Tuesday, July 7, 2009

published January through June 2009

Detroit News
6-1-2009


RE: Obama should flex muscles with Israel by Sherri Muzher
http://detnews.com/article/20090601/OPINION01/906010330/1008/OPINION01/Obama-should-flex-muscles-with-Israel
comment i left online in the Comment
forum section
http://apps.detnews.com/apps/forums/newstalk/lettersindex.php?username=AnneSeldenAnnab


Dear Editor,

Thank you for publishing Sherri Muzher's excellent letter "
Obama should flex muscles with Israel".

I am grateful for all the many times Muzher has stepped up to speak out for Palestine- and peace: I like how she gets right to the point- and explains that point in ways that mainstream America can respect and understand.

I hope Obama speaks out clearly too- for Palestine and peace, a just and lasting peace for all the people in the Middle East.

Sincerely,
Anne Selden Annab

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BALTIMORE SUN
Bonus letters
4- -2009

In responce to Viewpoint: A step toward ending Israel's impunity
http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/opinion/oped/bal-op.viewpoint16apr16,0,1875626.story


Baltimore Sun online Bonus letters
http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/opinion/letters/bal-ed.le.webletters25aapr25,0,2301035.story

of Israel's cruelty

It was excellent to see George Bisharat's riveting column "A step toward ending Israel's impunity" (Viewpoint, April 16) pop up on The Baltimore Sun's Web site.

His column is a veritable treasure trove of very accurate and quotable tidbits such as "Israel's attempted legal innovations are simply bad for humanity, and our response to them should be: 'No thanks.'"

I very much hope more and more Palestinian Americans will feel free to step up to speak out so clearly with Mr. Bisharat's compelling combination of respect and compassion for America, and for Palestine and peace.

Anne Selden Annab

Mechanicsburg, Pa.


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PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER
May 2009
comment I posted online in their online forum
http://www.philly.com/inquirer/opinion/20090522_Letters__Jordan_shares_blame_for_Palestinian_crisis.html?posted=y&viewAll=y#comments
regarding Letters: Jordan shares blame for Palestinian crisis
http://www.philly.com/inquirer/opinion/20090522_Letters__Jordan_shares_blame_for_Palestinian_crisis.html


Your letter writer (
Edward S. Marks) is wrong to assert that Jordan shares the blame for the Palestinian crisis. First of all, and most importantly, Jordan is not the one who has been oppressing and intentionally displacing the people of historic Palestine... Like Jordan I'll take care of my neighbor's' child in times of need- but it is not my job to do so, it is an act of charity and kindness.

FURTHERMORE, just like you and me and everyone else in the world, the Palestinian refugees have an inalienable individual right to return to their original homes and lands. This basic human right "derives from a number of legal sources, including customary international law, international humanitarian law (governing rights of civilians during war), and human rights law. The United States government has forcefully supported this right in recent years for refugees from Bosnia, Kosovo, East Timor and elsewhere." The Nakba and Palestinian refugees today
http://imeu.net/news/article001237.shtml

UN Resolution 194 in 1948 made it quite clear that Israel was expected to respect the indigenous Palestinians basic human rights, including but not limited to the Palestinian refugees right of return. True return- not more forced transfer. True return and true justice and security for all men, women and children, regardless of supposed race or religion. Surely an American can understand and respect that!

Sincerely,
Anne Selden Annab


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Boston Globe online comments regarding

Desperate straits for Palestinians in Iraq

4-10-2009

http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/editorial_opinion/letters/articles/2009/04/10/desperate_straits_for_palestinians_in_iraq/?plckFindCommentKey=CommentKey:bef265d0-58a3-4a52-83f2-bef0e646c60d#CommentKey:bef265d0-58a3-4a52-83f2-bef0e646c60d

User Image
anneselden wrote:
I am grateful that your Palestinian letter writer (Thaer Abdallah from Iraq) spoke up to try to explain the plight of the Palestinians trapped there... and I am grateful you published his letter.

As the 'peace process' churns on it becomes more and more apparent that it has been mainly a waste of time that has enabled Apartheid Israel to cruelly oppress and displace even more Palestinians.

All through out the Middle East the 60 year old plight of the Palestinian refugees is common knowledge- as is the fact that international law clearly calls on everyone to respect basic human rights including but not limited to the Palestinian refugees inalienable legal, moral and natural right to return to original homes and lands.

4/10/2009 8:41 AM EDT


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WASHINGTON POST
4-8-2009

online comment
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/04/07/AR2009040703379.html

Your Comments On...

The Settlement Freeze Fallacy Why calls for a freeze on construction by Israel could set back the cause of peace. by Elliott Abrams
Comments
annieannab wrote:

"Most settlement expansion occurs in ways that do not much affect Palestinian life" The Settlement Freeze Fallacy By Elliott Abrams. Is Elliot Abrams nuts?!!

Israel's settlement polices are more than merely divisive land grabs- they are the epitome of institutionalized bigotry and injustice: Would you like it if the USA opted to invest in segregated Christian Cults- heavily armed Christian-only 'neighborhoods', schools and businesses generously subsidized and sustained by your hard earned tax dollars and defended by the US military as well as slick multi-million dollar PR campaigns...and a bunch of myopic religious 'leaders' kept on the state's payroll...

Did Abrams miss the point that home by home, and family by family the native non-Jewish people of historic Palestine are being oppressed, displaced and destroyed?!

Israel's many Jewish-only colonies all through out the West Bank require a network of Israeli-only roads and checkpoints. How would you feel if tomorrow you were barred from traveling to work or school (or barred from returning home as millions of Palestinian refugees today are refused their inalienable right to return to original homes and lands) because the state decided you are the wrong religion or race.

Is this really the way we want the world to be?



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The Times
3-2-2009


Hope for Palestinian state recedes as both sides edge towards other options
The Oslo solution for two countries is coming under threat as Hillary Clinton begins work
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/middle_east/article5828517.ece

One state with full and equal rights for all- regardless of supposed race or religion or whatever... makes sense to me! But in any case -1 state or 2, FULL respect for the Palestinian refugees' inalienable right to return to original homes and lands must be the highest priority.

Anne Selden Annab, Mechanicsburg PA, USA


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Washington Times
3-1-2009

comment posted online regarding U.S. to skip racism summit
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2009/feb/28/us-to-skip-racism-summit/#comments

By: AnneSeldenAnnab

How does Israel discriminate against non-Jewish citizens? According to the U.S. State Department's annual Human Rights Report: "[There is] institutionalized legal and societal discrimination against Israel's Christian, Muslim and Druze citizens. The government does not provide Israeli Arabs with the same quality of education, housing, employment and social services as Jews." http://imeu.net/news/article003473.shtml...

PLEASE NOTICE: "We call upon Christians in Churches on every continent to pray for the Palestinian and Israeli people, both of whom are suffering as victims of occupation and militarism. These discriminative actions are turning Palestine into impoverished ghettos surrounded by exclusive Israeli settlements. The establishment of the illegal settlements and the construction of the Separation Wall on confiscated Palestinian land undermines the viability of a Palestinian state as well as peace and security in the entire region." The Jerusalem Declaration on Christian Zionism http://imeu.net/news/article003122.shtml...

This situation is utterly insane- and cruel... as is the fact that for 60 years Israel has refused to respect the (native non-Jewish) Palestinian refugees inalienable, legal, moral, and natural right to return to original homes and lands as clearly affirmed by international law and the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

March 1, 2009 at 6:59 a.m.

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2-19-2009

Dear President Obama: Please take peace in the Middle East seriously- start by respecting the RoR

letter sent via congress.org

http://www.congress.org/congressorg/bio/userletter/?id=3181&letter_id=2950432211
Letters To Leaders


All messages are published with permission of the sender. The general topic of this message is Children/Families:

Subject:
Please take peace in the Middle East seriously- start by respecting the RoR

To:
President Barack Obama
Sen. Arlen Specter
Sen. Robert Casey
Rep. Todd Platts

February 19, 2009

Dear President Obama,

Please take true peace in the Middle East seriously... not more talk about talk (and certainly not more idolizing Israel as "The Jewish State' [plus more arming Apartheid in the Holy Land] with American taxpayers' $$$) but real progress towards actual freedom, justice and democracy for all the people of that very troubled region.

Start by recognizing the crucial importance of FULL respect for basic human rights, including but not limited to the Palestinian refugees inalienable legal, moral, and natural right to return to original homes and lands as promised by international law, and the UN's 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights, all along.

One state or two or twenty six the people of historic Palestine must be free to live, work, worship, laugh, dream, fall in love, raise children and flourish in the land of their ancestor's birth.

True peace and possibility will only be found when all the world honors and respects Palestinian homes and families- and basic human rights including but not limited to the right to leave- and the right to return. (Letter, Poem & NOTES 2-18-2009) http://annies-letters.blogspot.com/2009/...

Mechanicsburg , PA

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2-20-2009
http://www.hour.ca/news/news.aspx?iIDArticle=16665
http://www.hour.ca/members/profile_feedback.aspx?iIDMembre=46184
Contributions of Anne Selden Annab


Robert Fisk - Web exclusive!
reaction | news | february 19, 2009

Free Palestine- start with FULL respect for the Palestinian refugees inalienable right to return to orginal homes & lands

Good to see this great interview with Robert Fisk- including crucial information concerning the Palestinian refugees and reference to "UN General Assembly Resolution 194 on the right of return, [which stipulates that] these Palestinian refugees have the right to return to their homes." Also good to see someone else noticing how liberating it was to hear Palestinian reporters telling their own stories. Thanks for publishing this thoughtful interview. Sincerely, Anne Selden Annab

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WASHINGTON POST
2-17-2009

comment posted online
RE: West Bank Land Seized As Israel Looks to Build
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/02/16/AR2009021601293.html
comment posted online
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/02/16/AR2009021601293_Comments.html

Regarding "West Bank Land Seized As Israel Looks to Build": At least you headlined it... lets hope and lets pray that as the facts become better known more Americans will begin to realize how wrong racist Israel is- and has been all along.

Maybe with more honest headlines and more probing stories more Americans, including our own Congress will FINALLY start to see that investing in the rampant institutionalized bigotry and injustice (and brutality) that is Israel today is cruel to all involved- and is in fact the total antithesis of all that we are supposed to value and believe regarding freedom and equality.

60 years of sovereign Zionist greed and genocidal policies have created quite a hell on earth in the Holy Land for the native non-Jewish people of historic Palestine: Israel's ongoing violations of international law and the Palestinians basic human rights start with its cruel refusal to respect UN Resolution 194 from 1948- the Palestinian refugees' inalienable right to return to original homes and lands.

True peace and possibility will only be found when all the world honors and respects Palestinian homes and families- and basic human rights including but not limited to the right to leave- and the right to return.

Sincerely,
Anne Selden Annab


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Washington Times 1-26-2009


online commented posted in responce to
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2009/jan/26/violence-in-gaza/comments/
RE: Morton A. Klein (National president Zionist Organization of America) LETTER TO EDITOR: Violence in Gaza http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2009/jan/26/violence-in-gaza/
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2009/jan/26/violence-in-gaza/

By: AnneSeldenAnnab

Israel "withdrew" its troops and its (illegal) settlements not long ago from Gaza, but it certainly did not withdraw its blatantly racist laws and apartheid walls that keep the native non-Jewish Palestinians (most of them displaced refugees) caged and trapped and tortured in Gaza.

Furthermore, Zionists have continued to build and support numerous Jews-only settlements reached by divisive Israeli-only roads all through out the West Bank... and Israel has continued to demolish Palestinian homes everywhere it can reach. It even bombs refugee camps- this is crazy!

And I very much suspect Israel actually wants Hamas to thrive so that Zionists have an excuse to continue on with their genocidal war games and continuing land grabs... and a nefarious propaganda war that seeks to discredit, further impoverish and dismiss the men, women and children of Palestine.

Staying true to American ideals (and enlightened by the information age's ability to reveal the very real plight of the Palestinians), I do not think ANY religion should be armed and empowered with tax payers' money, lethal weaponry, and a will to target and kill 'others'... plus charity funds to support such barbaric cruelty.

According to the Charity Navigator http://www.charitynavigator.org/index.cf... , Morton Klein gets $279,346 a year as president of the Zionist Organization of America. I have to assume he also gets generous speaking fees on top of that: The Israel Industry certainly has been a lucrative deal for Zionists... buts its been hell on earth for the native non-Jewish population of the Holy Land.

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USATODAY
1-23-2009

comment posted online RE: Another Mitchell miracle?
http://blogs.usatoday.com/oped/2009/01/another-mitchel.html#more

anneseldenannab wrote: <1m>
We can at least wish Mitchell the best- and hope that everyone pulls together to try to work out a just and lasting peace in the Middle East. And maybe, in remembering the astounding miracle of all lives saved from the flight that crash landed in the freezing Hudson river right before Obama's election, we should redefine the meaning of modern miracle: It is not so much about divine intervention but more about human competence, hard work- and good intentions... and every one working together to help humanity survive.

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Al Arabiya News Channel
1-23-2009


http://www.alarabiya.net/views/2009/01/20/64620.html

Constructive dialogue long overdue

by Amtissal Aboulissan

Good article - I liked it!

Anne Selden Annab [ Friday, January 23, 2009 ]




Ignore the Zionist hate mongers- they are being encouraged by Israel to stop the conversation everywhere they can ... (...) Israel recruits ‘army of bloggers' to combat anti-Zionist Web sites - From Cnaan Liphshiz its all part of Hasbara... and they really aren't worth arguing with. By the way Good article - I liked it!


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Philadelphia Inquirer 1-18-2009
online comment


RE: Trudy Rubin's Worldview: Mideast needs a more engaged U.S. to help broker peace
http://www.philly.com/inquirer/opinion/20090118_Worldview__Mideast_needs_a_more_engaged_U_S__to_help_broker_peace.html

Posted by AnneSeldenAnnab 08:04 AM, 01/18/2009
Obama would be wise to realize that this Middle East mess has not been a mere 8 years of fumbles- but 60 years. Start the countdown with the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights (from 1948)- and respect each person and every basic human right including but not limited to the Palestinian refugees inalienable right to return to original homes and lands. Rather than foolishly rebuilding Gaza as a tighter cage and a trap for the native non-Jewish population of the Holy Land, give every Palestinian man, woman and child a passport to freedom and justice and the option to escape from religious tyrants and terror of every type: Respect the right to leave- and the right to return. I think the US should create a program specifically to help Palestinian families relocate out of the refugee camps and the multiple war zones shaped by racist Israeli laws and walls. Keep the onus on Israel to respect the Palestinians basic human rights, but at the same time help Palestinians find jobs and hope and a better way forward here in America. And encourage all other sovereign nations to do the same as temporary sanctuaries for a besieged and persecuted people sincerely in need of calm and comfort and healing. Just make it clear that as citizens, no matter what our religion or race, we all have a duty to defend and empower the collective good of the nation that has given us sanctuary, where ever that might be. And make sure every Palestinian- even those in forced exile have a voice and a vote in every Palestinian election.

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KANSAS CITY STAR
1-15-2009


http://www.kansascity.com/451/story/982311.html
RE: Iraq Palestinians see hypocrisy in Maliki denouncing Israel's Gaza attack
AnneSeldenAnnab wrote on 1/15/2009 9:01:29 AM:

Very grateful to see this honest opinion on the very real plight of the Palestinians- everywhere. There is a huge amount of political hypocrisy and betrayal worldwide when it comes to the people of historic Palestine. 60 years and counting: Apartheid Israel continues to push Palestinians into forced exile and despair- and adding insult to injury routinely bombs their refugee camps. For everyone's sake our highest priority must be to FULLY respect basic human rights including but not limited to the Palestinian refugees inalienable right to return to original homes and lands.