tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23735766672685180732024-03-12T22:18:39.238-07:00FPI (Friends of Palestinians and Israelis)1) Education. Seeks to inform seekers as to what is happening between Palestinians and Israelis, issues and personalities and positions
2) Advocacy. Urges seekers to share information with their world, advocate with political figures, locally, regionally, nationally
3) Action. Uges support of those institutions, agencies, persons and entities who are working toward addressing the problems, working toward reconciliation and shalom/salaam/peace.John R. Kleinheksel, Sr.http://www.blogger.com/profile/15559033716246916111noreply@blogger.comBlogger422125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2373576667268518073.post-455750348268731532019-08-11T18:27:00.002-07:002019-08-11T18:27:31.989-07:00What is the "BDS" Movement? Should we "Support" it?<b>What About the Boycott, Divestment and Sanction Movement (BDS)?<br />
</b>Rev. John Kleinheksel, Kairos West Michigan (KWM) blogger<br />
<br />
Perhaps you too, have had mixed feelings about the BDS movement (Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions). What is it? Is it dangerous to the State of Israel? Is it a legitimate nonviolent tactic by civil society to bring human rights to Palestinians in Israel/Palestine? Has it ever “worked” over time and in different places, globally? Should we oppose it? Endorse it?<br />
<br />
What I want to do in this article is to 1) hear what Palestinian civil society is saying in their call for BDS; 2) understand what the Israeli lobby has done to twist its meaning here in the US; and 3) be completely conversant with the critique of an informed Jewish commentator, (namely, Brant Rosen).<br />
<br />
<b>I WHAT IS THE BDS MOVEMENT?<br />
</b>Here is relevant material from the Palestinian (civil society) organizers of the BDS movement (July 9, 2005): <br />
<i>One year after the historic Advisory Opinion of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) which found Israel's Wall built on occupied Palestinian territory to be illegal. . . .(and) Fifty-seven years after the state of Israel was built mainly on land ethnically cleansed of its Palestinian owners, a majority of Palestinians are refugees, most of whom are stateless. Moreover, Israel's entrenched system of racial discrimination against its own Arab-Palestinian citizens remains intact. . . . In view of the fact that people of conscience in the international community have historically shouldered the moral responsibility to fight injustice, as exemplified in the struggle to abolish apartheid in South Africa through diverse forms of boycott, divestment and sanctions; and Inspired by the struggle of South Africans against apartheid and in the spirit of international solidarity, moral consistency and resistance to injustice and oppression;<br />
We, representatives of Palestinian civil society, call upon international civil society organizations and people of conscience all over the world to impose broad boycotts and implement divestment initiatives against Israel similar to those applied to South Africa in the apartheid era. We appeal to you to pressure your respective states to impose embargoes and sanctions against Israel. We also invite conscientious Israelis to support this Call, for the sake of justice and genuine peace.<br />
These non-violent punitive measures should be maintained until Israel meets its obligation to recognize the Palestinian people's inalienable right to self-determination and fully complies with the precepts of international law by:<br />
1. Ending its occupation and colonization of all Arab lands and dismantling the Wall<br />
2. Recognizing the fundamental rights of the Arab-Palestinian citizens of Israel to full equality; and<br />
3. Respecting, protecting and promoting the rights of Palestinian refugees to return to their homes and properties as stipulated in UN resolution 194.</i><br />
Even if the BDS movement took root in the US, how effective would it be in bringing the Israeli State to negotiate for Palestinian self-determination with their own State, alongside the Israeli State, adjudicating the “right of return”?<br />
<br />
<b>II WHAT IS HOUSE RESOLUTION 246 (HR 246)?<br />
</b>This matter is especially relevant now because recently, the US House passed HR 246, strongly opposing the BDS movement. The vote was 398 – 17.<br />
<br />
Boycotts have a long and storied history in the US. The Presbyterians conducted a boycott of a Florida-based tomato processing plant some years ago, bringing that company to the negotiating table resulting in higher pay for the workers. When businesses boycotted the State of South Africa, it had an effect on the Apartheid government there, bringing an end to the institution of Apartheid. (Of course, there is still racial reconciliation work to be done there as well as here in the US).<br />
<br />
The voices of traditional Israeli State sympathizers convinced the US Congress that the BDS movement was devised by Israel’s “enemies” to delegitimatize the Israeli State (eliminating Israel’s right to self-determination). [Here is the full text of HR 246]<br />
As the newspaper Haaretz makes clear, House Democrats have been eager to show the US its total support for Israel to counter GOP accusation that “The Squad” (Muslim freshwomen Representatives) defines the Democrat’s luke-warm support for Israel. Not so, the vast majority of the House has declared in passing this Bill! [Read the Haaretz report here, but you may need to subscribe to get the full article!]<br />
<br />
<b>III AN ANTI-ZIONIST CRITIQUE OF HR 246<br />
</b>Friend, what we really need is a Pro-Israel, anti-Zionist Jew to educate us about the real meaning of the House vote.<br />
Fortunately, we have such a person. His name is Rabbi Brant Rosen, the Midwest Regional Director for the American Friends Service committee (AFSC), formerly the rabbi of Tzedek synagogue in Chicago (a Jewish Reconstructionist Congregation).<br />
<br />
He rightly points out that the real goal of the BDS movement is NOT to exclude the Israeli State “from the economic, cultural an academic life of the rest of the world” (HR 246). Rather, the BDS movement has three goals: 1) to end the occupation; 2) to insist on equal rights for Palestinians; and 3) to recognize the legitimacy of the “right of return” for Palestinian refugees.<br />
<br />
So, you who read this report, make up your own mind about the way forward. KWM is committed to providing time and space for the underlying issues in our region to be openly discussed, with a view to bringing adjudication of grievances experienced by both Israelis and Palestinians. KWM is laser-focused on dealing honorably with the growing calls for “justice” for the downtrodden and disrespected. <br />
<br />
<b>IV THE CRY FOR HELP FROM OUR PALESTINIAN BROTHERS AND SISTERS<br />
</b>Here is the cry for help from our Palestinians brothers and sisters and the way they couch their call for BDS: <br />
<br />
<i>4.2.6 Palestinian civil organizations, as well as international organizations, NGOs and certain religious institutions call on individuals, companies and states to engage in divestment and in an economic and commercial boycott of everything produced by the occupation. We understand this to integrate the logic of peaceful resistance. These advocacy campaigns must be carried out with courage, openly, sincerely proclaiming that their object is not revenge but rather to put an end to the existing evil, liberating both the perpetrators and the victims of injustice. The aim is to free both peoples from extremist positions of the different Israeli governments, bringing both to justice and reconciliation. In this spirit and with this dedication we will eventually reach the longed-for resolution to our problems, as indeed happened in South Africa and with many other liberation movements in the world. </i> <br />
<br />
With countless others, Kairos West Michigan will continue to pursue an honest, just and peaceful resolution to the conflict in Israel/Palestine.<br />
<br />
<br />
John R. Kleinheksel, Sr.http://www.blogger.com/profile/15559033716246916111noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2373576667268518073.post-89826735131019118212019-06-24T05:06:00.000-07:002019-06-24T05:06:46.597-07:00Four Views on "The Deal of the Century" (Economic Summit in Bahrain)<b>Four Views of the Bahrain Economic Summit<br />
</b>(and the “Deal of the Century”)<br />
John Kleinheksel, Kairos W. MI (June 20, 2019)<br />
<br />
In preparation for unveiling “The Deal of the Century” to “end the conflict” in Israel/Palestine, the Trump administration is calling for an Economic Summit for Arabs, Israelis, and Palestinians, June 25, 26 in Bahrain.<br />
Palestinian Arabs and most Arab states refuse to come. Israeli leaders have not been invited because of it.<br />
<br />
There are at least four views on the meaning of this Summit (and the “Deal of the Century”)<br />
<br />
<b>1) The Israeli/US view: One – State, with Palestinians subsumed under Israeli control<br />
</b>Mr. Trump and his associates are billing it as an opportunity for Arabs and Arab Palestinians to boost the viability and effectiveness of a Palestinian-based economy (but tied to Israeli control mechanisms).<br />
As summarized in the Wall Street Journal (May 19, 2019):<br />
<br />
Palestinian officials have said they are wary of an effort by the Trump administration that would bring economic relief but doesn't acknowledge their political and national aspirations for an independent state.<br />
“No matter how compelling a picture they paint of what life could be like in Gaza and the West Bank...the fact is you can’t trade Palestinian views on compromises on Jerusalem, statehood and sovereignty for a chicken in every pot, a computer in every house, aid and trade,” said Aaron David Miller, a distinguished fellow at the Wilson Center who has worked on previous U.S. Middle East peace efforts.<br />
The administration is said to be seeking tens of billions of dollars for investment in Gaza and the West Bank as well as neighbors Egypt, Jordan and Lebanon [a Middle East “Marshall Plan”]<br />
The economic plan is modeled after efforts to boost economies in Poland, Japan, Singapore and South Korea with an aim to allow the Palestinians and neighboring countries “to get to a place of self-sufficiency and get to a place to raise their standard of living,” the senior administration official said. [<a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/u-s-to-host-bahrain-economic-forum-in-mideast-peace-push-11558294132">Wall Street source:</a>]<br />
<br />
<b>2) A Christian Palestinian View: Two – States side by side, each with “autonomy” in their own space<br />
</b>The Palestinians have rejected it out of hand as it would mean (from their point of view) that they are accepting Israeli control of the One State reality, “relinquishing their right for full sovereignty over the West Bank, East Jerusalem and the right of return”. <br />
<br />
In the words of Philip Farah, the Palestinians are still holding out for the Two State solution, with a viable Palestinian State, side by side with Israel, “with all governmental institutions.” In this view, Palestinians can build a Palestinian economy on their own once the barriers of Occupation are removed (Statement by the Palestinian Christian Alliance for Peace – PCAP). <br />
Thus, they don’t want to be an economic entity tied to the Israeli economy.<br />
<br />
<b>3) A “Liberal Zionist” view: Two – States side by side (e.g., Aaron David Miller)<br />
</b>In a June 18, 2019 statement to CNN, Mr. Miller says “The Real Goal of Jared Kushner’s Peace Plan” (and, by extension, the Economic Summit) is three-fold:<br />
1) Boosting Mr. Trump’s stock with US hardliner supporters of Israel<br />
2) Gutting the Two-State solution<br />
3) Entrenching the status quo in I/P (P. M. Netanyahu’s Likud in charge)<br />
<br />
He sees Mr. Trump as fully supporting the present One State Israeli State under P.M. Netanyahu, and condescending to the Palestinians (who fully realize the US has no intention of pursuing the “Two-State”.)<br />
<br />
But for all his erudition and knowledge about the Middle East, Mr. Miller has no suggestion as to a way forward, other than Mr. Trump “throw(ing) his support behind a candidate who is serious [about peacemaking]. There is NO such Israeli Prime Minister candidate that wants a Two-State solution. <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2019/06/18/opinions/real-goal-israel-palestinian-kushner-peace-plan-opinion-miller/index.html">Here is his CNN article:</a><br />
<br />
<b>4) A Kairos view: One State with liberty and justice for all (Mark Braverman, KUSA Executive Director)<br />
</b>1) The Two-State never was a viable option (given the hard-nosed Zionist philosophy of controlling the One State, from the Mediterranean to the Jordan River)<br />
2) The US has never been an honest broker (the US has ALWAYS favored Israelis dominance)<br />
<br />
In questioning Mr. Miller’s point of view, Mr. Braverman asks: “Is he asking for more effort to negotiate for the Two-State solution? Then we are “wasting our time with him”. Negotiating for a Two-State solution “is always a snare and delusion; it’s a dead end”, (post from Mr. Braverman to John Kleinheksel, June 20, 2019).<br />
<br />
Strongly implied in this view is the need for BDS (boycotts, divestment and sanctions) to apply “economic and political pressure brought against Israel” [as with S. Africa] (post to John Kleinheksel, June 20, 2019).<br />
<br />
Thus, the Kairos USA position is to convince the Palestinians to give up the notion of the Two-State and hold Israelis accountable for bringing liberty and justice for all in One pluralistic (secular) Democratic State <a href="https://freehaifa.wordpress.com/author/freehaifa/">as here:</a> [You have to do a search for "One Democratic State"]<br />
<br />
Americans need to learn first-hand of the oppression experienced by Arab Palestinians, in Gaza, the West Bank and East Jerusalem (to say nothing about the second-class citizenship experienced by Arab Israelis, 21% of the population of Israel, who have minimal representation in the Knesset, the Israeli parliament.)<br />
<br />
Thanks to Mazin Qumsiyeh, we have a graphic look at how Israel has expanded its control over all of historic Palestine, all the while claiming Arab terrorists want to control “all” of it. <a href="https://conquer-and-divide.btselem.org/map-en.html">Click here</a> and explore what B’tselem, an Israeli human rights organization in Israel has now made clear.<br />
<br />
Posted by John Kleinheksel, Executive Director, Kairos W. MI<br />
John R. Kleinheksel, Sr.http://www.blogger.com/profile/15559033716246916111noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2373576667268518073.post-44203129539346369712019-03-29T06:05:00.003-07:002019-03-29T06:05:58.496-07:00Better Use of This BlogDear Friend,<br />
I see I have been neglecting to post relevant material on this blog.<br />
The reason is simply that I've invested more energy in Kairos West Michigan, the movement/community we are building in W. MI.<br />
<br />
Please follow us on our new Website: <kairoswestmichigan.org> and the blog we have there.<br />
<br />
BTW, MUSALAHA is a Messianic Jewish organization that has both Jesus believing Jews and Jesus believing Arab Palestinians. You can imagine the challenge of being in fellowship with each other. But our common Lord, Jesus, is the uniting personality that enables Jews and Arabs in the land of our Lord, to really be in touch with each other's narratives and forge bridges instead of strengthening the walls that divide.<br />
<br />
There are some exciting new initiatives we are working on in KWM. Be part of our community. Learn with us. Travel with us.<br />
Advocate with us. Help us elevate the Palestinian narrative that is regularly smothered by the frenetic efforts of the Israeli lobby that insists that only the Israeli narrative be the predominant one that is heard. Thanks for checking in. JohnJohn R. Kleinheksel, Sr.http://www.blogger.com/profile/15559033716246916111noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2373576667268518073.post-74860408324017759492019-03-29T05:56:00.000-07:002019-03-29T05:56:08.428-07:00Resilience in a Time of Escalating ViolenceFriend,<br />
This is the report of one of our collegues on the ground: Salim Munayer, of MUSALAHA.<br />
It came out on March 29, 2019. It represents the kind of wrestling that we in Kairos West Michigan affirm.<br />
<br />
<br />
<b>Resilience in Time of Escalating Violence<br />
</b>As the time drew near for the public affairs leaders’ seminar, which took place this past weekend in Athens, we at Musalaha began to worry about the mounting tensions in the land. Nonetheless, we continued planning for the weekend meeting. Almost every other day we could hear shooting and saw news of killings. We felt concerned because in the past when things got tense and violence escalated, people withdrew and didn’t want to participate until things quieted down. The participants of our groups face pressure from family and friends not to come meet together with “the other.” The tension and violence in our country continued to escalate to a high level. However, to our joy and encouragement, the members of the group were determined to come and meet with each other, to share and listen to one another.<br />
<br />
This group of public affairs leaders had previously met several times at a desert encounter weekend and a couple of other weekend seminars. They had already begun to develop relationship and trust. They had already gone through our identity seminar and were ready for the upcoming seminar about historical narrative. This seminar is usually the most difficult. The historical narrative seminar is one of the milestones in the stages of reconciliation for Musalaha and is usually the most heated, emotionally charged and difficult to facilitate. Talking about historical narrative can become heated and emotional because it examines and challenges the stories of history we’ve been told by our schools, communities, and families that have formed our worldview and our individual and collective identities. History is rarely taught in objective bullet point form but is weaved into a story that gives meaning to our identity, therefore becoming a narrative. Narratives are useful for motivating people to action and giving them a sense meaning and belonging. The historical narratives we believe tell us who we are, who our enemies are, why our enemies are wrong and we are right, and inspire loyalty to our group. In instances of conflict, especially ours, there are often many narratives that conflict with each other.<br />
<br />
In the seminar on historical narrative, not only do they learn about historical narrative, but they also have to write down the two main narratives and work in groups to present each other’s narratives. The purpose is not only to process their own narratives and see the challenges to it but also to see the gap between the historical narrative they’ve been living by and that of the other group. Seeing and understanding this gap is very important to illuminate to people the shortcomings about their narrative. Many times when the groups present, they make statements that aren’t true and reveal their biases. They resort to denial, rejection, and blaming. The two groups ask difficult questions aimed at each other. Things can get charged quickly and people shut down.<br />
<br />
<b>With this group, there were many challenging questions, but they were answered with openness and civility which was encouraging; however, it was still emotionally draining. Unfortunately, many times the groups stop here at attempting to understand each other’s narratives. However, with this group, we were able to facilitate the creation of a joint narrative for the Israelis and Palestinians. To my joy, this group was able to create a joint, common narrative that they could build together. For example, they discussed creating a shared narrative of being in and living in the land together. Points they had in common were that both communities have experienced exile, both have felt betrayed by the international community, and both dislike the current situation of segregation, suffering from their political leaders, and the current cycle of fear and violence perpetuated by extremists on both sides. Lastly, they talked about how they want to turn conflicting narratives about 1948, which for Israelis is the year Israel gained independence and for Palestinians is the year of Nakba or catastrophe, into a new narrative that bridges the two. They showed great maturity and resilience. They also agreed to continue meeting and are determined to start a joint project.<br />
</b><br />
Did we solve the Conflict this weekend? No. We didn’t expect to. But we DID help 20 community leaders find their way through the emotionally charged discussion that brings us one step closer to reconciliation. Who knows if one of these people will be a leader of their political party and help to give us all a better future?<br />
<br />
By Salim J. Munayer, Ph.D<br />
<br />
Executive DirectorJohn R. Kleinheksel, Sr.http://www.blogger.com/profile/15559033716246916111noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2373576667268518073.post-56295750054875710032018-08-03T17:44:00.002-07:002018-08-03T17:44:52.865-07:00Palestinian Christians Respond to "The Jewish State" Declaration (Basic Law)Dear Friend of Kairos,<br />
There have been countless statements opposing Israel's declaration of Israel as the "Homeland of the Jewish People" (Basic Law by the Knesset).<br />
At their request, here is the statement by our friends, Kairos Palestine (Christian-based, but open to other faiths).<br />
It is unflinching in its denunciation of this act, spelling out its implications.<br />
<br />
1. The Jewish position<br />
To be fair, let's be clear about the Jewish position:<br />
<br />
"To be a Jew is NOT to be racist. "We have a right to our national existence. We are 'unique' that way.<br />
"Arabs" (the 20% that stayed, not fleeing in 1948), just have to accept that fact.<br />
"(The millions in the West Bank, Gaza and Arab dispersion, count for even less. They are in the way.) <br />
"Arabs will NEVER be citizens like Jews from all over the world, who are welcome home here.<br />
"The problem has always been that they just do NOT and never will accept us in their neighborhood.<br />
"So, our military has had to be (and will continue to be) vigilant against the 'terror' they are determined to inflict on us.<br />
"We are entitled to do anything that we must, to protect our security and existence as The (one) Jewish State.<br />
<br />
2. The Palestinian Arab position<br />
Palestinian Christian Alliance for Peace<br />
Statement on the Jewish State (Basic) Law<br />
(from Philip Farah, officially affirmed by Kairos Palestine)<br />
<br />
(http://pcap-us.org/palestinian-christian-alliance-for-peace-condemns-israels-latest-apartheid-jewish-nation-state-law/):<br />
<br />
Israel has always defined itself as the State of the Jewish People, and its recent adoption of the Jewish Nation State Law is simply a declaration to the world of its historic commitment, ideologically and programmatically, to Jewish supremacy. Many critics of Israel’s 51-year-old occupation of Palestinian East Jerusalem, the West Bank, Gaza, and the Syrian Golan Heights have referred to Israel’s occupation of these territories as a system of apartheid. However, some among these critics, such as President Jimmy Carter, rejected the use of the same term to describe Israel’s relationship to the roughly 20 percent Palestinian Arab minorities who hold Israeli citizenship within Israel’s 1948/49 border. After the passage of the new Israeli law, such critics ought to open their eyes to the historical reality of Israel since its establishment in 1948, and recognize the deep racism that underlies its state and society.<br />
<br />
The expropriation of Palestinian land and the ethnic cleansing of Palestinians in the early years of Israel’s existence were traumatic. Israel’s Absentees’ Property Law (1950) and Land Acquisition Law (1953), among others, resulted in the pauperization and ghettoization of Palestinian citizens of Israel. More than 60 laws directly and indirectly ensured that they remain far behind Israeli Jews in every aspect of their existence including their access to the legal system, citizenship privileges, income and employment, distribution of resources and social welfare, accessibility to land, educational resources, availability of health resources, and political participation. The Israeli occupation in 1967 of East Jerusalem, the West Bank, Gaza, and the Golan Heights, and the extreme form of apartheid practiced there are an extension of the settler-colonial praxis that created Israel.<br />
<br />
What is new is that Israel now feels emboldened by the ascendancy of right-wing racism, xenophobia, and Islamophobia in the United States in particular, and western societies in general. It no longer feels that it has to conceal its own racism. The recent love fest of right-wing extremists in the annual conference of Christians United for Israel in Washington, DC is emblematic of the convergence of Zionism with anti-democratic forces in the West. Thankfully, others in the West are speaking out more forcefully against racism and discrimination in all its forms. And the movement of solidarity with the Palestinians is growing worldwide, including in the United States and Europe.<br />
<br />
We call on all people of conscience to condemn Israeli apartheid unapologetically and to heed the call for boycott, divestment, and sanctions in solidarity with the Palestinian non-violent struggle for justice, peace, and freedom. In particular, as a faith-based group, we call on other people of faith, including our evangelical brothers and sisters, to challenge Israel’s intensifying apartheid. For Christian groups to remain silent about the implications of Israel’s Jewish Nation State Law and all other Israeli human rights violations stands in contradiction to the Biblical mandate to do justice and to stand with the oppressed.<br />
<br />
Well, Kairos friends, there you have it. Our Christian brothers and sisters in Palestine, desiring equal treatment under a common law, not a Law that favors Jews.<br />
<br />
Are they entitled to this desire? Are Jews open to this desire? There are many Jews, both inside Israel and beyond the fluid borders, as well as persons all over the globe, who are working to bring about this desired result. <br />
We in the Kairos movement, will be unrelenting in pursuing this goal.<br />
Right now, the US administration is clearly in favor of the Jewish position; some of our evangelical Christian brothers and sisters are in favor of it as well, to the dismay of many.<br />
<br />
Plan now to gather as a Kairos community in Holland/Zeeland, MI on Monday, October 29, for a presentation by our colleagues, Churches for Middle East Peace (CMEP) and The Holy Land Trust, as they give us an assessment of how the nonviolent resistance movement is doing in the land Jews, Christians and Muslims call "Holy".John R. Kleinheksel, Sr.http://www.blogger.com/profile/15559033716246916111noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2373576667268518073.post-4287748773862952712018-05-24T19:53:00.000-07:002018-05-24T19:53:37.911-07:00The Embassy Change/Gaza Protests & "Evangelical" DebateDear Friend of Kairos W. MI,<br />
<br />
Now and then, one finds a clear articulation of the situation in Israel/Palestine.<br />
Ron Sider has an article in his Evangelicals for Social Action that does it for me.<br />
Here it is: http://www.evangelicalsforsocialaction.org/compassion-and-justice/conflict-stirs-evangelical-debate/?eType=EmailBlastContent&eId=58b3e367-d5aa-42d7-8441-338926b2d865 <br />
<br />
By Andrew F. Bush and Rob Dalrymple<br />
<br />
Recently, the world watched the shocking televised split-screen images of Israel resorting to live fire against Palestinian demonstrators in Gaza, killing dozens and wounding hundreds including women and children, while simultaneously Israel joyously celebrating the opening of the United States Embassy in Jerusalem. For the Trump administration, which had authorized the relocation of the embassy from Tel Aviv, the day was portrayed as a triumph, a gesture of unqualified support for Israel, and a gift to the Trump administration’s passionately pro-Israel base of supporters among evangelical Christians.<br />
<br />
Almost no hint of the sorrow in Gaza crept into the Jerusalem festivities. Instead, images broadcast by western media perpetuate a narrative that promotes the Israelis as victorious underdogs who have overcome the world, while castigating the Palestinians as violent protesters who engaged in mutiny when that underdog prevails. Such media coverage is not only inequitable and unjust, but it propagates a storyline that perpetuates a conflict instead of fostering peace. Scheduling the opening of the embassy on the 70th anniversary of Israel’s founding as a modern state, the event was effectively a repudiation of Palestinian aspirations for their own sovereign state.<br />
<br />
Such media coverage is not only inequitable and unjust, but it propagates a storyline that perpetuates a conflict instead of fostering peace.<br />
<br />
Political pundits quickly began pointing out a long list of possible negative results of the embassy’s relocation and the continued harsh treatment of Gaza’s citizens. Such a unilateral move forfeits any leverage that a final settlement of Jerusalem might offer in peace negotiations, as well as America’s role as a fair arbiter between Israel and Palestine. Such a move will further isolate Israel and America globally, while handing Shi’a Iran and Sunni Muslim extremists a tool to inflame anti-Israeli and anti-American sentiment. In short, in the view of many pundits, the opening of the US Embassy in Jerusalem will ultimately hurt Israel.<br />
<br />
According to some evangelicals, the moving of the US Embassy to Jerusalem is sanctioned by God, in that Jerusalem is the God-ordained capital of Israel—and, consequently, is an event that should be supported by all Christians. But many others, including a wide array of Christians who also identify as evangelicals, do not look at the day’s events in the same light. While on the one hand we rejoice with the Israelis, we also recognize that these events may well work against the state of Israel and its long-term security. Further, this action represents a rejection of the Palestinian historical presence (both Christian and Muslim) and their relationship to the land.<br />
<br />
Simply put, Jerusalem is a shared city. Recognizing one people’s relationship to the city, while simultaneously ignoring the rightful claims of the other, is not a move towards peace, but a provocation that will necessarily result in unrest—not because one side is composed of radical terrorists while the other is peaceful victims, but because inequities foster strife.<br />
<br />
As a result, a growing number of evangelical leaders view these events with concern. Not only for the political and social ramifications for Israel and Palestine, but also for the apparent diminishing of the gospel of God’s universal love in Christ Jesus—through Christians’ fervent support of Israel at the expense of the Palestinian people, the emphasis on nationalism above humanitarian needs, and the superseding of the clear, ethical teachings of Christ by speculative interpretations of prophecy. <br />
<br />
Such inquiring evangelicals do not discount the importance of the State of Israel to the Jewish people, the centrality of Jerusalem in the Jewish faith, or even, in many cases, the prophetic role of Israel in what they understand to be the events that will mark the end of this age and the return of Christ. Where, though, they ask, is the compassion of Christ for the weak regardless of nationality or ethnicity?<br />
<br />
How can Christians speak of the destruction of nations which oppose Israel in the end times without shedding a tear? In the same way as the Hebrew prophets who would only flatter Israel’s ancient kings by shouting “Peace, peace,” (Jeremiah 6:14; 8:11) when there was no peace in store for God’s people because of its sins, questioning evangelicals are asking if the unqualified support of Israel—of even its harshest political policies toward Palestinians—is actually participating in Israel’s self-delusion, and perhaps of its destruction? At the least they wonder, does not such support by pro-Israel evangelicals frustrate Israel’s ancient call to be a unique humanitarian oasis in the world? Wouldn’t it be so much more like the kingdom of God if Israelis and Palestinians both could have celebrated the fulfillment of their peoples’ hopes in Jerusalem?<br />
<br />
Evangelicals are asking if the unqualified support of Israel is actually participating in Israel’s destruction.<br />
<br />
For those evangelicals who are asking such questions, an embrace of a more compassionate Christianity should not be equated with an exclusively pro-Palestinian political posture. To do so would frustrate the very borderless compassion and inclusiveness which they seek to promote. Rather, these evangelicals emphasize that they seek to be ‘pro-humanity’ in their spiritual lives, not only as it touches Israel and Palestine, but in matters of ethnic tensions in the United States, the flow of refugees globally who are cast adrift by war, famine, or other horrors, and other social issues. <br />
<br />
Evangelical supporters of Israel repeatedly return to a belief in the chosenness of the Jewish people, and the favor of God upon them as demonstrated by the creation of the State of Israel. One might ask, though, what this chosenness implies. And what are its limits?<br />
<br />
In the first sermon of Jesus as recorded by Luke (4:14-30), Jesus infuriated his synagogue audience in Nazareth by bringing to their attention that even though in the time of the prophets Elijah and Elisha there was famine and illness in Israel, it was a Gentile woman from Sidon and a Syrian army captain who miraculously were fed and healed. The message was straightforward: chosenness by God should not be equated with an exclusive claim to God’s blessings. <br />
<br />
This was an outrageous message to the first-century Jews listening to Jesus. It undermined their national identity, which was founded upon their understanding of an exclusive claim upon God’s blessings. Such teaching crossed a red line for them, and they sought to put Jesus to death. Jesus lived to teach another day, and throughout his brief ministry on earth, he demonstrated what the universal love of God looks like both by blessing the sinful (Mark 1:40-45) within Israel and granting the prayers of those without (Matthew 15:21-28). <br />
<br />
Perhaps an important takeaway from the jolting images of celebrations and concurrent deaths is that Christians should take a fresh reckoning of their understanding of the gospel of Jesus, and how as its messengers we are to carry that gospel into the world as peacemakers, reconcilers, and bearers of hope. Many evangelical Christians are doing just that, and inviting others to join them. [The Kairos movement is one important bearer of HOPE. Please be part of it! - 296 Timber Lake Dr E, Holland, MI, USA, 49424 --jrk]<br />
<br />
Andrew F. Bush, D.Min., is a professor of missiology at Eastern University, and continues his more than twenty years of Christian service in Israel/Palestine.<br />
<br />
Rob Dalrymple, Ph.D., is a pastor, teacher, and writer based in California.John R. Kleinheksel, Sr.http://www.blogger.com/profile/15559033716246916111noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2373576667268518073.post-17645930042535132382018-05-10T06:38:00.000-07:002018-05-10T06:38:38.239-07:00Sowing Hate, Reaping Death<b>Sowing Hate and Reaping Death<br />
</b><br />
By Rami Elhanan<br />
<br />
April 28, 2010 "Occupation Magazine" -- - My name is Rami Elhanan. Thirteen years ago, on the afternoon of Thursday the fourth of September 1997, I lost my daughter, my Smadar, in a suicide attack on Ben-Yehuda street in Jerusalem. A beautiful sweet joyous 14 year old girl. My Smadar was the granddaughter of the militant for peace, General (Ret.) Matti Peled, one of those who made the breakthrough to Israeli-Palestinian dialogue. And she was murdered because we were not wise enough to preserve her safety in Matti’s way, the only correct and possible way – the way of peace and reconciliation. <br />
<br />
I do not need a Remembrance Day in order to remember Smadari. I remember her all the time, 365 days a year, 24 hours a day, 60 seconds a minute. Without a pause, without a rest, for 13 long and accursed years now, and time does not heal the wound, and the unbearable lightness of continuing to exist remains a strange and unsolved riddle … <br />
<br />
But Israeli society very much needs Remembrance Days. From year to year, like clockwork, in the week after Passover, it is drawn into the annual ritual: from Holocaust to the Rebirth of the nation, a sea of ceremonies, sirens and songs – an entire people is swept into a whirlpool of addictive sweet sorrow, eyes tearful and shrouded; mutual embraces accompanied by `Occupation songs` and sickle and sword songs [1] against the background of images of lives that were cut short and heart-rending stories … and it is hard to avoid the feeling that this refined concentration of bereavement, fed directly into the vein, is intended to fortify our feeling of victimhood, the justice of our path and our struggle, to remind us of our catastrophes, which God forbid we should forget for a single moment. This is the choice of our lives – to be armed and ready, strong and resolute, lest the sword fall from our grasp and our lives be cut short.[2] <br />
<br />
And when all this great sorrow is dispersed with the smoke of the barbeques, [3] when Israelis return to their daily routines, I am left enveloped in great sorrow. I miss the old good Land of Israel that never existed, and I have feelings of alienation and estrangement that keep increasing with the passage of years, from war to war, from election to election, from corruption to corruption. <br />
<br />
And I think about the stations of my life, on the long journey that I have taken on my way to a redefinition of myself, of my Israeliness, of my Jewishness and of my humanity. About the light-years that I have traveled, from the young man who 37 years ago fought in a pulverized tank company, on the other side of the Suez Canal, from the young father who 28 years ago walked the streets of bombed Beirut, and it did not at all occur to me that things could be otherwise. I was a pure product of a cultural-educational and political system that brainwashed me, poisoned my consciousness and prepared me and others of my generation for sacrifice on the altar of the homeland, without any superfluous questions, in the innocent belief that if we did not do it, they would throw us – the second generation after the Holocaust – into the Mediterranean Sea. <br />
<br />
Nearly 40 years have passed since then, and every year this armour of victim hood continues to crack. The self-righteousness and the feeling of wretchedness keep dissipating, and the wall that separates me from the other side of the story keeps crumbling. <br />
<br />
When Yitzhak Frankenthal recruited me to the Bereaved Families Forum 12 years ago, for the first time in my life I was exposed to the very existence of the other side – to this day I am ashamed to say that for the first time in my life (I was 47) I encountered Palestinians as normal human beings, very much like me, with the same pain, the same tears and the same dreams. For the first time in my life I was exposed to the story, the pain and the anger, and also to the nobility and the humanity of what is called “the other side.”<br />
<br />
The climax of that journey was the meeting between me and my brother, the “terrorist” who spent seven years in an Israeli prison, the peace-warrior Bassam Aramin, who wrote to us, among other things, the following moving words: <br />
<br />
“… Dear Nurit and Rami. I wanted to express my identification with you as a brother on this sad day, the anniversary of the death of your beautiful and pure daughter, Smadar. There is no doubt that this is one of the saddest days, and from the moment we met I did not have the courage to write to you about it, for fear of adding more sorrow and pain to your hearts. I thought that time would likely heal that deep wound. But after I myself drank from that same bitter cup that you drank from before me, when my daughter Abir was murdered on 16 January 2007, I understood that parents never forget for a moment. We live our lives in a special way that others do not know, and I hope that no other human beings, Palestinians or Israelis, will not be forced to know …”<br />
<br />
Today my perception of the two sides is completely different from what it was 40 years ago. <br />
<br />
For me, the line that separates the two sides today is not between Arabs and Israelis or Jews and Muslims. Today the line is between those who want peace and are willing to pay the price for it, and all the rest. They are the other side! And today, that other side, to my dismay, is the corrupt group of politicians and generals that leads us and behaves like a bunch of mafia dons, war criminals, who play ping-pong in blood among themselves, who sow hate and reap death.<br />
<br />
But this evening I want to talk specifically to those who are in between, who are sitting on the fence and watching us from the sidelines, I want to talk to the satiated Israeli public that does not pay the price of the Occupation, the public that sticks its head in the sand and does not want to know, that lives within a bubble, watches television, eats in restaurants, goes on vacation, enjoys the good life and looks after their its own interests, shielded by the pandering media that help it to hide from the bitter reality that is concealed only a few metres from where they live: the Occupation, the theft of lands and houses, the daily harassment and oppression and humiliation, the checkpoints, the abomination in Gaza, the sewage on the streets of Anata … <br />
<br />
On this evening, especially, I want to address the Left public in all its shades, those who are disillusioned and angry, those who are afflicted with apathy, with despair and weakness, those who enclose themselves in the bubble of themselves and grumble on Friday nights, but are not involved with us in this hard war against the aggressive pathogen of the Occupation that threatens to destroy the humanity of all of us. And on this evening, the evening of Remembrance Day for the dead on both sides, I want to ask them to join us in our war against this fatal affliction! I want to tell them that to be bystanders is to be complicit in crime! I want to tell them that there are many who are not willing to stand aside, who are not willing to be silent in the face of evil and stupidity and the absence of basic accountability and justice!<br />
<br />
And I want to tell them about the true anonymous heroes of our dark age!<br />
<br />
About those who are willing to pay a high personal price for their honesty and decency, those who dare to stand in front of the bulldozers with rare and amazing courage, the refusers who say no to the omnipresent militarism, the combatants for peace who discarded their weapons in favour of non-violent resistance, the resolute demonstrators who crush against the terror of the police and the army in Bil’in, in Ni’lin, in Sheikh Jarrah and Silwan every weekend, the lawyers who struggle every day in the Ofer camp military Court, and in the High Court of Justice, the heroic women of Mahsom Watch, the dedicated peace activists from abroad, like the late Rachel Corrie who gave her life, and also the those who blow the whistle on crimes and conspiracies, from Anat Kam to Gideon Levy and Akiva Eldar, and also the peace organizations of both peoples, and especially the bereaved Palestinian and Israeli families who are bringing about the miracle of reconciliation despite their tragedies. <br />
<br />
The darker the sky gets, the more visible are these stars gleaming in the darkness! [4] The more the oppression becomes opaque and evil, the more they, with their heroism and their noble struggle, save the honour and the humanity of all of us! <br />
<br />
And today we desperately need to expand the circles of non-violent opposition to the Occupation! This evening I call on you from here and from the bottom of my heart: get out of your bubble! Join the mosquito that buzzes unceasingly in the ears of the Occupation, [5] that annoys and irritates and harasses, and does not let Filth prevail in silence! [6] Don’t let the other side steal the future of all of us! Don’t let the other side continue to endanger the security of our remaining children. <br />
<br />
Thank you. <br />
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------<br />
<br />
[1] Songs of the singing troupe of Nahal (a brigade in the Israeli army). http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/2/2f/Nahal2.jpg <br />
[2] From Moshe Dayan`s Eulogy for Roi Rutenberg (April 19, 1956). <br />
http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Quote/dayan1.html <br />
[3] Israelis traditionally have barbeques on the eve of Independence Day.<br />
<br />
[4] Martin Luther King.<br />
<br />
[5] Ali Abu Awwad.<br />
<br />
[6] Ze’ev Jabotinsky: Betar Song. http://www.saveisrael.com/jabo/jabobetar.htm <br />
<br />
Translated from Hebrew for Occupation Magazine by George Malent. Original Hebrew: http://www.kibush.co.il/show_file.asp?num=39284John R. Kleinheksel, Sr.http://www.blogger.com/profile/15559033716246916111noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2373576667268518073.post-3223253322937778282018-01-29T11:02:00.000-08:002018-01-29T11:02:15.056-08:00@ Davos, Trump Affirms Israel, Disavows Palestinians!<b>Pres. Trump Affirms Israel, Disavows Palestinians<br />
<b></b></b>JRK<br />
January 25, 2018<br />
<br />
In a dramatic one-on-one at the Davos Economic Forum, US President Donald Trump met with P.M. Benjamin Netanyahu (Bibi) of Israel on Thursday, January 25, 2018). Have you heard about it?<br />
<br />
In their brief news conference, Bibi thanked the President profusely for his unstinting support of the Israeli position vis a vis the Palestinians (without once even mentioning the Palestinians).<br />
<br />
President Trump, for his part, again reiterated his threat of divesting even more funds for Palestinians (So far, $65m withheld from UNRWA, which helps refugees in camps because no room in Israel). He claims "hundreds of millions" of US dollars (a gross exaggeration), have gone to the Palestinians and they have made no "progress toward peace."<br />
<br />
By recognizing "Jerusalem as the capital of the State of Israel", Mr. Trump has virtually invalidated any Palestinian claims to E. Jerusalem as its capital, or to any part of the land; while virtually validating Israel's claim to all of Jerusalem as its "eternal and undivided capital." And, Palestinians, stop your resistance! In the process, he has abandoned US leadership in brokering any "peace" between Israel and the Arab Palestinians.<br />
<br />
By "taking Jerusalem off the table", our President implies that Palestinians have no valid claims for redress or restitution in regards to how they have been treated through the decades leading to the present state of affairs. So now, the Israelis have less incentive than ever to stop the settlements being built on stolen land, home and orchard demolition, restrictions on movement, home invasions to terrorize children/families and other indignities.<br />
<br />
It's onward and upward for the debilitating Occupation in the foreseeable future, with its disregard for human and property rights, all to the long-term detriment of Israel and a growing number of Jews there and here who are wanting to follow a truer form of Judaism (such as respecting the rights of non-Jews).<br />
<br />
Instead of threatening the withholding of funds to Israel ($3.6b/year), for their mistreatment of the Palestinians, the President is withholding funds set aside for the Palestinians (isn't that a Congressional decision?) and has purposely removed a main "bargaining chip" the Palestinians have always wanted to use to press their case for legitimacy (and in keeping with the UN and international expectations since 1947/48).<br />
<br />
"Peace" in Israeli/US terms, is for the Palestinians to withdraw their claims of human rights violations and accept the degrading treatment the Israelis have meted out to them through all the years. All Israel requires is that the Palestinians "accept the State of Israel," by which is meant giving up any and all claims of Palestinian autonomy, their own state, and accepting total Israeli control over all the land. Then, there will be "peace." What a deal! But more importantly, the US President now clearly sides with the Israeli point of view.<br />
<br />
So, what of the Palestinians now? Through 82-year-old President Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinians have disavowed the US as an honest broker, calling for someone else to deal with the Israeli/US axis on their behalf. He even refused to meet with VP Pence during his visit there this week. <br />
<br />
Who will step up? Belgian has offered $25m in help. The UN and European countries are totally distrusted by the Israelis. As far as the Israelis are concerned, no broker is needed to broker anything. There is nothing to negotiate, change or discuss. The US has their back. It's "Get your embassy here and keep attacking Iran."<br />
<br />
Yet we, in the grassroots resistance, will continue to lift up the Palestinian plight. We will present the Palestinian narrative, with their legitimate claims, to America people. We will press for changes in what America expects of our friends, the Israelis: Justice. Equality. Respect.<br />
<br />
All of the above is to whet your appetite to attend our four sessions on the Kairos Palestine document of 2009 where Christians there plead for understanding and help: Holland Library, 7:00, Jan. 30, Feb. 6, 13, and 20.<br />
<br />
For much more information from our affiliated organizations go to: www.palestineportal.org JRK<br />
John R. Kleinheksel, Sr.http://www.blogger.com/profile/15559033716246916111noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2373576667268518073.post-33811232599276688312017-12-10T17:35:00.003-08:002017-12-11T17:30:17.399-08:00The Emperor's New ClothesIn 1837, Hans Christian Anderson crafted a short story. Two shifty weavers promised the emperor of a certain kingdom, a new suit of clothes. The thing was, the suit could only be recognized by the truly wise. It would be invisible for those out of touch with reality.<br />
<br />
When the emperor paraded before his subjects in his new clothes, no one dared to say they couldn’t see the suit, for fear they would be seen as out of touch with reality. This charade continued for some time.<br />
<br />
This isn’t in the story, but I can just imagine the two thieving weavers, laughing all the way to the bank, pocketing the exorbitant cost of the wonderful new wardrobe – until a little child cries out to any who would hear: “But he isn’t wearing anything at all!” And the truth finally dawns.<br />
<br />
The view of our President and the US on the Israeli/Palestinian situation is finally clear and unambiguous. We are exposed. There has been no genuine support for the Palestinians. Only for the Israelis.<br />
<br />
There is no longer even a fig leaf to cover our supposed support for the Palestinians. It has dried up, shriveled and been blown away by the fiery, unpredictable wind out of Washington. There may have been principled statespersons over the years who may have actually believed the two disputants could, should and would negotiate the status of the land and the capital. But those people are gone.<br />
<br />
In one stroke of his pen, the President of the US overturned decades of hypocrisy: the mask of an even-handedness and the farce of impartiality. The President has trashed the US position regarding the disputing parties, expecting them to sit down and negotiate contrasting claims. By his action, our President has thrown his (and our US) support completely for the Israeli position.<br />
<br />
You claim Jerusalem as your eternal, undivided capital? You got it! <br />
<br />
Palestinian claims for the land and Jerusalem as their capital? Sorry. They don’t matter. <br />
<br />
US impartiality? Sorry. We’re for Israel. <br />
<br />
Honest broker between the two sides? Nope. We made that claim, but it was never true. Prohibiting funds to Israel if they support human rights violations is only just now before our House of Representatives.<br />
<br />
Negotiate the future of the land or the capital? What’s to negotiate? It’s Israel’s. <br />
<br />
The way Israel has treated the indigenous people through the years? Nothing wrong there. That was simply the cost of nation-building. <br />
<br />
Orchards destroyed, homes demolished, land confiscated, Arabs eliminated from East Jerusalem, and the residents disenfranchised in the “West Bank and Gaza”? Legitimate. Every bit of it. <br />
<br />
For Palestinians to resist? That makes them “terrorists” doesn’t it? And the US doesn’t support “terrorists”. <br />
<br />
But what do Jews, Muslims and Christians in Israel and the US think about this unequivocal bonding? Not so much, as more and more people are learning the “truth” about what has been going on over there. And the world is supposed to bow down to the will of the Israelis and the Americans? How likely is that going to be? With grassroots opposition growing, our President’s position will continue to erode in the years to come.<br />
<br />
With the US abdicating the “honest broker” role, there will be other power brokers who will step into that role. We and the Israelis are one, eternal and undivided. We have lost our way.<br />
<br />
So now we see the first step in our President’s plan for “Peace” over there: The Israelis have our full support. No need for the Palestinians to expect our help. This is what “Peace” looks like. Get used to it. The Palestinians have no “cover.” At least not from the United States. That fiction has now finally been exposed, naked in the light of the new day.<br />
<br />
For many Americans, there is shame and embarrassment in the kingdom. The emperor has no clothes. And the Palestinians have no “cover” either.<br />
<br />
Someone in this short story is exposed as out of touch with reality.<br />
<br />
And it isn’t the little child who cried out, so everyone could hear: “But he isn’t wearing anything <br />
at all!” <br />
John R. Kleinheksel, Sr.http://www.blogger.com/profile/15559033716246916111noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2373576667268518073.post-44912862385057807692017-03-29T07:45:00.000-07:002017-03-29T07:45:18.090-07:00The Donald Trump/Netanyahu DanceFrom the Kairos W. Michigan Director’s Desk<br />
<br />
<i>Op-ed: The president told the world he personally doesn’t mind if there’s a one-state or a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. But a single entity between river and sea means the end of Jewish, democratic Israel. How dare Israel’s PM not point that out? BY DAVID HOROVITZ February 15, 2017, (The Times of Israel, a notable Israeli newspaper)</i><br />
<br />
Did Donald Trump know what he was doing? Did he really cavalierly discard the center-piece of US, European, the Quartette, and Arab League orthodoxy about the Two-State “solution”?<br />
<br />
The Jewish settler class is ecstatic. Mainstream Israelis, like David Horovitz, still want to tout the Two-State as a ruse for continuing to establish “facts on the ground”, to the detriment of Arab Palestinians. That sentiment is strongly echoed by many mainstream Jewish groups in the US (think AIPAC). <br />
<br />
We in the Kairos movement have long known that the so-called Two-State solution has been dead for decades. At least from the aftermath of the 1967 war when Israel decided to occupy and settle ALL of Palestine.<br />
<br />
Well, many Palestinian leaders got all bent out of shape as well, including the highly respected Hanan Ashrawi. Are you abandoning the Two-State? What kind of a One-State entity do you envision?<br />
<br />
Indeed! President Trump seems open to “One State” that both the Israelis and Palestinians “can live with”. The US leader perhaps is cleverly asking Israel what that would look like. Will it be a truly pluralistic, democratic State with liberty and justice for all (to include the people of the West Bank and Gaza?) Or do you Israelis think you can maintain an ethno-centric Jewish State at the expense of the downtrodden, dispossessed Palestinian neighbor?<br />
<br />
As happened in South Africa, it won’t work in the long run. Palestinians won’t just lie down and take it. They think (rightly) that their lives matter just as much as Jewish lives. <br />
<br />
The Kairos movement stands with them, eager to build bridges instead of fences that demean and divide (in the name of “security”). The recent assassination of a Hamas militant signals that the Israeli elite desire warfare to justify their fear-mongering against all those Palestinian "terrorists". The demand by Bibi at this week's AIPAC meeting ("accept the existence of the JEWISH state") is a code phrase for the demand that Arab Palestinians summit to Israel's claim to settle the whole of Palestine, swallowing up land that no longer belongs to the Palestinians. What Palestinian authority (no matter how corrupt) can accept that demand?<br />
<br />
Israel cannot have both a Jewish State and a “Democracy”. That’s an oxymoron. Israel may have a “Jewish democracy” but not a “true democracy”. Israel will either continue insisting it is a “Jewish State” (that excludes Palestinians from full rights, and continues to lose international legitimacy); or she will move towards a truly “democratic, pluralistic State with liberty and justice for all”. Will Israel face the consequences of her choices?<br />
<br />
Israel has chosen its course. There is no turning back to the “Two State”. It is now one state, eventually diluting its all-Jewish majority for a truly pluralistic society (like most other modern states).<br />
<br />
Is this a pipe-dream or what? Jews want to be Jews, at least on one speck of land on the Planet! And Palestinians want their existence and “rights” respected as well. Let’s all pray for a way forward that will take both narratives into account!<br />
<br />
Friend, be in prayer for our all-day strategic planning session for our KWM Board and other interested “stakeholders” this Friday, March 31. As many as 15 of us will be focused on how to flesh out our mission statement (“a movement that educates and mobilizes Christians and others in W. MI to promote a ‘just peace’ in Isr/Pal”). Thank you for tracking with us in the past; and now, even more importantly, into our future!<br />
<br />
Faithfully yours, John R. KleinhekselJohn R. Kleinheksel, Sr.http://www.blogger.com/profile/15559033716246916111noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2373576667268518073.post-73942041262347156672016-11-24T18:40:00.001-08:002016-11-24T18:40:44.819-08:00Christmas Greetings from PalestiniansDear Friend,<br />
It's been a long time since I posted on this blog.<br />
Israel is tightening its grip on all the land, making it more and more burdensome for the indigenous people to survive, let alone thrive.<br />
As you know, Kairos West Michigan is the community we are building in W. Michigan. We are learning more about facts on the ground, listening to our brothers and sisters in Palestine (and Israel) and tracking with Kairos USA, and the growing network of churches and groups like ours wanting to build momentum for a just peace in the land of Abraham and Sarah, Isaiah and Micah, Jesus, Peter, James, John and Saul (Paul).<br />
Here is the Christmas greeting from our friends in the land three religions call "Holy";<br />
<br />
17 November, 2016<br />
<br />
Dear Brothers and Sisters, colleagues and partners of Kairos Palestine,<br />
<br />
Christmas in Bethlehem continues to be celebrated as it has been for more than two thousand years, in spite of occupations and hardships. The message of peace and good-will given that first Christmas continues to inspire and sustain us as we strive to be led by love of the other and the right to life and dignity for all. Yes, the times remain bleak for Palestinians as hopes for peace have waned, and as destruction and violence ravage the region. But we refuse to give up hope that justice will be done. In this context, your friendship and solidarity stand out like a shining star of hope, mercy and support.<br />
<br />
We thank you in the name of Kairos Palestine and all Palestinians, Christians and Muslims, for your persistent solidarity and advocacy for real peace. We thank you for the many resolutions, campaigns, talks, debates and more conducted with love so that the liberating truth is proclaimed.<br />
<br />
We also give thanks for the many churches, church organizations, seminaries, congregations and wonderful people who have responded to our Kairos Palestine call that proposes a path towards justice and peace in the Holy Land. Thank you to those who continue to promote our Kairos call so that joined Christian action can make of us “the peacemakers” we are called to be.<br />
Sadly, Israeli policies continue to impose realities on the ground that hamper the establishment of a Palestinian state and ignore all calls to respect international law, human rights and the law of war. In addition, Israel seems adamant to continue to feed despair among Palestinians.<br />
<br />
Politically, Israel has tried to ensure that the Palestinian struggle becomes irrelevant to regional peace and has emphasized that the problem is the war on terror, ignoring how the injustice it perpetrates against the Palestinian people has fed terrorism, extremism and violence. Its policies undermine international law on a daily basis and claim exclusive religious rights to the land to justify continued occupation, settlement expansion, oppression, dispossession and expulsion of Palestinians.<br />
<br />
And, while all of us who daily experience the effects of occupation are suffering, it is the children who are the most vulnerable. For this reason, Kairos has chosen the theme of “Children” for its 2016 Christmas Alert. Palestinian youth and children are targeted on a daily basis with intent to instill fear and humiliation. Respect for human rights, International Humanitarian Law and UN resolutions are important to ensure their safety and access to a minimum degree of decency and life. They are dehumanized as are all Palestinians and their struggle framed as part of world terrorism. According to a report by the Palestinian Committee of Prisoners’ Affairs, at least 1,000 Palestinian children between the ages of 11 and 18 have been detained by Israel since January 2016, many of whom have been abused and tortured while in detention. According to the Palestinian prisoner’s rights group, ADDAMEER, a total of 240 Palestinian children are currently being incarcerated by Israel. We need you to help us in our struggle for freedom and dignity, especially for our children.<br />
<br />
We invite you this Christmas, as the 50th anniversary of the military occupation is dawning on us, to be also in touch with difficult realities in our world. Please take time to read our Christmas Alert with its theological reflections, articles, poems, stories and reports. Share it as widely as possible and try to follow the actions proposed in the epilogue. Follow the campaign throughout the four weeks of Advent and join us in proclaiming the Christmas message from Bethlehem where Jesus was born over two thousand years ago, a message of peace and good will for all. Provide us with your gift of compassion to help relieve the prolonged suffering of Palestinian children and all those who suffer injustice and oppression.<br />
<br />
From the land where hope remains a promise and love a source of salvation for us and the world,<br />
In peace,<br />
<br />
Hind Khoury<br />
<br />
General SecretaryJohn R. Kleinheksel, Sr.http://www.blogger.com/profile/15559033716246916111noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2373576667268518073.post-33488771954474501962016-05-04T08:23:00.000-07:002016-05-04T08:23:10.568-07:00Meet Jeff Halper (ICAHD)!I’ve met and interacted with Jeff Halper (in June, 2013). His positions contribute to ways that Israelis and Arab Palestinians could live in harmony together (Confederation?)<br />
<br />
The more I read about his new book, WAR AGAINST THE PEOPLE, the more I want to see and hear him again. I can’t wait for May 6, 7:00 at Hope Reformed Church in Grand Rapids (corner Kalamazoo Ave SE and Burton).<br />
<br />
My view is that if Americans knew what Mr. Halper knows, our unquestioning support for Israel would evaporate overnight. <br />
Not that we wouldn’t continue to support them, but not is such an uncritical way. <br />
<br />
Well, let me rephrase that. Our official US position has always been to be critical of the growing settlement enterprise. It’s just that there has seldom been even the threat of financial consequences, let alone the actual withholding of any of the $3.1B in annual military support. (Netanjahu’s government is wanting a 25% increase from US in the 2018-2028 period). And how sad that Mr. Trump is now on record as not seeing the Israelis settlements in the West Bank as a deterrent to peace over there (Jerusalem Post, May 3, 2016).<br />
<br />
Mr. Halper, an American-born Jew, moved to Israel in 1973 and heads up the Israel Committee Against Home Demolitions (ICAHD). He has long been incensed over the settlement enterprise that confiscates land on which Arab Palestinians have lived for a long, long time and demolishes their homes, businesses, schools and orchards, among other countless indignities.<br />
<br />
In touting his new book, <b>War Against the People,<i></i></b> he will explain why the global elites, including the US, don’t pull the plug on the settlement enterprise. Mr. Halper explains that Israel has created “Global Palestine”, providing “on-the-ground-tested” weapons of security so those in control in the US, China, Russia, India, Brazil, South Africa and other places, can “police” their unruly minorities. <br />
<br />
Israel has developed the weaponry, the tactics and the security systems (better than our Pentagon) for wars of repression being fought today (think US urban “unrest”, and the militarization of police forces all over our country and the world) Those are Israeli weapons systems!)<br />
<br />
Israel has made a bargain with the power elites: “We know how to keep you in power. We’ll sell you our proven weapons. What we ask in return is that you may criticize us, but let us keep our Occupation”. Even Saudi Arabia and other (Arab/Islamic) Gulf states seem to in on the bargain. Questions? Ask Jeff on Friday night!<br />
<br />
If you can’t make it on Friday, May 6, go to his Jerusalem website, <icahd.org> or the US affiliate: <icahdusa.org>. Thanks for tracking with us here at Kairos West Michigan (KWM) with thanks to our friends at <i>The Micah Center,</i> Vern Hoffman and Jordan Bruxvoort.<br />
John R. Kleinheksel, Sr.http://www.blogger.com/profile/15559033716246916111noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2373576667268518073.post-72381335184624633312016-04-18T10:44:00.000-07:002016-04-25T11:34:53.743-07:00America and Israel's Original Sin<b>EVERYONE’S ORIGINAL SIN<br />
</b><br />
John Kleinheksel’s report on the KUSA/FOSNA Chicago conference, April 14-16, 2016<br />
<br />
Jim Wallis is right, but let me expand on it. Racism is not only America’s original sin; it is the sin of every ethnic group that wants to view the world from “our” perspective only. American Caucasians (“white privilege”) do it. Afro-Americans do it. Palestinians do it; Israelis do it.<br />
<br />
We take what is only part of the whole and make it the whole ball of cheese, excluding the other existing parts. It’s called idolatry. What will it take for separate ethnic groups to see the greater whole and work for an integrated society? <br />
<br />
That was the chief question Kairos USA and Friends of SABEEL North America (FOSNA) had us address on April 14-16, 2016, on the campus of Garrett Evangelical Seminary in the heart of Northwestern University, Evanston, IL.<br />
<br />
I joined Western Seminarians Jenna Harms and Mark Mares to see the parallels between the deaths of African-Americans in Ferguson, Baltimore, Charleston, Oakland and Chicago; and the deaths of Arab Palestinians in Gaza, Beit Liqya and Jerusalem. The conference exposed the similarity of militarized force against civilian blacks and Palestinians in the occupied territories.<br />
<br />
Professor Stephen Ray (an African-American from Garrett Seminary) kicked off the colloquy by helping us see that modern states are racially based and self-protective. Rabbi Brant Rosen (a Reconstructionist Jew from Evanston) insisted that 19th Century European nationalism hijacked Judaism to colonize and replace the indigenous people of Palestine. He appealed to fellow Jews to follow the “Exodus God” (deliverance from captivity), instead of the “Conqueror God” adopted by the settler movement in Israel today. For an elaboration of this theme, read Jewish dissident Robert Cohen’s blog here: http://www.patheos.com/blogs/writingfromtheedge/2016/04/the-wicked-sons-guide-to-passover/ <br />
<br />
Many speakers pointed out that the ethnic group in control thinks they are the only ones with the right to use violence. For those in control, even those who “resist” have no right even to nonviolent resistance. Rev. Iva Carruthers, one of the mothers of the resistance movement in Chicago lifted the phrase of Eric Garner (“I can’t breathe”) to mythic proportions, making it a metaphor for the oppressed of every land. White privilege in the US and the Israel Defense Force (IDF) in Israel paint law enforcement as under attack and unjustly maligned. More sensitive Americans (and Israelis) have come to realize there is more to it than that. <br />
<br />
At the end of the conference, Dr. Beth Corrie led the participants in examining: “Where do we go from here?” After sharing her resolve personally to read more Afro-American literature empathetically, during the silence she provided, I resolved to look at and admit my own complacency with “white privilege”. When Dr. Corrie gave 15 minutes to groups of 2 or 3 persons to discuss how to live going forward, it was a perfect space and time for Mark, Jenna and me to talk.<br />
<br />
We agreed to hold each other accountable in learning more about minority points of view in W. MI. Classis Holland (Reformed Church in America) held a Black Lives Matter event recently which I blew off.<br />
<br />
We pledged to work with Kairos West Michigan (KWM) to bring the valid Palestinian narrative to US consciousness so the grassroots will finally lift the heavy concrete of Congress and the White House off its AIPAC-inspired unquestioning support of Israel.<br />
<br />
New director of FOSNA, Palestinian Tarek Abuata closed the conference with the challenge to see Palestinian suffering as the speck of sand in the Israeli oyster that will fashion a Pearl of Great Price as an end result. He pointed out that when Palestinian civil society called in 2006 for BDS (boycotts, divestment and sanctions) it was not even on the US computer screen. Such actions are now being discussed even in the Main Stream Media (MSM) and even among Jewish students in colleges and universities (with some successes, as with G4S vowing to suspend operations in the West Bank).<br />
<br />
We in KUSA and FOSNA agree that it is misreading Hebrew and New Testament scriptures to equate the modern Jewish State with God’s supposed promise of land to a reconstituted Israel. For Jesus of Nazareth, re-installing the Jewish (tribal) state was never the goal of the Kingdom of God he was ushering in (read <i>Acts of the Apostles)</i>.<br />
<br />
Tarek Abuata concluded his stirring challenge this way: “Jews will often remark, ‘You Palestinians are a demographic threat to us. You want to overwhelm us’”; to which Mr. Abuata replied: “What do you think you Jews have become to us? You have truly been a demographic and nationalistic threat to the existence of Arab Palestinians!”<br />
<br />
Rabbi Brant Rosen’s blog is “Shalom Rav”. A link to his latest entry is here: https://rabbibrant.com/2016/04/18/new-for-passover-your-child-will-ask/ <br />
John R. Kleinheksel, Sr.http://www.blogger.com/profile/15559033716246916111noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2373576667268518073.post-63618355440422926502016-02-14T17:49:00.003-08:002016-02-14T17:49:57.141-08:00Seminary Student Isr/Pal ReportDear Friend,<br />
Plan on attending the Seminary students' report on their findings in Isr/Pal last month!<br />
<br />
Western Seminary, Semmelink Hall, 7:00 - 8:30 p.m., Thursday, February 18, 2016 (College Ave and 13th Street)<br />
<br />
After hearing six reports, we'll subdivide into six groups for more intensive Q and A<br />
<br />
Thanks to Marlin and Sally Vis and Prof. Travis West who gave guidance and will report too.<br />
<br />
We strongly desire fresh, accurate assessment of the facts and attitudes on the ground in our region. Don't miss it! JRKJohn R. Kleinheksel, Sr.http://www.blogger.com/profile/15559033716246916111noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2373576667268518073.post-45948354270711821042016-01-10T09:15:00.000-08:002016-01-10T09:15:30.725-08:00"I Refuse to Serve in the IDF!"This Sunday, [January 10, 2016] there is a call to stand in solidarity with a woman inducted into the IDF (Israeli Defense Force).<br />
<br />
Here's the story: <b>Tair Kaminer</b>, a 19-year Israeli, got a call up order, requesting her to show up at the Israeli Army Induction Center ("Bakum") in Tel Hashomer, east of Tel Aviv, on 12pm, Sunday, January 10, 2016. <br />
<br />
She does intend to show up at the stipulated time and place, but not in order to embark on the two years of obligatory military service required of girls under Israeli law. Instead, she will inform the recruiting officers of her refusal to become part of an army of occupation and oppression, whereupon, most likely, she will be sent to the military prison [From: Hanna Beit Halachmi <hannabh@gmail.com>, the publicist for Gush Shalom (Adam Keller and Uri Avnery).]<br />
<br />
Here is her story:<br />
<br />
<b>Why I Refuse - Tair Kaminer's statement </b><br />
<br />
My name is Tair Kaminer, I am 19. A few months ago a ended a year of volunteering with the Israeli Boy and Girl Scouts in the town of Sderot, on the Gaza Strip border. In a few days, I will be going to jail. <br />
<br />
An entire year I volunteered in Sderot, working with children living in a war zone, and it was there that I decided to refuse to serve in the Israeli military. My refusal comes from my will to make a contribution to the society of which I am a part and make this a better place to live, from my commitment to the struggle for peace and equality. <br />
<br />
The children I worked with grew up in the heart of the conflict, and went through traumatic experiences from a young age. In many of them, this has generated a terrible hatred - which is quite understandable, especially in young children. Like them, many of the children living in the Gaza Strip and the rest of the Occupied Palestinian Territories, in an even more harsh reality, learn to hate the other side. They, too, cannot be blamed. When I look at all these children, at the next generation of both sides and the reality in which they live, I can but see the continuation of trauma and pain. And I say: Enough! <br />
<br />
For years now there’s no political horizon, no peace process anywhere in sight. There’s no attempt of any kind to bring peace to Gaza or to Sderot. As long as the violent military way holds sway, we will simply have further generations growing up with a heritage of hate, which will only make things even worse. We must stop this - now! <br />
<br />
This is why I am refusing: I will not take an active part in the occupation of the Palestinian Territories and in the injustice to the Palestinian people that is perpetrated again and again under this occupation. I will not take part in the cycle of hatred in Gaza and Sderot.<br />
<br />
My draft date is/was set for January 10th, 2016. On that day I will report to the Tel Hashomer Induction Center, to declare my refusal to serve in the military, and my willingness to do an alternative civil service. <br />
<br />
In conversation with some people I care about I’ve been accused of undermining democracy, though my refusal to abide by the laws which were enacted by an elected Parliament. But the Palestinians in the Occupied Territories live under the rule of the Government of Israel, though they had no voice whatsoever in electing that government. I believe that as long as Israel continues to be an occupying country, it will continue moving further and further away from from democracy.Therefore, my refusal is part of the struggle for democracy [and is] not an anti-democratic act. <br />
<br />
I have been told that I am avoiding my responsibility for the security of Israel. But as a woman who regards all people as equal - and all their lives as equally important - I cannot accept the security argument as applying to Jews only . Especially now, as the wave or terror continues, when it becomes clear and evident that the military cannot ensure protection to the Jews, either. It is very simple - one cannot create an island of security in the midst of an oppressive occupation. True security can be created only when the Palestinian people live in freedom and dignity, in their own an independent state alongside Israel.<br />
<br />
There were those who worried about my personal future in a country in which performing military service is held to be of supreme importance in the fabric of daily social intercourse. Caring for my future prospects, they suggested that I do serve in the army, regardless of my opinions - or at least that I don't make my refusal public. But through all the difficulties and worries, I chose to declare my refusal openly, for all to hear. This country, this society, are too important to me - I cannot and will not agree to keep silent. That was not the way I was brought up, to care only for myself and my private concerns. The life I had until now has been about giving and social responsibility, and such I want it to continue.<br />
<br />
Even if I must pay a personal price for my refusal, this price will be worthwhile if it to helps place the occupation on the agenda of Israeli public discourse. Far too many Israelis don’t directly feel the occupation, and they tend to forget about it in their daily lives - lives that are eminently safe in comparison with those of Palestinians, or even of the Israelis who live in the Western Negev (Gaza border area)<br />
.<br />
We are told that there is no way other than the violent military way. But I believe that this is the most destructive way, and that there are others. I wish to remind all of us that there does exist an alternative: negotiations, peace, optimism, a true will to live in equality, safety and freedom. We are told that the military is not a political institution - but the decision to serve in the military is a highly political one, no less so than the decision to refuse.<br />
<br />
We, the young people, must understand the full implications of such a choice. We need to understand its consequences for our society. After having deliberated these issues, I took the decision to refuse. I am not scared of the military prison - what truly frightens me is our society losing its humanity.John R. Kleinheksel, Sr.http://www.blogger.com/profile/15559033716246916111noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2373576667268518073.post-88041436703803573982016-01-03T13:48:00.001-08:002016-01-03T13:48:19.725-08:00Forward into 2016Dear Friend,<br />
<br />
A new group of 40 Western Seminary students has left this weekend for I/P, under the direction of Marlin and Sally Vis and our (emerging) KWM Board President, Travis West, a professor of Hebrew at the Seminary.<br />
Your/our Board will be gathering to chart our future on Monday, January 18. Pray we will have clarity, forward momentum and energy to persist in bringing about greater justice (with love) to the indigenous people of the land, the Arab Palestinians.<br />
For years, I have been reading the outlook of Robert Cohen, a Jewish activist in the UK (marrried to an woman, who is an Anglican priest). Below is his New Year's "Manifesto". <br />
Read it and stay tuned to our efforts to continue the struggle into 2016. Several of you have made year-end donations to the KWM cause and for that we give you hearty thanks. We are a 501c3 corporation (Checks to 296 Timber Lake Dr, E, Holland, MI, 49424).<br />
<br />
<b>My five point 2016 manifesto as a dissident, rebellious and awkward Jew<br />
<br />
</b>January 3, 2016 by Robert A. H. Cohen <br />
<br />
I’m setting out my stall for the year as a digital Jewish activist focusing on Israel/Palestine.<br />
Whether I like it or not, my religion, identity and cultural inheritance means this particular conflict is my problem. I can either attempt to ignore it (not easy) or do something about it (also not easy).<br />
So, here’s my personal manifesto as a dissident, rebellious and awkward Jew in 2016.<br />
<br />
1. Challenge the deniers –<br />
I hear and read the following sentiments a great deal:<br />
<i>Jews committing atrocities? No way! How could that be? Maybe the odd fanatic or hothead but every nation has that problem. Israel has the most moral army in the world and we are the only democracy in a tough neighbourhood. All we have tried to do is build a nation to give us safety and security. And all we have received in return for our efforts is hatred and terror.</i><br />
<br />
A Jewish State insisting on enduring innocence and eternal victimhood looks less and less tenable as each year goes by. As does the uncritical support of Israel by Jewish communal and faith leaders around the world. But it’s still a remarkably tenacious mind-set.<br />
I’m reminded of this quote from Martin Luther King:<br />
Nothing in all the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity.<br />
<br />
As the evidence keeps stacking up that something is rotting in the soul of Judaism the denial gets deeper and deeper. And that makes the possibility of taking a new direction harder by the day.<br />
<br />
So this year I will continue to call out the truth deniers, the Israel right or wrong brigade, the head in the sand people, the innocence & victimhood junkies. I will keep reminding them that there is an occupation, there is a siege, there is stolen land, there is one law for them and one for us, there is collective punishment, there are stateless refugees that we created. There maybe two sides in this but only our side has political and military power and international protection. Israel may be a democracy but it’s a partial one and a failing one.<br />
<br />
I will keep repeating all of this in the hope that the failed consensus continues to crumble<br />
<b>2. Pursue peace with justice –<br />
</b>There’s a lot of talk about wanting peace, especially on the Jewish side of things. I’m thinking of all those pro-Israel rallies organised by Jewish leadership groups where the crowds hold placards saying: <i>Yes to Peace/No to Terror.</i> There you have the whole false dichotomy in a single slogan. We are peace loving, they are hateful. They teach their children to hate, we teach ours to love. If that’s your starting point for making peace and your framework for the conflict then peace is a very long way off and you have some serious homework to do. If you think that Jews are not culpable for what has happened to the Palestinian people you are not ready to make peace.<br />
<br />
So I will write with the aim of pursuing a just peace, one that will undoubtedly mean compromises on both sides, but a peace that means more than merely ‘quiet’.<br />
<br />
<b>3. Support Boycott Divestment Sanctions (BDS) –<br />
<br />
</b>If you’ve spotted a better non-violent means of shifting the political dynamics on Israel/Palestine (even just a tiny bit) then let me know urgently. There’s been no diplomatic peace process worthy of the name for the last dozen years or more. Containment, creeping annexation and slow-motion ethnic cleansing are Israel’s preferred policy approaches. Remember, BDS is a tactic not a religion. It may just work in this situation, don’t bother trying it with ISIS. And by the way, campaigning for human rights for Palestinians is not anti-Jewish, but denying a people human rights certainly is.<br />
So I’m sticking with this strategy…it’s better than knives, guns and suicide bombs. You can read more on my argument for Jewish BDS here.<br />
<br />
<b>4. Occupy Judaism –<br />
<br />
</b>Perhaps it’s all over for the Judaism that stood for kindness, justice and walking humbly with God. We seem to have swapped all our ploughshares for shiny swords. I hope not but the signs aren’t good. However, we have a mighty big Jewish storehouse of ethical thinking and prophetic action gifted to us across the millennia. We will need to draw on it to find our way back (and forward) from the current moral cul-de-sac we have run down. Judaism mixed with nationalism has brought us to this point in our history, I like to think that Judaism will also show us a way out. I will keep reminding myself and others of that fact.<br />
<br />
<b>5. Keep a sense of proportion and a sense of humour<br />
<br />
</b>It’s rather bleak out there right now with no sign of things improving in 2016. In fact I suspect things will get a lot worse before they ever get better. So I’ll be looking for things to celebrate. Small successes, minor victories. Hopefully these things make a difference, eventually. And if there’s occasionally something to smile and laugh about that’s important too.John R. Kleinheksel, Sr.http://www.blogger.com/profile/15559033716246916111noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2373576667268518073.post-42168365593004320802015-12-08T09:59:00.001-08:002015-12-08T09:59:30.141-08:00A Season's Gift from Kairos W. Michigan (KWM)Dear Friend,<br />
Enclosed is the link to Mark Braverman's address at Christ Memorial on November 9, 2015.<br />
<br />
https://vimeo.com/christmemorialchurch/review/145540278/40d1f7c134<br />
<br />
It is a two-fold blessing: <br />
<br />
1) The first 12 minutes is an explanation (by Mike Spath, our partner from Fort Wayne), of the Kairos movement. His short, potent & informative overview of the historical antecedents to our movement can be used to explain Kairos W. MI to your friends, your church, your church mission's board, for group study (in a class for discussion); or, to archive for later use. <br />
<br />
2) Mark's address is just under an hour. It's a personal, comprehensive, and uncompromising call for dismantling the Zionist vision of an ethno-centric Jewish state that intentionally marginalizes the indigenous Palestinians. Not very popular; nor politically correct--he and we understand that.<br />
<br />
Mark Braverman is a brave, modern Jewish prophet who addresses the blind-spots of the current Israeli Nation. The Kairos movement seeks to energize and mobilize American ecumenical/evangelical churches to advocate and take actions for justice for the Arab Palestinians. We think this will mean taking steps to advocate with our government to insist on American values when granting aid to the Israeli State.<br />
<br />
For those of you still with this post, my wife Sharon and I left for Australia on the day Mr. Braverman left town for Kalamazoo. This is my first attempt to be in touch with you since our return a few days ago. (Our youngest daughter and her husband have our two youngest grands, 14 and 10 and live in Melbourne, Australia. We had a great time!<br />
<br />
Your Kairos W. MI Board will be assessing Mark's visit and be making decisions about how we proceed from here. Faithfully yours, (Rev.) John Kleinheksel for KWM<br />
<br />
John for Kairos West Michigan (<www.FriendsofPalestiniansandIsraelis.blogspot.com>) <br />
From indifference to any truth; from cowardice that shrinks from new truth;<br />
from laziness content with half truth; and from the arrogance that thinks it knows the whole truth,<br />
O God of Truth, deliver us!<br />
John R. Kleinheksel, Sr.http://www.blogger.com/profile/15559033716246916111noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2373576667268518073.post-70695112823952842572015-09-19T20:03:00.000-07:002015-09-19T20:03:08.130-07:00Report on Fr Chacour's Visit! What an afternoon and evening in West Michigan, USA, with a visit from Fr. Elias Chacour two days ago! (All Blood Brothers books were sold out!)<br />
<br />
134 Hope and Western Seminary students (and a smattering of community folk) gathered at the College; and 275-300 people of all ages came to hear and meet him this gentle but forceful spiritual giant at St. Francis de Sales Catholic Church in the evening.<br />
<br />
What a Kairos moment, given the crisis for Christian schools in Israel/Palestine as we sought to listen and learn. Joan Deming introduced Abuna's story (go to www.pilgrimsofibillin.org for more on the Mar Elias Educational Institutions (MEEI). A Free-will offering of around $500 was donated to POI (Pilgrims of Ibillin).<br />
<br />
Thank you to St. Francis (and Fr Charlie Brown) for hosting the evening event and making Fr Chacour's presentation there available on YouTube (Here is the link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pknbPKioftU (Many of us had trouble hearing the presentation, so this is the way to really listen in).<br />
<br />
Hearing the discouraging update by Fr Chacour, many were led to ask, "What can I/we do?"<br />
<br />
Joan Deming, Executive Director of Pilgrims of Ibillin, is suggesting the following letter be sent to Israeli US Ambassador Ron Dermer, which I strongly urge you to write:<br />
<br />
<i> Date ______________________<br />
<br />
The Honorable Ron Dermer, (Israel’s Ambassador to the United States)<br />
Embassy of Israel<br />
3514 International Drive N.W.<br />
Washington D.C. 20008<br />
<br />
Dear Mr. Dermer,<br />
<br />
I am writing to object strongly to the deep subsidy cuts imposed by Israel’s Ministry of Education on Christian schools in the State of Israel, mostly in the region of Galilee. After many years of incremental cuts, the current level of support for these schools is untenable at just 29% of what government schools receive. The cuts have left these excellent Christian schools in dire financial condition, threatening their continued existence, while the comparable “religious and unofficial” Jewish Schools have 100% of their financial needs met by Ministry of Education subsidies.<br />
<br />
The forty-seven Christian Schools of Israel are among your nation’s finest schools, and graduates of these schools give exceptional service and leadership as citizens within Israel and around the world. The students enrolled in these schools deserve equal respect and support with all other Israeli students. The schools they attend merit full support – not in the form of one-time bonuses or favors, but as dependable subsidies, equal to all other schools.<br />
<br />
As an American and a Christian who cares deeply, together with many other American citizens, about all the people of the Holy Land, I see this crisis of increasingly restricted funding as unnecessary and punitive against the Christian minority in Israel. I would like to believe that Israel, as a democracy and a country that proclaims religious freedom for all citizens, is better than these funding cuts indicate. <br />
<br />
Therefore, I strongly request that the Israeli Ministry of Education immediately comply with the law and restore government funding for all Christian Schools to levels equal to the subsidies given to all other “religious and unofficial” schools in Israel.<br />
<br />
Respectfully submitted,<br />
<br />
<br />
__________________________________________<br />
United States of America</i><br />
<br />
We are considering convening a group of persons interested in pursuing the matter of justice for Christian schools in Isr/Pal. Let me know if you are interested in being a part of such a conclave! There are things we can do if we have the mind and will to do it!<br />
<br />
Kairos West Michigan is gearing up for a visit to W. Michigan of Mark Braverman, the principle author of Kairos USA, an American response to the Call for Help from our Palestinian Christian brothers and sisters. Those dates will be Monday and Tuesday, November 9 and 10, 2015. Set those dates aside and watch for more details.<br />
<br />
Thirty-one new people signed up to receive news from Kairos W. MI (KWM). <br />
<br />
Thank you to Joan Deming (Pilgrims of Ibillin, Abuna's US affiliate), Michael Spath, our partner from Ft Wayne, and to Fr Chacour for this sobering reminder of injustice in Isr/Pal. Thank you to Western Seminary and Hope college for your encouragement, participation, and financial support. Thank you to our supporting churches (First Methodist Peace with Justice Committee, Hope Church, and Third Church, Holland, MI). We are definitely looking to expand the number of supporting congregations, interested persons and related groups.<br />
<br />
Momentum towards a genuine movement of the spirit/Spirit is growing. Thank YOU for being a part of it! Faithfully yours, JRK<br />
<br />
John for Kairos West Michigan <br />
From indifference to any truth; from cowardice that shrinks from new truth;<br />
from laziness content with half truth; and from the arrogance that thinks it knows the whole truth,<br />
O God of Truth, deliver us!<br />
John R. Kleinheksel, Sr.http://www.blogger.com/profile/15559033716246916111noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2373576667268518073.post-75035089400357755552015-08-07T19:34:00.003-07:002015-08-07T19:34:55.394-07:00Fr Elias Chacour to Visit Holland, Michigan!Dear Friend!<br />
Plan on attending events surrounding Abuna (Fr) Elias Chacour's visit to W. Michigan!<br />
<br />
We can say for sure he will be address us (and answer questions) at St. Francis de Sales Catholic Church in Holland on Thursday evening, 7:00 - 8:30 p.m. We are hoping for an additional venue at either HOPE College or Western Theological Seminary that afternoon. Further details will follow once plans are finalized. Fr Chacour models a reconciling spirit that draws Arabs and Israelis, Muslims, Jews and Christians together, not as adversaries, but as fellow human beings with the dignity to which all humans are entitled. His Mar Elias Educational Institutions (MEEI) have educated thousands of Christian, Muslim and Jewish, Arab and Israeli children and youths in modeling a better way forward.<br />
<br />
I'm enclosing several pieces from today's newsletter from Pilgrims of Ibillin, (the American affiliate of Fr Chacour's life-long ministry) telling of a two week visit in Chicago-land by 12 students from the Mar Elias High School, and an interview with Emil Haloun, a teacher at the school. Joan Deming, the American Executive Director of "Pilgrims of Ibillin" will also be our guest on Sept. 17 along with Michael Spath, our partner from Fort Wayne, IND.<br />
<br />
Fr Chacour is a Palestinian Arab Israeli Christian, one of the 20% "citizens" in Israel who are Arab Palestinian. Thus his witness is a bit different from those living in what is known as the "West Bank" or "Gaza". He will be candid and forthcoming in answering our questions about the possibility of peace in our region. Please join me in seeking greater understanding of how we can move forward toward Shalom/Salaam! JRK for Kairos West Michigan<br />
<br />
<b>First Ever Mar Elias Peace Tour</b><br />
Winning hearts and minds in the USA<br />
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This summer, Pilgrims of Ibillin welcomed fifteen Mar Elias High School students and recent graduates to the US for a 2-week visit – in a new cooperative venture with the school Abuna Elias Chacour founded in Ibillin. The students and their teacher, Emil Haloun, stayed with families in Grosse Pointe and Ann Arbor, MI; in Oshkosh and Madison, WI; and finally visited Chicago, staying in dorms at Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary.<br />
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Everywhere they went, they shared stories of their families and school and villages, their hopes and dreams, and their experience as Arabs living within the State of Israel. They left a trail of new friends and a vision of possibilities for peace in their holy homeland. (They also enjoyed their first-ever celebration of an Independence Day on July 4, rode bikes, sailed and swam, went to museums and a concert and Shakespeare play, and visited with Jewish, Christian, and Muslim students, -- to say nothing of shopping and being wide-eyed tourists.)<br />
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The students blogged about their trip, and would love to have you read about their journey online. Please visithttp://mareliaspeacetour.org/our-travel-entries/. Their trip is also featured in the July Pilgrims’ Post print newsletter.<br />
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We are confident that these amazing young people from Mar Elias served as bridges of peace and international understanding, and raised awareness in the United States about Israeli-Palestinian history. They planted seeds of hope, while also making new friends and sharing in a lot of new experiences. Thank YOU, friends of Pilgrims of Ibillin, for helping make a key difference. Your generosity and prayers helped it happen.<br />
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<b>A Teacher's Witness:</b><br />
Emil Haloun answers an audience question after a student presentation, Peace Tour, July 2015<br />
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<b>Q: “Does religion contribute to the problem or help solve it?”</b><br />
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Emil: “People in Israel are becoming more radical, not less. And our message at Mar Elias, therefore, is really unique, and unfortunately rare. Most schools convey indirectly a message of segregation, as opposed to building bridges of connection.<br />
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I will tell you something based on my experience. I also teach part time at Haifa University and there my students include a mix of Jewish, Arab, and overseas students. Among the students, I am always privileged to teach those who have graduated from Mar Elias High School. And I tell you truly, there is something different about our students. They come to college aware of what society is comprised of, unlike others who are really blind to what is going on around them. As a small example, many Muslim university students are for the very first time encountering not only Jewish students but even Christians. So just imagine what our school is trying to create in the midst of this conflictual and negative atmosphere in Galilee and elsewhere.<br />
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And this is related to your question about whether religious differences can cause harm. We are trying to take this reality and make something beautiful. I mean, can you tell who is Muslim and who is Christian here? No way! And we were hosted by American families, but we came here to meet them as human beings -- not to meet "the Americans" or "the Muslims" or "the Jews." A few days ago, we visited the Holocaust Museum in Milwaukee. There we met with Jewish students from Israel, and for them, that was the very first time they were speaking with an Arab student. So realize how many walls we have in that small, holy piece of land, smaller than the size of New Jersey. So, schools like Mar Elias, where I teach and these students study, are much needed in these uneasy circumstances.”John R. Kleinheksel, Sr.http://www.blogger.com/profile/15559033716246916111noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2373576667268518073.post-10791602270691346512015-07-25T17:27:00.001-07:002015-07-25T17:27:48.143-07:00Demonstration @ Susiya TODAYDear Friend,<br />
Adam Keller is an associate of Uri Avnery (Gush Shalom). Here is his "on the ground" account of what happened in Susiya today, the Palestinian town the whole international community is now aware of, the epitome of what is happening "on the ground" in I/P. JRK<br />
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<b>A traffic jam in the middle of the desert</b><br />
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The rendezvous was scheduled for 11:30 am, outside the Arlozorov Street Railway Station in Tel Aviv. I arrived at 11:35. "Three buses have already been filled, but don’t worry – the fourth bus will soon arrive" said the organizers’ representative. "There will be a place for anyone who wants to go to the protest in Susiya."<br />
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It is long since there was such a wide response to a call for a demonstration in the wild West Bank. Among the passengers could be seen quite a few long-time activists who had however not been seen in recent years. Why did the case of Susiya evoke so much attention, in Israel and throughout the world? (Circulating on the bus was the current New York Times op-ed page, featuring a moving personal story of a Susiya resident - Nassar Nawajah). This tiny threatened village is in every way worthy of support and solidarity - but in the past, quite a few instances of no less outrageous injustice have been perpetrated and met a virtually complete indifference and silence. One can never know in advance which particular case will become the focus and symbol of a struggle. <br />
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Little more than an hour's drive separates the vast metropolitan Tel Aviv from the godforsaken hamlet of Susiya in the middle of the desert. First the travel is along congested intercity highways – then, through back roads which become ever more narrow and in bad repair, the further one continues to the east and south. Somewhere, without noticing, the Green Line is crossed into the territory where there is not even a semblance of democracy, where the landscape is predominantly brown rather than green - apart from the occasional green patch of a settlement, which had the privilege of being connected to the Israeli water system.<br />
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At the end of the trip, the narrow road forks, and the sign to the right side says "Susiya" - but nevertheless, we turned to the left. The sign erected by the military authorities refers to the other Susiya – the Israeli settlement Susiya, which claims to be the continuation of a Jewish village of the same name which existed on this location during the Roman and Byzantine period. "Come and see Susiya - an ancient Jewish town" says the sign on the road we had not taken.<br />
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The Jews who lived here 1,500 years ago had lived in caves. In the Twentieth Century, Palestinians had been living in these same caves, until in 1986 the army came to expel them and turn the caves into an archeological site managed by the settlers. The Palestinians had to move to miserable shacks erected on what was left of their land. Is it possible that they actually were the descendants of those who resided in those caves in the Fifth Century? At the beginning of the Zionist Movement David Ben Gurion brought up that at least some of the Arabs in this country are descendants of Jews who lived here in the past, and who at some time were converted to Islam and started speaking Arabic. In 1918 Ben Gurion even published an entire book on this subject, in cooperation with the future President of Israel Yitzhak Ben-Zvi, including detailed historical documentation to support this theory. But before long it became clear that, even if some of the Palestinians’ ancestors had been Jewish, at present they have no interest whatsoever in being Jewish or promoting the Zionist Project. So, Ben-Gurion and his colleagues lost interest in further promoting this issue.<br />
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In the direction of Palestinian Susiya there was no road sign. For the Israeli authorities, it simply does not exist. "The competent military authorities take the position that there had never existed an Arab village named Susiya" stated on the Knesset floor Deputy Defense Minister Eli Ben-Dahan, of the Jewish Home Party. "Palestinian structures were built without permits on that location, and were demolished during the 1995-2001 period. Illegal construction continued, against which demolition orders were issued. In May 2015 the Supreme Court rejected a petition by the Palestinians for an interim injunction against the demolition of these structures."<br />
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There are no road signs, but it is not difficult to find Palestinian Susiya, with the Palestinian flag painted on rocks along the road. Four buses arrived from Tel Aviv and three from Jerusalem, plus quite a few private cars, and a minor traffic jam was created in the middle of the desert. "Pay attention, it is now the hottest hour of the day, it's one of the hottest places in the country, and there is almost no shade" warns the young woman in charge of my bus. "Please be sure, all of you, to cover your heads and take water with you. For those who have not brought it with them, we provide bottled water". On a low ridge above the bus could already be seen a human stream winding its way towards the rally.<br />
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The concrete cover of a rainwater collection cistern has become a makeshift podium, with several loudspeakers and a Palestinian flag flying. When the group from our bus arrived, the speeches were already under way, in a mixture of Arabic, English and Hebrew. "67 years after the Palestinian Nakba, it is still going on! They want to expel the residents of Susiya from their land! Are we going to let them do it?" cried former Palestinian Minister Mustafa Barghouti, eliciting a loud chorus of "No! No!"."After the Apartheid regime in South Africa fell, Nelson Mandela said that the fight is not over, the next part is the Palestinian struggle. We are here, we are struggling. We will go on struggling until Palestine is free!" (Chanting in Arabic and English "Free Palestine! Free Palestine! Free, free Palestine! "<br />
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Susiya resident Nasser Nawaj'ah, a leader activist of the struggle, spoke in Hebrew to those who came from Tel Aviv and Jerusalem: "Welcome to Susiya, all of you, welcome to Susiya, the fighting Susiya which will not give in! Our struggle is already going on for decades. In 1982, they erected the settlement of Susiya on our land. In 1986, they expelled us from the caves and turned them into an archaeological site of the settlers, then we moved to the farmland, all what was left to us. In 2001, they destroyed everything and drove us away, but we came back and set up our village again. You are most welcome here, we are grateful for the solidarity and support of all those who have come here. You are the other face of Israel, the face which is different from what we see of the soldiers and settlers who come to us every day. You give us hope, the hope that we can still live together, Palestinians as Israel's neighbors in peace."<br />
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He was followed by Professor Yigal Bronner, who teaches history of India at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and is a prominent activist of the Ta'ayush Movement, which is active already for many years in support of the residents of the South Hebron Hills. "We are here in Susiya. What is Susiya? Not much. Some cisterns which the army had not filled with dirt, a few sheep which the settlers have not yet stolen, some olive trees that have not yet been cut down. What is Susiya? Susiya is 350 people who hold on to the land, clinging and clinging and holding on and not giving up, because it's their home. Quite simply, this is their home. Opposite us is the other Susiya. The Susiya which is armed and surrounded by a fence, which is connected to to water and electricity and sewage and has representatives in all the corridors of power, and it wants to grab what little is left of this Susiya where we stand. Susiya against Susiya, this is the whole story. The Palestinian Susiya has no soldiers and no police and no representatives in the Knesset and in fact it does not have the vote. But it has us. We are here to stand with Susiya and we will not leave. We will do everything we can to be here and prevent the destruction. And if does take place, we will be here the next morning to rebuild, together with the residents. Susiya is not alone! "(Chanting of "Susiya, Sussiya do not despair, we will end the occupation yet!" in Hebrew and "Yaskut al Ikhitlal", "Down with the Occupation" in Arabic.<br />
"It is very important that you all came here, it is important to continue the struggle. There will be here another demonstration next Saturday, and on August 3 at 9:00 am there will be the hearing on the appeal of Susiya at the Supreme Court. It is very important to be there! Susiya is not alone! Susiya is not alone!"<br />
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After the speeches - the march to the edge of the ridge. "For anyone who feels badly affected by the heat and sun, there is a tent with shade and plenty of water. Don’t get hurt unnecessarily. And now – forward!" <br />
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Together with the Palestinians, locals and those who especially came, we all moved ahead to the rhythmic beating of the "Drummers Against the Occupation", and the heat did not seem to reduce their energy and enthusiasm. Above the crowd were waving the placards of "Combatants for Peace", one of the demonstration's organizers, with the caption "There is Another Way" in Hebrew, Arabic and English. "Though shalt not rob thy fellow" read the big sign carried by Rabbi Arik Asherman, who already for many years did not miss any demonstration, "Rabbis for Human Rights" being another of the protest initiators. Other Biblical slogans: "Have we become the like of Sodom, did we assume the face of Gomorrah?", "Save the poor his robber, protect the miserable from the heartless despoiler" "Zion shall be built on Justice", "Each shall sit in content under his vine and his fig tree." <br />
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A five years old Palestinian girl held upside down a large sign in Hebrew reading "No more land grab!". One of the Israelis drew the attention of a woman in traditional Palestinian dress, apparently the grandmother. The granddaughter, laughing, turned the sign in correct direction before the press photographers arrived at this part of the march parade. Near was walking a strapping young man wearing a T-shirt of the FC St. Pauli soccer club of Hamburg, Germany, whose fans are known for their fight against racism, and next was a woman whose shirt proclaimed "Stop the Pinkwashing!", protesting the cynical use made of LGBT people by the government international PR apparatus ("Hasbara"). The text on the bag of a veteran Jerusalem activist referred to the elctions earlier this year: "We did not succeed in throwing Netanyahu out, which is very harsh and painful, but at least let him keep his paws off Susiya!"<br />
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At the end of the march, dozens lifted with great effort a 30-metre long sign reading: "Susiya is Palestinian, and Palestinian it will remain!". When the buses on the way back passed the official sign about "The ancient Jewish town" we could see it at the top of the ridge above the road.<br />
John R. Kleinheksel, Sr.http://www.blogger.com/profile/15559033716246916111noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2373576667268518073.post-53706593631592721702015-07-18T06:53:00.001-07:002015-07-18T06:53:59.984-07:00Action Alert!<br />
Dear Friend,<br />
I'm requesting you to take action against the planned demolition of yet another Palestinian village.<br />
Many groups are urging this action (CMEP - Churches for Middle East Peace; JVP - Jewish Voices for Peace; IPMN -Israel/Palestine Mission Network; and End the Occupation - (Anna Baltzer and others).<br />
The Presbyterian appeal (which I am forwarding) is based on a report by David Etherington, who works there in the WCC Ecumenical Accompaniment Program and Kate Tabor, who works as a mission co-worker in Bethlehem. I have met Kate Tabor @ the IPMN conference last October and trust her. <br />
Ethnic cleansing is still taking place. Our State Department has warned the Israelis against demolishing Susiya, but the warnings go unheeded because there are never any consequences when our policies are ignored.<br />
In your message, urge the State Department to start putting teeth into our expectations (or use the form provided for you in the link).<br />
Rather than find ways of living WITH their Palestinian neighbors, the present Likud-led government is insisting on putting up parallel Jews-only settlements. Friends, this goes contrary to our deepest held values, as Christians and Americans.<br />
I'm re-reading Elias Chacour's BLOOD BROTHERS, in preparation for his visit to West Michigan on Thursday, September 17. There will be an appearance aimed at HOPE College and Western Theological Seminary students (but open to the community too); and an evening appearance at 7:00 p.m. at St. Francis de Sales Catholic church in Holland, MI. Archbishop Chacour is a Melkite Catholic whose forebears reconciled with Rome many centuries ago. He is 78 years old now and in retirement. Our partner Michael Spath and Pilgrims of Ibellin director Joan Deming will be bringing Abuna (Father) Chacour to Michigan and Indiana and other places in the US this September.<br />
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I'm attaching my review of the excellent documentary by Jews for Jews and all of us: "1913: Seeds of Conflict", which you can now see in its entirety at this link: http://video.pbs.org/video/2365519134/ <br />
Back to Archbishop Chacour's book, BLOOD BROTHERS. It is a heart-wrenching, arresting personal account of how he and his family were stripped of their home and land. It is an inspiring account of how he wrestled with the demons of counter-violence and began to insist that his love for Israeli Jews was as strong as his love for his own Palestinian Christian and Muslim countrymen. He refuses to be an enemy, no matter how he is treated. Friends, this is kind of empathy and grace is uncommon and yet sets the standard for us in our efforts for peace, justice and love in our region. The Mar Elias Educational Institutions are the result of his vision: the embodiment of a reconciling movement in the heart of the Israel/Palestine quagmire.<br />
Thank you for tracking with us @ KUSA - West Michigan. And thank you to our emerging Board of Directors who are taking ownership of this movement! Faithfully yours, (Rev.) John Kleinheksel Sr (JRK)<br />
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<b>Action Alert: Stand in Solidarity with Susiya</b><br />
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“Living with all things ‘Under Military Occupation’ burdens ones heart, one’s soul, one’s life. My heart breaks, my heart cries for the struggle, the struggle for all here in this land, Palestinians and Israelis alike, Muslims, Jews and Christians all living in struggle in differing levels of intensity. I believe that this conflict, this occupation and subjection of another’s land and life is eroding the soul of all.” -- Rev. David Etherington, serving in the Palestinian village of Susiya with the Ecumenical Accompaniment program of the World Council of Churches.<br />
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The burden of the decades-long Israeli occupation of Palestinian land is felt from Gaza where on the one year anniversary of a devastating war the tiny enclave still lies in ruins, to the Cremisan Valley near Bethlehem where a court victory to stop building the separation wall on private Palestinian land has now been undone by a more recent court decision. As pressure steps up on a number of fronts, the Village of Susiya is a salient example of where advocacy is urgently needed.<br />
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To answer the need, the Rebuilding Alliance and partners are sending a message to government leaders telling them, “I care about peace, I care about Susiya.” Please join them today by contacting your elected officials.<br />
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Villagers in Susiya have already suffered a history of displacement. A 2015 UN report recounts, “In 1986, the Israeli authorities declared the main residential area of Susiya an archaeological site and evicted all of its residents. Most of those who relocated to what was later designated as Area C were displaced again in the context of two waves of demolitions, in 2001 and in 2011, on grounds of lack of building permits.”<br />
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The same UN report notes that the illegal Israeli settlement of Susya, located next to the Palestinian village, “has a population of nearly 1,000, some of whom live in an unauthorized outpost erected in 2002 in the old community centre that was declared an archeological site.”<br />
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While the situation in Susiya is not unique, it is particularly urgent because in May the Israeli court refused to issue an order prohibiting demolitions during an appeal which is scheduled to be heard on August 3rd. As Rabbis for Human Rights explains, “The judge’s decision is de facto permission for the State to realize the demolition orders in the village, that has stood in its present location for 30 years.”<br />
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Additional causes for concern, as noted by Etherington and others, are recently arrived bulldozers near the village and a visit by the Israeli authorities who photographed and documented structures in the village.<br />
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While the occupation grinds on, advocates for Susiya are hoping that this village can stand as an example of the success of peaceful action. Etherington quotes a villager, “…today, when we cry out, the world hears us, many around the world hear our struggle and…stand in solidarity with us and our struggle.”<br />
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Stand in solidarity with Susiya – and stand up for peace for Israelis and Palestinians -- by contacting your members of Congress today to say, “I care about peace, I care about Susiya.” Ask them to raise this issue with the US State Department and with the Israeli Embassy.<br />
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John for KairosUSA-West Michigan Community (<www.FriendsofPalestiniansandIsraelis.blogspot.com>) <br />
From indifference to any truth; from cowardice that shrinks from new truth;<br />
from laziness content with half truth; and from the arrogance that thinks it knows the whole truth,<br />
O God of Truth, deliver us!<br />
John R. Kleinheksel, Sr.http://www.blogger.com/profile/15559033716246916111noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2373576667268518073.post-63227956096785879922015-06-22T19:33:00.002-07:002015-06-22T19:33:43.201-07:00Building Bridges, Not Walls!Dear Friend,<br />
Your KUSA-W. MI Board continues to plan for the appearance of Abuna Chacour here in Holland/Zeeland, Thursday, September 17.<br />
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We will be seeking support from the HOPE College and Western Seminary community, area congregations and community activists.<br />
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Archbishop Elias Chacour has pioneered reconciliation among all inhabitants of the land, almost from the moment when his family's home was destroyed, along with their village, during the early stages of the Israeli Occupation of Palestine.<br />
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His book BLOOD BROTHERS is still "must" reading for those wishing to know the kind of resistance KUSA champions.<br />
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This week's Christian Science Monitor highlights the story of <friendsofroots.net> Abu Awwad emphasizes that nonviolence is a means, not an end, and Palestinian rights have yet to be achieved.<br />
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<b>Co-existence and Hope in the Heart of the Conflict</b><br />
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"... effective dialogue is the secure place for argument and deeper understanding. It is in this space that solutions can be built."<br />
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In our experience and our understanding, we know that violence is the product of inequality, fear and suffering. But more important than this - the lack of knowing each other - causes us to compete over our suffering and to fall again and again into the cycles of violence. <br />
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The Roots project draws Israelis and Palestinians who, despite living next to each other, are separated by walls of fear- not just fear of each other, but even of the price of peace. Without building trust, the suspicions between us will suffocate the political peace agreements. <br />
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In order to bring the two people's together, the project's outreach program includes monthly meetings between Israeli and Palestinian families, a women's group, work with school children, engaging local leaders, a summer camp, language learning, and cultural exchanges. In order to accommodate this wide variety of activities, a centrally-located site in the Gush Etzion area of the West Bank is used as a convenient meeting area.<br />
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We know that there is great disagreement over many issues - over the facts of the past and even about the reality of the present; but we believe that effective dialogue is the secure place for argument and deeper understanding. It is in this space that solutions can be built.<br />
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The promise of peace means different things to our people - but the path to peace is common, and must be walked together.<br />
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"Putting a human face on the enemy assuages the hatred against an anonymous foe, and helps people to stop feeling a victim. "<br />
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The coordinators of the Roots project are Ali Abu Awwad, Shaul Judelman, and Rabbi Hanan Schlesinger. For general questions and inquiries about Roots, please feel free to contact them at info@friendsofroots.net.<br />
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-- <br />
John for KairosUSA-West Michigan Community (<www.FriendsofPalestiniansandIsraelis.blogspot.com>) <br />
From indifference to any truth; from cowardice that shrinks from new truth;<br />
from laziness content with half truth; and from the arrogance that thinks it knows the whole truth,<br />
O God of Truth, deliver us!<br />
John R. Kleinheksel, Sr.http://www.blogger.com/profile/15559033716246916111noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2373576667268518073.post-22564122026859606242015-06-03T05:57:00.000-07:002015-06-03T05:57:35.316-07:00What is Truth?Dear Friend,<br />
Occasionally, one article epitomizes the issue in I/P.<br />
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Such an article came out over the weekend from B'Tselem, the Israeli-based human rights organization (that tracks the settlement movement which seeks to solidify the Occupation of ALL the land between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea).<br />
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Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is convinced Israel has enemies everywhere, seeking to blacken Israel's name internationally. Here is what he has said according to the NY Times: <i>JERUSALEM — Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel said on Sunday that his country faced “an international campaign to blacken its name” based not on his policies toward the Palestinians but “connected to our very existence,” likening the mounting boycott movement to anti-Semitic “libels” of previous eras.<br />
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In pointing the finger outward, three fingers remain pointed at himself and the practices of exclusion by Likud, of the indigenous population. He wants us to believe that criticism of Israel has NOTHING to do with Israel policies, and EVERYTHING to do with irrational hatred of Jews because they are Jews. The man and his extreme right-wing administration is losing touch with reality and losing any remaining shred of credibility. In the so-called international community, here in the US, and even among a growing number of his own citizenry.<br />
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There seem to be no release values in the pressure cooker that is continuing to boil. We seem headed toward another explosion. Unstoppable force facing an immovable object is like the Large Hadron Collider (CERN) in Geneva. <i>GENEVA (Reuters) - The Large Hadron Collider (LHC) will start smashing particles together at unprecedented speed on Wednesday, churning out data for the first time in more than two years that scientists hope might help crack the mystery of "dark matter". . . .<br />
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Nobody knows quite what the LHC might reveal with its new particle collisions -- mini-versions of the Big Bang primordial blast that brought the universe into being 13.8 billion years ago -- but scientists hope it will produce evidence of what has been dubbed "new physics".<br />
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Instead of particles colliding, the leaders of Israel and the Arab Palestinians seem intent on having their conflicting narratives collide, and that, at great force, with no compromises. It's all or nothing. Nothing but Unconditional Surrender (WW II) will be acceptable. <br />
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We seem to want to establish the reality of "dark matter", that mysterious force that makes up as much as 96% of reality. We are revisiting Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness. And yet, as Shakespeare has Cassius say in Julius Caesar: The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars,/ But in ourselves, that we are underlings Julius Caesar (I, ii, 140-141).<br />
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You need to know that Cody O'Rourke (Christian Peacemaker Teams) told many personal stories of how the children of Hebron are treated at the checkpoints, harassing them as they seek to go to school and make their way in and around Hebron, deep in the West Bank. Hebron, the ancient city of Abraham and Sarah, long a city inhabited by Arab Palestinians, but now claimed by a vanguard of Jewish settlers. Over 50 were present at First Presbyterian Church (Pastor Linda Knieriemen as host, along with Sarah Hamm and CPT) last Wednesday evening. Thank you Cody. Thank you Sarah. Thank you Pastor Knieriemen.<br />
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We are hosting Archbishop Elias Chacour this September 17. He has been in the vanguard of those seeking reconciliation among the people of the land: the new-comers and the ancient inhabitants of the land. Not an easy task. Put it down on your calendars, for the afternoon and evening sessions. Details are still being worked on. <br />
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With thanks to our emerging Board of Directors of KUSA - W. MI Community, JRK<br />
Here comes the article by B'Tselem (also as an attachment). . . .<br />
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Israel’s Charade of Democracy<br />
By HAGAI ELAD MAY 31, 2015 JERUSALEM<br />
Israel’s occupation of the Palestinian territories is nearing the half-century mark, and Israel’s new right-wing government offers little hope of ending it.<br />
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Nevertheless, the new government promises something else of value: clarity. And with that clarity, the opportunity to challenge the prolonged lie of the occupation’s “temporary” status.<br />
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For if the occupation has become permanent in all but its name, what about the voting rights of Palestinians?<br />
Two months ago, on election day in Israel, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared that Israel’s Arab citizens were flocking to the polls “in droves”— a clear effort to cast the voting of one-fifth of Israel’s citizens as a danger to be counteracted. That undermined basic democratic principles, but it paled in contrast to the status of the Palestinian population living next door in territories under direct or indirect Israeli rule. They have no say at all in choosing the government of the occupying power that is in ultimate command of their fate.<br />
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If you look at all the land Israel controls between the Jordan and the Mediterranean, that area contains some 8.3 million Israelis and Palestinians of voting age. Roughly 30 percent — about 2.5 million — are Palestinians living outside Israel under varying degrees of Israeli control — in East Jerusalem, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. They have some ability to elect Palestinian bodies with limited functions. But they are powerless to choose Israeli officials, who make the weightiest decisions affecting them. International humanitarian law does not grant a people living under temporary military occupation the right to vote for the institutions of the occupying power.<br />
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But “temporary” is the operative word. Military occupations are meant to have an end. And common sense says half a century is not “temporary.” Nevertheless, that is the basis for denying Palestinians their political rights: Their status is temporary, we are told, until a political agreement with Israel allows them to vote for sovereign Palestinian institutions.<br />
Now the chances of that happening are more clear. On the eve of elections, Mr. Netanyahu promised that there would be no Palestinian state while he is in office. Does that mean nobody in the occupied territories has a meaningful vote?<br />
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No. In fact, some people do: Israeli settlers. In August 1970, the Israeli parliament, the Knesset, discussed amending the Knesset Election Law, which stipulated that Israelis — with few exceptions like diplomats on duty abroad — had to be inside Israel to vote. The amendment sought to expand the exception to include Israelis “residing in the territories held by the Israel Defense Force.” In other words, Israeli settlers could vote for the Knesset from outside Israel; their Palestinian neighbors could not participate from anywhere.<br />
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In a Knesset session discussing the amendment before it passed, one legislator and peace activist, Uri Avnery, expressed a widely held belief that peace initiatives would soon make the amendment obsolete. He expressed the hope that “it won’t be long — a year, a year and a half, two at most — before the thing called ‘the held territories’ is no more, and the I.D.F. pulls back into Israel’s borders.”<br />
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More than four decades later, what has become obsolete is not the amendment, but rather the accuracy of a description of Knesset elections often heard here: general, national, direct, equal, confidential and proportional. How can elections be “general” when millions of people under Israel’s control for almost 50 years cannot take part in electing the institutions that hold sway over them?<br />
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Let’s face it. Only the first six of Israel’s parliamentary elections — those held before 1967 — were truly “general.” Even though the Palestinian Arab citizens of Israel proper were under military rule inside its borders at the time, they could vote. Settlers now have voted in their communities in 14 Knesset elections. Over time, their numbers rose from a few hundred to hundreds of thousands. Yet one thing remained constant: Millions of Palestinians could not cast a meaningful vote, even as the voting of their settler neighbors — citizens of an occupying power — helped decide the fate of the disenfranchised.<br />
<br />
To be sure, after the Oslo accords were signed in 1993, Palestinians in the occupied territories got to cast ballots for some institutions of their own. But Palestinian independence never came to pass, and the interim partial autonomy established in its stead underscored how “temporariness” is abused while ultimate control remains with Israel.<br />
<br />
The Oslo Accords themselves were meant to be an interim arrangement, in effect for five years. The most recent Palestinian vote under them, in 2006, proved of little value to the Palestinians; the results were set aside after Hamas emerged as the winner in the new Palestinian parliament — whose autonomous powers in effect merely relieved Israel of responsibilities for infrastructure, health care and education.<br />
<br />
In reality, the Palestinian Authority remains subject to the whims of the occupying power — as was demonstrated most recently when Israel froze (and then unfroze) the transfer of Palestinian tax revenues to it.<br />
<br />
All this is shameful. And one of the occupation’s most shameful aspects is the democratic facade that obscures an undemocratic and oppressive reality. Israel’s use of military force against Palestinians is one variety of violence.<br />
Its patronizing disregard for millions of subjects, while boasting of its own “celebration of democracy,” is violence of another kind — violence to history, reality and the truth. A day will come when this occupation ends.<br />
<br />
It may end with one state, two states, or something else. That specific political choice is beyond the deeper question of human rights, as long as the option eventually chosen respects the human rights of all.<br />
<br />
For now, the one choice we cannot make is to continue calling the current reality democratic and the occupation temporary. Clarity may be of value after all, if it helps bring the occupation’s end sooner.<br />
<br />
<i>Hagai El-Ad is the executive director of B’Tselem, the Israeli Information Center for Human Rights in the Occupied Territories. A version of this op-ed appears in print on June 1, 2015, in The International New York Times. © 2015 The New York Times Company<br />
</i><br />
-- <br />
John for KairosUSA-West Michigan Community (<www.FriendsofPalestiniansandIsraelis.blogspot.com>) <br />
From indifference to any truth; from cowardice that shrinks from new truth;<br />
from laziness content with half truth; and from the arrogance that thinks it knows the whole truth,<br />
O God of Truth, deliver us!John R. Kleinheksel, Sr.http://www.blogger.com/profile/15559033716246916111noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2373576667268518073.post-15596077089074265782015-05-25T20:41:00.001-07:002015-05-25T20:41:42.255-07:00Christian Peacemaker Teams PRESENTS!Dear Friend,<br />
<br />
This coming Wed. May 27, 2015, we will hear from Cody O'Rourke and the Christian Peacemakers Team (CPT). Learn what living under the Occupation feels like if you live in Hebron, the West Bank. At 1st Presbyterian Church, (659 State St, Holland, MI). 7:00 p.m!<br />
<br />
Big News: We have booked Archbishop (Abuna) Elias Chacour as our presenter, Thursday, September 17 (a Thursday). Right here in Holland, MI. Abuna Chacour (of <i>Blood Brothers</i> fame) is one of the originators of reconciliation between Jews and Palestinian Arabs in the land of I/P. Your Board is working on two venues, 1) for the College and Seminary students (in the afternoon); and 2) an event for the Western Michigan community in the evening. Stay tuned.<br />
<br />
Big News (#2): Your KUSA community now has an emerging Board of Directors. We are feeling our way forward, with collegiality, diversity of experiences, young and old, passionate about justice and love in addressing I/P.<br />
<br />
We are moving toward articles of incorporation as a Not-For-Profit Corporation, changing the name of our community from KUSA - Hollland/Zeeland to Kairos USA - West Michigan Community.<br />
<br />
Our evening with Daoud Nassar included multiple persons from Grand Rapids, Kalamazoo, Grand Haven, South Haven, as well as persons from Holland and Zeeland. So, although based in Holland/Zeeland, our reach is to all of W. MI (and beyond).<br />
<br />
Your Board of Directors continues to affirm the KUSA national movement, whose Executive Director, Mark Braverman, writes to all of us in this forwarded Pentecost newsletter.<br />
<br />
We will be learning more about the KUSA document, a "Response" to the cry for help from our Palestinian Christian brothers and sisters (and a "Call for Action").<br />
<br />
I made a perfect nuisance of myself, again, in responding to Mr. Dunkelberger's screed in the Holland Sentinel. Forgive me for that. I'll try to keep quiet publicly. For a while at least. He addressed me personally. Many times. In public. I wanted to give him a response. In public. In responding, I was fully aware that his mind would not be changed. But hopefully there are others who have more of an open mind and really want to know "what's going on over there" and why the Zionist experiment is losing its luster. (If you want copies of 1) my first letter to the editor, 2) his response, and 3) my response, just ask me. I'll shot them right off.)<br />
<br />
So take this as a personal invitation to join us at 1st Presbyterian Church this coming Wednesday, May 27, at 7:00 p.m., in the sanctuary. (With thanks to Sarah Hamm and Rev. Linda Knierieman). One of our goals as a KUSA community, is to lift up those who are making a difference in reconciling opposing persons and forces. We will not throw up our hands in resignation and defeatism. We are still in awe at the turn-out to the event with Daoud Nassar, who appeared via SKYPE and addressed us personally on April 30. There were 110 present for this event, even though it was announced he would not be able to appear in person.<br />
<br />
We want to understand more and do more to truly address the issues and bring about resolution of long-standing problems and an end to the occupation and oppression of the indigenous people of the land. Please join us! Faithfully yours, JRKJohn R. Kleinheksel, Sr.http://www.blogger.com/profile/15559033716246916111noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2373576667268518073.post-23991021921614460832015-05-13T15:56:00.003-07:002015-05-13T15:56:36.484-07:00The Gulf Summit and I/PDear Friend,<br />
<br />
While I'm preparing my response to today's Sentinel op-ed, I thought I would put together some relevant material to put Obama's Gulf Summit into perspective, especially as it relates to our region. US Middle East policies are in flux. <br />
<br />
With President Obama inviting leaders of the Gulf states to Washington today (May 13, 2015) and Camp David tomorrow, interest is heightened as to his views on US Middle East policy, and especially with regards to Israel/Palestine.<br />
<br />
He was recently interviewed by Asharq Al-Awsat, a leading Arabic-language newspaper. This summit of Gulf State leaders is perhaps the most significant in the last 50 years. It is a far-ranging interview, covering Yemen, Syria, Turkey, Iran, Iraq, Lebanon, and Egypt. We are especially interested in what he says about I/P. Here are the relevant paragraphs:<br />
<br />
<b>Q: There was much appreciation for your initial efforts to end the Israeli occupation of Palestine and have a two-state solution. And yet those efforts have been met by obstruction from various sides. Have you given up on reaching the two-state solution before the end of your presidency, and if not, how can you change the dynamic?</b><br />
<br />
<i>I will never give up on the hope for peace between Israelis and Palestinians, and the United States will never stop working to realize that goal. As I said when I visited Ramallah two years ago, Palestinians deserve an end to the occupation and the daily indignities that come with it; they deserve to live in an independent, sovereign state, where they can give their children a life of dignity and opportunity. And as I said in my speech to the Israeli people on that same trip, peace between Israelis and Palestinians is necessary, it is just, and it is possible. It is also in the national security interest of the United States. That’s why we’ve worked so hard over the years for a two-state solution and to develop innovative ways to address Israel’s security and Palestinian sovereignty needs.<br />
<br />
With the breakdown of talks, simmering tension in East Jerusalem and the West Bank, last summer’s conflict in Gaza, and serious questions about overall commitment to a two-state outcome, it’s no secret that we now have a very difficult path forward. As a result, the United States is taking a hard look at our approach to the conflict.<br />
<br />
We look to the new Israeli government and the Palestinians to demonstrate—through policies and actions—a genuine commitment to a two-state solution. Only then can trust be rebuilt and a cycle of escalation avoided. Addressing the lasting impact in Gaza of last summer’s conflict should also be central to any effort. Ultimately, the parties will need to address not just Gaza’s immediate humanitarian and reconstruction needs, but also core challenges to Gaza’s future within a two-state context, including reinvigorating Gaza’s connection with the West Bank and reestablishing strong commercial links with Israel and the global economy.</i><br />
<br />
Here is now a lead article in today’s Haaretz newspaper (the leading “liberal” newspaper in Israel):<br />
<br />
Despite Obama's demand, Netanyahu's coalition guidelines make no commitment to Palestinian state<br />
Neither of Netanyahu's previous two governments made commitment to two states either, but Israel's international standing and the demands of the U.S. and Europe have changed the playing field.<br />
By Barak Ravid | May 13, 2015 | 1:19 PM | <br />
A document detailing the basic guidelines of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's new coalition, presented Wednesday to the Knesset, bears no mention of the solution of "two states for two peoples" nor does it include any intention of establishing a Palestinian state.<br />
The document includes a general statement alone according to which, "the government will advance the diplomatic process and will strive for a peace agreement with the Palestinians and with all of our neighbors."<br />
The document also mentions that the government will push for a diplomatic peace process while preserving Israel's security and national historical interests. "If an agreement of this kind is reached, it will be brought for the approval of the cabinet and the Knesset, and if necessary, for a national referendum as well," the document on the coalition guidelines says.<br />
The wording of the political clause in the document is similar to the wording used in Netanyahu's previous government in 2009 and 2013. Neither of those two government expressed commitment to a two-state solution either – mainly due to the opposition of many members of Likud and its coalition partners on the right. . . . .<br />
<br />
Friends, here are my thoughts:<br />
“Ending the Occupation” is a code phrase in Israel, for dismantling the Jewish/Israeli State. Israel, especially under the new Likud administration will not “stand for” it.<br />
<br />
The Two-State solution has been dead at least since 1967, when Israel’s rulers decided against a “deal” to divide up the conquered territory with Palestinians, satisfying their quest for an independent state. After what happened in the Israeli War for Independence in 1948 (driving out the Palestinians), the Israelis can never trust the (possible) good intentions of the Palestinian people to co-exist with the Israeli interlopers.<br />
<br />
It does appear that President Obama is going to hold Prime Minister Yetanyahu to his electioneering comment that Likud will never conclude a treaty granting Palestinian state-hood, “under his watch”.<br />
<br />
Yet, Obama holds to the politically correct view that the “Two-State” solution is still the official view.<br />
Many of us are strongly of the opinion that the way forward is to continue to press for a One State solution with liberty and justice for all the inhabitants of the land (and justice for the millions of refugees who were displaced by the Israeli Occupation). <br />
<br />
The Separation Barrier continues to prevent previous human/interpersonal contact between ordinary Israelis and Palestinians, thus intensifying “us vs. them” adversarial relations. The immediate future is more and more bleak in my view. Hopefully, the logjam that intensifies will be released as a few of the logs (settlements, Palestinian disunity, popular apathy) are slowly removed.<br />
<br />
Stay tuned for developments.John R. Kleinheksel, Sr.http://www.blogger.com/profile/15559033716246916111noreply@blogger.com0