Presbyterians Support Boycotting Certain Products

Dear Friend,

You've no doubt heard of the close vote (333 - 331) against divesting in CAT, Motorola and H-P by the PCUSA General Assembly in Pittsburg on Thursday, July 5, 2012.


What is not so widely known is a vote in FAVOR of boycotting products produced on (confiscated) Palestinian land by Israelis.


Here is the press release by Jeff DeYoe of the Isr/Pal Mission Network:


Presbyterian General Assembly Passes Boycott Motion

July 6, 2012


Following last night’s vote by the plenary of the 220th General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (USA) on a motion to divest from three companies whose products are used in non-peaceful pursuits in the occupied Palestinian territories, the plenary has voted in favor of a separate resolution to boycott products made in Israeli settlements in the occupied territories, including Ahava Dead Sea beauty products and dates grown by Israeli cooperative Hadiklaim.


Although the plenary failed to pass the divestment motion, its approval of the boycott resolution sends a strong signal nonetheless that the Presbyterian Church (USA) supports those Palestinians who are using peaceful means to secure their freedom and human rights in the face of Israel’s 45-year-old military occupation and colonization of their lands. The Israel/Palestine Mission Network of the Presbyterian Church (USA) believes this is a positive step and hopes the church will continue to support Palestinians who are struggling nonviolently to achieve freedom and self-determination.


The razor thin margin of last night's vote on divestment, which was defeated by just two votes, demonstrates that the General Assembly remains divided on both divestment and investment, and has failed to provide a clear mandate on these issues. Sadly, it is the millions of Palestinians living under occupation who will pay the price for this lack of a moral directive.

Introducing Kairos USA!

Dear Friend of Palestinians and Israelis (FPI),

I'm eager to introduce you to KUSA (Kairos USA), the Website, and the Declaration (building on K South Africa, and K Palestine), that seeks to move beyond understanding to ACTION.

The website is

Please browse the website, download at least parts of the KUSA document and consider how it may impact your own thinking, framing of the issues and actions to move beyond assessment to resolution/reconciliation.

For many years the word "OCCUPATION" was not permitted in USA media. It is more commonly found now, but not universally.

And it is still politically INCORRECT to talk of "Ending the Occupation". That is a no-no.

Yet that is exactly what KUSA and countless Jewish and American and Palestinians groups are calling for.

Scary isn't it? Wonder where it will lead? And how will we get there?

The people behind KUSA are deep thinking Christians of many backgrounds (plus at least one radical American Jew), who are calling American Christians (and others) to listen to our Palestinian Christian brothers and sisters who are asking for help. Do you hear them? Do you know them? Are you willing to cast your lot in with them?

I'm hitching my wagon to the KUSA star. What a ride it promises to be. Grab hold with those of us who are taking the Plunge. Hang on for dear life. Rather, hang on to this Live Wire, so that we can give our lives away in costly service to liberate captives, set the prisoners free, and bring health to a nation wanting to be reborn, with liberty and justice for ALL. JRK (John Kleinheksel)

A Call to Action: Kairos Palestine

Dear Friend,



Here is a report of what happened on the island of Iona in the UK in re Kairos Palestine over Pentecost, 2012.



Mark Braverman an American Jew, brought the message and Naim Ateek, a Palestinian Arab from SABEEL made an impassioned plea for UK church support for Palestinian Christians Just as Kairos Palestine builds upon the anti-apartheid Kairos South Africa model, so the Kairos USA builds upon Kairos Palestine. (Thank you Stephen Sizer for making this report available to US Christians).



Arab and Jew Challenge the Churches





Bring together a Jew steeped in Zionism and a Palestinian Christian theologian and you can expect fireworks. Especially when the meeting takes place at Pentecost [May 27, 2012].



But, instead of conflict, the outcome was a powerful challenge to Britain’s churches to end their “deafening silence” on Palestine and to speak out for justice.



When Mark Braverman preached at the Pentecost Sunday Eucharist in Iona Abbey, the Jewish American revealed a personal moment of truth. On a visit to the Holy Land, as he stood before the 24 foot high concrete separation wall in Jerusalem, he realised he had to break down a personal barrier that prevented him facing up to what his own people were doing to the Palestinians.



He said there was a tragic irony that, from the Nazi Holocaust museum in Jerusalem, you look across at the ruins of Deir Yassin, a Palestinian village, where more than 100 men, women and children were massacred by Jewish forces in 1948.



As a Jew, steeped in the Zionist narrative, he said he experienced a profound change of mind. He became and remains, a committed advocate for the Palestinian struggle for human and political rights.



‘It is’, he said, ‘the most Jewish thing I have ever done.’



Now he and the Rev Naim Ateek, director of Sabeel liberation theology centre in Jerusalem, are urging Britain’s churches to speak out for a just peace. Referring to the South African Kairos initiative (1985) they expounded the Kairos Palestine document which asks “Are you able to help us get our freedom back, for this is the only way you can help the two peoples attain justice, peace, security and love?”



More than 70 people from all over Britain took part in the international consultation on the Hebridean island of Iona. The outcome was a joint appeal in which they said:



 We ask our churches to challenge how the Bible has been used to justify oppression and injustice.



 We urge Christians to participate only in those pilgrimages which give opportunity to listen to the experiences of Palestinians and to engage with the harsh realities of occupation.



 We support Palestinians in their non-violent resistance to Israeli injustice and oppression. We endorse their call for boycott, disinvestment and sanctions and other forms of non-violent direct action.



 We call on Christians to put pressure on governments and the European Union to demonstrate a commitment to justice for Palestinians and security for all people.



In pursuit of the above we intend to establish a UK Kairos network, linked to the Kairos Palestine global movement, to alert our churches to the urgent situation in Palestine. We challenge Christians and churches to engage in prayerful study of the Kairos Palestine document in openness to what the Spirit is saying to the churches (Rev. 2.7). We must read the signs of the times and act in obedience to God's will (Matt. 16.3).



Difficult though this journey may be, we seize this Kairos moment with conviction and hope. We recognise our responsibility as followers of Jesus Christ to speak the

prophetic word with courage.









So, Friends in FPI (Friends of Palestinians and Israelis),

I will be making Kairos USA (KUSA) available on June 18, the official launch day when our KUSA website will be up and running. FPI will now be following the Kairos USA Response to Kairos Palestine, as an action plan to give solid support to our Christian brothers and sisters in Palestine/Israel.



We (originating in Holland, MI) are planning to be part of a network of Christians and Churches throughout the USA (principally the W. MI branch, including especially Grand Rapids, Kalamazoo, South Haven, Grand Haven and Holland) that will engage in nonviolent, direct action to bring about needed changes, principally to End the Occupation of Palestinian land, especially through BDS (boycotts, divestments and sanctions).


A Call to Action: A US Response to Kairos Palestine will be officially launched June 18. I'm appending the INTRODUCTION to this document to introduce you to our efforts.



Here is the Introduction to the 16 page document: A Call to Action: the US Response to Kairos Palestine.

It begins with a confession of sin against both Arab Palestinians and the Jewish people and includes a call to repentance and an outline for action.





INTRODUCTION

“This is the KAIROS, the moment of grace and opportunity, the favorable time in which God

issues a challenge to decisive action.”

—“The Kairos Document: Challenge to the Church,” South Africa, 1985


The mission of Kairos USA is to mobilize the churches in the United States to respond faithfully

and boldly to the situation in Israel and Palestine. In December 2009, the Christians of Palestine

brought forth “A Moment of Truth: A Word of Faith, Hope and Love from the Heart of

Palestinian Suffering.” [Kairos Palestine].



In 2011 and again in 2012, U.S. clergy, theologians and laypersons

gathered to write this response to the Palestinian document. In gratitude for the courageous

witness and call to action issued by our Palestinian sisters and brothers, and inspired by the

prophetic church movements of southern Africa, Central and South America, Asia and Europe

that have responded to the call of our sisters and brothers in Palestine, we have prayed for the

guidance of the Spirit so that we might also respond with integrity, love and wisdom.


We begin with a confession of sin to Palestinians in the State of Israel, the West Bank, Gaza,

East Jerusalem, the diaspora and in refugee camps in Gaza, the West Bank, Lebanon, Jordan and

Syria. As U.S. Christians we bear responsibility for failing to say “Enough!” when our nation’s

ally, the State of Israel, violates international law. Our government has financed Israel’s unjust

policies and has shielded its government from criticism by the international community. At the

outset of the current U.S. administration, our government led Palestinians to believe that at last

we would pursue a political solution based on justice. But the “peace process” has continued to

be no more than a means for the continuing colonization of the West Bank and East Jerusalem,

the imprisonment of Gaza and the intensification of the structures of oppression.



As Christians addressing the Palestinian cause we must also acknowledge our shameful role in

the historic persecution of the Jewish people. We recognize the dehumanizing and destructive

power of doctrines and theologies that denigrated Judaism. Our predecessors perpetuated anti-

Semitic stereotypes, practiced scapegoating and cloaked prejudice, hostility and murder itself in

the robes of our religion. We confess that our churches failed to resist, and sometimes even aided

and abetted pogroms, mass dislocations of Jews, and the calamity of the Nazi Holocaust itself. In

so doing, they betrayed the teaching and example of the one we claim to follow. We speak for

and with our forbears in expressing deep remorse. With a commitment to never forget those

failures and to be instructed by them, we pledge ourselves to growth in faithfulness, compassion

and justice.



In light of these tragic failures, we must repent. We must work and even suffer for peace, filled

with a heart of love for both Israelis and Palestinians. We know that raising questions about our

churches’ and our government’s support for the State of Israel’s policies exposes us to the charge

of anti-Semitism—and for many of us the risk of the loss of hard-won bonds of friendship with

Jewish colleagues, friends, and the Jewish community at large. We believe that the charge of

anti-Semitism is unfair and in error. Too often, however, unwilling to pay this price, we have

failed to speak the truth as we see it and in this way follow Jesus’ path of love and forgiveness as

the way to justice and peace. But now we are called to speak the truth, as our faith in the life and

ministry of Jesus directs us. We firmly believe that it is precisely in this way that we express not

only our commitment to the dignity and human rights of the Palestinians, but our dedication to

the humanity of our Jewish sisters and brothers.



We acknowledge and affirm “the reality on the ground” described in the Kairos Palestine

document. Many of us have seen with our eyes, heard with our ears and felt in our hearts the

painful realities of life in the Palestinian territories. We have witnessed the daily, grinding

humiliation of women and men, young and old; the deaths of civilians; the demolition of homes;

the ethnic cleansing of Jerusalem; the destruction of hundreds of thousands of olive trees; the

unlawful and brutal practice of administrative detention; the relentless land taking and

construction of illegal colonies that have made a contiguous and viable Palestinian state

impossible. None of these actions has brought the State of Israel the security it seeks. Israel is

pursuing a course that is fruitless and corrupting, both morally and politically. We have also

observed with deep sadness the damage inflicted on Israeli society, particularly its young people.

We can no longer be silent; we can no longer betray the core of our Christian faith as expressed

in Matthew 25: “Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members

of my family, you did it to me.”



We call upon our Christian sisters and brothers in the United States to join with us in the

following actions:

Learn:

Move beyond stereotypes, longstanding prejudices and biased, oversimplified reporting,

toward a well-considered, more complex understanding of the Middle East, its conflicts and the

yearnings of its peoples for justice, peace and co-existence.



Build personal relationships:

Visit the land and meet Palestinians, including Palestinian

Christians, and Israelis working for justice and peace—listening to their stories, understanding

their pain and hearing their hopes and dreams.



Enrich worship and congregational life:

Take initiative in our places of worship to pray and

preach justice and peace in Palestine and Israel, pursue opportunities to learn and study about the

situation, explore cultural and economic exchange and challenge your congregation to participate

in the blessed calling of peacemaking.



Engage in theological reflection:

Examine flawed biblical interpretations and unexaminedtheology that have shaped attitudes and

perceptions leading to and allowing the present injustice to continue unchallenged. Pursue open

and active theological inquiry and encourage study and reflection, in order to guide your actions

in striving to follow Jesus’ injunction to “interpret the present time” (Luke 12:56).

Participate in nonviolent action:

Translate concern into action. Support those—in Israel, the

occupied territories and throughout the world—who work to end the illegal occupation through

peaceful means. We urge Christians to become educated about the Palestinian call for boycott,

divestment and sanctions and to explore this and other forms of legitimate, nonviolent resistance.

Advocate with the U.S government

as Christians who are committed to justice, peace and

security for both Israelis and Palestinians. Support political candidates who do the same.

The favorable time is now! We invite you to read and study this document; to see it as a spur to

action. It is a call to individuals, churches, schools, human rights organizations and interfaith

partners to join with all who embrace nonviolent resistance to injustice. It is a call to listen to the

same Spirit that inspired the Civil Rights movement in this country and the struggle to end

Apartheid in South Africa. We issue this call in the

absolute conviction that God calls us to compassion

—to join the struggle for justice and equality in the spirit of Matthew 25. We issue

this call in the faith that, even when the cause appears most hopeless, God’s light shines in the

darkness, and the darkness will not overcome it.

Kairos Committee (signed)


John

www.friendsofpalestiniansandisraelis.blogspot.com

Another Reality Check

Dear Friend, There was a debate on New York's Upper West Side between J-Street's Jeremy Ben-Ami and right-wing Israeli supporter Bill Kristol. (With thanks to John Bosma and Jake Terpstra for news of this debate) Kristol admitted he was a supporter of the ruling Likud-Kadima coalition in Isr/Pal now. The question is simply: What do you intend to happen if [Isr] do[es] not end the occupation? For the left – for Jeremy Ben-Ami in the debate in New York – the answer is starkly clear. The Palestinians will demand one-man-one-vote. Israel will be unable to withstand that demand. Israel will lose its character as the Jewish sovereign state and will become, in effect, a bi-national state. The 'one-state solution.' For the right, the question is invariably an occasion for obfuscating blather. For the religious right, that blather includes vague but menacing invocations of Divine providence and/or intervention. But Kristol is not one to dissemble or blather. His answer is chillingly straightforward: We can withstand a Palestinian demand for one-man-one-vote. The indefinite maintenance of the current status quo “is also an option." At once, with breathtaking simplicity, our [USA] national debate is framed in truthful terms. At its core it is about one's assessment of the feasibility of this 'indefinite maintenance' option. The left assesses it unfeasible – and says so. The right assesses it is feasible – and obfuscates. What Kristol said is what Bibi believes. But Bibi would never say it, would never admit to believing it, because it is so politically incorrect. Kristol is under no such deceitful inhibitions. Meanwhile, Gush Shalom (part of the peace movement in Isr/Pal, led by Adam Keller and Uri Avnery) sends us this press release today, to join in the demonstration by Palestinians at the Damascus Gate tomorrow evening May 20: PressRelease May 19 2012 Gush Shalom calls forabolition of "JerusalemDay". This is a holiday only to settlers and racists, who get a license toprovoke and harass Palestinians . . The real 'JerusalemDay' - when Jerusalembecomes the capital of two states living in peace. A lie does not become a truth, even if repeated forty-five times. Jerusalem is a not a united city, and has never been a united city in the forty-five years since 1967. East Jerusalem is a Palestinian area under occupation rule. Just so is it treated by the governmental and municipal authorities of the State of Israel, and by the settlers who are dispossessing the Palestinian inhabitants, with the funding and backing of these authorities- as recently happened again in the Beit Hanina Neighborhood. "Jerusalem Day" is not a holiday to Israel's citizens or to residents of Jerusalem.It is a holiday only for the young settlers, who are given by the Jerusalem Police a free hand to hold a provocative "Flag Dance" throughout East Jerusalem – even though in previous years this "dance"developed into an ongoing chain of racist harassment and violence against Palestinian inhabitants. It is time to end the lie and erase this ugly stain from the calendar of the State of Israel. The real Jerusalem Day will be the day when the occupation ends and Jerusalem becomes the capital of two states- West Jerusalem the capital of Israel and East Jerusalem the capital of Palestine. Only then can Jerusalem truly be a united city, by the free will of all its inhabitants - Israelis and Palestinians alike. Contact:Adam Keller, Gush Shalom Spokesperson 054-2340749

Framing the Issues with Hanan Ashrawi

Dear Friend,

We often turn to Ms Ashrawi, educated in the US, to frame the issues clearly and compellingly.

Also, I am now in possession of a pre-publication copy of the KAIROS USA Manifesto. It is 16 pages (including the preamble and introduction) and builds on the KAIROS PALESTINE document we unpacked at the Adult Church School Class, April 15, 22, and 29. It listens carefully to the request of Palestinian Christians for help in gaining justice for Palestinians and security for Israelis.

Should you wish a complete copy, drop me a request at my email address:



1967 has been bad for Palestinians and Israelis alike

Hanan Ashrawi
The Hill (Opinion)
June 8, 2012 - 12:00am
http://thehill.com/blogs/congress-blog/foreign-policy/231741-1967-has-been-bad-f...



Forty-five years ago this week, catastrophe befell the Palestinian people for the second time in as many decades, when Israel occupied the West Bank, East Jerusalem, and Gaza Strip during the 1967 War. Nearly half a century later, the catastrophe continues, as millions of Palestinians still live under Israeli military rule, denied the most basic civil and political rights, while their land is relentlessly colonized with illegal, Jewish-only settlements that are destroying their hopes for the future.


For 45 years, Palestinians have endured the humiliations and brutalities of occupation, the theft of their land, water, and other natural resources, the wholesale destruction of their homes, farmland and pastures, and the imprisonment and mistreatment of hundreds of thousands of their sons and daughters, husbands and wives, mothers and fathers. And, increasingly, they’ve been terrorized by armed, fanatical settlers who enjoy virtual impunity from Israeli authorities that have turned a blind eye, tacitly encouraging their violence and provocations.

At the same time, Palestinians have watched as the United States has supported Israel almost unconditionally, even when Israeli actions are in direct contravention not only of international law, but also of official U.S. policies going back decades. And they have seen U.S. politicians send ever-more economic and military aid to Israel, aid that is instrumental in facilitating and sustaining Israel’s domination over their lives.


Recently, Illinois Congressman Joe Walsh called on Israel to annex the occupied territories and grant “limited voting power” to Palestinians living there. Congressman Walsh urged those Palestinians who don’t wish to accept permanent second or third class status in a Greater Israel to leave their homes and land and go live in Jordan. In other words, Palestinians would have a choice between subjugation or ethnic cleansing.

In fact, Israel is already implementing Congressman Walsh’s plan, but without granting Palestinians any voting rights or incurring the political headaches that would accompany formal annexation. Instead, Israel is de facto annexing all of East Jerusalem and large parts of the West Bank through the construction of settlements, attendant infrastructure like roads and military bases, and the West Bank wall. In total, Israel’s settlement enterprise covers approximately 42 percent of the West Bank, making it off limits to Palestinians. In the fertile Jordan Valley, once the breadbasket of Palestine, 80 percent of the land is designated for Israeli agricultural settlements, military use, and “nature reserves.”

Israel’s Defense Minister, Ehud Barak, recently floated an idea to withdraw settlers from some areas of the West Bank and unilaterally impose borders on a Palestinian state, while retaining overall control of the territory. Like Ariel Sharon’s “disengagement” plan for Gaza, it won’t work. What Palestinians want is to exercise their right to self-determination, not a reconfiguration of the occupation.

The paradox of 1967 is that, while it was a catastrophe for Palestinians, it was also disastrous for Israelis. For with Israel’s victory came the settlement enterprise, which 45 years later has all but destroyed any chance of an independent Palestinian state being created alongside Israel. If the two-state solution cannot be realized because of facts on the ground created by Israel, then Palestinians will have no choice but to demand equal rights within Israel, and the creation of a single, non-sectarian, democratic state.

Yet, any Israeli government that attempts to remove even a fraction of the settlements risks a severe backlash from Jewish extremists and others who oppose any withdrawal from the occupied territories. If Israel doesn’t remove settlements and restore the land to its rightful Palestinian owners so as to facilitate the creation of a genuinely sovereign and “viable” Palestinian state, and it continues to rule over millions of Palestinians without granting them the right to vote, Israel will be an apartheid state. Ehud Barak said exactly that in 2010. After almost a half century of an occupation and settlement enterprise that shows no sign of ending – quite the opposite, settlements become more entrenched by the day – many would argue there already is an apartheid regime in place in the territories under Israeli control between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea.

Tragically, many Israelis and their supporters seem to believe that the status quo can be sustained indefinitely. They fail to see that Palestinians aren’t going anywhere and that they won’t be denied their rights. Israelis must make a choice: End their occupation and colonial project in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, or risk facing a completely different political paradigm in the near future. With settlement growth escalating rapidly in recent years, that day may come sooner than anyone thinks.

Ashrawi is a senior member of the Palestine Liberation Organization's Executive Committee and founder of MIFTAH – the Palestinian Initiative for the Promotion of Global Dialogue and Democracy.

World Week of Peace for Isr/Pal

Dear Friend, It is time. Time to focus on the things that make for peace. The World Council of Churches has set aside May 28 - June 4, 2012 as a week to focus on the peace in Pal/Isr. Use this as a prayer for our friends in Israel and Palestine please. John Kleinheksel Sr World Week for Peace in Palestine Israel 28 May - 3 June 2012 "Pray, educate, and advocate for justice in Palestine" An initiative of the Palestine Israel Ecumenical Forum (PIEF) of the World Council of Churches It's time for Palestine. It's time for Palestinians and Israelis to share a just peace. It's time to respect human lives in the land called holy. It's time for healing to begin in wounded souls. It's time to end more than 60 years of conflict, oppression and fear. It's time for freedom from occupation. It's time for equal rights. It's time to stop discrimination, segregation and restrictions on movement. It's time for those who put up walls and fences to build them on their own property. It's time to stop bulldozing one community's homes and building homes for the other community on land that is not theirs. It's time to do away with double standards. It's time for Israeli citizens to have security and secure borders agreed with their neighbours. It's time for the international community to implement more than 60 years of United Nations resolutions. It's time for Israel's government to complete the bargain offered in the Arab Peace Initiative. It's time for those who represent the Palestinian people to all be involved in making peace. It's time for people who have been refugees for more than 60 years to regain their rights and a permanent home. It's time to assist settlers in the Occupied Palestinian Territories to make their home in Israel. It's time for self-determination. It's time for foreigners to visit Bethlehem and other towns imprisoned by the wall. It's time to see settlements in their comfort and refugee camps in their despair. It's time for people living more than 40 years under occupation to feel new solidarity from a watching world. It's time to name the shame of collective punishment and to end it in all its forms. It's time to be revolted by violence against civilians and for civilians on both sides to be safe. It's time for both sides to release their prisoners and give those justly accused a fair trial. It's time to reunite the people of Gaza, the West Bank and East Jerusalem. It's time for all parties to obey international humanitarian and human rights law. It's time to share Jerusalem as the capital of two nations and a city holy to three religions. It's time for Muslim, Jewish and Christian communities to be free to visit their holy sites. It's time in Palestine as in Israel for olive trees to flourish and grow old. It's time to honour all who have suffered, Palestinians and Israelis. It's time to learn from past wrongs. It's time to understand pent-up anger and begin to set things right. It's time for those with blood on their hands to acknowledge what they have done. It's time to seek forgiveness between communities and to repair a broken land together. It's time to move forward as human beings who are all made in the image of God. All who are able to speak truth to power must speak it. All who would break the silence surrounding injustice must break it. All who have something to give for peace must give it. For Palestine, for Israel and for a troubled world, It's time for peace.

Recognizing Nakba, Reaching Peace!

Dear Friend of Palestinians and Israelis (FPI), Thank you for your prayers for our second session on Christian Zionism at our Church last Sunday. There were 20 who discussed several papers on the effect this movement has on Palestinian aspirations for their heritage. I'm enclosing a piece from Hanan Ashrawi, a Palestinian Christian, educated in the US, and a powerful spokesperson for the Palestinian narrative, so woefully missing in the US. Today is Nakba Day, May 15, a day that begain the planned dispossession of 700,000 Palestinians, to make way for the newly declared independent State of Israel, an ethnic cleansing that continues to this day. Healing. Truth, facing up to realities on the ground, sharing stories of being disinherited, and working toward making the systemic changes that need to occur. That is the agenda immediately ahead. Thank God that the 2,000 prisoners gained a measure of relief from the authorities, to end their hunger strike. May this signal a new willingness to make the changes necessary to start building trust again between two peoples. JRK Recognizing Nakba, Reaching Peace Hanan Ashrawi Haaretz (Opinion) May 15, 2012 - 12:00am http://www.haaretz.com/opinion/recognizing-nakba-reaching-peace-1.430637 [1] May is the cruelest month despite the promise of spring. It carries the bitter memories of ongoing loss and injustice for a nation, my nation. Every year, Palestinians mark Al-Nakba, or the Catastrophe, of 1948, to remember how our vibrant society was physically and politically crushed by violence and forced expulsion. It was not a natural disaster. Indeed, we have no doubt that itwasa detailed plan of systematic destruction carried out with chilling efficiency. It was the biggest assault and threat Palestinian heritage has ever endured and the beginning of a deliberate effort to suppress the Palestinian narrative. For many Israelis, recognizing what happened back in 1948 is a painful process. The slogan “Your independence is our Nakba”, which is on display in many Palestinian cities is indeed correct. Many Israeli historians have researched and written about this dark era, demonstrating that Palestine was a land with a vibrant society and rich culture. These brave historians ended decades of denial about Palestinian society and suffering. By 1948, Palestine was one of the most developed Arab societies, boasting one of the healthiest economies under the British mandate and a high school enrolment rate, second only to Lebanon. Commerce, the arts, literature, music, and other cultural aspects of life were thriving in Palestine. We remember that between 1911 and 1948, Palestine had no less than 161 newspapers, magazines and other regular publications, including the pioneer “Falastin” newspaper, published in Jaffa by Issa al-Issa. Dozens of bookstores across the country selling hundreds of Palestinian and internationally-authored books could hardly keep up with the demand. Books like “The Arab Woman and the Palestine Problem” by Matiel Moghannam, a feminist leader, and George Antonious’ “The Arab Awakening”, were highly popular in Palestine, England, the US, and beyond. Palestine had a strong women’s movement as early as the 1920’s. Women excelled in many fields, including education, journalism, and political activism. Women activists were among the first to lobby for Palestinian self-determination at the beginning of the British Mandate. Palestinian dedication to education is deeply rooted in our culture. By 1914, there were 379 private schools in Palestine, including the country’s first girls’ school, Al Moscobiye, in Beit Jala, founded in 1858 as the first school for girls in Palestine, and the Friends School, founded by the Quakers in 1869, which continues to be among the most advanced education institutions in Palestine. In the area of arts, music, and drama, Palestinian creativity was boundless, inspiring artists around the region. Composers like Yehya Al-Lababidi collaborated with famous Arab singers of the time, like Farid Al-Atrach. Other singers like the legendary Um Kalthoum and Mohamad Abdel Wahab regularly performed to Palestinian audiences in Haifa, Jaffa, and Jerusalem. Our cinemas, from Gaza to Akka, were showing the latest films of the time. Al-Nakba represents the abrupt and unnatural disruption of these accomplishments and signaled the beginning of a culture of exile and dispossession. In being forcibly expelled from their homes, Palestinians lost their properties, personal history, and cultural assets. This included thousands of books. In West Jerusalem alone, 30,000 books were “collected” from Palestinian houses, as well as around 50,000 other books from homes in Jaffa, Haifa, Tiberias and Nazareth. Khalil Sakakini was one of those people who lost his entire library. A number of his books can be found today in the National Library of Israel, marked ‘AP’, meaning “Abandoned Property.” Al-Nakba is therefore not merely a historical date to be commemorated. It is the collective memory of Palestinians, which shapes their identity as a people. Al-Nakba is not a distant memory but a painful reality that continues to fester, as the rights of refugees continue to be denied and the inalienable rights of our nation remain unfulfilled. It is time to recognize that Al-Nakba is as real for Palestinians as it should be for Israelis. It is an inescapable story of loss, dispossession and a great historic injustice that targeted the most precious characteristic of any people: its identity. But Al-Nakba to Palestinians is not about defeat. Stripping the Palestinian people of their national and cultural symbols, as well as stunting the growth of Palestinian cultural life was a merciless crime, no doubt. But our people have persevered, rebuilding, time and again, their heritage of cultural and educational excellence. There have been many new challenges and setbacks since Al-Nakba, especially the military occupation that began in 1967 and its oppressive policies targeting culture and education. But Palestinians kept marching forward, holding on to the proud memories of excellence and building new ones. For peace to prevail, for two states to live side by side, for a future of security and prosperity to begin in the region, Israel should not be afraid to recognize Al-Nakba and learn the lessons of its history. Israel must come to recognize its historic accountability in creating Al-Nakba for neither denial nor distortion can serve the cause of peace. Genuine recognition is a sine qua non for the process of historical redemption. Peace is a phase of healing that must be established on truth, justice, transparency, and equality. There is no other formula. By recognizing our historical narrative and suffering, Israel will be embarking on a true journey for a just and comprehensive peace. -- John & Sharon jandskleinheksel@gmail.com