Dear Friend of Isr/Pal,
Wells Thoms was an RCA missionary doctor and his family in the ME before oil. He served Omanis, Saudis, Bahrainies, and others at the invitation of ME rulers. Two of his daughters (Lois Dickason and Nancy Block) have memories and experiences with folks there and visit sometimes. (Lew Scudder is a cousin).
Here is an excerpt from a recent post from Nancy and Russ (who live in NJ) and were in the ME last year. (JRK)
Last February, Russ and I, brothers Peter and Norman and Norm's wife Anna spent 2 weeks visiting some of the places where we (Thoms family) grew up--mainly Oman, with some time in Bahrain, where grandparents began medical mission work around the turn of the last century, and then parents followed suit for their careers, and brothers each spent a year. We were given the royal treatment, welcomed as family by people we knew, and as highly esteemed guests by the press, national TV who interviewed us, and others--all of this in honor of the work of the mission, and our parents who were beloved by all.
I would just like to copy here for you the last part of our letter, under "Some Final Observations".
"In the 1930s the King of Sa'udi Arabia granted the US the oil rights in his country because he trusted the American mission doctors whom he invited to minister to his people. In 2001, the mighty Trade Towers in New York City were destroyed by disaffected and disillusioned young men from the same country. What happened in between?
"The American people do not understand what is clear to many others. Our US government joined in 1947 with Britain and France in giving away to Zionists (however pressing their needs and claims) what did not belong to us: the Palestinian homeland--to avoid accommodating many more displaced European Jews. And it has, ever since, unquestioningly supported Israel, a sovereign foreign power, both militarily and morally in its deliberate, methodical continuing policy of oppressive occupation and ethnic cleansing of the Palestinian people, abdicating our responsibility for their downward trajectory into near oblivion.
"Hamas, by which we identify them, is only a blustery but basically feeble voice of rage and protest by generations of the dispossessed and powerless. There is so little left of their land and economy, between Israeli state take-over and illegal Jewish settlements in the West Bank at this point that a touted "two-state solution" to the conflict is practically-speaking all but impossible. The repercussions are global.
"To people of conscience, including many American and Israeli Jews, the slaughter in Gaza of people living in a virtual prison for years is an outrage, as is the history leading up to this point. What is demanded of us now is honest acknowledgement of present and historical truth, claiming responsibility, humbly repenting and beginning to make amends, admittedly a Herculean task.
We recommend to you both Christian and Jewish-based groups, including Tikkun in the US, working for justice and reconciliation, and books such as An Israeli in Palestine by Jeff Halper of the Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions, and The Ethnic Cleansing of Palestine by Illan Pappe, for authoritative background and current information. We 'pray for the peace of Jerusalem' (Psalm 122:6), remembering the words of the prophet '---what does the Lord require of thee but to do justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with thy God?' (Micah 6:8).
"We wish you hope, love and PEACE for this year. SALAAM ALEIKUM and SHALOM!"
Nancy and Russ
Saturday, February 28, 2009
Monday, February 23, 2009
An Amazing Politically Incorrect Vision!!
Dear Friend,
This is the best thing I've seen in the last two weeks. Deb Reich won't be in the new government, but she should be an advisor to whoever emerges "at the top".
She speaks truth. Is anybody listening? Is the US listening? With thanks to Kathy Matsushima for passing this article along, JRK
Choose life!
by Deb Reich
Abu Ghosh, Israel/Palestine
Most people will say I'm delusional; that's okay. I will say what I have to say anyway. When your opinion is way out on the periphery, it may mean you are delusional - or it may just mean that the so-called center has gradually drifted closer and closer to a very high cliff, and finally fallen off the edge, while the majority of the population follows along like a horde of doomed lemmings. In that scenario, someone needs to stake out a position at the other extreme and drag the locus of the center back from oblivion. So here goes.
After this futile, criminal, pornographic war in Gaza (Shmuel Amir rightly termed it a "hunt" rather than a war) and yet another national election in Israel ending basically in impasse, but this time with a distinctly fascist motif, we are no closer to sustainable peace in the Middle East. We need a drastic revisioning of what we are doing here.
So we start with this: Speaking as an Israeli Jew, I say that we (Israeli Jews and our friends abroad) ought to embrace EVERYONE who wants to live here among us, so long as they truly love the land and have some reasonable claim to it. This would not include, say, tourists from Zanzibar or Antarctica - but would naturally include the Palestinians, whose claim to the land is (or ought to be) beyond dispute and whose deep and enduring love for the land is richly evident to any observer not in a vegetative state.
I say we bring all the long-suffering, besieged, shell-shocked Gazans home to Israel now! They miss their homes. They want to come home. Let us welcome them! We can all move over a little bit and make room. Believe me, there is still plenty of room.
Dayenu! (Enough!). Enough suffering inflicted on the surviving families in Gaza who are hungry, thirsty, cold, frightened, wounded, traumatized for life, and bereaved. Enough. And enough suffering on the other side of the fence in Sderot and environs, too. (Their fates are inextricably intertwined; all our fates are inextricably intertwined.)
The generals and the militants have had their day, for the nth time - and at the end of it, as usual, all that we (any of us) have now, as a result, is war crimes and grief. War crimes and grief and fear. War crimes, grief, fear, hatred, and despair, with thousands of injured and disabled people bearing the burden most directly, forever.
Enough! Israelis are more afraid now than before, and more at risk, too. Time to ABANDON this insane strategy that we (any of us) can force people to love us, or anyhow accept us, by killing them!
Let us in Israel who have so much, open our homes and our communities to the victims of this insane war who have so little - exactly as we once opened our homes to refugees from northern Israel when the Katyushas were falling. Our traditional ethos is full of charity and generosity; we know all about providing refuge and succour; we have taken in wave after wave of refugees over the decades, most recently more than a million Russian émigrés deemed essential to our future, for whom we moved over and made room.
So let's get going. Let every family in Israel who wants to live in peace in this region, open their home to a Gaza family until new housing can be built. Let the participating families declare a hudna between themselves. Now. Today.
You start by not picturing these neighbors as "the enemy"; picture them instead as families who have suffered a tsunami like the one that flattened coastal Indonesia a few years ago - and in fact, the order of magnitude of what they have been through is about the same. Presto! Reaching out to help suddenly makes perfect sense. Moreover, professional planners have already minutely addressed the question of exactly where Palestinians coming home to Israel could reside, eager to make their best contribution to a shared future. What is missing in Israel is not sufficient space, but sufficient imagination to envision how much there is to be gained by all concerned. Now is a good time to change that.
The Gaza disaster can become the turning point. Let the Gazan expatriates whose families came from Ashdod (Issdod) be matched with Ashdod-area families. Let the expatriates from Lod (Lydd) be matched with Lod/Lydd-area families - Jewish or Palestinian. And so forth. And let no time be lost! They have lost everything and their situation is dire. We in Israel have lost our moral compass and we want to reclaim it. Bingo!
Let the governments of the world, led by the USA, immediately stop sending Israel aid for military ordnance, and earmark it instead for a massive rehabilitation and reconciliation program. [Amnesty calls for an arms embargo on both Israelis and Palestinians--JRK].
Let all the tens of thousands of Palestinian professionals who are citizens of Israel, born and raised here - doctors, social workers, nurses, dentists, psychiatrists, lawyers, engineers, teachers, designers, journalists - join gladly and wholeheartedly in this effort, finally and at long last, to bring their fellow Palestinians home from exile in Gaza. Let us bind up the wounds and become whole, together. All of us. Let us build a really wonderful society together, for the sake of ALL OUR CHILDREN. Rewrite the national anthem! Why not? It's a SONG, folks. No song is holier than the life of even one child (anyone's child).
The Gaza families who actually lived in Gaza before 1948 will want to stay and rebuild their homes and communities. Volunteers would doubtless throng to Gaza from all over the world to help them. Imagine them turning what was the world's largest open-air prison into the world's largest open-air Reconciliation Park - with facilities for tourism, education, environmental studies, cultural attractions, and museums (including a Palestinian Nakba Museum). Imagine Gaza as the reconciliation capital of the world - people in Israel could commute to work in Gaza for a change, instead of the other way around. Very refreshing.
This is a blueprint for a SHARED LIFE. If it sounds crazy, just ask yourself: Which is crazier -- rampant slaughter, or rampant cooperation? Rivers of blood, or the free flow of joint prosperity? Rampant mass cooperation could break out here tomorrow - and in a week or two, or maybe a month or two, we would feel like we have always believed in it.
A political accommodation would follow the humanitarian one - probably some creative form of federation, with complete, reciprocal, national-cultural autonomy based on each group's granting the other group the same perks it wants for itself. The technical restructuring follows the vision, not the other way around. There are several good plans, already fully elaborated, for political power-sharing here. Anyone can read them; they're on the web. Once we dare to envision a shared future, we can make it happen. And if not now, when?
We Jews consider it rational and wonderful to rejoice in our emergence as a modern nation in the ancient homeland, after, not twenty years, not two hundred years, but two thousand years of exile!! Yet the idea of repatriating all those homesick Palestinian families, exiled from their homes a mere 60 years ago, is considered delusional. Something there does not compute.
So think it over and let's put the guns away for good. Let the tribunals meet to apportion blame and responsibility, by all means, but as for the rest of us: we have other tasks. Treat the wounded, yes, of course, and heal the traumatizedŠ And beat the swords into ploughshares and recycle the tank parts into computer equipment. Retool the death factories to make swimsuits instead of parachutes, irrigation pipes for farmers instead of M16 rifles. No time for missiles; we'll all be too busy getting a life. The only phosphorous I ever want to see around here again is in a spelling contest for the kids (ALL our kids). Haul out the welcome mat for the long-lost cousins and let's get busy - there's a lot of work to do here. It's not too late, even now, but you have to take the first step: Choose life!!!
Deb Reich is a writer and translator in Israel/Palestine, at debmail@alum.barnard.edu
This is the best thing I've seen in the last two weeks. Deb Reich won't be in the new government, but she should be an advisor to whoever emerges "at the top".
She speaks truth. Is anybody listening? Is the US listening? With thanks to Kathy Matsushima for passing this article along, JRK
Choose life!
by Deb Reich
Abu Ghosh, Israel/Palestine
Most people will say I'm delusional; that's okay. I will say what I have to say anyway. When your opinion is way out on the periphery, it may mean you are delusional - or it may just mean that the so-called center has gradually drifted closer and closer to a very high cliff, and finally fallen off the edge, while the majority of the population follows along like a horde of doomed lemmings. In that scenario, someone needs to stake out a position at the other extreme and drag the locus of the center back from oblivion. So here goes.
After this futile, criminal, pornographic war in Gaza (Shmuel Amir rightly termed it a "hunt" rather than a war) and yet another national election in Israel ending basically in impasse, but this time with a distinctly fascist motif, we are no closer to sustainable peace in the Middle East. We need a drastic revisioning of what we are doing here.
So we start with this: Speaking as an Israeli Jew, I say that we (Israeli Jews and our friends abroad) ought to embrace EVERYONE who wants to live here among us, so long as they truly love the land and have some reasonable claim to it. This would not include, say, tourists from Zanzibar or Antarctica - but would naturally include the Palestinians, whose claim to the land is (or ought to be) beyond dispute and whose deep and enduring love for the land is richly evident to any observer not in a vegetative state.
I say we bring all the long-suffering, besieged, shell-shocked Gazans home to Israel now! They miss their homes. They want to come home. Let us welcome them! We can all move over a little bit and make room. Believe me, there is still plenty of room.
Dayenu! (Enough!). Enough suffering inflicted on the surviving families in Gaza who are hungry, thirsty, cold, frightened, wounded, traumatized for life, and bereaved. Enough. And enough suffering on the other side of the fence in Sderot and environs, too. (Their fates are inextricably intertwined; all our fates are inextricably intertwined.)
The generals and the militants have had their day, for the nth time - and at the end of it, as usual, all that we (any of us) have now, as a result, is war crimes and grief. War crimes and grief and fear. War crimes, grief, fear, hatred, and despair, with thousands of injured and disabled people bearing the burden most directly, forever.
Enough! Israelis are more afraid now than before, and more at risk, too. Time to ABANDON this insane strategy that we (any of us) can force people to love us, or anyhow accept us, by killing them!
Let us in Israel who have so much, open our homes and our communities to the victims of this insane war who have so little - exactly as we once opened our homes to refugees from northern Israel when the Katyushas were falling. Our traditional ethos is full of charity and generosity; we know all about providing refuge and succour; we have taken in wave after wave of refugees over the decades, most recently more than a million Russian émigrés deemed essential to our future, for whom we moved over and made room.
So let's get going. Let every family in Israel who wants to live in peace in this region, open their home to a Gaza family until new housing can be built. Let the participating families declare a hudna between themselves. Now. Today.
You start by not picturing these neighbors as "the enemy"; picture them instead as families who have suffered a tsunami like the one that flattened coastal Indonesia a few years ago - and in fact, the order of magnitude of what they have been through is about the same. Presto! Reaching out to help suddenly makes perfect sense. Moreover, professional planners have already minutely addressed the question of exactly where Palestinians coming home to Israel could reside, eager to make their best contribution to a shared future. What is missing in Israel is not sufficient space, but sufficient imagination to envision how much there is to be gained by all concerned. Now is a good time to change that.
The Gaza disaster can become the turning point. Let the Gazan expatriates whose families came from Ashdod (Issdod) be matched with Ashdod-area families. Let the expatriates from Lod (Lydd) be matched with Lod/Lydd-area families - Jewish or Palestinian. And so forth. And let no time be lost! They have lost everything and their situation is dire. We in Israel have lost our moral compass and we want to reclaim it. Bingo!
Let the governments of the world, led by the USA, immediately stop sending Israel aid for military ordnance, and earmark it instead for a massive rehabilitation and reconciliation program. [Amnesty calls for an arms embargo on both Israelis and Palestinians--JRK].
Let all the tens of thousands of Palestinian professionals who are citizens of Israel, born and raised here - doctors, social workers, nurses, dentists, psychiatrists, lawyers, engineers, teachers, designers, journalists - join gladly and wholeheartedly in this effort, finally and at long last, to bring their fellow Palestinians home from exile in Gaza. Let us bind up the wounds and become whole, together. All of us. Let us build a really wonderful society together, for the sake of ALL OUR CHILDREN. Rewrite the national anthem! Why not? It's a SONG, folks. No song is holier than the life of even one child (anyone's child).
The Gaza families who actually lived in Gaza before 1948 will want to stay and rebuild their homes and communities. Volunteers would doubtless throng to Gaza from all over the world to help them. Imagine them turning what was the world's largest open-air prison into the world's largest open-air Reconciliation Park - with facilities for tourism, education, environmental studies, cultural attractions, and museums (including a Palestinian Nakba Museum). Imagine Gaza as the reconciliation capital of the world - people in Israel could commute to work in Gaza for a change, instead of the other way around. Very refreshing.
This is a blueprint for a SHARED LIFE. If it sounds crazy, just ask yourself: Which is crazier -- rampant slaughter, or rampant cooperation? Rivers of blood, or the free flow of joint prosperity? Rampant mass cooperation could break out here tomorrow - and in a week or two, or maybe a month or two, we would feel like we have always believed in it.
A political accommodation would follow the humanitarian one - probably some creative form of federation, with complete, reciprocal, national-cultural autonomy based on each group's granting the other group the same perks it wants for itself. The technical restructuring follows the vision, not the other way around. There are several good plans, already fully elaborated, for political power-sharing here. Anyone can read them; they're on the web. Once we dare to envision a shared future, we can make it happen. And if not now, when?
We Jews consider it rational and wonderful to rejoice in our emergence as a modern nation in the ancient homeland, after, not twenty years, not two hundred years, but two thousand years of exile!! Yet the idea of repatriating all those homesick Palestinian families, exiled from their homes a mere 60 years ago, is considered delusional. Something there does not compute.
So think it over and let's put the guns away for good. Let the tribunals meet to apportion blame and responsibility, by all means, but as for the rest of us: we have other tasks. Treat the wounded, yes, of course, and heal the traumatizedŠ And beat the swords into ploughshares and recycle the tank parts into computer equipment. Retool the death factories to make swimsuits instead of parachutes, irrigation pipes for farmers instead of M16 rifles. No time for missiles; we'll all be too busy getting a life. The only phosphorous I ever want to see around here again is in a spelling contest for the kids (ALL our kids). Haul out the welcome mat for the long-lost cousins and let's get busy - there's a lot of work to do here. It's not too late, even now, but you have to take the first step: Choose life!!!
Deb Reich is a writer and translator in Israel/Palestine, at debmail@alum.barnard.edu
Friday, February 20, 2009
A Changing Attitude? A NEW Way?
Dear Friends of Palestinians and Israelis,
Rami Koury is a veteran participant and analyst whose words are well worth taking to heart. Thanks to the ATFP for bringing this op-ed to our attention, JRK
Rami Khouri
The Daily Star
Opinion
February 19, 2009
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=10&categ_id=5&article_id=9947... [1]
Is a new page being turned in relations between the Arab and Islamic world and the United States? It would seem so, to judge by many of the interactions at the three-day annual US-Islamic World Forum in Doha, Qatar, hosted by the Brookings Institution's Saban Center and the Qatari Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The latest gathering last weekend of over 160 engaged scholars, activists, journalists, scientists, officials, religious figures, artists and ex-officials from across the Islamic world and the US seemed to reflect important new attitudes and subtle changes in perceptions between the two groups.
One reason for this is the change in policy and style of the new Obama administration, whose symbolic and substantive gestures in its first weeks in office send signals of its desire to improve relations with Islamic societies. Another is the realization within many Islamic societies that they are heading for catastrophe if they remain on their current trajectories, including perpetual warfare, deep internal divisions, and mass emigration of their most talented young men and women. Yet another is that windows of opportunity may be opening - perhaps only for a brief period - to reverse the deterioration in relations between the Arab and Islamic world and the US.
A powerful signal of the new start that may be occurring in US-Muslim ties is the strong anticipation among many in our societies that the Obama team will usher in a more reasonable set of foreign policies that could stem rising anti-Americanism. That many Arabs and Muslims look to Obama with some expectation of change and anticipation of better days ahead indicates better than anything else - as a former Pakistani ambassador noted - the deep reservoir of goodwill towards the US in the Muslim world.
Several former senior American officials for their part reflected the softer tone that seems to be emerging in Washington vis-a-vis Arab and Muslim issues. For the first time in the eight years that I have participated in these annual meetings, American participants seemed less defensive - perhaps mainly because George W. Bush was no longer their president. They seemed more inclined to explore avenues towards solutions, and to examine how both sides might work together in this direction, rather than merely repeating their exasperation with the deficiencies of Arab-Islamic societies, including terrorism.
Citizens of mostly Arab and Asian Islamic societies for their part seemed this year to be more humble in acknowledging their own need to take the initiative to reform themselves, and not only to wait for others - especially the US and fellow Western powers - to treat Arabs-Muslims more equitably, and less colonially.
The breakthrough for both sides probably reflects the fact that they simultaneously realize that the antagonistic, violent, selfish paths they have both followed in recent years - and certainly since September 11, 2001 - have failed, only aggravating matters. This is combined with the growing recognition all around that mutual "respect" is the key that will unlock the door to better days ahead, with security, stability and perhaps even some prosperity for all.
Obama's election and the quick moves he made in his first three days in office-deciding on the closing of the Guantanamo prison, banning torture, naming respected special envoys to the two burning fires of Israel-Palestine and Afghanistan-Pakistan, playing diplomatic footsies with Iran, and speaking directly to Muslims on an agenda of mutual respect and shared interests - sent an emphatic message that many Arabs and Muslims have heard loud and clear.
These policy changes and rhetorical flourishes need to be reciprocated now from our side, by both governments and those more nimble elements in civil society who have the courage and the capacity to engage the US on an equal footing - leaving behind the bad old ways of American-Western colonialism, neo-conservatism, and "orientalism."
The Americans, as one former senior White House security official said, cannot understand or absorb the message they seem to hear from the Arab-Islamic world - that we want Washington to be more engaged, but also to leave us alone.
There remains one major, glaring weakness in the American approach to these issues, which is a persistent refusal to accept blame for those aspects of US foreign policy that tend to aggravate violence, extremism and instability in the Arab-Asian world. Near blind US support for Israel - or near total Israeli veto power over decision-making in Washington - remains an issue that American officials, and even ex-officials, cannot discuss comfortably. It is the black hole in their moral-political universe with which they must grapple more honestly if they expect the world to take them more seriously.
This is a rare moment of change and opportunity, as the mainstreams of American and Arab-Islamic societies seem today to focus on how to work together for real change based on policy adjustments by both sides. Expressions of mutual respect have unlocked a once closed door; we need to burst through it.
Rami Koury is a veteran participant and analyst whose words are well worth taking to heart. Thanks to the ATFP for bringing this op-ed to our attention, JRK
Rami Khouri
The Daily Star
Opinion
February 19, 2009
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=10&categ_id=5&article_id=9947... [1]
Is a new page being turned in relations between the Arab and Islamic world and the United States? It would seem so, to judge by many of the interactions at the three-day annual US-Islamic World Forum in Doha, Qatar, hosted by the Brookings Institution's Saban Center and the Qatari Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The latest gathering last weekend of over 160 engaged scholars, activists, journalists, scientists, officials, religious figures, artists and ex-officials from across the Islamic world and the US seemed to reflect important new attitudes and subtle changes in perceptions between the two groups.
One reason for this is the change in policy and style of the new Obama administration, whose symbolic and substantive gestures in its first weeks in office send signals of its desire to improve relations with Islamic societies. Another is the realization within many Islamic societies that they are heading for catastrophe if they remain on their current trajectories, including perpetual warfare, deep internal divisions, and mass emigration of their most talented young men and women. Yet another is that windows of opportunity may be opening - perhaps only for a brief period - to reverse the deterioration in relations between the Arab and Islamic world and the US.
A powerful signal of the new start that may be occurring in US-Muslim ties is the strong anticipation among many in our societies that the Obama team will usher in a more reasonable set of foreign policies that could stem rising anti-Americanism. That many Arabs and Muslims look to Obama with some expectation of change and anticipation of better days ahead indicates better than anything else - as a former Pakistani ambassador noted - the deep reservoir of goodwill towards the US in the Muslim world.
Several former senior American officials for their part reflected the softer tone that seems to be emerging in Washington vis-a-vis Arab and Muslim issues. For the first time in the eight years that I have participated in these annual meetings, American participants seemed less defensive - perhaps mainly because George W. Bush was no longer their president. They seemed more inclined to explore avenues towards solutions, and to examine how both sides might work together in this direction, rather than merely repeating their exasperation with the deficiencies of Arab-Islamic societies, including terrorism.
Citizens of mostly Arab and Asian Islamic societies for their part seemed this year to be more humble in acknowledging their own need to take the initiative to reform themselves, and not only to wait for others - especially the US and fellow Western powers - to treat Arabs-Muslims more equitably, and less colonially.
The breakthrough for both sides probably reflects the fact that they simultaneously realize that the antagonistic, violent, selfish paths they have both followed in recent years - and certainly since September 11, 2001 - have failed, only aggravating matters. This is combined with the growing recognition all around that mutual "respect" is the key that will unlock the door to better days ahead, with security, stability and perhaps even some prosperity for all.
Obama's election and the quick moves he made in his first three days in office-deciding on the closing of the Guantanamo prison, banning torture, naming respected special envoys to the two burning fires of Israel-Palestine and Afghanistan-Pakistan, playing diplomatic footsies with Iran, and speaking directly to Muslims on an agenda of mutual respect and shared interests - sent an emphatic message that many Arabs and Muslims have heard loud and clear.
These policy changes and rhetorical flourishes need to be reciprocated now from our side, by both governments and those more nimble elements in civil society who have the courage and the capacity to engage the US on an equal footing - leaving behind the bad old ways of American-Western colonialism, neo-conservatism, and "orientalism."
The Americans, as one former senior White House security official said, cannot understand or absorb the message they seem to hear from the Arab-Islamic world - that we want Washington to be more engaged, but also to leave us alone.
There remains one major, glaring weakness in the American approach to these issues, which is a persistent refusal to accept blame for those aspects of US foreign policy that tend to aggravate violence, extremism and instability in the Arab-Asian world. Near blind US support for Israel - or near total Israeli veto power over decision-making in Washington - remains an issue that American officials, and even ex-officials, cannot discuss comfortably. It is the black hole in their moral-political universe with which they must grapple more honestly if they expect the world to take them more seriously.
This is a rare moment of change and opportunity, as the mainstreams of American and Arab-Islamic societies seem today to focus on how to work together for real change based on policy adjustments by both sides. Expressions of mutual respect have unlocked a once closed door; we need to burst through it.
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
A West Bank Cry of Despair
Dear Friends of Palestinians and Israelis,
I've reconnected with a 20-something Palestinian, a graduate of Birzeit, whom Sharon and I met in June, 2000, on a visit to Isr/Pal (with Craig Barnes and the folks from National Presbyterian Church in Washington D.C.).
I am in email conversation with him and care about him, his mother and brother, his friends, and his journey. His words speak for themselves, are anguished, filled with frustration and despair driving him to hopelessness. I could say more. He was raised in Ohio, but his mother moved back to her home in the West Bank, after her husband, Hanna's father died at a young age in the US.
He is from a Christian (Roman Catholic) background but has disavowed any connection with that church.
He has given me permission to share his following thoughts.
Hanna, we love you, and have hundreds, even thousands alongside of you, seeking justice, change for the better and reconciliation.
Dear John,
Ever since the brutal war on Gaza I have lost hope in hope. While observing the massacres and destruction in Gaza, the P.A. tyranny in the West Bank, and the silence of almost every government of this world, I became numb. I became numb due to the combination of sadness, rage, and helplessness.
Other than the massacres in Gaza, what shred my soul was how the Palestinian Authority treated the Palestinians in the West Bank when we would protest against the war on Gaza. The authority sent its spies from its various 'security forces' to infiltrate the demonstrations and make arrests. The authority sent riot police to suppress and successfully stop demonstrations headed for Israeli checkpoints in the West Bank (all of which are illegal by international law). The authority beat, and in some cases, even electrocuted the 'political prisoners' that were arrested from these demonstrations, whether the demonstration was headed towards a checkpoint or not.
While almost all of the Palestinian population had rightfully assumed that the Oslo-birthed Palestinian Authority (brought by and headed by Fatah) was merely a puppet government that had traded freedom for stability (and got neither), the people came to realize that it was not only that. During and after the war on Gaza, it became crystal clear that the main and only purpose for the existence of the Palestinian Authority was and is to relieve the Tel Aviv government of the burden of its occupation and act as a police state to erase any sort of ideological, popular, or military forms of Palestinian resistance towards the Israeli occupation. Mahmoud Abbass and his thugs have not yet disappointed their Israeli counterparts and have oppressed their own countrymen even worse than the occupation has and seem to be just as content as their counterparts in regard to what has happened in Gaza.
The Palestinian people are stuck between a corrupt collaborative government in Ramallah and a socially regressive and almost equally corrupt government in Gaza, with almost no other choices other than the almost impotent Palestinian left (which played a huge part in the resistance before establishment of the P.A. but a much smaller one after). They are small in numbers, suppressed by both Fatah in the West Bank and Hamas in Gaza, and not accepted socially by the majority of the Palestinian people (mostly conservative Muslims) due to their Marxist Leninist ideologies.
Like the content of an email that you sent me earlier, a 2 state solution seems impossible now, mostly due to the illegal settlements, bypass roads, and the apartheid wall constructed by the occupation… so there isn't much left of the West bank for a viable Palestinians state, and a one state solution will never be accepted by Tel Aviv. No partially fair solution will ever be accepted by Tel Aviv.
From what I have seen recently only one thing pleased me, and that one phenomenon was that the resistance fighters in Gaza all united to confront the blood thirsty occupation forces. The military wings of Hamas, Islamic Jihad, the P.F.L.P, the D.F.L.P, Fatah and other factions all worked together to fight back and confront the Israeli ground attacks.
I apologize if I am giving the impression that my heart is full of hatred. It was full of hatred towards the Israeli government, towards the Palestinian Authority, towards what is wrongfully called the P.L.O and hatred towards Hamas. Hatred towards the U.S and EU foreign policies, and hatred for all of those who fearfully would not acknowledge the truth and condemn Israel for the Gaza massacres, which included the weak and fearful Vatican as well as the UN, who were not strong enough to state the truth. Full of hate towards the oppressive Arab regimes who did not even cut diplomatic ties with the occupation. My heart was full of hatred because of my love for my dead, injured, homeless, and terrified defenseless people, hatred because I have seen the looks of confusion, shock and fear on the bloody faces of children who witnessed the deaths of their parents and siblings.
My heart was full of hatred because I wrongfully believed in justice, in right, in truth and in humanity. My heart did not have any more room for hatred because I am not accustomed to hate, so the hatred turned into nothingness. That is why I am numb.
I do not know what to believe in, if anything. And that is why I have not written to you recently, because I wanted to give you good news about Palestine, about the Palestinian people, and about myself instead of a pessimistic point of view of a Palestinian youth.
I apologize for the negativity.
Hanna
I've reconnected with a 20-something Palestinian, a graduate of Birzeit, whom Sharon and I met in June, 2000, on a visit to Isr/Pal (with Craig Barnes and the folks from National Presbyterian Church in Washington D.C.).
I am in email conversation with him and care about him, his mother and brother, his friends, and his journey. His words speak for themselves, are anguished, filled with frustration and despair driving him to hopelessness. I could say more. He was raised in Ohio, but his mother moved back to her home in the West Bank, after her husband, Hanna's father died at a young age in the US.
He is from a Christian (Roman Catholic) background but has disavowed any connection with that church.
He has given me permission to share his following thoughts.
Hanna, we love you, and have hundreds, even thousands alongside of you, seeking justice, change for the better and reconciliation.
Dear John,
Ever since the brutal war on Gaza I have lost hope in hope. While observing the massacres and destruction in Gaza, the P.A. tyranny in the West Bank, and the silence of almost every government of this world, I became numb. I became numb due to the combination of sadness, rage, and helplessness.
Other than the massacres in Gaza, what shred my soul was how the Palestinian Authority treated the Palestinians in the West Bank when we would protest against the war on Gaza. The authority sent its spies from its various 'security forces' to infiltrate the demonstrations and make arrests. The authority sent riot police to suppress and successfully stop demonstrations headed for Israeli checkpoints in the West Bank (all of which are illegal by international law). The authority beat, and in some cases, even electrocuted the 'political prisoners' that were arrested from these demonstrations, whether the demonstration was headed towards a checkpoint or not.
While almost all of the Palestinian population had rightfully assumed that the Oslo-birthed Palestinian Authority (brought by and headed by Fatah) was merely a puppet government that had traded freedom for stability (and got neither), the people came to realize that it was not only that. During and after the war on Gaza, it became crystal clear that the main and only purpose for the existence of the Palestinian Authority was and is to relieve the Tel Aviv government of the burden of its occupation and act as a police state to erase any sort of ideological, popular, or military forms of Palestinian resistance towards the Israeli occupation. Mahmoud Abbass and his thugs have not yet disappointed their Israeli counterparts and have oppressed their own countrymen even worse than the occupation has and seem to be just as content as their counterparts in regard to what has happened in Gaza.
The Palestinian people are stuck between a corrupt collaborative government in Ramallah and a socially regressive and almost equally corrupt government in Gaza, with almost no other choices other than the almost impotent Palestinian left (which played a huge part in the resistance before establishment of the P.A. but a much smaller one after). They are small in numbers, suppressed by both Fatah in the West Bank and Hamas in Gaza, and not accepted socially by the majority of the Palestinian people (mostly conservative Muslims) due to their Marxist Leninist ideologies.
Like the content of an email that you sent me earlier, a 2 state solution seems impossible now, mostly due to the illegal settlements, bypass roads, and the apartheid wall constructed by the occupation… so there isn't much left of the West bank for a viable Palestinians state, and a one state solution will never be accepted by Tel Aviv. No partially fair solution will ever be accepted by Tel Aviv.
From what I have seen recently only one thing pleased me, and that one phenomenon was that the resistance fighters in Gaza all united to confront the blood thirsty occupation forces. The military wings of Hamas, Islamic Jihad, the P.F.L.P, the D.F.L.P, Fatah and other factions all worked together to fight back and confront the Israeli ground attacks.
I apologize if I am giving the impression that my heart is full of hatred. It was full of hatred towards the Israeli government, towards the Palestinian Authority, towards what is wrongfully called the P.L.O and hatred towards Hamas. Hatred towards the U.S and EU foreign policies, and hatred for all of those who fearfully would not acknowledge the truth and condemn Israel for the Gaza massacres, which included the weak and fearful Vatican as well as the UN, who were not strong enough to state the truth. Full of hate towards the oppressive Arab regimes who did not even cut diplomatic ties with the occupation. My heart was full of hatred because of my love for my dead, injured, homeless, and terrified defenseless people, hatred because I have seen the looks of confusion, shock and fear on the bloody faces of children who witnessed the deaths of their parents and siblings.
My heart was full of hatred because I wrongfully believed in justice, in right, in truth and in humanity. My heart did not have any more room for hatred because I am not accustomed to hate, so the hatred turned into nothingness. That is why I am numb.
I do not know what to believe in, if anything. And that is why I have not written to you recently, because I wanted to give you good news about Palestine, about the Palestinian people, and about myself instead of a pessimistic point of view of a Palestinian youth.
I apologize for the negativity.
Hanna
Monday, February 9, 2009
What It Will Take
The following story is told by “Howard”, a Messianic [Jewish] pastor in Israel, and “Labib”, a Palestinian Christian, in the early days after the latest conflict in Gaza. Labib Madanat is the Director of the Palestinian Bible Society. Both are trying to be true followers of Jesus who requires us to love one’s enemies.
Howard writes: The director of the Bible Society, Labib, called me up saying that he wanted to come down to Beer Sheva today and visit wounded soldiers at Soroka Medical Center. I was very pleased that my schedule today gave me the time to go with him. (As the Lord would have it, I had spoken with Labib shortly after the war to check on the situation of the believers in Gaza).
When he arrived, we went to buy flowers to give to either the soldiers themselves, or to members of their families. At the hospital they told us that there were only four soldiers still there under care, some still seriously from their wounds. [Howard’s son Evan served with the army in Gaza].
Then Labib picks up the story: For the vast majority of Palestinians, Evan is a soldier in the enemy army, for you [Howard], he is your dear son. Who is he to me? I believe Christ asks me to choose, and as painful as it feels at times like these, I count Evan as MY BROTHER; you are my family.
I celebrate with you his safe return and pray that he will make it home safe soon. May the Lord have mercy upon our peoples and protect His body from the poison of this world.
Pray for us as we are preparing to go back to Gaza taking the love and mercy of Jesus. As we go we will not go alone, I know you are with us, our Messianic Jewish brothers and sisters, blessing those whom the vast majority of Israelis would see as enemies. We are one...because of Jesus.
Now Howard picks up the story: When we went to visit the soldiers, Labib shared his concern and love with them and/or their families. He told them he was an Arab from East Jerusalem. You could see the expressions on the faces of the soldiers, visitors, and families visibly change and even harden. He told them how he was a Christian, not as a religion, but as a personal faith in Yeshua, whose message is peace, [and as a follower of this “Way”].
Labib told them he even visits Gaza, and hopes to do so in a few more days, and that his friend had been murdered there by fanatics because of his Christian faith. Labib simply came to bless them, tell them he loves Israelis and the Jewish people, and is thankful to the Israelis in that he is a citizen, and even more for the Messiah who came as a Jew.
In each case of visiting different soldiers or the families, after seeing their expressions and perplexity at this Palestinian Arab Christian coming to bless them and to wish them well, I then told them about my son, Evan, who was in a particular combat unit, who had also fought in Gaza. That Labib and I could come together was proof that his gesture was not an empty one, but a real and tangible expression of the truth that is in his heart. When they realized what was going on here, all of them lightened up, and expressed their appreciation for Labib coming and the goodwill he carried. It was a privilege and an honor to accompany Labib today and see a child of God extending the peace which comes through really knowing Jesus.
Now a comment from John Kleinheksel (who received this story from “Robin”, one of our “FPI” friends): This is the Spirit that will carry the day in Isr/Pal. I frankly don’t know the “track record” of Messianic Jews in Isr/Pal. Pastor Howard cared about what Palestinian believers were suffering in Gaza. Director Labib cared about what Israeli soldiers were suffering in Israel.
All of us must be sensitive to the injustices which must be redressed. The new dynamic needed is love, caring, reaching out to the “enemy”, in fulfillment of the Spirit of Jesus of Nazareth. From where else does this Spirit come?
I’m reminded of the incident as told in the gospels, of a Roman occupation officer/soldier coming to Jesus for help. Jesus could have refused to deal with the Roman military officer’s request for help, since the Roman occupation troops were so violently, cruelly oppressing his fellow countrymen. Instead, he offered to go to the officer’s house and heal the man’s servant, complimenting the hated man for his simple trust (Luke 7:1ff).
Howard and Labib seem to illustrate people reaching across hateful divides, to bring healing where there has only been recrimination, hard-heartedness and violence. When this Spirit is let loose, our world goes beyond the old way into the new “Way”. There will be no peace without justice; there will be no justice without love. Shalom, Salaam, Peace.
Howard writes: The director of the Bible Society, Labib, called me up saying that he wanted to come down to Beer Sheva today and visit wounded soldiers at Soroka Medical Center. I was very pleased that my schedule today gave me the time to go with him. (As the Lord would have it, I had spoken with Labib shortly after the war to check on the situation of the believers in Gaza).
When he arrived, we went to buy flowers to give to either the soldiers themselves, or to members of their families. At the hospital they told us that there were only four soldiers still there under care, some still seriously from their wounds. [Howard’s son Evan served with the army in Gaza].
Then Labib picks up the story: For the vast majority of Palestinians, Evan is a soldier in the enemy army, for you [Howard], he is your dear son. Who is he to me? I believe Christ asks me to choose, and as painful as it feels at times like these, I count Evan as MY BROTHER; you are my family.
I celebrate with you his safe return and pray that he will make it home safe soon. May the Lord have mercy upon our peoples and protect His body from the poison of this world.
Pray for us as we are preparing to go back to Gaza taking the love and mercy of Jesus. As we go we will not go alone, I know you are with us, our Messianic Jewish brothers and sisters, blessing those whom the vast majority of Israelis would see as enemies. We are one...because of Jesus.
Now Howard picks up the story: When we went to visit the soldiers, Labib shared his concern and love with them and/or their families. He told them he was an Arab from East Jerusalem. You could see the expressions on the faces of the soldiers, visitors, and families visibly change and even harden. He told them how he was a Christian, not as a religion, but as a personal faith in Yeshua, whose message is peace, [and as a follower of this “Way”].
Labib told them he even visits Gaza, and hopes to do so in a few more days, and that his friend had been murdered there by fanatics because of his Christian faith. Labib simply came to bless them, tell them he loves Israelis and the Jewish people, and is thankful to the Israelis in that he is a citizen, and even more for the Messiah who came as a Jew.
In each case of visiting different soldiers or the families, after seeing their expressions and perplexity at this Palestinian Arab Christian coming to bless them and to wish them well, I then told them about my son, Evan, who was in a particular combat unit, who had also fought in Gaza. That Labib and I could come together was proof that his gesture was not an empty one, but a real and tangible expression of the truth that is in his heart. When they realized what was going on here, all of them lightened up, and expressed their appreciation for Labib coming and the goodwill he carried. It was a privilege and an honor to accompany Labib today and see a child of God extending the peace which comes through really knowing Jesus.
Now a comment from John Kleinheksel (who received this story from “Robin”, one of our “FPI” friends): This is the Spirit that will carry the day in Isr/Pal. I frankly don’t know the “track record” of Messianic Jews in Isr/Pal. Pastor Howard cared about what Palestinian believers were suffering in Gaza. Director Labib cared about what Israeli soldiers were suffering in Israel.
All of us must be sensitive to the injustices which must be redressed. The new dynamic needed is love, caring, reaching out to the “enemy”, in fulfillment of the Spirit of Jesus of Nazareth. From where else does this Spirit come?
I’m reminded of the incident as told in the gospels, of a Roman occupation officer/soldier coming to Jesus for help. Jesus could have refused to deal with the Roman military officer’s request for help, since the Roman occupation troops were so violently, cruelly oppressing his fellow countrymen. Instead, he offered to go to the officer’s house and heal the man’s servant, complimenting the hated man for his simple trust (Luke 7:1ff).
Howard and Labib seem to illustrate people reaching across hateful divides, to bring healing where there has only been recrimination, hard-heartedness and violence. When this Spirit is let loose, our world goes beyond the old way into the new “Way”. There will be no peace without justice; there will be no justice without love. Shalom, Salaam, Peace.
Thursday, February 5, 2009
The DEATH of the Two-State "Solution"
The relentless commitment to expanding Israeli settlements, deep into West Bank territory, has made the "two-state" proposal impossible. The only way now is for Palestinians to be made part of "one state", with equal citizen rights like Jewish immigrants.
Neither Arab Palestinians nor Israeli immigrants can "claim" the whole land for themselves, nor is it possible for each to have their own state. Israel must give up the fiction of giving lip-service to the "two-state" solution (so they can maintain "control" of "their own country".)
The sooner the US wakes up to this reality, the more focused will be our foreign policy. The following ATFP piece is from the President Mr. Zaid Asali. The ATFP (and countless others) are still commitmented to the "two-state" solution. But, IMHO, that option has been dead for a long time and the US must move on to helping all see that the "one-state" solution is truly the only option left: equal citizenship for all who live in that small territory, Your correspondent, JRK
Washington, DC, Feb. 4 –
The American Task Force on Palestine (ATFP) today warned that plans for a new Israeli settlement in the West Bank poses a serious threat to progress towards a peace agreement. The proposed new settlement in the so-called “Binyamin region” of the occupied West Bank is located to the east of the separation barrier and would violate both Israel’s Roadmap obligations and commitments by former Prime Minister Ariel Sharon to former US President George W. Bush.
The new settlement, which has reportedly been approved by Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak would initially resettle settlers from the unauthorized settlement called Migron. Last week the Israeli newspaper Ha’aretz revealed a secret Defense Ministry report on settlement activity that found that “in more than 30 settlements, extensive construction of buildings and infrastructure (roads, schools, synagogues, yeshivas and even police stations) has been carried out on private lands belonging to Palestinian West Bank residents” and that the actual scope and nature of settlement activity is not reflected in official Israeli government statistics.
ATFP President Ziad J. Asali said, “we are dismayed that the Israeli government is persisting with creating new settlements that it knows full well are the main obstacle to achieving an end-of-conflict agreement.” “Israel has clear obligations under the Roadmap, and many other instruments of international law including countless Security Council resolutions, not to continue to build or expand these illegal settlements,” he continued.
Dr. Asali called on President Barack Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to use all the influence of the United States to ensure that the planned new settlement is not constructed and that Israel abides by its Roadmap obligations.
Neither Arab Palestinians nor Israeli immigrants can "claim" the whole land for themselves, nor is it possible for each to have their own state. Israel must give up the fiction of giving lip-service to the "two-state" solution (so they can maintain "control" of "their own country".)
The sooner the US wakes up to this reality, the more focused will be our foreign policy. The following ATFP piece is from the President Mr. Zaid Asali. The ATFP (and countless others) are still commitmented to the "two-state" solution. But, IMHO, that option has been dead for a long time and the US must move on to helping all see that the "one-state" solution is truly the only option left: equal citizenship for all who live in that small territory, Your correspondent, JRK
Washington, DC, Feb. 4 –
The American Task Force on Palestine (ATFP) today warned that plans for a new Israeli settlement in the West Bank poses a serious threat to progress towards a peace agreement. The proposed new settlement in the so-called “Binyamin region” of the occupied West Bank is located to the east of the separation barrier and would violate both Israel’s Roadmap obligations and commitments by former Prime Minister Ariel Sharon to former US President George W. Bush.
The new settlement, which has reportedly been approved by Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak would initially resettle settlers from the unauthorized settlement called Migron. Last week the Israeli newspaper Ha’aretz revealed a secret Defense Ministry report on settlement activity that found that “in more than 30 settlements, extensive construction of buildings and infrastructure (roads, schools, synagogues, yeshivas and even police stations) has been carried out on private lands belonging to Palestinian West Bank residents” and that the actual scope and nature of settlement activity is not reflected in official Israeli government statistics.
ATFP President Ziad J. Asali said, “we are dismayed that the Israeli government is persisting with creating new settlements that it knows full well are the main obstacle to achieving an end-of-conflict agreement.” “Israel has clear obligations under the Roadmap, and many other instruments of international law including countless Security Council resolutions, not to continue to build or expand these illegal settlements,” he continued.
Dr. Asali called on President Barack Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to use all the influence of the United States to ensure that the planned new settlement is not constructed and that Israel abides by its Roadmap obligations.
Thursday, January 15, 2009
Israelis Call for Ceasefire
14 Jan. '09: Israeli Human Rights groups:
Clear and present danger to the lives and well-being of tens of thousands of civilians
An Israeli Call For Urgent Humanitarian Action In Gaza
Since the beginning of the campaign in Gaza on December 27, a heavy suspicion has arisen of grave violations of international humanitarian law by military forces. After the end of the hostilities, the time will come for the investigation of this matter, and accountability will be demanded of those responsible for the violations.
At this point we call your attention to the clear and present danger to the lives and well-being of tens of thousands of civilians.
The level of harm to the civilian population is unprecedented. According to the testimony of residents of the Gaza Strip and media reports, military forces are making wanton use of lethal force which has to date caused the deaths of hundreds of uninvolved civilians and destroyed infrastructure and property on an enormous scale. In addition, Israel is also hitting civilian objects, having defined them as "legitimate military targets" solely by virtue of their being "symbols of government."
Caught in the middle are 1.5 million civilians in extreme humanitarian distress, whose needs are not being adequately met by the limited measures taken by the army. That distress is detailed in the Appendix to this letter. Its main points are as follows:
The fighting is taking place throughout the Gaza Strip, whose border crossings are closed, so that residents have nowhere to flee, neither inside the Gaza Strip nor by leaving it. Many are unable to escape from the battle zone to protect themselves. They are forced to live in fear and terror. The army's demand that they evacuate their homes so as to avoid injury has no basis. Some people who did escape are living as refugees, stripped of all resources.
The health system has collapsed. Hospitals are unable to provide adequate treatment to the injured, nor can patients be evacuated to medical centers outside of the Gaza Strip. This state of affairs is causing the death of injured persons who could have been saved. Nor are chronic patients receiving the treatment they need. Their health is deteriorating, and some have already died.
Areas that were subject to intensive attacks are completely isolated. It is impossible to know the condition of the people who are there, whether they are injured and need treatment and whether they have food, water and medicine. The army is preventing local and international rescue teams from accessing those places and is also refraining from helping them itself, even though it is required to do so by law.
Many of the residents do not have access to electricity or running water, and in many populated areas sewage water is running in the streets. That combination creates severe sanitation problems and increases the risk of an outbreak of epidemics.
This kind of fighting constitutes a blatant violation of the laws of warfare and raises the suspicion, which we ask be investigated, of the commission of war crimes.
The responsibility of the State of Israel in this matter is clear and beyond doubt. The army's complete control of the battle zones and the access roads to them does not allow Israel to transfer that responsibility to other countries. Therefore we call on you to act immediately as follows:
1. Stop the disproportionate harm to civilians, and stop targeting civilian objects that do not serve any military purpose, even if they meet the definition of "symbols of government."
2. Open a route for civilians to escape the battle zone, while guaranteeing their ability to return home at the end of the fighting.
3. Provide appropriate and immediate medical care to all of the injured and ill of the Gaza Strip, either by evacuating them to medical centers outside of the Gaza Strip or by reaching another solution inside the Gaza Strip.
4. Allow rescue and medical teams to reach battle-torn zones to evacuate the injured and bring supplies to those who remain there. Alternatively, the army must carry out those activities itself.
5. Secure the proper operation of the electricity, water and sewage systems so that they meet the needs of the population.
Participating organizations:
Adalah - The Legal Center For Arab Minority Rights In Israel
Amnesty International Israel Section
Bimkom - Planners For Planning Rights
B’Tselem - The Israeli Information Center For Human Rights In The Occupied Territories
Gisha - Legal Center For Freedom Of Movement
Hamoked - Center For Defence Of The Individual
Physicians For Human Rights
Israel Public Committee Against Torture In Israel
Yesh Din - Volunteers For Human Rights
http://www.btselem.org/English/Press_Releases/20090114.asp
Clear and present danger to the lives and well-being of tens of thousands of civilians
An Israeli Call For Urgent Humanitarian Action In Gaza
Since the beginning of the campaign in Gaza on December 27, a heavy suspicion has arisen of grave violations of international humanitarian law by military forces. After the end of the hostilities, the time will come for the investigation of this matter, and accountability will be demanded of those responsible for the violations.
At this point we call your attention to the clear and present danger to the lives and well-being of tens of thousands of civilians.
The level of harm to the civilian population is unprecedented. According to the testimony of residents of the Gaza Strip and media reports, military forces are making wanton use of lethal force which has to date caused the deaths of hundreds of uninvolved civilians and destroyed infrastructure and property on an enormous scale. In addition, Israel is also hitting civilian objects, having defined them as "legitimate military targets" solely by virtue of their being "symbols of government."
Caught in the middle are 1.5 million civilians in extreme humanitarian distress, whose needs are not being adequately met by the limited measures taken by the army. That distress is detailed in the Appendix to this letter. Its main points are as follows:
The fighting is taking place throughout the Gaza Strip, whose border crossings are closed, so that residents have nowhere to flee, neither inside the Gaza Strip nor by leaving it. Many are unable to escape from the battle zone to protect themselves. They are forced to live in fear and terror. The army's demand that they evacuate their homes so as to avoid injury has no basis. Some people who did escape are living as refugees, stripped of all resources.
The health system has collapsed. Hospitals are unable to provide adequate treatment to the injured, nor can patients be evacuated to medical centers outside of the Gaza Strip. This state of affairs is causing the death of injured persons who could have been saved. Nor are chronic patients receiving the treatment they need. Their health is deteriorating, and some have already died.
Areas that were subject to intensive attacks are completely isolated. It is impossible to know the condition of the people who are there, whether they are injured and need treatment and whether they have food, water and medicine. The army is preventing local and international rescue teams from accessing those places and is also refraining from helping them itself, even though it is required to do so by law.
Many of the residents do not have access to electricity or running water, and in many populated areas sewage water is running in the streets. That combination creates severe sanitation problems and increases the risk of an outbreak of epidemics.
This kind of fighting constitutes a blatant violation of the laws of warfare and raises the suspicion, which we ask be investigated, of the commission of war crimes.
The responsibility of the State of Israel in this matter is clear and beyond doubt. The army's complete control of the battle zones and the access roads to them does not allow Israel to transfer that responsibility to other countries. Therefore we call on you to act immediately as follows:
1. Stop the disproportionate harm to civilians, and stop targeting civilian objects that do not serve any military purpose, even if they meet the definition of "symbols of government."
2. Open a route for civilians to escape the battle zone, while guaranteeing their ability to return home at the end of the fighting.
3. Provide appropriate and immediate medical care to all of the injured and ill of the Gaza Strip, either by evacuating them to medical centers outside of the Gaza Strip or by reaching another solution inside the Gaza Strip.
4. Allow rescue and medical teams to reach battle-torn zones to evacuate the injured and bring supplies to those who remain there. Alternatively, the army must carry out those activities itself.
5. Secure the proper operation of the electricity, water and sewage systems so that they meet the needs of the population.
Participating organizations:
Adalah - The Legal Center For Arab Minority Rights In Israel
Amnesty International Israel Section
Bimkom - Planners For Planning Rights
B’Tselem - The Israeli Information Center For Human Rights In The Occupied Territories
Gisha - Legal Center For Freedom Of Movement
Hamoked - Center For Defence Of The Individual
Physicians For Human Rights
Israel Public Committee Against Torture In Israel
Yesh Din - Volunteers For Human Rights
http://www.btselem.org/English/Press_Releases/20090114.asp
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)