a poem by Anne Selden Annab

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

1940s: The United Nations General Assembly adopts resolution 194 (III), resolving that “refugees wishing to return to their homes and live at peace with their neighbours should be permitted to do so at the earliest practicable date, and that compensation should be paid for the property of those choosing not to return and for loss of or damage to property which, under principles of international law or equity, should be made good by the Governments or authorities responsible.”

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

My letter to USAToday RE "Palestinian advocacy misunderstood: Objections" by Andrew Dalack & Bayan Founas, National Students for Justice in Palestine

USA Today: Members of Students for Justice in Palestine at University of Tennessee and others march in Knoxville, Tenn., on July 18.(Photo: Megan Boehnke, AP)

RE USAToday letter "Palestinian advocacy misunderstood: Objections" by Andrew Dalack & Bayan Founas, National Students for Justice in Palestine
http://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/2014/10/14/campus-activism-palestinians-israelis-your-say/17287593/

Dear Editor,

Delighted to see the USAToday letter "Palestinian advocacy misunderstood: Objections" by Andrew Dalack & Bayan Founas, National Students for Justice in Palestine. Delighted that the students wrote a such a thoughtful letter in response to being misunderstood, and delighted that USAToday chose to publish their letter.

I would have posted my comment online in your comment section but some hate filled individual already posting there ten hours ago was practicing his free speech by being rude to and about Muslims.  His comment is not only rude it is also irrelevant since many Palestinians are Christians.  They are living links to a precious heritage, as are all citizens of the world in one way or another.

Ending the Israel-Palestine conflict ASAP with a fully secular two state solution in line with international law, and fully respecting universal human rights (including but not limited to the Palestinian refugees inalienable right to return to original homes and lands), would go a long way towards curbing religious bigotry and extremism everywhere, even here in America.

Sincerely,
Anne Selden Annab

NOTES
Our words have a way of echoing out into either war or peace.... My Published Letters 2014

Citizens of the Earth

Hussein Ibish: The three-way Israeli-Palestinian impasse- Israel, the PA and Hamas are all trapped in their own policies with no idea how to move forward.

In #Palestine #Olive Trees witnessed foreign invaders for thousands of years...

THIS WEEK IN PALESTINE: Ethnographic Habitat, Place Memories, and Cultural Identity

UK Parliament votes to recognize Palestinian state- a symbolic move intended to increase pressure for a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Dorothy Shea: "Palestinians should be applauded for largely eliminating the gender gap in education. Unlike in some parts of the Middle East and North Africa, Palestinian girls and young women enjoy equal access to education as their male counterparts."

Islamic State Seeks to Justify Enslaving Yazidi Women and Girls in Iraq... The article on slavery confirms practices documented by Human Rights Watch, which says Yazidi women and girls were forced to marry Islamic State fighters and shipped out in busloads from Iraq to Syria to be sold off as prizes

UK MPs To Vote On Recognition Of Palestine... "Dr Hanan Ashrawi, executive committee member of the PLO, told Sky News the Palestinian cause must be "rescued" to prevent jihadists [from] using it to fuel radicalisation and further extremism in the region."

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

U.S. calls for renewed commitment to lasting Mideast peace: "... a renewed commitment from everybody to work for peace that meets the aspirations of all, for Israelis, for Palestinians for all people of this region"

In a common struggle for education and against extremism: "“If with my humble efforts the voice of tens of millions of children in the world who are living in servitude is being heard, congratulations to all,” Kailash Satyarthi on winning the Nobel Peace Prize 2014

Today is International Day of the Girl Child! To mark the day, Hina Jilani calls on the international community and civil society to work together to improve the lives of girls and women: Let's not be afraid to challenge the traditions that harm girls

New Ibish article: Hisham, Hope and Despair..."The crucial point is that the one thing that is certain is that the choices that we make individually and collectively will have a direct and profound impact on the short, medium and long-term outcomes. And, therefore, our choices must be carefully considered, deliberate and purposive, while apathy and inaction are not options."

To promote the values of dialogue, tolerance and mutual respect, among religions and cultures... Let’s teach our youth to build, not destroy

Ashrawi: The recognition of Palestine is Human, Moral, Legal, and Political Imperative

"Let’s not feed Islamophobic bigotry... The great divide is not between faiths, but one between intolerant zealots of any tradition and the large numbers of decent, peaceful believers likewise found in each tradition." Nicholas Kristof

Last Thursday, the United Nations released a report that could provide us with one of the keys to defeating ISIS. Unfortunately, it received almost zero media attention.

"We see martyrs, children as young as 7, being portrayed as resistance fighters after being slaughtered by Israeli forces. Although we would like to convince ourselves that they have died for “the cause”, they have in fact died because of the cause." Mariam Barg

Hussein Ibish: US has a responsibility to rein in Israeli settlements

Tala Haikal: "It may not be possible to immediately free all the kidnapped girls and women due to the scope of the conflict with ISIS and the geographical dispersal of the captives in various locations. Some of these women and girls can be freed only once ISIS is destroyed."

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

UN report spotlights 'staggering' Islamic State atrocities in Iraq... "The group, which is fighting in Iraq and Syria, has carried out a wide range of atrocities, including mass executions, abductions, rape and other forms of sexual and physical violence against women and children"

Vatican seeks Mideast Christians' right of return

US sharply criticizes new Israeli housing project

Non-violent resistance is Palestine’s most powerful weapon

Tala Haikal: Empathy Is Essential to Humanity

Normalizing Intelligent Conversations, Diplomatic Support, and Hope for Palestine... ATFP Panel Briefing: Israeli-Palestinian War in a New Regional Landscape.

ATFP... American Task Force on Palestine

ATFP Calls for De-Escalation between Israel and the Palestinians

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

International Year of Solidarity with the Palestinian People 2014

UNRWA photo and film archive for Palestine refugees

About UNWRA: ’The Long Journey of Palestine Refugee Women’ candidly portrays the lives and experiences of Palestine refugee women, this collection is a testament not only to their own strength and dignity, but also to the richness and resilience of their community.

Walking Palestine & The Abraham Path... a creative space for stories that highlight the unique culture, heritage and hospitality of the region

It's time for Palestinians and Israelis to share a just peace... It's time for freedom from occupation... It's time for equal rights.... It's time for the healing of wounded souls..... World Week for Peace in Palestine Israel: "Let my people go!"... 21 - 27 September 2014 An initiative of the Palestine Israel Ecumenical Forum (PIEF) of the World Council of Churches

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

1948

Time and time again I have watched the cycle of incitement and spin sabotage support for Palestine

Clarifying why Arab and Muslim Americans should be smart rather than stupid

Live by the Golden Rule

• “Forgiving is not forgetting; it’s actually remembering - remembering and not using your right to hit back.”

An Anne Frank Moment ... a poem by Anne Selden Annab

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

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