Our words have a way of echoing out into either war or peace....

letters & comments published May- August 2011

2011-08-23T09:51:00.000-07:00

letters & comments published May- August 2011

The Daily Star
online comment regarding The ex-spy who stepped into the cold by By Hussein Ibish & Michael Weiss
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/Opinion/Commentary/2011/Jul-29/The-ex-spy-who-stepped-into-the-cold.ashx#axzz1Vqa51tN7

Anne Selden Annab July 30, 2011

The American Task Force For Palestine (ATFP) is not associated with the U.S. Government. ATFP is independent, funded by donations and from what I have seen of it their work is quite admirable as they take both America and Palestine seriously. It is basically a think tank of educated and concerned American citizens who are trying to influence American opinion (including America's Congress) regarding Palestine. Hussein Ibish is a brilliant analyst and writer who makes a point of thinking about and even occasionally interacting with all different types of people and groups. Read his recent "Debating an extremist Israeli settler" http://www.nowlebanon.com/NewsArticleDetails.aspx?ID=294592 and you can see quite clearly that he does not coddle or idolize Israel.

I found the Ibish/Weiss story of Alastair Crooke's Conflicts Forum quite fascinating... and I have to wonder if Alastair Crooke really believes the propaganda he generates- or is he mainly trying to do what he can to goad Arabs and Muslims into becoming enslaved and crippled by religious tyranny.

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http://www.abc.net.au/unleashed/2804462.html

ABC Drum Opinion
RE "Transitioning from a pro-Palestinian to pro-Israel perspective"
online comment

Anne Selden Annab :

21 Jul 2011 5:50:22pm

The point of this article is to demonize and dismiss the refugees right of return, specifically the Palestinian refugees right of return. Slavery was once popular too- and civilized intelligent people supported it deploying what they perceived as civilized intelligent arguments. I very much doubt this author would take the same stance on the topic of universal basic human rights and respecting refugee return if it was about Jewish refugees from the Nazi Holocaust seeking to reclaim property stolen and the freedom to live and work where their families had lived and worked for generations.

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http://articles.latimes.com/2011/jun/20/opinion/la-le-0620-monday-20110620
LATimes letters
Lessons of the 'Gay Girl' hoax
Re "Taken in by 'Gay Girl,' " Opinion, June 14

Foolishly, I too got taken in by the compassionate calls to care about Amina, who turned out to be nothing but a sock puppet for a misguided writer.

However, I do not believe that this well publicized blogosphere incident should be used as an opportunity to discredit and dismiss the Palestinian refugees' very real right to return to original homes and lands, a cause Goldberg points out this "Amina" supported.

United Nations Resolution 194 from 1948, clearly affirming the Palestinian refugees' right to return, is not a figment of anyone's imagination. The photographic records and documents following the plight of the Palestinians for the past 60-plus years are about very real, oppressed, impoverished and displaced men, women and children.

Anne Selden Annab

Mechanicsburg, Pa.

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Washington Times
5-15-2011
comment i posted online

RE: Palestinians storm into Israel, 15 reported killed during unprecedented demonstration
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2011/may/15/palestinians-storm-into-israel/?page=1

[Dear Editor,]

Religious tyranny of every type flourishes with the Israel/Palestine conflict: Both Zionists and Islamists are very eager to sabotage reasonable efforts to create a fully secular two state solution to once and for all end the cruelties of the Israel/Palestine conflict.

Both Zionists and Islamists seek to turn the Palestinian refugees very real right to return to original homes and lands into a weapon of war- it is not a weapon of war. The refugees right of return is a universal basic human right and a very reasonable expectation as well as a necessary part of civilized life in a modern world. Every time you leave your home to go shopping or to school or to work you know you can return to your home and things. It is a simple as that.

I agree with Dr. Ibish (of the American Task Force on Palestine) that President Obama deserves credit for his efforts so far... I very much hope that Obama (& Ibish) continue to support the idea of empowering real freedom, justice, peace and progress in the Middle East.

Sincerely,
Anne Selden Annab

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my most recent letter to my elected leaders
5-14-2011

http://www.congress.org/congressorg/bio/userletter/?letter_id=6892754326&content_dir=congressorg
Dear President Obama,

The Palestinian refugees right of return is not only about what happened in 1948 and 1967 when huge numbers of Palestinian men, women and children were pushed out into forced exile.

The Palestinian refugees right of return is not simply about a distant yesterday.

The Palestinian refugees right of return is totally about today and tomorrow as Israel continues to usurp Palestinian land, rights, freedom and security in multiple ways.

Please do not let manipulative propagandists and clueless advisers push you into undermining universal basic human rights and a just and lasting peace in the Middle East... PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE do not ignore the vital importance of FULLY respecting the Palestinian refugees very real right to return to original homes and lands!

Obviously extremists and outsiders on both sides prefer to portray the Palestinian refugees right of return as something explosive, dangerous and subversive- and hate mongers do a great deal of harm to the idea by trying to turn it into a weapon and way to undermine international law and public support for a two state solution to once and for all end the Israel/Palestine conflict.

The real right of return is ALL about living by the Golden Rule & respecting universal basic human rights:

The real right of return is ALL about empowering peace with the rule of fair and just laws & true democracy here and now in today's world.

The real right of return is about working and living in peace- as a valued part of a diverse community... The real right of return is ALL about ending institutionalized bigotry, injustice and religious tyranny.

Open your mind and your heart and welcome home true return- not more forced transfer. Many, if not most Palestinian refugees will eventually chose to relocate to a real Palestinian state rather than be Israeli- but the refugees themselves need to be the ones that make that individual choice.

Don't let extremists, bigots, religious tyrants and useful idiots destroy civilization in the Holy Land: A fully secular two state solution with both Israel and Palestine doing all they can to honor and respect universal basic human rights (including but not limited to the Palestinian refugees right to return) to once and for ALL end the the Israel/Palestine conflict really is the best way forward- for everyone's sake.

Sincerely,
Anne Selden Annab

Annie's New Letters

Growing Gardens for Palestine

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SanFranChronicle

5-8-2011
posted online-
RE: Israel's obstacles to peace hurt U.S. by Richard North Patterson
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2011/05/08/INRD1JA1TN.DTL&ao=all

Dear Editor,

In Jerusalem alone, and only since 1967, one by one Israeli authorities have revoked the residency rights for more than 14,466 indigenous Palestinians in an ongoing effort to make Jerusalem "Jewish". Richard North Patterson under the pretense of advocating peace wants to help Israel continue on with this myopically cruel and counterproductive trend of investing in institutionalized bigotry by convincing us that the "Palestinians must accept that there will be no huge repatriation of Palestinian refugees and their descendants."

Any one who has seriously studied this problem knows that a refugee's right to return is a universal basic human right already very much honored and implemented since 1948. One obvious precedent is the fact that Jewish victims of the Nazi Holocaust have been reclaiming property usurped, as well as citizenship and the freedom to work and travel all through out Europe.

Today is Mother's Day here in America. I live in community and a country where it does not matter what my religion is, and I am free to travel across town to have brunch with my daughter in her home. Yesterday I was free to travel to another state to my son's college to cheer his team on. I do not have to worry about my home being usurped in my absence, or my daughter's home being bulldozed, or our residency rights being taken away. That is what the right of return is all about- the rule of fair and just laws empowering decency, dignity, peace, security, possibility and progress for ALL the people.

Currently religious extremists and hate mongers on both sides of the Israel/Palestine conflict are thriving, as are pessimists. Time will only make matters worse: A fully secular two state solution based on honestly respecting universal basic human rights (including but not limited to the Palestinian refugees' very real right to return to original homes and lands) to once and for all end the ongoing insanity and extremism of the Israel/Palestine conflict really is the best way forward- for everyone's sake.

Sincerely,
Anne Selden Annab

Annie's New Letters (& notes)

Growing Gardens for Palestine

letters & comments published March 2011- July 2009

2011-04-20T06:16:00.000-07:00

Economist 3-17-2011 comment i left online RE: Israel's Jewish identity. The state we're in
http://www.economist.com/blogs/newsbook/2011/03/israels_jewish_identity
http://www.economist.com/blogs/newsbook/2011/03/israels_jewish_identity#comment-861410

Religion should be a personal choice- not a government mandate. As an American, firmly believing that real democracy and true justice and equality depend on firmly respecting universal basic human rights- regardless of race, religion and gender, I am utterly horrified by Israel's bigoted refusal to respect the Palestinian refugees very real right to return to original homes and lands. Let Israel define its own Jewishness however it wants as long as Israel is not harming or harassing non-Jews: Forcing non-Jewish Palestinians into exile and/or poverty is clearly wrong- we should not even need UN Resolutions to point that out.

That said- I also think Palestinians world wide should be investing in the creation of a separate secular Palestinian state to live in peace and security alongside the nation state called Israel. No refugee should be forced to live in new Palestine, but every refugee should be free and empowered to make it their permanent home in hopes of helping to build a beautiful new real Palestine with a healthy economy and a peaceful progressive future for all the people.

Sincerely,
Anne Selden Annab

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LATimes 1/28/2011 comment i left online

EGYPT: Day of anger suggests a new protest scene driven by youth, free of ideology

[Dear Editor,]

Good to see this informative, accurate & helpful report by Amr Hamzawy of the Carnegie Middle East Center... Since the protests started it really has been fascinating to watch the twitter feeds and the actual protests (thanks to the internet).... I very much hope the people putting their lives on the line to protest in Egypt are able to help shape a better country and a better future for themselves and their families.

[Sincerely,]
Anne Selden Annab

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My letter PUBLISHED Daily Star RE “Arabs must end the ambiguity and hypocrisy when facing terrorism” 1-24-2011

http://www.dailystar.com.lb/letters.asp?edition_id=10#axzz1Bgm4ztis

“Arabs must end the ambiguity and hypocrisy when facing terrorism”

Jan. 14, 2011

Dear Editor

Dr. Ziad Asali and Dr. Hussein Ibish of ATFP (The American Task Force on Palestine) are wise in refusing to buy into the “clash of civilizations” worldview that so many Zionist ideologues and Islamists endorse.

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

Thus I applaud Asali and Ibish for noticing and pointing out that “In the U.S., the most vociferous proponents of the Arab and Muslim victimization narrative, those who blame the West, especially America or the white man for all the ills befalling the Arabs and Muslims, and those who most loudly advocate against the legal and societal harassment of America’s Arabs and Muslims, take full advantage, as they are entitled to, of the American system and find shelter in the comfort and security of its freedoms. The damage they do in being the loudest and most anti-American voices in the vulnerable Arab and Muslim immigrant communities, is to provide ammunition to the demagogues and profiteers of racism and peddlers of hate and fear of Arab and American Muslims, and to encourage the worst racist and chauvinistic tendencies in the U.S.”

It seems to me more people worldwide need to put more energy into remembering the basic Golden Rule and Article 1 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights: All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act toward one another in a spirit of brotherhood.

Anne Selden Annab
Mechanicsburg, United States

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January 7, 2011

Darwish & Dickinson

Mahmoud Darwish
& Emily Dickinson
side by side
on my shelves
Alphabetically
aesthetically matched
loner by loner
into a happily ever after of commingling

Poet to poet
meeting in me
– Anne Selden Annab

http://www.csmonitor.com/The-Culture/Poetry/2011/0107/Darwish-Dickinson

Growing Gardens for Palestine
original poem

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LATIMES 11/6/2010 comment i left online

CARNEGIE ENDOWMENT: Analysts welcomed by Babylon & Beyond

Anne Selden Annab
Interesting comments... so far none seem to see that the point of a think tank is to think. Thinking is a process, an ongoing process that yes might go wrong, but given time and positive influences might actually be very helpful. Why swat this away before we even see what it might have to offer? I look forward to seeing what the experts at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace have to say.

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/babylonbeyond/2010/11/carnegie-endowment-international-peace-muslim-middle-east.html

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Washington Post 10-29-2010 RE The Israeli-Palestinian settlement impasse

annieannab wrote:

Thank you for publishing Saeb Erakat's revealing article "The Israeli-Palestinian settlement impasse".
I very much hope that more people worldwide begin to understand the crucial importance of putting positive energy into ending the Israel/Palestine conflict once and for all- for everyone's sake.

A fully secular two state solution shaped with full respect for international law and full respect for basic human rights really is the best way forward.

10/29/2010 5:40:25 AM

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my comment RE Palestine Note's Top News » Heated debate on Israel as 'Jewish state' takes place on Twitter

Comments

Posted By Anne Selden Annab - 12 Sep 2010 6:03 AM

I suspect what Hussein actually said has been distorted in this article... but more importantly please note what really matters: "Palestinians have said they have already recognized the state of Israel in past declarations and in interim peace agreements that set the basis for establishing a state of their own in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.

"This recognition is done," Erekat said.

But explicit recognition of Israel as a Jewish state, Palestinian officials have said, could jeopardize the claims of Palestinian refugees, who fled or were forced to flee Arab-Israeli fighting, to a right of return to homes in what is now Israel." news.yahoo.com/.../us_palestinians_israel

from the recent news staory "Netanyahu silent on Obama settlement freeze remarks"

RE Palestine Note's Top News » Heated debate on Israel as 'Jewish state' takes place on Twitter
http://palestinenote.com/cs/blogs/topnews/archive/2010/09/11/heated-debate-on-israel-as-a-quot-jewish-state-quot-takes-place-on-twitter.aspx?CommentPosted=true#commentmessage

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August 26, 2010

My letter PUBLISHED Al-Ahram: Reasonable right

http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/2010/1013/letters.htm

Reasonable right

Sir-- Re 'Disemboweling the right of return' ( Al-Ahram Weekly, 19- 25 August) the right of return is a reasonable right and a universal basic human right clearly affirmed by international law. People worldwide regardless of race, religion, or nationality should simply support this basic human right regardless of race, religion or nationality.

Depicting Israel's refusal to respect this basic human right as a war between "the US and Israel" and Arabs and Muslims -- or however you want to help define the supposed clash of civilisations -- confuses the issue, and very much undermines potential sympathy for the very real plight of the Palestinians.

International cooperation is crucial in order to once and for all end the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and the very real suffering of countless innocent and increasingly vulnerable people.

Palestinian refugees need as many options as possible. Palestinians should not be forced to remain in impoverished refugee camps. Palestinians need to be free to move on collectively and individually, free to return to what is now Israel to become Israeli if that is what some want, or free to relocate to help build a sovereign Palestinian nation- state living in peace alongside Israel, or free simply to live elsewhere.

Anne Annab
Pennsylvania
USA

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Newsweek 7/24/2010 comment i posted online
RE: Don’t Boycott Israel,The very idea is repellent.
http://www.newsweek.com/2010/07/24/don-t-boycott-israel.html

Anne Selden Annab
The article "Don't Boycott Israel, The very idea is repellent" is wrong on so many counts it is hard to figure out which to point out- so I'll go straight to the most important point: For everyone's sake, I would much rather have compassionate strangers channel their energy into boycotting Israel than have more and more people (worldwide) convinced that violence is the only way to goad Israel into respecting international law and the Palestinians' basic human rights.

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Washington Post 8-24-2010 RE

How George Will muddled the Mideast picture

Regarding George F. Will's Aug. 19 op-ed column, " Skip the lecture on Israel's 'risks for peace ' ":

annieannab wrote:

Good to see this revealing letter by Amal Jadou regarding Palestine- and how George Will's op-ed got so much so very very wrong.

Hussein Ibish also has an excellent essay on the topic well worth reading :
Why does George Will hate Israelis so much?
http://www.ibishblog.com/blog/hibish/2010/08/22/why_does_george_will_hate_israelis_so_much

8/24/2010 11:35:58 AM

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Washinton Post 8/19/2010
RE: Skip the lecture on Israel's 'risks for peace' By George F. Will
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/08/18/AR2010081804691.html
comment left online

Dear Editor,

That lecture on "Israel's 'risks for peace' " is a polite way for more enlightened thinkers to say times have changed- get with the program: Israel, came to be at a time when Jim Crow and segregation thrived, but real democracy and equal rights did not.

One state or two or a billion- no modern nation should ever ever ever persecute, impoverish, expel and displace men, women and children in order to create and keep a favored demographic "balance".

One state or two or a billion, reasonable people should not be bullied into betraying the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, as well as countless UN Resolutions.

The key to peace- a just and lasting peace- is to start FULLY respecting the Palestinian refugees' inalienable legal and moral right to return to original homes and lands.

True return- not more forced transfer:

Refugees and the Right of Return

"Palestinian refugees must be given the option to exercise their right of return (as well as receive compensation for their losses arising from their dispossession and displacement) though refugees may prefer other options such as: (i) resettlement in third countries, (ii) resettlement in a newly independent Palestine (even though they originate from that part of Palestine which became Israel) or (iii) normalization of their legal status in the host country where they currently reside. What is important is that individual refugees decide for themselves which option they prefer – a decision must not be imposed upon them." http://www.plomission.us/index.php?page=core-issues-3

Sincerely,
Anne Selden Annab

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Economist comment i left online

Hamas thinks time is on its side

Jul 8th 2010 8:01 GMT

Time is on HAMAS's side, but is HAMAS really on Palestine's side? If Islamists manage to sabotage the current negotiations sovereign Israel wins more time to take more land and radicals win an avalanche of reasons to become even more radical.... Palestinians in exile will remain in exile, and rather than investing in secular civil institutions and ideas Palestinians remaining in the impoverished fragments of what was once historic Palestine will be forced to fund and empower either Islamic or Jewish efforts to win sympathy and support.

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The Guardian online comment RE A peaceful strategy for Palestinian independence by Ziad Asali
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2010/apr/19/palestine-peace-end-israeli-ocupation?commentpage=1#comment-4403403

AnneSelden

19 April 2010 12:20PM

The global information age has helped Palestine be heard, helped document and explain the very real plight and suffering of the children of historic Palestine, but it has also helped extremists, bigots and hate mongers bully people away from supporting reasonable and compassionate efforts to end the Israel/Palestine conflict.

Thus I am VERY glad to see Ziad Asali's wise and well informed "A peaceful strategy for Palestinian independence".

Asali's approach is all about ushering in a Golden Rule Peace for the Holy Land. I very much hope that the people of Palestine and more of their supporters are able to channel their energies and their advocacy into positive projects for Palestine and positive attitudes towards shaping a just and lasting peace... for everyone's sake.

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The Guardian 4-17-2010
RE: The Palestinian Authority's skin-deep makeover, The Palestinian government's latest PR drive looks like little more than a tactical attempt to dispel its 'collaborator' image
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2010/apr/17/palestinian-authority-israeli-puppet
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2010/apr/17/palestinian-authority-israeli-puppet?showallcomments=true#end-of-comments

Dear Sir,

If you want to talk about PR perhaps you need to be noticing that Palestinians are free to be rude to and about America- and Americans are free to walk away in disgust. Yesterday Hamas executed two "collaborators". Palestinians are of course free to elect Hamas and believe that Hamas tactics are their ticket to victory, and "pro-Palestine" activists here and there are free to call anyone and everyone a "collaborator" if they want. Furthermore Israelis and Palestinians and pundits worldwide are totally free to sabotage efforts to build a real Palestinian state, but I for one would rather not.... No matter what happens in the end there are either negotiations- or nothing left to negotiate about.

I think, for everyone's sake, that it is crucially important to support a fully secular, carefully negotiated two state solution to end the Israel/Palestine conflict ASAP. One by one we need to be empowering reasonable arguments and initiatives that help make Palestine a political reality rather than a rally cry for hate mongers, religious idiots, bigots and crooks who thrive on perpetuating the very real plight of the Palestinians.

Sincerely,
Anne Selden Annab

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USAToday 4/2/2010
http://blogs.usatoday.com/oped/2010/04/letters-as-sovereign-state-israel-has-right-to-disagree-with-us-.html#more

Policies create poverty

Anne Selden Annab - Mechanicsburg, Pa.

Good to see DeWayne Wickham's probing but polite commentary on Israel. It really is rather disturbing to find out that "while unemployment in Israel dropped to 7.4% in the last quarter of 2009, joblessness during that period in the U.S. hovered around 10%." In addition, contrast that to unemployment for Palestinians, and the difference is even more jarring. According to the CIA's World Factbook, unemployment in Gaza is 40%, and unemployment in the West bank is 19%.

Israel's Jews-preferred policies in Israel proper as well as the illegally occupied Palestinian territories have been creating poverty and despair for countless native non-Jewish Palestinian families and communities for decades. That alone should be reason enough for America to be firm about supporting a fully secular two-state solution to end the conflict.

Peace and Palestine need to be a priority — for everyone's sake.

~

original letter

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Washington Post

Comment on: Is there safety -- or justice -- in barriers? at 3/27/2010 11:03 AM EDT

Grateful for crumbs, I was very glad to see Linda Gradstein's book review... but I cannot help but wonder how someone else a tad less beguiled by Israel might have reviewed the book 'A Wall in Palestine' by Rene Backmann:

Missing from Gradstein's analysis was reference to highly relevant fact that the wall is illegal according to the International Court of Justice (ICJ).... and missing from her analysis is reference to at least some of all the many ways that sovereign Israel has been been systematically usurping land, rights, freedom, and peace from the native non-Jewish Palestinians- on both sides of that monstrous Israeli made Apartheid wall.

Full disclosure has to be part of the process of heading towards a just and lasting peace for Israel and Palestine- and for everyone's sake we need to be conscientiously and compassionately advocating full respect for international law and basic human rights across the board. That includes doing all we can to support formal diplomatic negotiations and a two state solution to once and for all end the contentious Israel/Palestine conflict.

Anne Selden Annab

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The Guardian RE Huseein Ibish's Netanyahu's reluctant gift to Palestine: US pressure on Binyamin Netanyahu has not achieved a settlement freeze, but it has delivered real gains to Palestinians

AnneSelden

24 March 2010 1:53PM

Delighted to see ATFP's Hussein Ibish pop up in your pages. I have great admiration for the American Task Force on Palestine (ATFP) because of their tireless efforts to take Palestine seriously- and their proven ability to think carefully and intelligently about recent events. They address crucial issues and time and time again come to very sound and reasonable conclusions.

Ibish's analysis is correct- and I hope that Palestine and its many supporters do not squander this opportunity to get on with the negotiations necessary to create a real Palestinian state.

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Washington Post 3-9-2010 online comment i left RE Editorial- From proximity to peace? http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/03/08/AR2010030803612.html
News- Biden visits Middle East; Israel and Palestinians agree to indirect talks http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/03/08/AR2010030801989.html

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/03/08/AR2010030803612_Comments.html

annieannab wrote:

Times have changed- in 1991 few Americans knew much at all about Palestine, but we now live in a 24/7 world, with The Global Information Age and the internet enabling us to see and understand the very real plight and suffering of the Palestinians.

Even if our own mainstream newspapers are reluctant to give full coverage to the situation it is easy as can be to read international newspapers and see you-tube videos... and to closely examine testimony given at Senate Hearings such as the recent testimony given by Dr. Ziad Asali of the American Task Force on Palestine regarding “Middle East Peace: Ground Truths, Challenges Ahead” for the US Senate Committee on Foreign Relations. http://www.americantaskforce.org/in_media/pr/2010/03/04/1267678800

Now is not the time for cynicism- now is the time to start believing in peace- and Palestine... a real Palestine living in peace alongside Israel.

Our own focus should be to do all we can to help empower all who endorse and help make real a secular two state solution in line with the Arab Peace Initiative "Emanating from the conviction of the Arab countries that a military solution to the conflict will not achieve peace or provide security for the parties..." http://anniesnewletters.blogspot.com/2009/09/arab-peace-initiative.html

A Golden Rule Peace- fully respecting international laws and basic human rights, including but not limited to the Palestinian refugees inalienable legal and natural right to return to original homes and lands: A secular two state solution is the only solution for every one's sake, and negotiations on how best to respect and implement all the many international laws and resolutions already in place need all our support. http://anniesnewletters.blogspot.com/2009/11/from-growing-gardens-for-palestine-we.html

Militants, religious zealots, and petty tyrants on both sides want to sabotage peace and undermine the peace talks. It behooves us all to refuse to empower the hate mongers and troublemakers who benefit from the continuation of the Israel/Palestine conflict.

Obama is only one of many Americans, and America is only one of many various nations, who can rise up in dignity for dignity to help create positive momentum for a just and lasting peace in the Middle East... for everyone's sake.

3/9/2010 6:10:29 AM

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Tuesday, March 2, 2010

My letter PUBLISHED CSM 2-1-2010 Palestinian resistance

Print Subscriptions Subscribe (US & Canada)

Electronic Subscriptions Subscribe

Letters to the Editor

http://www.csmonitor.com/Commentary/Letters-to-the-Editor/2010/0301/Letters-to-the-Editor

March 1, 2010

Palestinian resistance

I was delighted to see the headline "Peaceful Palestinian resistance is paying off." Peaceful Palestinian resistance is an often-overlooked everyday reality. One could do a whole series on the topic. It is certainly a subject worth pursuing and a positive philosophy worth respecting for Palestine's sake.

Anne Selden Annab
Mechanicsburg, Pa.

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LATimes- my comment online regarding Letter on Muslim radical roils GOP Senate race Website posts text contradicting Tom Campbell's claim of writing on behalf of donor Sami Al-Arian before 9/11.

Ten years is a long time ago indeed, a very long time to remember events- or even to have the same perspective on them. Hindsight is after all 20-20. But in any case, regardless of what he heard or thought then Campbell's letter dated Jan. 21, 2002, was clearly written long before Al-Arian admitted guilt in a court of law in 2006....KUDOS to Tom Campbell for wanting to believe the best of Al-Arian in 2002, and KUDOS to Campbell for upholding the idea of 'innocent until proven guilty'.... FYI AL-Arian was not even arrested until 2003.

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-senate9-2010mar09,0,7419294.story

response to "soundthinker"... YES KUDOS TO CAMPBELL for refusing to be a
bigot- for giving Al-Arian the benefit of the doubt at a time when not
all the facts were in and Al-Arian had not been charged with any crime-
there was no warrant out for his arrest. Many hate mongers were bashing
any and all Muslims in response to 9-11. Campbell did the right thing at
the right time, helping to calm down the hate rather than adding to it.

I was horrified and sickened by the terror attacks of 9-11- and I remain
horrified and sickened by Al-Quada and Osama bin Laden's demented quest
to wreck havoc and harm innocent people everywhere they can.  I have
also noticed that for all the flag burning and anti-America hate
mongering rhetoric Islamist terrorists spew, Muslims in the Middle East
are the main victims of Islamist violence.

Right now there is a huge international push to end to the
Israel/Palestine conflict once and for all with a fair and just
negotiated settlement. Many good and decent people of all religions and
many different nationalities are rising to the challenge of stopping the
hate by supporting fair and just laws and real democracy for both Israel
and Palestine- a secular two state solution... and a lasting peace, a
compassionate peace and a realistic peace that refuses to allow
religious tyranny or terrorism of any type ruin the lives of innocent
people.

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-senate9-2010mar09,0,7419294.story

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Daily Star

http://www.dailystar.com.lb/letters.asp?edition_id=10

Hussein Ibish
“A Palestinian state must be secular”
February 8, 2010

It was excellent to read Hussein Ibish’s commentary. I very much admire
the American Task Force on Palestine as they steadfastly inspire
interest in a real Palestine – a sovereign Palestine, a peaceful
Palestine, a reasonable Palestine where real Palestinians can live and
work free of Israeli occupation.

Anne Selden Annab
Pennsylvania, United States

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Washington Post

Comment on: Palestinian premier gives a key address in Israel at 2/3/2010 12:09 PM EST

Excellent to see these efforts at building a real Palestinian state publicized and empowered by people who take Palestine and peace and progress seriously...

In PAVING THE WAY FOR PALESTINIAN STATEHOOD Ziad Asali, president & founder, American Task Force on Palestine wisely states: "I think in general, the Palestinian and Israeli political leadership have to be convinced, regardless of the package that needs to be put together, of this: don’t do anybody any favors, do your own country a favor, it is in your interest to negotiate"
http://www.americantaskforce.org/interviews_and_speeches/interviews/2010/02/02/1265086800 ...

The Arab Peace Initiative http://anniesnewletters.blogspot.com/2009/09/arab-peace-initiative.html is an amazing and unprecedented opportunity for all to move forward in a more positive and progressive direction... for everyone's sake...

The children of historic Palestine need freedom- and a future: "Part of a line of generations experiencing the largest and longest-standing case of forced displacement in the world, Palestinian refugee youth play in the leftovers of ineffectual UN Resolutions. Resolution 194 affirms that, “refugees wishing to return to their homes and live at peace with their neighbours should be permitted to do so at the earliest practicable date.” This was stated in 1948. It’s been 62 years, and the “earliest practicable date” for people to rightfully return to their homes has not been determined" Refugee Youth: Living in Israel’s Punch Line by Hajr Al-Ali for MIFTAH http://www.miftah.org/Display.cfm?DocId=21624&CategoryId=13 ...

Left unresolved the Israel/Palestine conflict is already on its way to becoming a cruel "religious struggle between bearded fanatics on both sides about the will of God and holy places" Hussein Ibish on the Fantasy World of One-Staters http://jeffreygoldberg.theatlantic.com/archives/2009/11/hussein_ibish_on_the_fantasy_w.php ...

Naysayers, cynics, hate mongers and useful idiots on both sides seek to sabotage the idea of Palestine and peace....

I'd rather notice and celebrate the beautiful voices for Palestine, honest voices and poetic voices- and visionaries & realists who understand the crucial importance of ending the Israel/Palestine conflict.... people with open minds and open hearts and the ability to see the big picture- and the importance of work: "When I came to America, I realized that there was a big picture, and I needed to study it, so I studied journalism and focused on the Middle East. I kept reading until I finally could see things from a much larger perspective. That was so freeing, and suddenly things started to make sense. A more whole and meaningful picture emerged about the situation of the Palestinians and what was happening to us. And then I could see what had happened to the Jews and how that led to the situation in Palestine. " 'Tasting the Sky': An Interview With Ibtisam Barakat http://www.thenation.com/doc/20070618/bennett ...

"We have suffered a lot and have been forced to leave with no document in hand after living 60 years in Iraq. We just want a place that welcomes us and recognizes us as human beings."" Abu Mohanned, a Palestinian refugee quoted in End of long ordeal for Palestinian refugees as desert camp closes http://www.unhcr.org/4b67064c6.html

Anne Selden Annab

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The Guardian RE Palestine's impossible dream
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2010/feb/03/palestinian-territories-gaza?commentpage=3#comment-1520902

AnneSelden

3 February 2010 6:04PM

Israel has been freely building settlements all through out the illegally occupied territories for decades & Palestinian American activists heading supposedly pro-Palestine organizations here in America are inspired to diss a Palestinian effort to build a Palestinian community in Palestine for Palestinians?!!!

Knocking support away from Palestine is easy as can be, and apparently many 'academics' find it entertaining to do so... but I find such an approach horrifying because I know beyond the shadow of a doubt that the children of Palestine need real hope- and a real Palestine.

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LATimes online comment 1/29/2010
RE: ISRAEL: 'Avatar' and the Palestinian blues

"ISRAEL: 'Avatar' and the Palestinian blues"... Good headline! And what a fascinating story. Obviously the Israel/Palestine conflict left unresolved will continue to create its own conflicts within conflicts within conflicts.

Face the facts- Israel, with many loyal citizens, is already on the path towards progress. Palestine needs to be too.... Big picture is there needs to be a Palestinian state, and the Palestinian state that needs to be needs to be its own separate fully functioning, sovereign viable state with its own state building citizens inspired to empower Palestine, progress and peace for Palestine's sake.

In hoping for the best I can not help but visualize the perfect balance of an I-Ching symbol: Within Arab Palestine there will be some Jews, and within Jewish Israel there will be some Arabs. This I-Ching visual is a gentle metaphor, not a call for forced transfer, injustice and even more bigotry: The actual numbers of which are where do not matter- what matters is full respect for the rule of fair and just laws- and full respect for basic human rights, for everyone's sake.

Posted by: Anne Selden Annab | January 29, 2010 at 02:59 PM

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The Guardian RE The separation wall

AnneSelden

23 December 2009 10:47AM

Austen Ivereigh did an excellent job explaining how exactly Israel's monstrous wall strangles Bethlehem.... thank you for publishing his essay.

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11/10/2009
Foreign Policy comment I left online regarding "Good Riddance, Abbas" by Saree Makdisi
http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2009/11/06/good_riddance_abbas#comment-89620

Good Riddance, Abbas by Saree Makdisi

I find it mind boggling that right now, with a huge international push to take negotiations for a two state solution seriously - including "Achievement of a just solution to the Palestinian refugee problem to be agreed upon in accordance with U.N. General Assembly Resolution 194." The Arab Peace Initiative http://www.al-bab.com/Arab/docs/league/peace02.htm that pro-Palestinian academics here in America opt to bash Abbas and swat away support for a two state solution.

Yes Israel continues to expropriate Palestinian land, bulldoze Palestinian homes, and build exclusively Jewish settlements in violation of international law... so how exactly is a one state solution which erases the illegal occupation aspect of Israel's Jews-preferred settlement projects and investments going to play out ?

Will a one state solution dominated by Zionists who know how to empower their leadership and how to play every story to get international support for their Jews-preferred plans really welcome home the Palestinians refugees? According to reports I've read many elderly Holocaust survivors in Israel live in dire poverty- and yet magical thinking convinces us that Palestinian refugees returning to what is now Israel will be better off?

Yes, I really do believe with every fiber of my being that the Palestinian refugees right of return to original homes and lands is an inalienable legal, moral and natural right- but I also believe in the importance of supporting an option called Palestine with all the positive energy and support we can muster: Not all Palestinian refugees will want to live as second class citizens in Israel and it simply is not fair to force them to become Israelis.

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Washington Post

Comment on: Ramallah's road map to statehood at 11/19/2009 8:26 AM EST

I was startled to see the online headline "In Palestine, a ray of light A state-building plan that deserves the endorsement of the U.S" Kudos to Ignatius for noticing Palestine in such a positive way.

I first heard of the Fayad plan from the ATFP- The American Task Force on Palestine. ( ATFP is dedicated to advocating that it is in the American national interest to promote an end to the conflict in the Middle East through a negotiated agreement that provides for two states - Israel and Palestine - living side by side in peace and security. The Task Force was established in 2003 to provide an independent voice for Palestinian-Americans and their supporters and to promote peace. AFTP’s Board of Directors is made up of a large group of noted Palestinian-Americans who agree with these principles. http://www.americantaskforce.org/about_us )

"This is a very powerful way of effectively resisting the occupation without doing anything violent. Israelis may fool themselves into thinking that this is just economic peace, but it's not; it's Palestinians preparing for independence." Hussein Ibish http://jeffreygoldberg.theatlantic.com/archives/2009/11/hussein_ibish_on_the_fantasy_w.php

Citizenship is a right- and a responsibility: I very much like the idea of putting energy into positive efforts to support a real Palestine- a firm facts on the ground Palestine where Palestinians (and their supporters) can focus in on what needs to be done in a day to day way to help Palestinians stay on their land right now- and to help establish an independent, sovereign, and viable Palestinian state as soon as possible... for everyone's sake.

Anne Selden Annab

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The Guardian RE Abbas's mixed messages 09 November 09 11:36

AnneSelden

9 November 2009 11:36AM

Thank you for publishing Hussein Ibish's thoughtful and sensible "Abbas's mixed messages."

Kudos to Abbas and Palestine- and even Ibish, for persisting despite the many obstacles, frustrations, misinformation campaigns, and insults that arise from the Israel/Palestine conflict.

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my comment left online 11-7-9 Boston Globe RE Jeff Jacoby's At Brandeis, Israel's guilt and innocence on display
RE: At Brandeis, Israel's guilt and innocence on display
http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/editorial_opinion/oped/articles/2009/11/07/at_brandeis_israels_guilt_and_innocence_on_display/

Dear Editor,

Jeff Jacoby wants America to believe that Israel is a law-abiding country. America needs to know that Israel stands in long term and flagrant violation of international law on multiple counts. The recent Gaza War is only a small part of a much larger scheme to harass, displace, and impoverish Palestinian men, women and children:

Look at Jerusalem: ""The Israeli government is depriving Palestinians of the right to live in their own homes, in neighborhoods where many have lived for generations," said Sarah Leah Whitson, Middle East director at Human Rights Watch. "Basing this cruel destruction of people's homes on unfairly applied building regulations is a thinly veiled legal façade to force them to move out."" Israel: Stop East Jerusalem home demolitions
http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/rwb.nsf/db900SID/DKAN-7XJQUX?OpenDocument&rc=3&emid=ACOS-635PFR

Look at religious tolerance: "Israel issued regulations for the identification, preservation and guarding of Jewish sites only. Many Christian and Muslim sites are said to be neglected, inaccessible or at risk of exploitation by real estate entrepreneurs and local authorities.

The report makes it clear that practices that have become routine in Israel are considered unacceptable in enlightened countries and should be corrected." U.S. State Department: Israel is not a tolerant society http://www.americantaskforce.org/daily_news_article/2009/11/06/1257483600_6

Look at that monstrous Apartheid "security" wall: ""On 9 November 1989, the Berlin Wall came crumbling down in two days that inspired hope for a world in which walls could no longer keep people apart," a statement from the Popular Committee in Bil'in read. "Today, a wall twice as high and five times as long is being built by Israel in the West Bank, in blunt contempt of international law, to separate Palestinians from their lands."" Bil'in protesters mark anniversary of Berlin wall fall http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=237816

Look at the longest running refugee crisis in the world today- and the very real plight of the Palestinians as Israel continues to violate their basic human rights, including but not limited to the refugees inalienable, legal, moral, and natural right to return to original homes and lands as clearly affirmed by international law since 1948.

We need to be looking for non-violent viable and just solutions to the multiple crises created by Israel. Ignoring or whitewashing Israel's sovereign crimes only makes matters worse as extremists, bigotry, contempt and terrorism world wide are all empowered by the current status quo.

Sincerely,
Anne Selden Annab

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New York Times blogs 11/6/2009
my comment posted online RE Daoud Kuttab's Room for Debate blog "Abbas Has Not Resigned"
http://roomfordebate.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/11/05/abbas-makes-his-move/#daoud

Dear Editor,

I very much appreciated Palestinian journalist Daoud Kuttab's Room for Debate blog "Abbas Has Not Resigned". Keeping his eye on the ball, Kuttab adeptly brings up many relevant points and explains crucially important factors, such as the fact that "Mr. Abbas laid out his own red lines: an independent state on the 67 borders including East Jerusalem and a fair solution to the refugee problem."

Kuttab also states that "The Palestinian leader has also been kicked around by radical Palestinians and the Islamic Hamas movement for his unwavering faith in a peace process that seems to be politics as usual in yet another spineless U.S. administration." I know that radicals do tend to perceive the U.S. as spineless, but I think they are very wrong. I also think they are wrong to ridicule and reject the current push to settle the Palestine/Israel conflict with negotiations now, based on the Arab Peace Initiative's clear and very easy to understand goals.

Keeping things in perspective, we need to be noticing that, as Dr. Hussein Ibish summed up so succinctly in The Atlantic's recent Jeffrey Goldberg Interview: Hussein Ibish on the Fantasy World of One-Staters): "Twenty-one years ago, there was no contact ever between the U.S. and the PLO. No contact, zero, and no Palestinian statehood is the consensus American foreign policy and it is a national security priority under Obama. People in the House, key positions like the chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee, Howard Berman, chair of the Subcommittee on the Middle East, Gary Ackerman, Nita Lowey on Appropriations - all of them Jewish American members of Congress, stalwart supporters of Israel, and all of them committed to peace based on two states."
http://jeffreygoldberg.theatlantic.com/archives/2009/11/hussein_ibish_on_the_fantasy_w.php

I'd say a Harvest moon is glowing- and it is time to glean.

Sincerely,
Anne Selden Annab

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The Guardian RE If you build it, the state will come 05 September 09 07:19

AnneSelden

5 September 2009 7:19PM

I do very much hope this "If you build it, the state will come" idea catches on to help infuse Palestine with the positive energy and attention it needs in order to survive- and thrive.

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Boston Globe 11-1-09 comment i posted online RE Clinton hints at shift toward Israeli stance, Calls concessions on settlements ‘unprecedented’; Abbas rejects bid
http://www.boston.com/news/world/middleeast/articles/2009/11/01/clinton_hints_at_shift_toward_israeli_stance/

Dear Editor,

Nudging a just and lasting peace into place is not easy, but it is a necessary step for all involved. Keep your eye on the ball: The Arab Peace Initiative

1. Requests Israel to reconsider its policies and declare that a just peace is its strategic option as well.

2. Further calls upon Israel to affirm:

I- Full Israeli withdrawal from all the territories occupied since 1967, including the Syrian Golan Heights, to the June 4, 1967 lines as well as the remaining occupied Lebanese territories in the south of Lebanon.

II- Achievement of a just solution to the Palestinian refugee problem to be agreed upon in accordance with U.N. General Assembly Resolution 194.

III- The acceptance of the establishment of a sovereign independent Palestinian state on the Palestinian territories occupied since June 4, 1967 in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, with East Jerusalem as its capital.

3. Consequently, the Arab countries affirm the following:

I- Consider the Arab-Israeli conflict ended, and enter into a peace agreement with Israel, and provide security for all the states of the region.

II- Establish normal relations with Israel in the context of this comprehensive peace.

Forever more all the world will know how reasonable and right the Arab Peace Initiative has been- let us hope that Israel embraces this golden opportunity to do the right thing... for everyone's sake

Sincerely,
Anne Selden Annab

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comment i left online RE Washington Post 10-24-09
RE: 'Institution building' in Palestine,'The state will happen' Lally Weymouth's exclusive interview with Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/10/23/AR2009102303593.html

Dear Editor,

Palestinians are wise to simply begin the process of making Palestine a reality rather than waiting for justice, peace and Palestine to magically appear... and thank you for publishing this interview focused in on non-violent Palestinian response to the past 61 years of Israel/Palestine conflict.

Sincerely,
Anne Selden Annab

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Washington Post

Comment on: Talking It Out in the Middle East at 9/24/2009 8:25 AM EDT

"It’s become more clear than ever that President Obama is not going to drop this issue or back down in the face of Israeli stonewalling on settlements. He’s not going to be dragged into an endless series of dead ends either." Hussein Ibish : Obama's UN speech greatly strengthens the Palestinian position in negotiations
http://www.ibishblog.com/blog/hibish/2009/09/23/obamas_un_speech_greatly_strengthens_palestinian_position_negotiations

I very much hope that the positive momentum for creating a just and lasting peace continues. Yes there are many naysayers and cynics eager to sabotage progress- but heavens, in stark contrast to them Obama's speech yesterday was TOTALLY inspiring and invigorating: "Nothing is easier than blaming others for our troubles, and absolving ourselves of responsibility for our choices and our actions. Anybody can do that. Responsibility and leadership in the 21st century demand more."
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=113117230&ps=rs

Accountably: We the people really can help keep the conversation on track- knowing that it is good to see this very reasonable letter "Talking It Out in the Middle East".

Anne Selden Annab

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comment I left online RE Washington Post 9-20-2009 Settling for Failure in the Middle East by Stephen M. Walt
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/09/18/AR2009091801146.html
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/09/18/AR2009091801146_Comments.html

Dear Editor,

Many seek to sabotage and undermine peace and progress in the Middle East. I'd rather not. I'd rather err on the side of hope- and a realistic call to end the religious extremism and terrorism created in and by the Arab/Israel conflict.

Stephen M. Walt did all involved a huge favor with his revealing book "The Israel Lobby and U.S. Foreign Policy". It is good of him to step up now too, with a plea to get people to pressure Israel to stop oppressing and displacing Palestinians.

Walt points out that there is "a new pro-Israel organization, J Street, which is committed to the two-state solution and firmly behind Obama." To be fair, I wish he had also pointed out that there is a serious and very professional pro-Palestine organization which is very much committed to the two-state solution and firmly behind Obama: The American Task for for Palestine, founded in 2003 to provide "an independent voice for Palestinian-Americans and their supporters and to promote peace."

According to their very informative website the "ATFP is strictly opposed to all acts of violence against civilians no matter the cause and no matter who the victims or perpetrators may be. The Task Force advocates the development of a Palestinian state that is democratic, pluralistic, non-militarized and neutral in armed conflicts. "" http://www.americantaskforce.org/

ATFP's founder, Ziad Asali, a Palestinian who was born in Jerusalem recently said : "The developing American and international consensus regarding the two-state solution has fundamentally transformed the Palestinian-Israeli conflict from a zero-sum equation to what can and should be a win-win dynamic." http://www.americantaskforce.org/what%E2%80%99s_wrong_onestate_agenda_html

I like that.. and I hope my elected leaders are listening.

Sincerely,
Anne Selden Annab

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Al-Ahram published letter 9-17-2009
http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/2009/965/letters.htm

One state deplored

Sir-- Khaled Amayreh is way off base with his op-ed 'Mocking Obama' ( Al-Ahram Weekly, 10-16 September). While the world thought Obama would champion justice, Israel has proven that his words are meaningless. It's a shame to see such a talented and dynamic Palestinian writer dedicate so much energy towards undermining Obama and the huge international push for a two-state solution. Former US president Jimmy Carter did not endorse the one-state agenda at all. In fact, he pointed out that it was a "deplorable" alternative. Carter wisely pointed out that the one-state agenda "is obviously the goal of Israeli leaders who insist on colonising the West Bank and East Jerusalem."

Anne Selden Annab
Pennsylvania
USA

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PUBLISHED letter the NY Daily News 9-11-2009

Somebody has to do it

Mechanicsburg, Pa.: Re "At the UN's new site, a worldwide web of anti-Israel bias" (NYDailyNews.com, Sept. 7): If America's Fourth Estate had more fully covered the plight of Palestinians, the UN would not need to dedicate so much of its Web site to cataloguing Israel's continued cruelty toward its non-Jewish population.

Anne Selden Annab

Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/opinions/letters/index.html?page=1#ixzz0Qmz9C6EO

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online comment- Seattle Times 9-13-9
RE: Many American Jews support President Obama's proposed settlement freeze
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/opinion/2009849717_guest14silverstein.html
http://community.seattletimes.nwsource.com/reader_feedback/public/profile.php?user=2698837

Dear Editor,

Good to hear that Many American Jews support President Obama's proposed settlement freeze !

All Americans really should be concerned about the situation in the Middle East- and what tomorrow might bring: "In the four decades after 1948, when 70,000 Palestinian Arabs were forced to flee Jaffa and not allowed to return, the once grand town became a backwater." Mark Levine http://english.aljazeera.net/focus/2009/09/20099892214748263.html

"The 1967 Palestinian exodus refers to the flight of around 280,000 to 325,000 Palestinians out of the territories occupied by Israel during and in the aftermath of the Six-Day War including the demolition of the Palestinian villages of Imwas, Yalo, and Beit Nuba, Surit, Beit Awwa, Beit Mirsem, Shuyukh, Jiftlik, Agarith and Huseirat and the "emptying" of the refugee camps of ʿAqabat Jabr and ʿEin Sulṭān." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1967_Palestinian_exodus

The Israel/Palestine conflict can easily and quickly become much more monstrous... Already a huge amount of damage has been done, with the children of Palestine bearing the brunt of the pain. Full respect for basic human rights as well as international law will help empower serious negotiations and genuine diplomacy whereby the foundations for a just and lasting peace and progress can emerge for all the people of that very troubled region.

Dr. Hussein Ibish in his newly published book What's Wrong with the One-State Agenda? (available for sale- or free online download http://www.americantaskforce.org/in_media/pr/2009/08/28/1251432000 ) explains in compelling detail why ending the occupation and peace with Israel, while difficult to achieve and thus far elusive, really is the best way forward.

Sincerely,
Anne Selden Annab

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LATimes 9/10/2009

http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/commentary/la-oew-kuttab10-2009sep10-gb,0,1408613.graffitiboard

Discuss Daoud Kuttab's Sept. 10 Op-Ed

Proactive and positive is definitely the best direction for anyone who is serious about achieving an actual goal: I very much hope the people of Palestine put their collective energy into creating the affirmative attitude, the institutions and the good will that they need in order to survive.
Anne Selden Annab @ 6:27 AM PDT, Sep 10, 2009

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The Guardian 9/7/2009 comment i left online RE If you build it, the state will come | Ziad Asali | Comment is free | guardian.co.uk
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2009/sep/04/independent-palestine?commentpage=1

05 Sep 09, 7:19pm

I do very much hope this "If you build it, the state will come" idea catches on to help infuse Palestine with the positive energy and attention it needs in order to survive- and thrive.

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Washington Post my online comment published 9-5-2009

RE: Jimmy Carter's The Elders' View Of the Middle East
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/09/04/AR2009090402968.html
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/09/04/AR2009090402968_Comments.html

Dear Editor,

>From afar, it is easy to be convinced that a one state solution will inevitably bring justice and peace and all the many the benefits of real democracy to the oppressed and displaced people of historic Palestine.

But will it?

It is hard to imagine that things could become worse- but they can.

Carter, stepping up to bring attention to the importance of supporting a two state solution is wise to point out "A more likely alternative to the present debacle is one state, which is obviously the goal of Israeli leaders who insist on colonizing the West Bank and East Jerusalem."

Already the Palestinian refugee crisis is the largest, longest running refugee crisis in the world today. How many more Palestinians will Israel impoverish and displace because as things are today it is easily able to do exactly that?

Hussein Ibish recently explained on his Ibishblog why he wrote his newest book What's Wrong with the One-State Agenda? "I am not an optimist who thinks it will be easy or inevitable to end the occupation and secure peace between Israel and Palestine, and I have no illusions about the difficulties and the considerable prospects for failure. However, I also have no illusions about the alternative, which is not a single, democratic state for all the Arabs and Jews between the river and the sea, or, for that matter, a nonviolent, Gandhian campaign of civil disobedience. The practical alternative is continued conflict, violence and occupation in an increasingly religious context that intensifies the process of turning a conflict that is difficult to resolve into one that is completely impervious to any solution. Neither Palestinians nor Israelis, nor their friends in the United States and around the world, can afford to believe that the other side is going to be vanquished, capitulate or simply abandon its national agenda and interests." http://www.ibishblog.com/

Sincerely,
Anne Selden Annab

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Wash Post- comment i posted online RE: No Incremental Steps To Peace, Saudi Says, Foreign Minister Puts Onus on Israel
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/07/31/AR2009073103764.html
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/07/31/AR2009073103764_Comments.html

annieannab wrote:

The first photos and films depicting the very real plight of the Palestinian refugees were black and white. The global information age now provides everyone who bothers to look with full color real time proof as well as a plethora of compelling stories depicting the Palestinian suffering... Palestinians today continue to be cruelly oppressed by Israel- and pushed out into forced exile.

61 long painful years of watching Israel use both war and peace to usurp Palestinian land, rights, life and peace- is it any wonder that incrementalism and the step-by-step approach is correctly perceived as counterproductive!

On December 10, 1948 the General Assembly of the United Nations adopted and proclaimed the Universal Declaration of Human Rights: "All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights.They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood."

A comprehensive resolution (including full respect for basic human rights- including but not limited to the Palestinian refugees inalienable legal, natural and sacred right to return as clearly affirmed by UN Resolution 194 in 1948) is the only way to create a stable and lasting peace with security for all the men, women and children in that very troubled region... and I am very much hoping that part of that comprehensive resolution is the clear message that bigotry and religious extremism- and terror (both institutional as well as individual) totally undermine freedom, justice and peace for everyone everywhere.

8/1/2009 8:58:41 AM

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Philadelphia Inquirer 7/29/2009 my online comment RE: Trudy Rubin's Worldview: Shoring up faith in peace, Obama needs both Israel and the Palestinians to believe it is possible.
http://www.philly.com/inquirer/opinion/20090729_Worldview__Shoring_up_faith_in_peace.html
http://www.philly.com/inquirer/opinion/20090729_Worldview__Shoring_up_faith_in_peace.html?posted=y&viewAll=y#comments

Rubin approaches the Palestine/Israel conflict as if all things are equal between two sovereign states, rather than realizing that Zionist Israel's extensive investments in institutionalized bigotry (and religious extremism) have very much shaped the situation that we have today:

"According to statistics gathered by B'Tselem, an Israeli human rights organisation, over 8,000 Palestinian Jerusalemites have lost their residency. In 2006 alone, 1,360 Palestinians from Jerusalem had their residency ID cards revoked." Daoud Kuttab: Deflating Netanyahu's Jerusalem Claims http://www.huffingtonpost.com/daoud-kuttab/deflating-netanyahus-jeru_b_245304.html

"I lost everything when they demolished my house. If I had equal rights, I wouldn't be in this mess. Jewish communities get building permits easily. They have electricity, water, sewage, street lights and parks. How come they live like that and we don't?" Palestinian Sami Salameh quoted in the BBC News article Israeli Arabs struggle for land http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/8164755.stm

61 years and counting as Palestinians are besieged- oppressed- and displaced. "Peace" projects that sustain this Apartheid status quo only give Israel more time to impoverish and displace more Palestinians.... that's the real core of the conflict. Jews worldwide can opt in and become Israeli with Jewish "religious scholars" and many a propaganda campaign generously subsidized by the state, while Palestinians are pushed out- and vilified because they dare object.

Sincerely,
Anne Selden Annab

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My letter (Online comment) regarding Wash Post 7-26-09 U.S. Envoy Visits Israel After Talks in Damascus
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/07/26/AR2009072602821.html
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/07/26/AR2009072602821_Comments.html

Dear Editor,

In order to be stable and sustainable, a comprehensive peace in the Middle East must include three main points:

Israel as a sovereign power must comply with the precepts of international law and Universal Principles of Human Rights by

A. Ending its occupation and colonization of all Arab lands and dismantling the Wall;

B. Recognizing the fundamental rights of the Arab-Palestinian citizens of Israel to full equality; and

C. Respecting, protecting and promoting the rights of Palestinian refugees to return to their homes and properties as stipulated in UN resolution 194.

"Statistics released by UN agencies on the occasion of the 2009 World Refugee Day testify to the fact that Palestinian refugees are the largest and longest standing refugee population world wide. They lack access to just solutions and reparations, including return, because Israel and western governments continue to deny or belittle the scope of the problem and make no effort to respect and implement relevant international law and best practice. " Palestinian Refugees: A Wound to the Conscience of Humanity that Gets Deeper With Every Year http://www.badil.org/Publications/Press/2009/press508-09.htm

Sincerely,
Anne Selden Annab

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online comment published Boston Globe 7/22/2009
RE: A shared Jerusalem By James Carroll
http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/editorial_opinion/oped/articles/2009/07/27/a_shared_jerusalem/
http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/editorial_opinion/oped/articles/2009/07/27/a_shared_jerusalem/?comments=all

Dear Editor,

If only respect for international law, basic human rights and true equality were as sacred as Jerusalem... if only fair and just laws ruled rather than rampant institutionalized bigotry and injustice- and rising religion extremism empowered in part by tax payers money as well as a huge amount of misguided charity.

"60% of Haredi men do not have regular jobs and prefer religious study. More than 50% live below the poverty line and receive state benefits compared with 15% of the rest of the population. A separate education system is heavily subsidised." http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/jul/24/haredim-jews-devout-lifestyle Meanwhile, a former senior CIA official points out that: "Israel's support for Hamas "was a direct attempt to divide and dilute support for a strong, secular PLO by using a competing religious alternative," http://www.upi.com/Security_Industry/2002/06/18/Analysis-Hamas-history-tied-to-Israel/UPI-82721024445587/

Yes "the demolition of Palestinian houses must be halted, especially in Jerusalem"... and so must the daft notion that Jews worldwide should be subsidized to go live in the "Holy Land" while the native non-Jewish population (both Christian and Muslim) are so cruelly oppressed, impoverished and displaced. Israel as a sovereign power must comply with the precepts of international law by

A. Ending its occupation and colonization of all Arab lands and dismantling the Wall;

B. Recognizing the fundamental rights of the Arab-Palestinian citizens of Israel to full equality; and

C. Respecting, protecting and promoting the rights of Palestinian refugees to return to their homes and properties as stipulated in UN resolution 194.

Sincerely,
Anne Selden Annab

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online comment published Boston Globe 7/22/2009

Jerusalem - one city, undivided

http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/editorial_opinion/oped/articles/2009/07/22/jerusalem___one_city_undivided/?comments=all

anneselden wrote:

"the idea that all Jews and Israelis would have to leave a future Palestinian state is not a demand made by the Palestinian Authority or its supporters. To the contrary, Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad said at the Aspen Institute recently that, "Jews, to the extent they choose to stay and live in the state of Palestine, will enjoy those rights and certainly will not enjoy any less rights than Israeli Arabs enjoy now in the state of Israel." Numerous other Palestinian officials have made similar comments in the past" The future of Jews in a Palestinian state http://www.ibishblog.com/blog/hibish/2009/07/21/future_jews_palestinian_state

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online comment section Washington Post 7/10/2009
RE Black Children Kicked Out of Pool
http://voices.washingtonpost.com/parenting/2009/07/black_children_kicked_out_of_p.html

The actual question was "If you were the parent of one of these children, how would you address the situation? "

This situation is now much more than what ever happened at the pool. It is also the local and now national media coverage and attention. I would very much admire the camp director's eloquent oratory skills- but I would also seriously question the wisdom of stirring up such a public storm with my young child at the center of it.

When my three children were younger and they came home from school or camp or simply a playmate with complaints about rude comments or hurt feelings or whatever, I would listen, I would sympathize and then I would try to teach them not to hate. Live by the Golden Rule: Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.... and give others the benefit of the doubt.

Annie Selden Annab

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Annie's New Letters (& notes)

Growing Gardens for Palestine

published January through June 2009

2009-07-07T07:29:00.001-07:00

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 April 16 2009 Baltimore Sun: George Bisharat's 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

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

**************************************

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.

********************************************

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.

********************************************

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!

********************************************

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

By LEILA FADEL

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.

published comments & letters 1-10-2009

2009-01-10T11:08:00.001-08:00

"...Universal Echo"
"...Universal Echo" a poem in Growing Gardens for Palestine الصدى الكوني ... حدائق فلسطين النامية...

USA Today online comments
1-10-2009
RE: Readers pick sides in Gaza fight:What do you think is the best way to create peace between Israel, Hamas and readers on our boards?

http://blogs.usatoday.com/community/2009/01/readers-pick-si.html

anneseldenannab wrote:

Talk about a loaded question! "Readers pick sides in Gaza fight: What do you think is the best way to create peace between Israel, Hamas and readers on our boards?" asking readers to pick either Israel or HAMAS.

No THANKS! I'd rather avoid that trap... I opt to pick Palestine- and PEACE... a just and lasting peace:

I pick dismantling Apartheid walls of manipulative Zionist propaganda and all the many nefarious war games that seek to frame the conversation in order to frame the besieged people of historic Palestine at every turn.

I pick non-violence... and I pick FULL respect for basic human rights- universal rights- including but not limited to the Palestinian refugees inalienable legal, natural and sacred right to return to original homes and lands.

I pick protecting homes and families and children from harm.

I pick the rule of fair and just laws.

I pick refusing to arm any one religion and bigotry with lethal weaponry plus tax payers money as well as charity funds.

I pick Palestine- and American ideals of true democracy with liberty, justice and equality for ALL.

Sincerely,
Anne Selden Annab

*****************************
Palestine News Network
online line letters

http://english.pnn.ps/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=43&Itemid=34

RE: Don't call it Gaza, it's Palestine By Hesham Tillawi, PhD
http://english.pnn.ps/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=4432&Itemid=31

10 January 2009

Dear Editor,

One thing I very much admire about PNN is the section devoted to non-violent resistance... that in and of itself sends a powerful message. A message that needs to be heard. And it is an inspiring message as well as an approach that keeps me returning to read more and more on your site. I can not say the same for other sites that in my opinion have the wrong priorities.

Anyway... I was very VERY impressed today by the excellent op-ed "Don't call it Gaza, it's Palestine" by Hesham Tillawi, PhD which echoes and explains exactly what I see and feel concerning Israel's psychological warfare, specifically its long term and highly manipulative tactics and intentional sabotage... and the way both war camp and peace camp tend to play everyone away from respecting Palestine in multiple places as well as multiple ways.

American newspapers might actually be interested in publishing such an intriguing and interesting perspective explaining Israeli war games and I would encourage the author to please submit this revealing op-ed to mainstream American newspapers in hopes that it can reach a larger audience- and hopefully help Americans (both the people and our politicians and pundits) better understand what has really been going on in the Middle East. Granted there is very much a Zionist propaganda war going on in our American newspapers- but that's no reason to give up before you even start! We still have a free press. Write to America- for America... make it so that mainstream America might understand and care about Palestine, before there is nothing left to save.

However (ever so reluctantly) I have to point out one major flaw with the op-ed "Don't call it Gaza, it's Palestine" as currently written. If you want to be winning over an American audience, including mention of Iraq and the US changes the character of the op-ed to sound more like the point of the op-ed is to bash America. Be very wary of Zionist tactics and traps: Zionist propagandists are in overdrive right now to trying to prove to America that Israel is America's friend and that Palestinians are America's enemy. Don't help them. Be wary... and careful.

In any case- please keep up the good work.

Sincerely
Anne Selden Annab

published comments & letters 1-1-2009

2009-01-01T05:11:00.000-08:00

Lansing State Journal
1-1-2009

Israel's acts heinous

http://www.lansingstatejournal.com/article/20090101/OPINION02/901010301/1087/OPINION02

AnneSeldenAnnab wrote:

Good to see Sherri Muzher's EXCELLENT & very telling letter "Israel's acts heinous"... I wish more people were willing to speak out so rationally- and compassionately- for peace & Palestine.
1/1/2009 7:05:05 AM

Winter 2008 - Annie's published letters & online comments

2008-12-21T10:15:00.000-08:00

Justice for Palestine: Support the Right of Return!

Mainstream media work... Help free Palestine with positive thoughts and efforts: As always (for good stories, and honest stories that help explain the very real plight of the Palestinians) PLEASE go to the link to read the story in full- to help let the newspaper know the story is popular- and to help bring in ad revenue for those newspapers who dare publish Palestinian perspectives... & feel free to write the newspaper a comment, note or formal letter.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Houston Chronicle
12-22-8
RE: Arab Christians try to revive Holy Land village, Leaders work to attract more tourists, residents By ROBERT W. GEE
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/world/6174677.html#
comment I left online http://www.chron.com/disp/discuss.mpl/world/6174677.html

Dear Editor,

Thank you for publishing the revealing story "Arab Christians try to revive Holy Land village, Leaders work to attract more tourists, residents" by ROBERT W. GEE

So much of life - and our ability to survive really does come down to economics... and it is horrifying, utterly barbaric and wrong that the indigenous people of historic Palestine have been impoverished and displaced since the establishment of Israel in 1948.

I hope and I pray that Taybeh's children can return and flourish, along with all the many other Palestinian men, women and children who have been pushed into forced exile.

And if anyone is considering a trip to the Holy Land, I suggest they start by being aware of the importance of responsible tourism.

One can even be an armchair tourist to help promote such worthy endeavors... This Christmas week I have very much enjoyed perusing Siraj Center for Holy Land Studies http://www.sirajcenter.org/index.php as well as The Alternative Tourism Group : The Alternative Tourism Group (ATG) is a Palestinian NGO specializing in tours and pilgrimages that include critical examinations of the history, culture, and politics of the Holy Land. http://www.atg.ps/index.php?page=1177263078

Sincerely,
Anne Selden Annab

NOTES 12-20-2008
for
Annie's Letters
& Growing Gardens for Palestine

FREEDOM & RETURN: A Rights Based Solution to building a just and lasting peace in the Middle East ... Not just the return (al-awda) of the refugees, but also a return to the rule of law and respect for human rights: For more than five decades Palestinian refugees and internally displaced have struggled for a solution to their plight based on UN resolutions and international law, including the right to voluntarily return to their homes and lands of origin from which they were displaced/expelled during wars in 1948 and 1967 and due to other Israeli policies of forced eviction, deportation, etc....
http://www.badil.org/call-en.htm

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Dear Pres. Bush & Pres Elect Obama: Stopping a VERY BIG Ponzi-Pyramid Scheme
for Bush..etc http://www.congress.org/congressorg/bio/userletter/?id=20004&letter_id=2729907161
for Obama http://change.gov/page/content/contact/

Dear President Bush
& President Elect Obama,

I know that you both very much want to make a smooth transition during this difficult time for America- and so I am writing you both.

Our news is filled with the shocking reports about the alleged scoundrel Bertie Madoff and his huge Ponzi-Pyramid Scheme.

Most of his Madoff's marks were wealthy Jews and Jewish organizations here in America. And it got me thinking- about Israel... and knowing that Israel receives the lion's share of our foreign aid, as well as many charity funds.. in addition to far too much of our Congress's valuable time- and our hard earned tax money... Well it occurs to me that "The Israel Industry" itself is a type of Ponzi-Pyramid Scheme, and we are all being had by Zionists crooks and then played by many trouble makers who are profiting from the Palestinians' pain and just cause for complaint.

The men, women and children of historic Palestinian, so cruelly oppressed and displaced and impoverished, are the biggest victims and most vulnerable victims of course- but to a lesser degree so are Americans (of all religions, including Jewish).

The system is rigged so that those who have invested emotionally and/or financially in "Israel" are often blithely unaware of what exactly Israel really is and does... and those who might have a clue are in deep denial for they stand to lose so much if they withdraw their support.

It's like the dot.com bubble... and the real estate bubble... both exasperated by the information age and various scoundrels and 'experts' eager and able to profit from playing the market for short term personal gains rather than making good sound long term investments for both private and public good.

Israel- racist Israel -has inspired a huge amount of hate- even among its own supporters as Zionists seek to demonize and destroy the people of historic Palestine.

Already the vast majority of Palestinians have been pushed into forced exile and despair.

" In 1948, the international community felt a deep sense of responsibility for the mass dispossession, ethnic cleansing and the Zionist transfer policy that began then. United Nations Mediator Count Folke Bernadotte, who was later assassinated by a Zionist terrorist hit squad, stated: "It would be an offence against the principles of elemental justice if these innocent victims of the conflict were denied the right to return to their homes, while Jewish immigrants flow into Palestine" (UN Doc Al 648, 1948). This remains true today as any Jew, regardless of national origin, can gain automatic citizenship while Palestinian Arabs are denied their right to return to their own homeland." The Right To Return, a Basic Right Still Denied http://www.al-awda.org/facts.html

For everyones sake- including our own, we should gently but firmly withdraw all American support from Israel, for it has been constantly raising funds every where it can in order to systematically and intentionally build Apartheid in the Holy Land- and it has been ruining lives- and intentionally stealing land, rights, freedom and peace from the people of historic Palestine... and our support for it has been ruining our reputation in the Arab and Muslim world.

Sincerely,
Anne Selden Annab
American Homemaker & Poet

NOTES 12-20-2008
for
Annie's Letters
& Growing Gardens for Palestine

AnneSeldenAnnab wrote on 12/13/2008 08:24:03 AM:

Good to see this excellent letter concerning the TRAGEDY IN GAZA. Brave too of Wilifred A. Cork to speak out so clearly- including crucial information and facts.... brave for Zionist ideologues are sure to harass her for daring to speak the truth about the very real plight of the Palestinians.

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WASHINGTON POST
12-11-2008
comment I left online in their comment forum...
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/12/09/AR2008120902780_Comments.html

RE: Israeli Wall Fuels Migration, Palestinians With Economic, Social Services Ties to Jewish State Are Integrating Neighborhoods That Won't Be Blocked by Barrier
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/12/09/AR2008120902780.html

""Palestinians cannot allow themselves to be trapped on the Palestinian side of the wall lest they be plummeted into poverty. They are culturally, politically and religiously tied to the West Bank, but economically connected to Israel."" Israeli Wall Fuels Migration, Palestinians With Economic, Social Services Ties to Jewish State Are Integrating Neighborhoods That Won't Be Blocked by Barrier http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/12/09/AR2008120902780.html

"The removal of Arabs bodily from Palestine is part of the Zionist plan to "spirit the penniless population across the frontier by denying it employment...Both the process of expropriation and the removal of the poor must be carried away discreetly and circumspectly." Theodore Herzl, founder of the World Zionist Organization Complete Diaries, June 12, 1895 entry." Famous Quotes http://al-awda.org/quotes.html

How much of what Israel does is really all about fragmenting Palestinian families, impoverishing Palestinian communities, and creating divisions everywhere every way it can in order to conquer and destroy the native non-Jewish population of the Holy Land.

" Last January, Karen Koenig AbuZayd, head of the UN agency for Palestine refugees, UNRWA, wrote, "Gaza is on the threshold of becoming the first territory to be intentionally reduced to a state of abject destitution, with the knowledge, acquiescence and -- some would say -- encouragement of the international community."" Israel's "Auschwitz borders" revisited BY Ali Abunimah, The Electronic Intifada, 8 December 2008 .... Abunimah's story on the Electronic Intifada is aptly illustrated with a recent photograph of Israeli graffiti written in English "Arabs to the Gas Chambers"

"The humanitarian situation is dire for the people in the Gaza Strip, most importantly the children. The strip is home to 1.5 million Palestinians, 80% of whom are refugees denied by the Zionist state the right to return to their homes and lands of origin from which they were expelled by the Zionist occupation in 1948. Nearly half of the Gaza population are children who along with the elderly and ill remain completely deprived of food, water, fuel, electricity, humanitarian relief and medical supplies or facilities. UNRWA Chief of Operations in the Gaza Strip, John Ging calls the situation ‘very desperate at the humanitarian level’." BREAK THE SIEGE OF GAZA NOW! END THE OCCUPATION OF ALL OF PALESTINE!
IMPLEMENT PALESTINIAN RIGHT TO RETURN! http://al-awdacal.org/event-la-demo.html

Meanwhile swarms of Zionist propagandists world wide do all they can to demonize and stop criticism of Israel.

"Motion 25 - passed in May by the union's congress - was a renewed attempt to put pressure on Israel over its treatment of the Palestinians.... In 2007, a motion openly calling for a boycott was passed but was subsequently overturned at a special conference - though not before it had caused an international row that opponents claimed damaged the reputation of British academia...In response to this year's motion, a group of 12 members threatened to sue the union, arguing that it amounted to a boycott in all but name and was illegal discrimination contrary to the UCU's own rules." Academics 'have abandoned Israeli boycott', say opponents Exclusive: Lecturers' union denies u-turn on conference motion intended to show solidarity with Palestinians http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/2008/dec/10/boycott-israel-ucu-palestinians

Dare speak the full and total truth about racist Israel's ongoing crimes against the men women and children of historic Palestine and you risk being sued- impoverished- harassed- discredited- or assassinated by Zionist ideologues intent on using both charm as well as bully tactics to empower The Israel Industry's institutionalized bigotry and injustice.

The evidence is clear, right before our eyes an intentional genocide continues unchecked as Israel's immigrant bigots, convinced they have every right to usurp and/or destroy Palestinian land, rights and life, spin every story to diminish and dismiss the men, women and children of historic Palestine.

So much really is all about economics... as jobs are lost and American newspapers, our Fourth Estate, scramble to cover expenses, it behooves us all to do what we can to help support and encourage America's newspapers (such as the Washington Post) who dare publish more honest and revealing stories concerning The Israel/Palestine conflict- and the very real plight of the Palestinians.

Ignore Zionist rags for they can not be trusted- instead help empower those brave newspapers who dare break free from the Zionist stranglehold on free speech.

Sincerely,
Anne Selden Annab

Annie's Letters
Notes
& Growing Gardens for Palestine

Words to Honor: The United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights:
Article 1. All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights.They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood....The Universal Declaration of Human Rights

No Return = No Justice = No Peace
for the men, women and children of Palestine.

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The Christian Science Monitor

Letters to the Editor

from the December 9, 2008 edition

http://www.csmonitor.com/2008/1209/p08s04-cole.html

Should teenagers be allowed to navigate the Net alone?

It is a bad idea to assume a teenager will always make good choices on the Internet. Keeping a teenager's Internet access in a family-oriented room, with the computer positioned in a way that a busy parent can easily glance over to see where their teenager's mind might be wandering to, is a key component in encouraging the best in our children rather than inadvertently empowering the worst. The computer then also becomes more of a social interaction tool, as our teens tend to share entertaining discoveries on the Internet that they think we, their parents and siblings and friends, might enjoy.

Anne Selden Annab
Mechanicsburg, Pa.

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WASHINGTON TIMES
11-30-2008

RE: LETTER TO THE EDITOR: The Gaza conundrum by ERIC ROZENMAN Washington director Committee for Accuracy in Middle East Reporting in America Washington
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2008/nov/30/the-gaza-conundrum/
comment I just left opnline
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2008/nov/30/the-gaza-conundrum/#comments

Comments 1 - 1 of 1

By: AnneSeldenAnnab

The Gaza conundrum letter by ERIC ROZENMAN Washington director Committee for Accuracy in Middle East Reporting in America Washington is very misleading. Just as racist Israel itself seeks to divide, displace and destroy the people of historic Palestine, Rozenman seeks to divide, displace and destroy the conversation itself with distractions. Israel shuts down Gaza, controls all airspace and easily imprisons and starves countless men, women and children and Rozenman claims there is no Israeli occupation.

Then Rozenman goes on to do what he can to dismiss the very real plight, pain and suffering of the Palestinian refugees- the many men, women and children denied their inalienable legal, moral and natural right to return to original homes and lands inside Israel proper.

The exact number count is not what matters as much as the fact that there is a HUGE number of displaced Palestinians still denied their inalienable legal, moral and natural right to return to original homes and lands. I find it utterly despicable that Rozenman callously claims "The number of actual Arab refugees in 1948 was no more than 650,000, the majority of whom are no longer living." as if the eventual death of innocent and vulnerable Palestinian men, women and children so cruelly displaced in 1948 erases the crimes against humanity committed by Zionist terrorists... crimes by the way that continue to this day as racist Israel continues to impoverish and destroy Palestinian families, homes and communities:

Please notice that generations later time and time again (Jewish) individuals reclaim stolen artwork and property belonging to family members tortured and killed by the Nazi Holocaust. Makes sense to me that Palestinian heirs have the same expectation that what was rightfully belonging to their family remains in their family.

* Words to Honor: The United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights

Article 1.

All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights.They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood. http://annies-notes.blogspot.com/

November 30, 2008 at 5:36 a.m.

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WASHINGTON TIMES

11-3-2008

RE: LETTER TO EDITOR: Every citizen to get involved
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2008/oct/31/every-citizen-to-get-involved/
comment i just left online-

By: AnneSeldenAnnab

Disgusted and frankly frightened by the hate mongering insults inspired by those who idolize "Israel" rather than American ideals of real democracy with true freedom, justice and equality for ALL, I am relieved to see that you published the excellent letter by Anisa Abd El Fattah of the National Association of Muslim American Women.

Yes indeed as Anisa Abd El Fattah wisely concludes, "Every American citizen must get involved in our country's political process - and we must remain involved."

However I think one crucial point very much needs to be made: Anti-Zionist sentiments are not limited to Muslims...or to any one religion: Thanks to the Information Age many people of diverse backgrounds and beliefs - including Christian as well as strictly secular- have been horrified to learn what modern man made Israel really is and does.

In 2005, there were approximately 7.2 million Palestinian refugees, equivalent to 74% of the entire Palestinian population which is estimated at 9.7 million worldwide. http://al-awdacal.org/facts.html ...and yet, rather than respecting international law and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights by welcoming home the children of historic Palestine with full and equal rights racist Israel continues to destroy Palestinian homes and families- intentionally and systemically pushing countless more into forced exile and despair.

Christians in Jerusalem decreased from 50,000 to 10,000 due to Israeli policy.

On both sides of that monstrous Israeli built Apartheid wall Palestinian men, women and children are harassed, impoverished, insulted, oppressed, disenfranchised and displaced in many ways. For instance "Palestinians denied visit to villages of ancestors" http://www.thenational.ae/article/200810...

Rather than investing in the rule of fair and just laws and true democracy, racist Israel has been investing in bigotry, injustice and religious extremism:

""The production of olive oil is absolutely central to the Palestinian economy," European Commission representative John Kjaer said earlier this month after lending a hand in the harvest... But many farmers are cut off from their olive groves by the Israeli separation barrier and Jewish settlements, and need special permits to access their fields through barriers that only open at set times....In addition, farmers working in proximity to settlements risk attacks by firebrand settlers who believe they have a God-given right to the Holy Land." Olive groves on frontlines of West Bank conflict http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20081103/wl_...

The Nakba - the Catastrophe- of 1948 continues unchecked. This genocidal crime against all of humanity created by Zionists should concern us all simply as citizens of the world.

Sincerely,
Anne Selden Annab

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ECONOMIST online comments
November 06, 2008 18:15

anne selden annab wrote:

Comment on: Great expectations of Barack Obama | Great expectations | The Economist at 11/6/2008 6:15 PM GST

Yes indeed this is a huge achievement for all of America- and a rather big hint that segregation should be a thing of the past: Let freedom ring!

Let freedom ring for America- and Palestine: It is my hope that President elect Barack Obama sees the writing on the wall and comes to realize the importance of distancing America from the divisive and costly Zionist Project that has been cruelly persecuting, impoverishing and displacing Palestinians for the past 60 years.

2008-11-21T10:36:00.000-08:00

into Autumn- my comments published on line from tributes to Palestinian Poet Mahmoud Darwish to Kay Mukhar 's A Yank In Palestine October 26,2008

2008-10-26T04:39:00.000-07:00

Atlantic Free Press
http://www.atlanticfreepress.com/content/view/5576/1/

A Yank In Palestine

Written by Kay Mukhar

Anne Selden Annab: WOW!

Thrilled to see this.. An important story well told !

October 26, 2008

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Boston Globe
online comment regarding A Mideast plan for the next president THE NEXT president of the United States, in addition to dealing with the overwhelming global economic crisis, will have to contend with problems that have arisen recently in the Middle East. They include:

READ FULL ARTICLE >

READER COMMENTS (1) Post a comment

http://people.boston.com/articles/oped/?p=articlecomments&activityId=5424612719250763103

Op-ed writer Ephraim Sneh retired general, former Israeli deputy minister of defense and the chairman of the "Strong Israel" party is right to realize that the best way forward for everyone is to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict - but he is wrong wrong wrong to dismiss the Palestinian refugees (inalienable legal, natural and moral) right to return to original homes and lands.

Full respect for basic human rights and the rule of fair and just laws has got to be the priory, otherwise we are only perpetuating a very dangerous status quo and fomenting even more hate with generously subsidized Zionist immigrants persecuting, impoverishing and displacing even more Palestinians.

Jonathan Cook writes in "Israel's 'City of Coexistence' Shows Its True Colors- Model city of harmony overcome by hatred" http://www.thenational.ae/article/20081015/FOREIGN/809484013 that "Despite pronouncements from Israeli leaders that the violence is damaging Acre’s image as a model of coexistence, the reality is of a deeply divided city, where the wounds of the 1948 war have yet to heal."

Start the healing with full respect for FULL return - empowering The Universal Declaration of Human Rights "Whereas recognition of the inherent dignity and of the equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human family is the foundation of freedom, justice and peace in the world..."

by anneselden October 18, 6:05 AM

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Washington Times
online comment on LETTER TO EDITOR: No attack on Israel
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2008/sep/24/no-attack-on-israel/#comments

Comments 1 - 5 of 5

By: AnneSeldenAnnab

KUDOS to BOB AND HIRBOD RASHIDI for pointing out the obvious: Islam's third-holiest site - the al-Aqsa Mosque, including the Dome of the Rock - is in Jerusalem, and therefore, Iran would not seek its destruction. I also sincerely doubt that Iran would want to be slaughtering Palestinians which would be the inevitable consequence of bombing Israel.

Nations make war- but people make peace... and peace depends on justice. It behooves us all to be doing what we can to try to get beyond all the hate mongering and misinformation that has been convincing people to believe that violence is the only answer. The first best step is to step away from the epicenter of so much hate mongering and misinformation- racist Israel.

The Palestinians really do have just cause for complaint, beginning with racist Israel's long term violations of international law and basic human rights, including but not limited to the Palestinian refugees' very real right to return to original homes and lands.

Zionist terror has been non-stop and the vast majority of Palestinians have been pushed out into forced exile and statelessness. Unlike sovereign nations which have tax payer funds, formal armies, intact economies and protected infrastructures easily able to generate positive PR and security for their people, Palestinians are scattered, fragmented, vulnerable, harshly oppressed and in dire need of individual and collective freedom, justice and peace.

For everyone's sake, we need to be listening to what the Palestinians have to say:

"With each passing day, more of Arab East Jerusalem vanishes as bulldozers clear the land for more Israeli settlements. Since the November 2007 Annapolis conference, which was supposed to revive the peace process, Israel has only accelerated its settlement building, especially in Jerusalem; this despite more than a hundred meetings between Israeli and Palestinian officials holding “peace negotiations.”

Bulldozers also represent the hundreds of Palestinian villages levelled and thousands of homes demolished in Gaza, the West Bank and Jerusalem in Israel’s relentless violation of international law. In 2004 alone Israel flattened 2,243 houses in Gaza and the West Bank, leaving some 14,000 Palestinians homeless." Samah Jabr : Bulldozer “Terrorism:” It depends on who’s on top and who’s underneath
http://annies-letters.blogspot.com/2008/...
Sincerely,
Anne Selden Annab
http://annies-letters.blogspot.com/
& http://annies-notes.blogspot.com/
& http://growinggardensforpalestine.blogsp...

September 25, 2008 at 10:35 a.m.

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USA Today
online comment RE: Concern about Israel's arms, Elrado Ramsay - Decatur, Ga.
http://blogs.usatoday.com/oped/2008/09/concern-about-i.html#more

comment i left online in the comment section:

Regarding " Concern about Israel's arms "... I totally agree with the letter writer who aptly summed it up by stating "The problem in the Middle East is not Iran's nuclear ambitions; it is Israeli brutality with the support and the blessing of the U.S."

Thanks to Zionist pressure and propaganda, our Fourth Estate has seriously failed to keep America fully informed about racist Israel's ongoing crimes against the people of historic Palestine. Our Congress has also betrayed the people of America, in choosing to idolize and protect racist Israel rather than American ideals of real democracy with full and equal rights for all, regardless of supposed race or religion.

Our best chance for getting back on track with what we are supposed to be- a fair and just nation, and our best bet for a better future is to be very very wary of Israel. In addition, we need to seriously listen to and respect the people of historic Palestine: "Implementation of the Palestinian refugees' right of return was and continues to be the main purpose for which the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) was established, a purpose which forms the central pillar of the PLO's legitimacy as the sole legitimate representative of the Palestinian people." Letter of Palestinian Refugee Organizations to President Mahmoud Abbas, September 22, 2008http://annies-letters.blogspot.com/2008/09/letter-of-palestinian-refugee.html

As Al- Awda's popular logo says PALESTINE: 60 YEARS OF FORCED EXILE... TIME FOR RETURN

Sincerely,
Anne Selden Annab

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NEWSWEEK WORLD VIEW

online comment on The One-State Solution- A two-state solution was a compromise. But talks have gone nowhere, so many Palestinians are giving up. By Sari Nusseibeh | NEWSWEEK

http://www.newsweek.com/id/160030/output/comments/CommentSuccess/true#CommentBox

Posted By: AnneSeldenAnnab @ 09/21/2008 8:24:24 PM

Comment: Israel is an investment in institutionalized bigotry- and ongoing cruelty: I very much disagree with Sari Nusseibeh's assumption that a two state solution is the best way out of the Zionist made mess in the Holy Land. In fact- as an American appreciating separation between church and state (and real democracy with full and equal rights for all) I am totally convinced that the dangerous pseudo religious/pseudo secular disaster called Israel "The Jewish State" should be erased. Gently and with compassion... and let Palestine (gently and with compassion) return in full with all the Palestinian refugees.

The tricky part is the transition. Rather than trusting racist Israel to ever do right by the Palestinian, in my own personal opinion, I think it would be better to ask Egypt, Jordan, Syria and Lebanon to form a Palestinian confederation- a new social, political and economic entity, separate from those four nations, and yet linked to them and all the Arab world. Meanwhile Zionists organizations should be tasked with helping to fund true freedom and return in addition to reparations for the all people of historic Palestine.

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Wall Street Journal; online comment Fri Sep 19, 2008 6:55 am http://forums.wsj.com/viewtopic.php?t=4036
Post subject:: Re: Israel and Palestine Can Still Achieve Peace

Dear Editor,

Good to see the Palestinian op-ed by Mahmoud Abbas, chairman of the executive committee of the PLO and president of the Palestinian National Authority, clearly calling for true freedom and justice for the persecuted and oppressed people of historic Palestine.

More and more people worldwide, including me (an American homemaker), suspect that it is already too late for a two state solution, and that the peace process itself is simply another way for racist Israel to further impoverish and displace even more Palestinians.

Abbas sums up his official position in saying "Rather than a partial outcome, we seek an agreement resulting in two viable and sovereign states based on 1967 borders, including a Jerusalem that is the capital of two states and a just resolution that honors the rights of the Palestinian refugees." I firmly believe, for everyone's sake, that one state, two states, or twenty seven states, the highest priority must be 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: Start peace, a just and lasting peace with true return, not more forced transfer.

Sincerely,
Anne Selden Annab
http://annies-notes.blogspot.com/

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Washington Post
comment I just left on line
RE: Iceland Takes Palestinians Leaving Iraq

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/09/08/AR2008090802637.html

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/09/08/AR2008090802637_Comments.html

Thank you for publishing a bit of information concerning Palestinian refugees- and the good news that at least some of the persecuted and displaced Palestinians will find welcome and a safer sanctuary while the world waits for Israel to respect international law and the Palestinians' basic human rights ( http://www.un.org/Overview/rights.html ) including but not limited to the inalienable legal, natural, moral, logical and sacred right to return to original homes and lands:

"The future of the Palestinian people is at a crossroads; 2007 - 2008 marks a historic opportunity for faith-based organizations, individuals, community groups, the solidarity movement, unions and political parties to pool resources and activities and campaign for a rights-based solution and end to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Critical is the focus on the enforcement of the rights of Palestinian refugees under international law.

This may well be the last decade anniversary when Palestinian eye-witnesses from the 1948 Nakba (catastrophe) are still alive. Now more than ever Palestinians are counting on local and global society to build pressure for the enforcement of international law – the foundation for a just peace.

Let's make 2007 – 2008 into 'the campaign of freedom and return'. Not just the return (al-awda) of the refugees, but also a return to the rule of law and respect for human rights." http://www.badil.org/call-en.htm

United Nations Relief and Works Agency's website is well worth explaining to get a better sense of what it means to be a Palestinian refugee. They have statistics and reports- but they also have many photos and essays- and even a beautiful poem "I Come From There" by the beloved Palestinian poet Mahmoud Darwish (1941-2008) , described in UNWRA's recent tribute to him as "a uniquely compelling voice and a passionate advocate against dispossession and the pain it engenders." http://www.un.org/unrwa/news/statements/2008/MahmoudDarwish_aug08.html

Marking World Refugee Day this past summer Karen AbuZayd, Commissioner-General, United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNWRA http://www.un.org/unrwa/ ) said: "The horrors of the Second World War gave impetus to a quest for universal peace, justice and human dignity, with the United Nations at the fore. It is a disturbing commentary on our quest that as we commemorate the sixtieth anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Palestinians mark six decades of what they refer to as the Nakba, or catastrophe, with many languishing in conditions of exile, exclusion and isolation. This is a testament to our collective failure to give meaning to human dignity for Palestinians and to achieve a lasting, just peace in the Middle East. We who serve Palestine refugees believe that there is time to make amends..." Exile, Exclusion and Isolation: the Palestine Refugee Experience, Op Ed by Karen AbuZayd, Commissioner-General, United Nations Relief and Works Agency, To Mark World Refugee Day: 20th June 2008 http://www.un.org/unrwa/news/statements/2008/WRD_20jun08.html

Time will not erase the crucial importance of FULLY respecting and honoring the Palestinians' 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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ECONOMIST
online Comment on: Repatriating refugees | Managing the right of return | Economist.com at 9/5/2008 8:37 AM EDT
http://www.economist.com/members/persona.cfm?econUId=2778935

anne selden annab wrote:

September 05, 2008 08:37

All through out historic Palestine involuntary migrants (Palestinian refugees) have been intentionally and cruelly pushed out into forced exile by voluntary migrants (Zionists) from abroad in a genocidal campaign shaped by a generously subsidized invading nation-state called "Israel" that actively seeks to invest in and favor one religion over another as the ticket to freedom, rights, citizenship, jobs, security and respect for its privileged ruling elite... Jews with full and equal rights and job opportunities in multiple wealthy nations insist on sustaining and defending "The Jewish State". Meanwhile Palestinian men, women and even mere children are vilified, persecuted and imprisoned because they dare object to such blatant injustice. More forced transfer of Palestinian men, women and children to a fragmented series of impoverished prison camps called "Palestine" is certainly not the answer.

Zionists should not be rewarded for stealing Palestinian land, rights, life, freedom and jobs. Had Israel respected international law and the Palestinians' basic human rights from the beginning, everything would be very very different right now. Instead what we have are 60 sovereign years of the heavily armed racist crime called Israel intentionally making life miserable for countless innocent and increasingly vulnerable people- the people of historic Palestine.

Israel's institutionalized bigotry, brutality and manipulative lies have had numerous negative ramifications, but rather than being able to fully express righteous indignation and disgust at this outrageous state of affairs, we are all expected to be polite and even protective of racist Israel... well No Thank You! I for one, firmly object to any and all tax dollars and/or charity funds empowering toxic Zionist propaganda and the continuing crime called Israel.

Anne Selden Annab
NOTES September 5, 2008

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Washington Post
RE: Boats Depart Gaza After Aid Delivery, 7 Palestinians Leave With Activists Who Flouted Blockade
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/08/28/AR2008082803533.html
comment I left online http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/08/28/AR2008082803533_Comments.html

(Dear Editor)

Good to see news coverage of "Boats Depart Gaza After Aid Delivery, 7 Palestinians Leave With Activists Who Flouted Blockade" in the Washington Post today. They wanted media coverage- and they certainly did get that! Yahoo photos has done a good job too in covering the expedition, posting some beautiful photos of the wooden boats bobbing in a beautiful sea, flying flags for Palestine. Free Gaza's web page and mission statement proves that they are concerned about all of Palestine- not only Gaza.

On their mission statement they are clear about where this boat trip really begins, and that is with The Nakba of 1948, which long predates the emergence of Hamas : "May 2008 marks the 60-year anniversary of the Nakba, "the catastrophe", when the overwhelming majority of Palestinians were forcibly evicted from their ancestral homeland to create the state of Israel. In contravention of International law, human rights, and basic principles of morality, Israel continues to deny these refugees and their descendants their right to return home." http://www.freegaza.org/index.php?language=EN&module=our_mission

Furthermore "While approaching Gaza beach, the two boats released 5,000 balloons of four colors of black, red, green and white, which are the colors of the Palestinian flag.... Each of the balloons bears the slogan of "Free Palestine" and a drawing of the pigeon of peace" http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2008-08/24/content_9671702.htm

One of the boats was the SS Liberty .... Before setting off they held a memorial service to "commemorate the 14 fishermen of Gaza who have been killed by the Israeli Navy over the past four years as they were fishing off their coast. The service will also be held for the 34 American sailors killed aboard the US LIBERTY by Israeli forces in 1967. We will lay flowers in the water for these forgotten seamen from two countries, the Palestinians killed while trying to feed their families and the American sailors who were attacked by Israeli fighter jets and submarines for 75 minutes on June 8, 1967." http://www.freegaza.org/index.php?module=latest_news&id=03c7064759458a9f65c3b8c35a23b091

I hope good comes out of this daring voyage that these well meaning people just made- for everyone's sake.

Sincerely,
Anne Selden Annab

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The Nation
http://www.thenation.com/bletters/20080818/omer

Truth and Consequences Under the Israeli Occupation

By Mohammed Omer

Thank you for publishing Mohammed Omar's chilling account. More truth about Israel's extensive institutionalized bigotry and its ongoing brutal mistreatment of the native non-Jewish men, women and children of historic Palestine would be most helpful for all concerned, including every American deceived and manipulated into supporting the idea of Israel--and every taxpayer forced to fund, empower and protect The Israel Industry.

People's rights are more important than Israel's "rights." 1948 gave us both Israel and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Sixty years later, as more and more Palestinian men, women and children are harshly persecuted, impoverished, imprisoned and/or displaced and cruelly demonized because they dare object, it looks to me like the world can have one or the other--but not both.

I vote for the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Let God take care of religion; we need to be investing in the rule of fair and just laws, and a fully free Palestine for all the people.

Anne Selden Annab

http://annies-notes.blogspot.com
Mechanicsburg , PA

08/01/2008 @ 11:13am

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Washington Times
RE: LETTER TO EDITOR: Palestinians exposed by Palestinian American MAI ABDUL RAHMAN
http://www.washtimes.com/news/2008/aug/24/palestinians-exposed/
posted online

By: AnneSeldenAnnab

How safe are any of the token Arabs currently allowed to remain in racist Israel for now as even the Knesset discusses more forced transfer? Israel has already created and constantly exasperates the largest, longest running refugee crisis in the world today- there is nothing trivial about that!

August 24, 2008 at 8:42 p.m

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By: AnneSeldenAnnab

Dear Editor,

It was a relief to see the letter by Palestinian American Mai Abdul Rahman, concerning first of all Israel's extensive and brutal mistreatment of the Palestinians- and in turn the Palestinian Al-Haq report "calling on Hamas and the PA to immediately cease torturing political detainees and hold those who have authorized such torture responsible."

Apartheid Israel, a nation of heavily armed immigrant bigots who want the land but not the people of that land, is in clear control of all airspace and all Palestinian men, women and children's ability to move from place to place, with hundreds of IDF checkpoints crippling Palestinian communities and destroying Palestinians livelihoods. Israel harshly oppresses and cruelly displaces the people of historic Palestine and rather than making right a terrible wrong it expects Palestinians to be the prison guards in this utterly insane and cruel situation.

Considering how nefarious and persistently cruel Zionists have been and continue to be, it is utterly amazing, miraculous really that the people of Palestinian have been able to survive and do what they can to organize and wisely reject violations of human rights across the board.

Sincerely,
Anne Selden Annab
http://annies-notes.blogspot.com/2008/08...

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http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/7558825.stm

Your tributes to Mahmoud Darwish

Palestinians have paid their last respects to poet Mahmoud Darwish in the West Bank city of Ramallah.

Widely considered the Palestinian national poet, Mahmoud Darwish died after open-heart surgery in Houston, Texas, on Saturday at the age of 67.

He was one of the most influential cultural figures in recent Arab history, encapsulating the Palestinian longing for independence.

BBC website readers have been sending in their tributes and memories of Mahmoud Darwish.

Below are a selection of your comments:

Read the full story

'Identity and humanity'.... I very much appreciate that the BBC honored Palestine's iconic poet Mahmoud Darwish by interviewing a Palestinian who was also a friend of Mahmoud Darwish, as well as a talented poet and thinker: Hanan Ashrawi was the perfect choice in my opinion, to try to explain the invigorating fresh air and inspiration that Darwish gives the world.

Anne Selden Annab, Mechanicsburg, USA

mid-summer 2008

2008-08-05T10:20:00.000-07:00

Washington Times

RE: Plans for Mideast peace : U.N. reforms needed for Palestinian refugees
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2008/aug/05/plans-for-mideast-peace/

comment I left online in the comment section:

Comments 1 - 1 of 1

By: AnneSeldenAnnab

I object to this misleading op-ed pretending to be news by Peter Berkowitz "Plans for Mideast peace : U.N. reforms needed for Palestinian refugees" .

FULL respect for basic human rights- including but not limited to the Palestinian refugees' inalienable legal, moral and natural right to leave and right to return to original homes and lands as clearly affirmed by international law ( http://www.al-awda.org/facts.html ) is the only true reform needed for peace, for prosperity and for everyone's sake... for the sake of civilization itself really.

UNWRA has done an outstanding job meeting dire needs despite all the many obstacles and insults racist Israel creates. Zionism's ongoing genocidal crimes against the people of historic Palestine are the core problem, and that problem won't go away if and when Zionists manage to destroy UNWRA and every other NGO & charity that tries to help clothe, feed and educate the persecuted, impoverished and displaced men, women and children of historic Palestine.

August 5, 2008 at 8:03 a.m.

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Washington Post online comments:
RE: Gazans' Access To Care Faulted: Israeli Interrogation Criticized in Report
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/08/04/AR2008080401933.html
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/08/04/AR2008080401933_Comments.html

annieannab wrote:

Divide, conquer and destroy- time and time again Apartheid Israel's nefarious practices and policies harm the people of historic Palestine. Forced transfer, segregation and collective punishments are the cornerstone of the current Israeli kingdom that has made hell out of the Holy Land... We knew enough to dismantle Jim Crow laws long ago- and to endorse the United Nations' Universal Declaration of Human Rights "Whereas recognition of the inherent dignity and of the equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human family is the foundation of freedom, justice and peace in the world..."

So why is modern man made Israel given carte blanche (plus huge sums of money and support) to freely and forcefully persecute, impoverish, imprison and/or displace the men, women and children of historic Palestine day after day after day in a slow motion genocide that has been going on for the past painful 60 years of cruel Israeli rule.

Meanwhile, as we notice the tip of the iceberg of Israeli war games in the open air prison and torture chamber called Gaza, please notice that everywhere it can the Zionist State is making life miserable for Palestinians.... In the West Bank: "The ongoing settlement plan reflects the true intentions of Israel to evade the peace requirements and disrespect the call of the international community for a stop of the settlement activities" AL official - Israeli settlement policy spoils peace chance
http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/rwb.nsf/db900SID/KLMT-7H842U?OpenDocument&rc=3&emid=ACOS-635PFR

Why aren't American newspapers publishing more revealing news and op-eds such as "Rabbis who bring shame to Judaism" By Khalid Amayreh in the West Bank who notices the chilling truth that : "In Israel, rabbis with hundreds of thousands of followers, many of whom serve in the Gestapo-like Israeli occupation army, openly teach that non-Jews are only human in form but animals in substance." http://annies-letters.blogspot.com/2008/08/rabbis-who-bring-shame-to-judaism-by.html

8/5/2008 8:45:43 AM

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THE Nation (online web letters)
http://www.thenation.com/bletters/20080818/omer?write=1

Truth and Consequences Under the Israeli Occupation

By Mohammed Omer

July 31, 2008

I vote for the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Let God take care of religion; we need to be investing in the rule of fair and just laws, and a fully free Palestine for all the people.

Anne Selden Annab

http://annies-notes.blogspot.com
Mechanicsburg , PA

08/01/2008 @ 11:13am

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Time Magazine Blog

July 29, 2008 1:10

Trouble in Tel Aviv

Posted by Andrew Lee Butters

http://time-blog.com/middle_east/2008/07/trouble_in_tel_aviv.html

Thank you Andrew Lee Butters, for writing this- and handling a difficult subject so well. I like the way you phrase thing so clearly and succinctly summing up so much such as with this telling sentence "...But here I was having a grand old time in an Israeli restaurant with painted blatt tiles, soaring ceilings and arched doorways, that was clearly once an Arab home."

and this:
... "So why keep harping on Israel and the Middle East? Because the mess and the metaphors are so vivid."

Yes the mess and the metaphors really are quite vivid. It is obvious you are trying to honestly listen and trying to think clearly... trying to compassionately understand what this mess and the metaphors really are all about, trying to determine the truth, the full truth...

I am quite convinced that the key to peace in the region is full respect for the Palestinian refugees' inalienable legal, natural, logical, and moral right to return to original homes and lands.

When Israel came to be in 1948, the United Nations quite specifically affirmed and clearly spelled out the Palestinian refugees' right to return. 60 years of knowing that fact can't be erased or dismissed, nor can the personal histories of every Palestinian family on earth as Israel continues to exasperate and add to the largest, longest running refugee crisis in the world today.

Posted by Anne Selden Annab | July 29, 2008 7:27 PM

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Natalie, a refugee's right to return is a universal basic human right- regardless of race or religion. Jews who fled Nazi Germany had and continue to have the right to return plus compensation for their loses. Court cases continue to arise to help give back to individual Jewish families artwork and property that stolen from them during the Nazi Holocaust. The precedent has been clearly established in multiple courts of law.

Its a very civilized idea... Do you really want to continue endorsing the idea that when a person leaves their home for any reason (such as to go work or on vacation) armed ideologues from abroad are entitled to swoop in claiming that all that was yours is now theirs?

As far as implementing the right to return the first step is education. That is making sure that every one is aware of the importance of FULLY respecting basic human rights, including but not limited to the refugees right to return to original homes and lands. Not more forced transfer but true return.

Posted by Anne Selden Annab | July 29, 2008 10:11 PM

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Hi N-N

Are you asking a serious question in search of a better way forward for the many victims of violence and injustice in the Middle East, or are you mainly looking for a way to propagate nasty thoughts about Arabs and Muslims- and Palestinians?

Looks to me like you are mainly looking for a way to plant negative ideas and nasty stereotypes about Arabs and Muslims in general- and Palestinians in particular...

While you wile away your time looking for ways to spread nasty propaganda about Palestinians the reality is this: Israel continues to invest in and defend Israel's many Jews-only settlements on both sides of that monstrous Israeli made Apartheid wall.

Israel continues to destroy Palestinian homes and communities, continues to impoverish and imprison and/or displace the men, women and children of historic Palestine

And earlier today: "Israeli troops on Tuesday shot dead a 12-year-old Palestinian boy during a protest against Israel's separation barrier in the occupied West Bank, Palestinian medical sources said. Hammad Hossam Mussa was hit in the head by a live bullet fired by Israeli soldiers during a demonstration in the village of Nilin, said Salah Al Khawaja, a member of Nilin's Committee Against the Wall." http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20080729/wl_mideast_afp/mideastconflictwestbankbarriertoll_080729175548

Posted by Anne Selden Annab | July 29, 2008 11:57 PM

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Andrew's haunting phrase "that was clearly once an Arab home" conveys a larger truth that Zionists don't want America to see:

Fact is Zionist immigrants to Arab Palestine have been intentionally impoverishing and displacing the indigenous people of historic Palestine- specifically targeting and harassing the native non-Jewish Palestinians all along: In 1947-48 "Some 675 towns and villages were seized and their populations forcibly removed or massacred. On the day that Israel came in to existence 85 per cent of Palestinians whose homes had been on the land occupied by the newly created state found themselves refugees, and remain so until today.

Al-Nakba goes on. It continues every day, in different places and through different means. Whatever the legal cover fabricated by Israel the process remains the same. People are uprooted, and thrown to the four corners of the earth; their land is taken, their landscapes and history obliterated." Salman Abu Sitta http://www.plands.org/articles/14.htm

Zionist crimes against the people of historic Palestine continue unchecked: " 0 Israeli homes have been demolished by Palestinians and 18,147 Palestinian homes have been demolished by Israel since 1967." http://www.ifamericansknew.org/

The larger picture is becoming clear and clearer, thanks in a large part to the information age... As my favorite blogger sums it up so well in her latest post http://umkahlil.blogspot.com/ Until the web of deceit no longer informs . . ."...deny all you want; this is a long, long struggle, and many of us in different ways, are prepared to continue, until the web of deceit no longer informs public consciousness."

Posted by Anne Selden Annab | July 31, 2008 2:10 PM

Natalie-

Your questions "Who are you educating here? Who is doing the educating, and what is the motivation for it? How long is this going to take, what do you think the effects will be on the "educated", how successful do you think this will be?" are silly questions and a waste of time- an intentional distraction.

I was inspired to comment here in this Zionist dominated comment section of the Time Magazine Blog because I very much struck by Andrew's writing skills- the poetry really in the way he uses words and how he is able to honestly express his thoughts and impressions as he put it so beautifully with sentences like this: "So why keep harping on Israel and the Middle East? Because the mess and the metaphors are so vivid".

Fact is modern man-made "Israel" is in long term and flagrant violation of international law and the Palestinians' basic human rights. What ever Zionism once was- or might have become- it has become an armed and dangerous ideology with horrible ramifications for countless people (including Jews).

I don't think America should be empowering Zionism... and I really have no interest in getting bogged down chatting with you Natalie, because in my opinion (although I don't know this for a fact, just a general impression) you don't seem like a very nice person, or a very well informed person, as you are so deeply mired in Zionist ideology and harassment techniques... perhaps on other topics I would enjoy and appreciate chatting with you. But from what I have seen of your comments so far, I really have no interest in finding out more about you and what we might have in common on more neutral grounds. You are free to continue grumbling and trying to find ways to waste my time or trip me up or whatever- but I am also free to flit away from you : )...

And in doing so I am inspired to quote one of my favorite writers, Saree Makdisi ( and the author of Palestine Inside Out: An Everyday Occupation http://www.amazon.com/Palestine-Inside-Out-Everyday-Occupation/dp/0393066061 ) from his recent article in the Guardian - "The question, in other words, is not whether there will be a one-state solution, but when; and how much needless suffering there will be in the meantime, until those who are committed to the project of creating and maintaining a religiously exclusivist state in what was historically a culturally and religiously heterogeneous land finally relent and accept the inevitable: that they have failed." http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2008/jul/28/israelandthepalestinians.middleeast

Posted by Anne Selden Annab | July 31, 2008 7:20 PM

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RE: from our Readers- Israeli-Palestinian prisoner deal underscores divide
http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080724/OPINION04/807240335/1072

http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080724/OPINION04/807240335&s=d&page=18#pluckcomments

*AnneSeldenAnnab* wrote:

Why does any one assume that modern man made Israel ever told the truth about what happened - or what happens now, as legions of Zionist propagandists constantly clamor to spin everything into yet another way to empower and promote Zionism.

Today we see some valiant letters that try to help explain the Palestinian perspective and the truth about monstrous Israeli crimes against the people of historic Palestine... and hopefully tomorrow there will be many many more as the miracle of the information age combined with free speech and the quest for a just and lasting peace makes it possible to prove once and for all that racist Israel is wrong- simply and completely wrong.

7/24/2008 8:15:07 AM

letters & online comment published 2008

2008-04-28T10:03:00.000-07:00

Detriot Free Press
comment i posted online regarding Palestinian Christian leader calls for American support
http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080703/NEWS05/80703036/1007/NEWS

AnneSeldenAnnab wrote:

I am grateful to see this story published, and thrilled to see umkahlil's excellent comment in response, concerning the importance of respecting basic human rights- and i like that she remembered the Palestinian refugees. It's the core of the conflict, all else really is derivative. The Palestinian refugees' right to return to original homes and lands- and full and equal rights- is an inalienable right, a legal right and a natural right, clearly and specifically affirmed by international law since 1948. Sixty years of knowing that fact won't be erased.
7/3/2008 8:24:03 PM

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http://www.pennlive.com/letters/patriotnews/index.ssf?/base/news/121391071454260.xml&coll=1

Rogue nation

Friday, June 20, 2008

What a shame that syndicated columnist Thomas Friedman uses his obvious talent and podium (June 13) to empower Zionism and the rogue nation known as Israel, the country that has intentionally and extensively oppressed, impoverished and displaced the men, women and children of historic Palestine.

Manmade Israel, with its apartheid laws and walls, is the very nemesis of all that America is supposed to be. Buffett and Friedman could be and should be investing in and believing in America and our ideals of real freedom, justice and equality.

And what about American jobs? What about America's future ? Friedman might as well have written a column encouraging the U.S. to send our economic stimulus checks straight to Israel. Where will America be in another 20 years, as its wealthiest businessmen and popular columnists (plus many a myopic religious leader) betray America in order to idolize a very foreign country?

-- ANNE SELDEN ANNAB, Hampden Twp.

Houston Chronicle

June 15, 2008, 11:35PM
LETTERS
Debating Israel, U.S. policy
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/editorial/outlook/5839458.html

An obvious bad idea

Great to see professor of law George Bisharat pop up in the Chronicle's pages. As usual, he tackles a crucially important and difficult topic, and he deals with it better than any others I have seen.

While our politicians across the board foolishly pander to the Israel lobby, it becomes more and more obvious that Israel itself is a bad idea.

While halting Israel's illegal settlements is a good first step — as is dismantling them — halting half the occupation won't halt the hate festering in the hearts of generously subsidized Israeli settlers trained to believe they have a right and a duty to treat Palestinians horribly.

ANNE SELDEN ANNAB
Mechanicsburg, Penn.

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Letters to the Editor

from the June 10, 2008 edition

http://www.csmonitor.com/2008/0610/p08s03-cole.html

Would a unified Israeli-Palestinian state work?

In response to Ghada Karmi's recent Opinion piece on a "one-state solution": The two-state "solution" has been a cruel one to the people of historic Palestine, and it has been a farce, for it has not been a solution at all. It's been yet another way to oppress, impoverish, and displace the native non-Jewish population of the Holy Land.

Simply respecting basic human rights would go a long way toward creating a just and lasting peace in that very troubled region. And it has to start with the people.

Anne Selden Annab
Mechanicsburg, Pa.

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Pessimism over prospects for fair and just peace in the Middle East
http://www.alarabiya.net/views/2008/06/08/51168.html
Sami- I like your comment- and several other comments here. The guy responding to your comment uses all CAPS and is clearly an idiot- a rude idiot- an imbecile. How is one supposed to respond to someone who starts by saying "WHAT IS WRONG WITH ARABS IS THAT THEY ARE ...VERY DIS-LIKABLE." ??!! That writer is clearly a nasty bigot - and is not worth the waste of time it takes to read his comment beyond that first stupid line.... Let him wallow alone in his nasty thoughts- no need to waste even a minute worrying about him as his obvious goal in life is to spread hate.
annie

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New York Daily News
6-8-2008
letters

http://www.nydailynews.com/opinions/2008/06/08/2008-06-08_voice_of_the_people_for_june_8_2008.html?page=1

Israel and the Arabs

Mechanicsburg, Pa.: The snide letter by Voicer Michelle Wudowsky insulting the teenage Palestinian-American letter writer is not merely rude, it is wrong. Israel's barbaric brutality toward native non-Jewish men, women and children of historic Palestine is well-documented.

Anne Selden Annab

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RE: No refuge from responsibility,Attacks on Unrwa are disingenuous and serve only to absolve Israel of culpability for the squalor and limbo in which Palestinians exist by Seth Freedman
http://commentisfree.guardian.co.uk/seth_freedman/2008/05/no_refuge_from_responsibility.html

comment left online

AnneSelden

Comment No. 1386684

May 30 11:34

USA

Thank you Seth for tackling this crucial topic, and handling it so well. The way I see it is its all part of the Golden Rule- Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. Respecting basic human rights (including but not limited to every refugees' inalienable legal, moral and natural right to return) is crucial for everyone's sake.

60 years ago our governments signed the Universal Declaration of Human Rights for good reasons- now there is a new initiative for people to read and sign it too:

"2008 is the Universal Declaration of Human Rights 60th anniversary. It's time for a global conversation about human rights and the values that unite us as one human family. But it can also be a time when each of us chooses to take human rights into our daily lives..." Every Human Has Rights http://www.everyhumanhasrights.org/

I don't know if you have seen the inspiring pledge- but you certainly are living it by writing so honestly and beautifully on the subject of UNWRA and doing what you can to try to stop the hate mongering and the misinformation being generated by some very misguided zealots.

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RE: Historical perspective, May 24th responses, inbox 5-29-8
http://www.economist.com/blogs/theinbox/2008/05/historical_perspective_may_24t.cfm#list-comments
comments posted online

anne selden annab wrote:

The basic human rights "of Jews" are the exact same as the basic human rights of "non-Jews" - that is the whole point: It is wrong to have double standards granting privileges, freedoms and respect for some people but not for "others" based on religion or race...etc... UNIVERSAL HUMAN RIGHTS: Jews are human- that should not have to be explained- or do you have your doubts ? If so please seriously consult with a Rabbi, Priest, or Imam, depending on who you feel most comfortable consulting.

5/30/2008 4:19 PM EDT

anne selden annab wrote:

Davka: "basic Jewish rights" ??? !!! The point has got to be basic human rights period- there are no special rights for Jews. Universal basic human rights- and investing in the rule of fair and just laws and polices, regardless of a person's supposed religion or race.

5/30/2008 8:02 AM EDT

anne selden annab wrote:

The responses you published concerning 'Historic Perspective" were angry Zionists who seek to dismiss and/or demonize the Palestinians' very real cause for complaint. Zionists are very good at writing letters and op-eds and speeches, but they are not very good at respecting the Palestinians' basic human rights- or property lines... or peace agreements.

An interesting fact: reported today on the wire services: Bahrain has no diplomatic relations with Israel. Do you think that is bigotry- if so why did Bahrain just name a Jewish woman as ambassador to US ? http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080529/ap_on_re_mi_ea/bahrain_jewish_ambassador_1

5/29/2008 8:37 PM EDT

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LA Times online May 16th

DUST-UP: ISRAEL AT 60

George E. Bisharat debates Judea Pearl online in the LA Times

my comment posted on online comment section

Should the U.S. help broker peace?
http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/la-oew-du15may15,0,7128501.graffitiboard

9. Really great to see these difficult questions tackled head on in this fascinating online debate... Looks to me like it already is one state, with a Jews-preferred Israel controlling who gets public funds, positive PR, jobs and security and who gets kicked to the curb. What is bad now will only be worse tomorrow. Pearl worries about 'the dangers those Jews might face". Surely that danger grows exponentially the longer Israel itself violates the Palestinians' basic human rights!

Submitted by: Anne Selden Annab

3:30 AM PDT, May 16, 2008

Israel, starting from scratch
11. The proof is in the pudding as they say: I do not have the urge to dig up and quote obscure Zionist papers, but I can simply see what is now as the internet helps Palestinians publicize their perspectives. I like reading Bisharat. Some of his comments are AMAZING- and very thought provoking, such as the fact that "Zionist - and later Israeli- leaders have been careful to admit only what political traffic would bear". Facts on the ground, including the settlement projects on both sides of that ugly Israeli-made Apartheid-security wall, plus the ongoing Palestinian refugee crisis prove Bisharat's point.

Submitted by: Anne Selden Annab

7:24 AM PDT, May 13, 2008

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Letters to the Editor
http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/opinion/letters/bal-ed.le.letters184may18,0,2415931.story

Palestinians still have right to return

May 18, 2008

It was good to see Alice Rothchild's column "The other side of Israel's birth" (May 14), with its focus on the Nakba created by Israel - the dispossession and expulsion of more than 700,000 Palestinians living in what was to become Israel, and Israel's subsequent refusal to respect the Palestinian refugees' right of return.

As she notes, yes, it is "time to acknowledge that other anniversary and to move forward with eyes and hearts open to the suffering of all the children of Abraham."

However I am deeply concerned that - rather than simply respecting basic human rights (which include but are not limited to the Palestinian refugees' inalienable legal, moral and natural right of return to their homeland) - there is a bit of a sleight of hand here with regard to what Ms. Rothchild calls "creative solutions - from resettlement to financial compensation."

Sixty years ago, return or compensation for lost property was a formula that made immediate sense - but 60 years later, with even more Palestinians impoverished and pushed out into forced exile by a Jews-preferred Israel, return and compensation is the only way to right this terrible wrong.

Anne Selden Annab
Mechanicsburg, Pa.

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Washington Post online
5-13-2008

RE: Bush's Legacy on Israel Debated on Eve of Visit
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/05/12/AR2008051202957.html

comment i posted online http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/05/12/AR2008051202957_Comments.html

annieannab wrote:

Israel is responsible for its own crimes- and its own sovereign self, its own bad choices and its own duty to make right by the many people wronged by Zionist crimes.

What Bush and any other US President does or does not do has always been adeptly used by the misnamed Jewish State to excuse and empower racist Israel's cruel persecution, oppression, dispossession and displacement of the people of historic Palestine.

>From left to right, no doubt about it, Zionist Israel is (and has been) institutionalized bigotry and injustice, some is just more obviously abhorrent than others. It could have been anything in 1948, but it chose to treat the people of Palestine horribly... and things have only gone from bad to worse.

Zionist terror and bigotry created and continues to exasperate the largest longest running refugee crisis in the world today. Flagrantly violating international law and the Palestinians' basic human rights, Israel expects its neighbors to 'absorb' the people of historic Palestine, and it expects the Palestinians to simply be polite about this despicable situation.

We have to assume that on this current trajectory, given more time, Israel will eventually expect Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq, Syria and/or Egypt's neighbors to 'absorb' the people that Almighty Apartheid Israel does not want around for what ever reason. Abusing the idea of 'security' Zionist choices have already been making life very very insecure for everyone in the region, with world wide consequences:

After the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, Israeli propagandists quickly stepped up to spin everything to their advantage- ever eager to usurp American money and sympathy for a country that is actually the antithesis of American ideals of freedom, justice, and equality for ALL.

Perhaps the ultimate legacy of the Bush administration will be an increasing awareness that no one should make peace with The Israel Industry and its blatantly racist war on the people of historic Palestine, a war that has been undermining American democracy in many ways:

It certainly would be nice to have an American election free from a foreign country's interference, as right now all candidates are very much bullied and bribed into idolizing Israel so they can get elected.

It would also be nice not to have to deal with the pervasive nastiness, hate mongering, divisivenesses, religious extremism and wars inspired by "Israel". 60 years of this man made mess have been bad enough- imagine another sixty more?!

5/13/2008 9:36:49 AM

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Shaping More Powerful Arguments for Palestine

General view of Nablus (Matson collection: before 1920)

By Anne Selden Annab

Following the lead of many others, in "Sinkable Israel," Ayman El-Amir writing for Al-Ahram(1) compared the plight of the Palestinians to that of the Native Americans... Sinkable Israel, would sink much faster if Arab writers realized that they undermine their own arguments by trying to equate the devastation of early Native American communities to modern Israel's barbarically modern and intentional ethnic cleansing of historic Palestine.

Zionist propaganda makes Israel float. Zionists want Americans to believe that "Israel" is a worthy and a necessary investment. You don't need to convince Arabs (or Muslims) that racist Israel is wrong- you need to convince all the taxpayers and charities in the West, especially Americans, that Israel is really is a rogue nation in long term and flagrant violation of international law and the Palestinians basic human rights.

Early America was not at all like Palestine. First and most obviously, Palestine was not an isolated island totally untouched by the influence of long established trade routes as well as various alphabets and manuscripts- book learning. Palestine was a well known place, with known written history as well as many stone buildings including ancient (or at least old) churches, mosques, synagogues, schools, businesses as well as permanent homes (2). Palestine, just like America one hundred years ago, had both urban as well as rural communities.

When Zionists began to invade Palestine, the people of Palestine had the ability to read and write (primarily in Arabic), they had books and they knew all about paper, glass, metal and other such crafts that help enhance the quality of life in many ways, as well as the rule of law.

Palestinians had door keys, whereas in Early America, there were no door keys, nor were there land deeds- in fact there were not even horses. Horses were introduced by Spanish settlers in the sixteenth century, very much revolutionizing travel, trade, hunting and tribal warfare.

Gallop up to 1776 and the official founding of the USA with our Declaration of Independence and the emergence of our Constitution with our Bill of Rights: Think about the very real potential for real freedom, equality, and prosperity for all people, including those now known as Native Americans, that was able to eventually emerge from "We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America..." (3)

When the USA was first founded, women had no vote, nor did blacks or Native Americans. Those really were primitive times- worldwide. However our basic laws and ideals have enabled women, blacks and native Americans to gain legal rights, freedoms, economic opportunities, respect and relative security, whereas racist Israel's basic laws and policies ensure that the people of historic Palestine will continue to be harassed, oppressed, demonized and displaced in a continuing Nakba that has already targeted and destroyed countless Palestinian men, women and children, because they have been deemed the 'wrong' religion by the misnamed "Jewish State" that has been dividing and destroying historic Palestine for the past 60 years.

The rule of fair and just laws is a good foundation for any nation: The Indian Citizenship Act of 1924 (4) gave United States citizenship to Native Americans, while halfway around the world, the ink was still relatively fresh on Balfour's formal endorsement of early Zionism on the condition that "nothing shall be done which may prejudice the civil and religious rights of existing non-Jewish communities in Palestine"(5).

Was Balfour aware that the father of modern Zionism, Theodor Hertzl, clearly encouraged some rather underhanded tactics based on bigotry that remain the basic philosophy of the misnamed "Jewish State" today? Tactics that clearly prejudice the civil and religious rights of existing non-Jewish communities in Palestine.

"In his diaries, Herzl made it clear that “the existing landed property was to be gently expropriated, any subsequent resale to the original owners was prohibited, and all immovables had to remain in exclusively Jewish hands. The poor population was to be worked across the frontier ‘unbemerkt’ (surreptitiously)… This population was to be refused all employment in the land of its birth… In 1901, the 5th Zionist Congress founded the Jewish National Fund. According to the by-laws of the JNF, acquired land became inalienable Jewish property and could no longer be sold or leased to non-Jews...”(6)

Never ever forget that when Israel declared itself a sovereign state in 1948, Native Americans legally had full and equal rights in America, plus tribal rights. Time lines are important to keep in mind. In equating the two very different tragedies in hopes of gaining American sympathy for the Palestinian cause, you actually prevent Americans from more fully understanding the escalating catastrophe that has been created by modern "Israel."

Never ever forget that in today's world, unlike even 100 years ago, we now have international law and known words coined to firmly condemn genocide. We also have the Universal Declaration of Human Rights from 1948 (7) which clearly states in Article 1:

All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.

This year, this month of May, as our gardens bloom with spring flowers, this year is the 60th Year of Al-Nakba and Struggle to Return: Palestine 60 Years of Forced Exile (8). It is Time For Return (9). It is logical--it is legal--it is moral--it is right.

Notes:

(1) El-Amir, Ayman. "Sinkable Israel." http://weekly. ahram.org. eg/2008/895/ op2.htm
(2) Palestine Remembered http://www.palestineremembered.com/
Khalidi, Walid. Before Their Diaspora: A Photographic History of the Palestinians 1876-1948. Washington D.C.: Institute for Palestine Studies, 1991.
(3) Preamble to the Constitution of the United States http://www.ushistory.org/documents/constitution.htm
(4) Indian Citizenship Act of 1924 http://www.nebraskastudies.org/0700/frameset_reset.html?http://www.nebraskastudies.org/0700/stories/0701_0146.html
(5) Balfour Declaration of 1917 http://www.yale. edu/lawweb/ avalon/mideast/ balfour.htm
(6) Sakhnini, Nizar. "The Zionist Project in Palestine: Colonial Settlement, Land Robbery and Ethnic Cleansing," 7 October 2005, http://www.al- awda.org/ zionists3. html
(7) Universal Declaration of Human Rights http://www.un. org/Overview/ rights.html
(8) The 60th Year of Al-Nakba and Struggle to Return http://www.al-awda.org/convention6/index.html
(9) Al-Awda Fact Sheet The Right To Return, a Basic Right Still Denied* http://www.al-awda.org/facts.html

***********************************************
Baltimore Sun
4-28-2008
Comment posted online regarding: The Palestinians' melancholy anniversary :Israel's birthday reminds exiles of their lost homes
http://www.topix.net/forum/source/baltimore-sun/T7GL4KI9SP55134FG#lastPost

I am immensely grateful and relieved to see the telling story " The Palestinians' melancholy anniversary : Israel's birthday reminds exiles of their lost homes". The more that America knows and understands about the very real plight of the native non-Jewish Palestinians the less likely public and private funds (and lethal weaponry) will be sent to sustain and defend the institutionalized bigotry, injustice and escalating brutality of the Jews-preferred Israel Industry:

The Nakba of 1948 is an ongoing catastrophe, and with the internet we are now able to see what is really going on: Palestinians continue to be harassed, oppressed and intentionally displaced by Zionist laws and polices.

Pre-1948 photos of Palestine show a very civilized country with a wide mix of people, with some dressed in charming traditional costumes that varied from village to village, as well as many people wearing what we would call modern Western dress. Palestine was not "a land with out a people for a people with out a land" as early Zionists liked to claim. And more importantly international law made it quite clear in 1948 that the Palestinian refugees have an inalienable legal and natural right to return to original homes and lands.

18,147 Palestinian homes have been demolished by Israel since 1967 (http://www.ifamericansknew.org/ ), which is a continuation of the original Nakba of 1948 when "Jewish forces depopulated more than 450 Palestinian towns and villages, most of which were demolished." (http://imeu.net/news/article008085.shtml )

The nation called "Israel" has not made a safe haven for anyone, plus it inspires anti-Semitism worldwide as well as the rise of Islamic resistance: This is not a good year for any one to celebrate Israel for well documented Zionist crimes against the native non-Jewish men, women and children of historic Palestine (both Christian and Muslim) continue unchecked, generously funded actually by American taxpayers who are being forced to finance and empower this misguided Jewish variation of "church and state".

And tragically for all, odds are that next year Apartheid Israel's crimes will only be more monstrous.... Perhaps, I hope, one day we the people of the world will look back and be able to say with compassion that Israel's greatest gift to the Middle East was convincing ALL people that it really is a very bad idea to arm any religion with lethal weaponry.

Anne Selden Annab

**************************************
Economist
4-25-2008
RE: Matthew Pflaum's perfect gem of a letter on Israel
http://www.economist.com/opinion/displaystory.cfm?story_id=11082004
comment i posted online in the comment forum:
http://www.economist.com/opinion/displaystory.cfm?story_id=11082004&mode=comment&intent=readBottom

anne selden annab wrote:

April 25, 2008 08:59

I really liked Matthew Pflaum's perfect gem of a letter on Israel- so little says so very very much, and as they say 'silence is complicity'... It is obvious to any one who seriously studies the situation that the crisis in Gaza is not simply a matter of Israel intentionally caging Palestinians in like animals- the real crime that makes all else possible is the fact that the vast majority of Palestinian men, women and children, including those currently trapped and being tormented in the open air prison camp called Gaza, are persecuted, impoverished and displaced Palestinian refugees long denied their legal and moral right to return to original homes and lands.

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WASHINGTON POST
4-20-2008
RE: Was 'Excluded' the Wrong Word?
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/04/18/AR2008041802706.html
comment i posted online in the comment section:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/04/18/AR2008041802706_Comments.html

annieannab wrote:

I had to laugh on seeing ombudsman Deborah Howell's headline " Was 'Excluded' the Wrong Word? ", concerning reporting about Israel (Palestine) knowing that the core of the Israel/Palestine conflict is constantly excluded from the conversation in America, just as the vast majority of native non-Jewish men, women and children, the people known as Palestinians, have been excluded from full and equal rights in the land of their birth: The vast majority of Palestinians are refugees pushed into forced exile:

The Palestinian refugees' legal and moral right to return to original homes and lands as clearly affirmed by international law since "Israel" came to be, is constantly excluded from the conversation in many ways as Zionist ideologues seek to dismiss and ignore the Palestinians' basic human rights on both sides of that hideous Israeli-made Apartheid-security wall... all else, including that divisive land and rights grabbing wall as well as the abject ugliness of the occupation really is derivative.

I do like that Howell bothered to contact and quote Palestinians, such as Hassan Jabareen, executive director of Adalah, a legal center for Arab minority rights in Israel. That is a good step in the right direction- but the most important step for everyone's sake is for Americans to realize how important it is to understand the very real plight of the Palestinians as well as the vital importance of FULLY respecting the Palestinian refugees very real right of return.

4/20/2008 7:40:35 AM

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MIAMI HERALD
4-18-2008
comment i just left online...
RE: `Children deserve to grow up in peace' by RANIA AL ABDULLAH
http://www.miamiherald.com/851/story/500525.html
http://pod01.prospero.com/n/pfx/forum.aspx?msg=41786&nav=messages&webtag=kr-miamitm

Comments

Thrilled, delighted and relieved to see this revealing article concerning Palestinian children by Rania Abdullah `Children deserve to grow up in peace' - for it is true and compassionate, and if anything it is far too gentle and polite considering all that the children of Palestine have had to suffer through. I admire her for being able to speak calmly and rationally in the face of this ongoing fiasco. Apartheid Israel's punitive siege and stranglehold on the people of historic Palestine should have ended long ago. Instead it only gets worse as well as more obviously bigoted and cruel and divisive as decade by decade the misnamed Jewish State finds ways to displace, imprison, segregate and destroy the native non-Jewish population of the Holy Land. And FYI Frida Ghitis is wrong to assert that "Hamas can end Palestinian suffering", for HAMAS did not create this situation, they are only a relatively recent reaction to it. The only solution to the mess in the Middle East is to recognize the fact that the vast majority of Palestinians are refugees pushed into forced exile and despair- and, as clearly affirmed by UN Resolution 194 from 1948, the Palestinian refugees have always had a legal and a moral right to return to original homes and lands... and always will.

Posted by: Anne_Selden_Annab

************************************************
Houston Chronicle
Comment I left online regarding

April 11, 2008, 11:40AM
POETRY: Healing verse, Palestinian-American doctor turns suffering into song, wins top U.S. prize

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/life/main/5691580.html

AnneSeldenAnnab wrote:

What a joy and a pleasure to see "POETRY Healing verse Palestinian-American doctor turns suffering into song, wins top U.S. prize" !

More and more, through the years, I have come to know and love Palestine- its people and its poetry- its truth. I very much look forward to buying Fady Joudah's book of poems when it hits the book stores this week... Spring is a wonderful time to celebrate poetry- and Palestine.

And anytime soon please, is a good time to start seriously respecting UN Resolution 194 from 1948- the Palestinian refugees very real right to return to original homes and lands.

4/13/2008 7:14:48 AM

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Detroit Free Press
3-24-2008
comment i just left online regarding

Israeli ideals don't match the reality

http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080324/OPINION04/803240306/1072

In your voice

AnneSeldenAnnab wrote:

It was great to once again see some excellent letters in the Free Press by a handful of reasonable rational people who believe in Palestine- and peace. If only more people took the time to simply explain the facts about Israel's constant crimes against the native non-Jewish population of the Holy Land... if only more people simply challenged Zionist propaganda, using words not weapons ( or endorsements of violence) to help free Palestine.
3/24/2008 7:36:45 AM

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WASHINGTON TIMES
March 6 2008
http://www.washingtontimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080306/EDITORIAL/108130116/1013/EDITORIAL

Letters to the Editor

Demographic panic

If indeed the numbers of Palestinians are terribly inflated ("Israeli-Palestinian demographics," Letters, yesterday) why is Israel so obsessed with oppressing and permanently displacing the people of historic Palestine? Why the perpetual panic about demographics?

More important, denying full and equal rights to one or several million oppressed and displaced people is wrong.

Every child should count and be valued by the powers that be. Members of every heritage, every religion and every family should be safe in their homes. Every child and every family should be able simply to be unmolested by racist laws and walls.

There is a reason for the Universal Declaration of Human Rights from 1948, including but not limited to the right to leave and the right to return: Most of the men, women and children trapped and tormented in Gaza are Palestinian refugees. That's a demographic we should all be noticing.

ANNE SELDEN ANNAB
Mechanicsburg, Pa.

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The Lantern
online comments

Refugees share their stories

http://www.thelantern.com/home/index.cfm?event=displayArticleComments&ustory_id=0db1a42d-e4ba-4369-86be-3d327fd802fb#1cc6776e-92b6-4d9c-89b0-94165dd51bda

Anne Selden Annab

posted 2/27/08 @ 11:53 AM EST

"The Lantern" is well named- I was delighted to come across this excellent article by Lesley Hernandez, reporting on "a panel of Ohio State refugee students discuss their experiences".

In particular I was relieved to see that a Palestinian had been included- and quoted at length concerning his family's long wait for their right to return to be respected. A basic human right by the way that has been clearly and irreversibly affirmed by international law all along.

Intrigued by his story about his grandfather, I very much hope that when Rami Arafah graduates he continues to find places and ways to honor and remember Palestine-and the Right of Return- and his family's story.

Anyway- thanks for publishing this well written and informative column!

*****************************************************
ChicagoTribune Online letters

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/opinion/letters/chi-080211forum_briefs,0,1524973.story

Comment forums reveal beauty of debate

February 11, 2008

I very much agree with letter writer Forest Ormes' disgust with nasty responses in comment forums; however, for democracy's sake, I think that we should more fear the conversation being stifled and stopped by the good intentions of reasonable folks who are concerned about the nastiness that erupts in many comment forums.

Surely a person educated enough to read can sort through various comments and skip over those that are obviously cruel or crazy. Sometimes precious gems pop up in unexpected places and a quick scan of comments in an open discussion can disclose important moods and thoughts that can be more revealing than carefully edited responses tend to show.

Yes, we are all accountable for our words, as well as our actions. We are also able to shun the more despicably rude troublemakers who want to poison and stop the conversation. We can also freely chose to walk away whenever we want, finding greener pastures for grazing. That is the true beauty of open debate.

--Anne Selden Annab
Mechanicsburg, Penn.

*****************************************************

I Have a Dream

Posted by Scott MacLeod

January 25, 2008 5:48

http://time-blog.com/middle_east/2008/01/i_have_a_dream.html

Posted by Anne Selden Annab
January 27, 2008

THRILLED with every inspiring word written by Scott MacLeod in his very modern and highly relevant "I have a dream"!

Very glad too to see Time Magazine helping create a more reasonable and intelligent dialogue by featuring these Middle East blogs, and providing a forum for comments....I might not agree with all they say at times- but I always find food for thought. One thing I have noticed is that Zionists really do tend to hate monger- and I do not like hate.

It is great to see the uplifting response by Nancy Harb Almendras saying "Thank you, Scott. This is a beautiful post and as a Palestinian-American, I am grateful." which includes a link to her own beautiful blog which really is well worth reading and thinking about. The more I listen and the more I research, the more I like the idea of a just and lasting peace for the children of historic Palestine.

*****************************
THE DAILY STAR
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/letters.asp?edition_id=10

Reader's Feedback Published on 26/01/2008

Rami G. Khouri
"Stalemate in Palestine after 60 years"
January 19, 2008

This is a perfect headline, and its amazing how headlining a few choice words can express so much. Communication really is the key to getting the message across and convincing people to care. I wish there were more columnists able to write honestly and compassionately about Palestine.

I think you are very right about the stalemate created by the violence between Israel and Palestine, as well as the fact that Israel will not be able to crush Palestinian resistance. However, the picture is much wider than what happens on the ground within the perimeters of what was once historic Palestine.

Apartheid Israel's real strength is in its ability to gather support and funds worldwide. Zionists really are quite good at PR and propaganda, knowing how to speak as well as who to speak to, thus ensuring that outside support sustains Zionist conquest through thick and thin.
Meanwhile, Palestinians, trapped and tormented by racist Israeli laws and walls and constantly forced to contend with the ugly reality of Israel, become more and more furious and frustrated that the justness of their cause is not immediately apparent to the Western world.

Many then foolishly cater their side of the conversation to appeal to a sympathetic radical fringe, rather than realizing that the radicalization of the conversation only alienates mainstream outsiders - in particular mainstream America - ensuring that Zionist fundraisers will continue to own and manipulate the conversation to their advantage.

In light of that, I like how you end your article, stressing the importance of negotiations based on respecting international law. It is so simple, and so right, as is full respect for the Palestinians refugees' inalienable right of return to their original homes and lands as clearly affirmed by UN Resolution 194 in 1948.

Anne Selden Annab
Pennsylvania, USA

*****************************************
CONGRESS.ORG
http://www.congress.org/congressorg/bio/userletter/?id=20004&letter_id=1677351641
Subject: BREAK THE SILENCE ON GAZA!

To: President George Bush,

Connected by the internet and informed by the information age, on the eve of the day we are to commemorate Martin Luther King Jr.- and a more real democracy with full and equal rights for all, I am utterly horrified to know of the sorrow and suffering in all of Palestine so cruelly besieged by racist Israeli rule- in particular the prisoners of Gaza; the men, women and children trapped in the world's largest open air prison camp, and being bombed by the Jewish State because racist Israel wants all Palestinians either silenced or gone.

In the spirit of all that I know of American laws and ideals I firmly and formally object to my tax dollars supporting the Jewish State and its state sponsored terrorism- its blatantly racist war on the people of historic Palestine. I know that life is not fair- but at least we can try to be fair in all our dealings- and we must denounce injustice where ever it might be found. Right now it is found everywhere that our well funded, heavily armed, nefarious 'friend' Israel can reach... Racist Israel's reach is strangling and intentionally destroying the men women and children of historic Palestine.

Please stop idolizing the Jewish State with our hard earned tax dollars! Please stop investing in the institutionalized bigotry and Apartheid that is Israel today.

"When the architects of our republic wrote the magnificent words of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, they were signing a promise" MLK

and that promise has to help free Palestine....

"I say to you today, my friends, so even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream. I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: "We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal." " MLK

Please help the harshly oppressed and persecuted people of historic Palestine, including the many Palestinian men, women and children so cruelly imprisoned in Gaza. Please help free ALL the people of historic Palestine by supporting full respect for basic human rights, including the right to leave- and the right to return.

FREEDOM & RETURN: A Rights Based Solution to building a just and lasting peace in the Middle East ... Not just the return (al-awda) of the refugees, but also a return to the rule of law and respect for human rights: For more than five decades Palestinian refugees and internally displaced have struggled for a solution to their plight based on UN resolutions and international law, including the right to voluntarily return to their homes and lands of origin from which they were displaced/expelled during wars in 1948 and 1967 and due to other Israeli policies of forced eviction, deportation, etc....

The Palestinian refugees' right to return to original homes and lands really is legal- and really is right: Al-Awda FACT SHEET: The Right To Return, a Basic Right Still Denied

Please do not look away as so many did during the Nazi Holocaust- please step up to denounce the institutionalized bigotry, injustice and pervasive violence of the Jewish State.

Sincerely,
Anne Selden Annab

*******************************************
RE: Middle East Triangle By Hussein Agha and Robert Malley (Washington Post)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/01/16/AR2008011603442.html
comment published online http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/01/16/AR2008011603442_Comments.html

annieannab wrote:

Politics are so beside the point- empowering fragmented 'groups' while the Palestinians' individual basic human rights are blatantly violated by racist Israeli laws and walls only undermines peace even more: For everyone's sake we should be advocating a Human Rights Based solution to the Israel/Palestine conflict with the highest priority simply on full respect for the Palestinian refugees' very real right to return to original homes and lands. Let true respect for human dignity and real democracy be the foundation for whatever will be ... one by one, we the people really can help make this world a better place for ALL.

*****************************************

RE: Bush's "New Middle East" Time Magazine Blog (online comment)
http://time-blog.com/middle_east/2008/01/bushs_new_middle_east.html

Posted by Anne Selden Annab
January 14, 2008

While speaking about SURVIVAL Tihiyeh seriously needs to notice the many ways in which both the West Bank and Gaza are besieged- that's not a "they want to destroy us" scenario that Zionists deploy in every conversation they can, but the actual strangulation and destruction of countless innocent and vulnerable people trapped and tormented by racist Israeli laws and walls.

*******************************************

1-14-2008
USA Today online comment published regarding

Middle East peacemaking requires steady mediation

http://blogs.usatoday.com/oped/2008/01/middle-east-pea.html#more

anneseldenannab wrote: <1m>

Good to see your editorial tackling Middle East peacemaking. However you dropped the ball in not realizing the importance of insisting on a rights based solution. A rights based solution which includes full respect for the Palestinian refugee's inalienable right of return to original homes and lands as clearly spelled out by international law all along.

In 1948 UN Resolution 194 phrased it as "the refugees wishing to return to their homes and live at peace with their neighbours should be permitted to do so at the earliest practicable date, and that compensation should be paid or the property of those choosing not to return and for loss of or damage to property which, under principles of international law or in equity, should be made good by the Governments or authorities responsible" http://www.yale.edu/lawweb/avalon/decade/decad17 1.htm

60 years later with Israel intentionally and systematically displacing even more Palestinian men, women and children all the while, true justice demands both return and compensation- otherwise we only reward and encourage Apartheid polices and genocidal campaigns worldwide.

2008-01-28T15:16:00.000-08:00

2008-01-27T07:42:00.000-08:00

Mt. Nebo

2007-12-31T19:11:00.000-08:00

2007-12-25T11:11:00.000-08:00

In our garden room....

Published letters

2007-12-25T09:10:00.000-08:00

NOTE: FREEDOM & RETURN: A Rights Based Solution to building a just and lasting peace in the Middle East... Not just the return (al-awda) of the refugees, but also a return to the rule of law and respect for human rights: For more than five decades Palestinian refugees and internally displaced have struggled for a solution to their plight based on UN resolutions and international law, including the right to voluntarily return to their homes and lands of origin from which they were displaced/expelled during wars in 1948 and 1967 and due to other Israeli policies of forced eviction, deportation, etc....

********************************************

online comment Chicago Tribune

O Little Town of Bethlehem

http://www.topix.net/forum/source/chicago-tribune/T1HR0BQ07BTTIBB42#lastPost

Dear Editor

Garrison Keillor's story of Christmas in Bethlehem PA might be beautiful, but it breaks my heart that right now, the original beloved Bethlehem is being besieged, strangled and destroyed by an Israeli made Apartheid wall.

It breaks my heart that so few in America want to notice, much less speak out to firmly object to this horrible Zionist crime against religion, history and humanity, this Zionist crime against the people of historic Palestine, the living links to our Christian beginnings.

Family and friends send out lovely Holiday cards with pastoral scenes depicting a fully free land called Palestine where shepherds are free to graze their flocks and wise men are able to follow a star wherever it might lead.... We sing gentle loving hymns and carols about The Prince of Peace and good will. However we seriously need to stop for a reality check. Generously funded Israel has anything but good will towards the Palestinians. It is intentionally stealing Palestinian land, life, rights and peace in every possible way.

The people of Palestine need our prayers but more than that they need real justice and peace. The people of Palestine need all the world to notice their plight and, as the vast majority of Palestinians are refugees pushed into forced exile, the children of Palestine need all the world to honor and respect the Palestinian refugees' inalienable legal, natural and sacred right to return to original homes and lands. True return to help end Israeli made Apartheid...true return to the rule of fair and just laws... true return to legal dignity where every child is cherished by the powers that be, and every family has a chance to be a good neighbor and friend one by one by one, shaping a real community where peace may flourish for ALL, regardless.

Anne Selden Annab

***************************************

online comment on Arabisto
http://www.arabisto.com/p_blogEntry.cfm?blogEntryID=925

Added: December 05, 2007 06:07 AM

Please respect Palestinian refugees RoR-

achieving lasting peace requires respect for the rule of fair and just laws and policies...sovereign respect for basic human rights- including respect for the Palestinian refugees' very real right of return- it really is the only positive way forward into a just and lasting peace: "'Under international humanitarian law the right of refugees to return to their homes is an inalienable, individual human right. Like all human rights, it is invaluable and cannot be bought. Under Israel and Bush’s 'solution', Palestinian refugee families who had been expelled from what is now Israel would be consigned to return, not to their homes, but to small, non-contiguous parts of less than 22% of their original homeland. Jews from anywhere in the world, on the other hand, would be free to 'return' to more than 78% of historic Palestine, frequently to live on land seized from those same Palestinian refugees. Such clear discrimination against Palestinian refugees and privileging of Jews from anywhere in the world illustrates clearly that these proposals would further a separate but unequal solution that cannot result in peace.... Neta Golan is an Israeli peace with justice activist living in Ramallah, and a founder of the International Solidarity Movement. For more information see: www.apartheidmasked.org'" - from IMEU a good place to find helpful information http://imeu.net/news/article007223.shtml

By:

Anne Selden Annab

Website:

annies-letters.blogspot.c

*************************************************

Washington Times

Letters to the editor

Israel, the Palestinians and peace

12-1-2007
http://www.washingtontimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071201/EDITORIAL/112010004/1013/editorial&template=nextpage

I was thrilled to see the great letter by Ray Gordon, which pointed out that America really should cut off all aid to Israel "until a firm, just peace settlement is in place."

To take the conversation a step further, I very much believe (based on an appreciation for and understanding of America's own secular ideals of a real democracy with freedom, justice and equality for all) that the only acceptable solution for everyone's sake is a rights-based solution — beginning with but not limited to the Palestinian refugees' right to return. A true return — not more forced transfers.

ANNE SELDEN ANNAB

Mechanicsburg, Pa.

*************************************************
New York Sun

http://www.nysun.com/comments/46734

What Most Palestinians Believe
Reader comment on: What Most Palestinians Believe

Submitted by Anne Selden Annab, Nov 12, 2007 07:57

To quote Rick Richmond's conclusion in What Most Palestinians Believe: "The Palestinians do not lack a vision. They adhere to their vision of a "right of return," refusing to recognize the validity of a Jewish state..."

Is that really such a bad thing? What has Israel as the supposed Jewish State really done for Jewish people - and Judaism itself. Zionist propagandists blithely ignore the full and total ugly truth about racist Israel's many crimes against the people of Palestine. And the more that Zionists ignore the more the evidence piles up everywhere as the information age compiles a huge body of evidence proving that the Palestinians really do have just cause for complaint.

The people of Palestine are being oppressed and tormented and intentionally impoverished by Israeli Apartheid and they are being vilified because they dare object. The very freedoms, rights and respect that Palestinians cry out for are the same freedoms and rights - basic human rights as clearly affirmed by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights from 1948, that will help keep Jews safe world wide where ever they might be.

Modern man made Israel as is is a war on all of Palestine- and it is a war on all human beings, regardless of religion, who understand that "the inherent dignity and of the equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human family is the foundation of freedom, justice and peace in the world..."

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights ( http://www.unhchr.ch/udhr/lang/eng.htm ) really is a document well worth reading and thinking about.... and respecting.

*************************************************
comment publihsed online 11-27-7 CNN.com
http://www.cnn.com/exchange/blogs/in.the.field/2007/11/annapolis-why-care.html

the global consequences of the Palestine/Israel situation are already quite grave- and as things are bound to only get worse... Tragically for all it is far too easy for Americans not to notice the largest longest running refugee crisis in the world today- and the fact that Israel, Apartheid Israel heavily armed with angst plus a full arsenal of very lethal weaponry, continues to intentionally and systemically push more and more Palestinians into forced exile and despair.

There is one key to peace, a just and lasting peace... only one key and that is full respect for the Universal Declaration of Human Rights from 1948- including but not limited to the Palestinian refugees very real right to return - true return to original homes and lands. Posted By Anne Selden Annab, Mechanicsburg PA USA : 9:35 AM ET

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comment publihsed online 11-27-2007 The Telegraph
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/opinion/main.jhtml;jsessionid=33HUDI2ZQQEMDQFIQMFSFFOAVCBQ0IV0?xml=/opinion/2007/11/27/do2702.xml&posted=true&_requestid=719475
RE: What the Annapolis summit lacks is willpower

The Palestinian refugees' right of return is an inalienable basic human right, a legal and natural right clearly affirmed and explained by international law: The Palestinian refugees will return, as soon as possible is best.

That was true in 1948 and is still true today.... A thief might come to feel that a stolen television kept and watched for years becomes his rightful property- but the law knows better. Furthermore, Jewish victims of the Nazi Holocaust are still able to reclaim artwork stolen from their family...surely a family home and heritage are more inherently precious and important than paint splattered on a page, no matter how beautiful the patterns might appear to be. The precedent has been set and it is clear.
Posted by Anne Selden Annab on November 27, 2007 10:05 AM

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Philadelphia Daily News

11-20-2007
Letters
http://www.philly.com/dailynews/opinion/20071120_Letters___FAILING_THE_REAL_TEST_OF_CIVIC_RESPONSIBILITY.html

The Palestinian response

Perhaps John R. Cohn thinks his sarcastic op-ed "Annapolis Media Guide" is entertaining, but the native non-Jewish people of historic Palestine are being starved, imprisoned and killed by the entity called Israel and there is nothing funny about that.

The Palestinian refugees' inalienable right to return to original homes and lands has been clearly affirmed and reaffirmed by international law as well as the Universal Declaration of Human Rights since Israel came to be in 1948. Jews who escaped the horrors of the Nazi Holocaust have benefited from the ability to return to their country of origin, yet Zionists deny this same basic right to the Palestinians.

Anne Selden Annab

Mechanicsburg, Pa.

***********************************************
11-17-2007 Hartford Courant online comment regarding

Was Cancellation Of Dance Performance Justified?

(several excellent letters on the topic)
http://www.courant.com/news/opinion/letters/hc-digedletboxb1117.artnov17,0,5297264.story

comment i just left online in response
http://www.topix.net/forum/source/hartford-courant/TP6UG03CLBIPTJ591

I was very much relieved to read the excellent letters "Was Cancellation Of Dance Performance Justified?"...in particular the pertinent statement by Nina Sakun: "It seems to me that it is far more wrong that U.S. tax money (billions in aid to Israel) subsidizes brutal treatment of Palestinians by Israeli soldiers. I wish that reality could be stopped as easily as Ms. Horton was able to stop the dance performance depicting the brutality."

Sakun gets to the heart of why it really is important that America be able to investigate and maybe even appreciate Palestinian perspectives, including Palestinian art. Stopping the conversation by harassing, insulting and demonizing those that dare advocate Palestine dignity and freedom, Zionist ideologues and religious fanatics are easily able to fund a huge crime against all of humanity, with the persecuted and impoverished Palestinians bearing the brunt of the pain: But we are all losing precious peace- and respect- thanks to America's blind support for racist Israel.

Sincerely,
Anne Selden Annab

***********************************************
11-16-2007 Baltimore Sun online comment regarding
Refusal to accept a Jewish state By Irwin J. Mansdorf
http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/opinion/oped/bal-op.israel16nov16,0,6102022.story

comment i just left online- http://www.topix.net/forum/source/baltimore-sun/T1H532C4KVD7PL12G

The problem is political Zionism and the fact that Zionists in trying to create the "Jewish State" on top of historic Palestine have been systemically usurping Palestinian land, liberty and rights- creating and exasperating the largest, longest running refugee crisis in the world today.

Modern man made Israel is an investment in institutionalized bigotry and injustice which is only growing worse- more and more monstrous every day. Israel is Apartheid and Jim Crow gone crazy in a day and age when we really do know better. And thanks to its many talented propagandists it receives the lion's share of America's foreign aid: Our pubic schools can't have a moment of prayer (for good reason) but America funds and defends Israel's "Jewishness"?!

The occupation is only one symptom of a much larger problem: The very real plight of the harshly oppressed and persecuted Palestinians is the root of the problem- and rock solid proof that the idea of Israel as the (misnamed) Jewish State has been a huge disaster for countless people....only it is only growing worse.

Anne Selden Annab

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11-15-2007 San Francisco Chronicle conline comment regarding

Charges dropped against last of 'Los Angeles Eight' by Michel Shehadeh

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/11/15/ED23TC1DE.DTL

comment i just left on the online form...
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article/comments/view?f=/c/a/2007/11/14/ED23TC1DE.DTL&o=1

anneselden wrote:

THRILLED to see Michel Shehadeh's " Charges dropped against last of 'Los Angeles Eight'" ! It made me cry for his dignity and decency are so very very obvious- and his hope is so uplifting and inspiring.. utterly contagious in a good way. The story of the LA8 really is so chilling- shocking really for how can it be that this foreign country called Israel can so easily harass and harm Palestinians and silence dissent here there and everywhere. This whole cruel mess really has been "an embarrassment to the rule of law" and real democracy ... but justice did prevail. May the children of Palestine prevail too, no matter where they might go- and hopefully soon they will also be free to return home to a fully free Palestine. May ALL their stories become known and their heritage be respected.

Posted 11/15/2007 3:22:22 AM

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11-15-2007 Time Magazine Blog online comment regarding

Annapolis: The Day After

http://time-blog.com/middle_east/2007/11/annapolis_the_day_after_1.html

UN General Assembly Resolution 194 has been affirmed by the UN over 130 times since its introduction in 1948.... "11. Resolves that the refugees wishing to return to their homes and live at peace with their neighbours should be permitted to do so at the earliest practicable date, and that compensation should be paid for the property of those choosing not to return and for loss of or damage to property which, under principles of international law or in equity, should be made good by the Governments or authorities responsible;

Instructs the Conciliation Commission to facilitate the repatriation, resettlement and economic and social rehabilitation of the refugees and the payment of compensation, and to maintain close relations with the Director of the United Nations Relief for Palestine Refugees and, through him, with the appropriate organs and agencies of the United Nations"
http://domino.un.org/unispal.nsf/0/c758572b78d1cd0085256bcf0077e51a?OpenDocument

Clearly the Palestinians were already specifically promised and already reassured constantly by the international community that their right of return to original homes and lands is to be respected- as soon as possible please. 60 years and counting... and one very racist Israel continues to push more and more Palestinians into forced exile and despair.

Start peace at the beginning- with full respect for basic human rights including but not limited to the Palestinian refugees inalienable legal and sacred right to return.

Anne Selden Annab
November 15, 2007

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11-10-2007 Chicago Tribune online comment regarding
A glimpse at a life in line: For Palestinians, a tense daily grind http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/opinion/chi-pals_thinknov11,0,5486879.story
http://www.topix.net/forum/source/chicago-tribune/TGNN186N0R22APV8G#lastPost

Robert Cotton Fite got a mere glimpse of what it is to be Palestinian- oppressed and harassed and insulted at every turn, no matter what and no matter why. Thankfully Fite stepped up to speak out and try to explain: Did you print it because he mentioned and honored a humble Israeli hero?

Quite a conundrum really... are Palestinians only allowed our sympathy if accompanied by a Jew? If so how free can Palestine ever expect to be when it is constantly forced by both friend and foe to be shackled to religion in one way or another, rather than simply being all about basic human dignity and worth.

Sincerely,
Anne Selden Annab

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11-9-2007 Hartford Courant online comment regarding

http://www.topix.net/forum/source/hartford-courant/TO9E66ARFFNA432QN

Palestinian dance troupe performances in Old Saybrook canceled

Officials in Old Saybrook have canceled performances by a Palestinian dance troupe after getting a complaint that it is offensive to Jews and Israel.

Full story: Hartford Courant

Yes indeed we should all be disgusted by the thought of Israeli soldiers beating and torturing Palestinians- but gosh that offended grandparent certainly is directing her ire towards all the wrong people! She should be furious at racist Israel for all its many crimes against humanity... and she should be furious at America's Congress for arming Israeli bigotry and brutality with American money and weaponry. She should be angry at every Rabbi that endorses political Zionism. She also be furious at America's mainstream media for failing to tell the full story, for failing to fully disclose and explain the very real plight and suffering of the Palestinians.

And School Superintendent Joseph Onofrio should not have canceled the Palestinian dancers ! Our children read Ann Frank and learn about the horrors of the Nazi Holocaust... and yet they are not allowed even a glimpse of a Palestinian Dance Troupe because it is too "political"?!

Anne Selden Annab

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11-3-2007 Washington POst online comment regarding

Rice's Bridge To Peace

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/11/02/AR2007110201784_Comments.html
Your Comments On...
The secretary of state hopes to produce a palatable Middle East deal.

Comments

annieannab wrote:

Yes, it is a very unlikely recipe for peace. We are demanding that the occupied 'negotiate' with the occupier which has already proven itself to be a cruel regime...which is exactly why real peace- a just and lasting peace with true freedom and security for ALL, regardless of religion, has yet to be found by any Israeli influenced peace process as one very racist Israel has devoted the last 60 sovereign years to systematically destroying the Palestinians individually and collectively- foolishly shredding the Universal Declaration of Human Rights up into confetti sized pieces... in other words, for every one's sake start with full respect for the Palestinians inalienable right of return to original homes and lands. Then deal with all the other the details such as how to dismantle that monstrously ugly Israeli made Apartheid Wall.

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10-28-2007 Chicago Tribune online comment regarding

Fighting imaginary terrorist threats

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/opinion/chi-mistrial_thinkoct28,0,6992056.story

THANK YOU! What a huge relief and a sure sign of hope it is to see and read Ahmed Rehab's excellent and informative op-ed "Fighting imaginary terrorist threats".

However, in asking why any American administration (or organization) would devote so many resources to pursue and "prosecute such far-fetched cases", I can not help but think of Palestine- and all the many Zionist propagandists here there and everywhere that seek to demonize, destroy and erase Palestine in every possible way.

Both the well publicized Al-Arian case and the Holy Land Foundation for Relief and Development case are at heart not so much about Muslims or even the Middle East in general but about Palestine specifically- a place and a people horrifically oppressed, impoverished and vilified at every turn by our 'friend' the very racist Israel.

Israel's very real state sponsored terrorism is a very real threat and an ongoing man made disaster which is only growing more dire as countless Palestinians (including Christians) suffer and starve in crowded refugee camps because they have been deemed the 'wrong' religion by the misnamed Jewish State.

Anne Selden Annab
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10-24-2007 Baltimore Sun online comment regarding

Internal divisions make it a bad time for Israeli-Palestinian..

http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/opinion/oped/bal-op.peacetalks24oct24,0,6695384.story

Utterly thrilled to see a Palestinian voice pop up in your opinion pages! Suheir Abu Oksa Daoud certainly did write an excellent op-ed. Thanks for publishing it.

For years the Palestinians have been brutally oppressed- persecuted, impoverished, pushed aside, displaced and silenced or demonized as generously funded, heavily armed Zionists wreck havoc all over the Holy Land in a blatantly racist war on the native non-Jewish Palestinians. America has a duty to listen as carefully as we can and to do all we can to try to act with honor and dignity. Listening to- and even learning to love Palestine is the first real step into helping to build a just and lasting peace in the Middle East.

For everyone's sake, peace conference or not, the core issues such as a permanent settlement, definite borders, Jerusalem and refugees need to be solved. One might change the outcome of another so a clear priority should be made: Start with the most obvious where international law as well as the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (from 1948) already clearly spells out the solution- full respect for the Palestinian refugees' inalienable right to leave and right to return to original homes and lands.

Anne Selden Annab

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10-23-2007 Reuters AlertNet blogs

Is there too much talk and too little action on the plight of the Palestinians?

23 Oct 2007 16:40:00 GMT

Blogged by: Alex Klaushofer

Please note that comments should not be regarded as the views of Reuters.
http://www.alertnet.org/db/blogs/40453/2007/09/23-164024-1.htm

Anne Selden Annab says:
23 Oct 2007 22:20:31 GMT

Wish in tackling this topic, the author had made mention of the Palestinian refugees' inalienable, legal and natural right to return...

"Israel's admission to the UN was conditional on its acceptance of UN resolutions including 194. Denying the right of Palestinian refugees to return to their homes and lands is a war crime and an act of aggression which deserves action by the international community." http://www.al-awda.org/facts.html

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10-22-2007 Washington Post online comment regarding

The Deal on the Table By Jackson Diehl

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/10/21/AR2007102101370.html

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/10/21/AR2007102101370_Comments.html

annieannab wrote:

For years and years Israel- racist Israel has been using borders and settlements and roads and even peace processes like a bulldozer to demolish Palestinian land, rights and life. The real red line must be international law which in fact has always endorsed and respected true return for the Palestinian refugees. True return to original homes and lands as soon as possible- not more forced transfer and segregation- and punitive Apartheid......

Suppose instead of being called Israeli and Palestinian, the two sides were defined and separated as Boys and Girls. What insanity it would be to insist that legally and socially only Boys have rights, freedoms and security in Country A (now called Israel) and girls might someday have rights, freedoms and security in maybe Country to be B. Imagine the difficulties down the road as wives and daughters are routinely transferred away from their own homes so that Country A can retain its Boyish "character". People world wide, feminists or not, would be furious and outraged at such an insane situation... so why aren't we applying the same logic to the situation in the Holy Land !

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10-21-2007 Miami Herald online comment regarding

ISRAEL: Long odds for Rice and peace

http://www.miamiherald.com/851/story/277452.html

Comments

Jerusalem is indeed an ancient city- but most of its history and heritage is actually Arab, not Israeli... "Israel" the formal modern partition of historic Palestine is only 60 years old, and all of those years have been basically a blatantly racist war on the native non-Jewish Arab Palestinians.

Political Zionism's militant hold over historic Jerusalem as well as all of historic Palestine, from the river to the sea, has been a brutal occupation where Jews from abroad have full freedoms, rights and economic opportunities while the native non-Jewish Arab Palestinians have a punitive Israeli imposed Apartheid, crushing poverty, and the sorrow and suffering of countless families forced into painful exile and despair.

No one should make peace with that! Make peace with Jewish people as individuals- as human beings- yes... but don't make peace with the collective insanity called political Zionism, for what is bad now will only become much worse.

Posted by: Anne Selden Annab

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http://www.sdreader.com/published/2007-10-11/hilite.html

Posted by Anne Selden Annab on 10/13/07 @ 7:09 am

Thrilled to see this excellent interview with the articulate Manal Swairjo, cultural coordinator for Al-Awda, the "Palestine Right to Return Coalition.", concerning the behind the scenes shenanigans with The Salvation Army canceling the Marcel Khalifé concert. The very real right of the Palestinian refugees to return to their original homes and lands really is essential to a just and lasting peace. Demonizing, belittling and dismissing those that speak out for this basic human right only prologues the agony for countless innocent and increasingly vulnerable men, women, and children. Since 1967, Israel has demolished almost 18,000 homes in the illegally occupied Palestinian territories.... and on and on it goes...

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U.S.News & World Report

October 05, 2007

http://www.usnews.com/blogs/letters-to-the-editor/2007/10/5/prevention-and-cure.html#read_more

Prevention and Cure

The best way to stop Palestinian terrorism for everyone's sake is to stop oppressing and displacing the Palestinians. Start respecting their basic human rights, including their inalienable right of return to their original homes and lands.

Anne Selden Annab
Mechanicsburg, Pa.

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10-5-2007 San Francisco Chronicle online comment regarding
RE: Idea Raised of Two Capitals in Jerusalem
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2007/10/04/national/w002219D94.DTL
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article/comments/view?f=/n/a/2007/10/04/national/w002219D94.DTL&o=1
comment left online..

anneselden wrote:

"Five former State Department and Pentagon officials are proposing Israeli and Palestinian capitals in Jerusalem and excluding Arab refugees from returning to Israel as part of an Middle East accord."

Here's a better idea- Let's deploy THE Golden Rule: Do unto others as you would have them do unto you... Let every Zionist pundit and politician worldwide who myopically proposes that the Palestinian refugees continue to be denied their inalienable legal, natural and fundamental right to return to original homes and lands, lose his own personal home and rights.

Let every Zionist pundit and politician practice what they preach: Bring on the BULLDOZERS! Fragment and scatter their families worldwide, and let them live what they believe- systematically displace and impoverish them, deny them their basic human rights and freedoms, and then vilify them and imprison them when they object.

Posted 10/5/2007 7:59:52 AM

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The Independent Monitor

October 2007

http://www.theindependentmonitor.com/Issues/Oct07.pdf

Salvation Army Cancels Marcel Khalife concert

Dear Captain John Van Cleef, Administrator,

I have long been a supporter of the Salvation Army's good works but I am utterly horrified, shocked and disgusted to hear the details of recent situation in San Diego where obvious bigotry was the guiding influence rather than true charity and compassion.

The Christian mission and message is to basically do good- but the Salvation Army Kroc Center in San Diego has done a huge wrong with its racist refusal to let master oud player and UNESCO Artist for Peace Marcel Khalife's concert go forward as already planned.

Appreciating diversity, democracy, culture and the arts- and history- I feel as if your organization's actions were a cruel one two punch to pummel all down with one very rude blow.

This incident should have simply been an inspiring concert where regular normal Americans and guests could simply go be swept up into exquisite music for one magical Arabian night as an amazing talent visits town to share his gift. You politicized it so I feel compelled to answer back:

In canceling the concert the way that you did, you politicized this incident and you insult every one who dares care about Arab culture and well being- specifically, because of the organization that you scorned- the long suffering Palestinians and ultimately the truth.

You also help condemn and crucify the many Palestinian Christians, the living links to our Christian heritage, who have been forced into painful exile, torn from their ancestral homes and lands... and your actions help build that monstrous Israeli made Apartheid wall that is strangling and destroying beloved Bethlehem.

You might not like Al-Awda and the idea that the largest, longest running refugee crisis in the world today clearly proves that our 'friend' the foreign country Israel really is not so friendly and nice (or right) after all... you might prefer to idolize idols- but I don't. And this country of ours does have clear laws against wrongful discrimination.

I think charities and vital outreach programs such as Al-Awda should be free to raise both awareness and funds for those in dire need, including orphans and widows- and Palestinian refugees.

You might not like Al-Awda and the idea that there is a Universal Declaration of Human Rights which clearly spells out the importance of human dignity and worth, regardless of religion, as well as a person's right to leave- and return. But I do... and so do many other reasonable compassionate human beings of every religion worldwide: I think the Universal Declaration of Human Rights is an amazing document that rivals our own Constitution with our own growing ability to become a more real democracy as Martin Luther King Jr once said as he stood up to speak out for civil rights and an end to segregation- LET FREEDOM RING !

"Whereas recognition of the inherent dignity and of the equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human family is the foundation of freedom, justice and peace in the world...." Universal Declaration of Human Rights

The Palestinian Refugees right of return is a plea to end segregation and forced transfer- and the institutionalized bigotry and brutality that is modern man made Israel today. The Palestinian refugees right to return is a call for a just and lasting peace and true community with full and equal rights - and respect- for ALL.... LET FREEDOM RING !

And with your actions you tried to stifle and dismiss that voice- you tried to taint a beautiful song- tried to compromise art itself which in any case is wrong... but the worst aspect is the fact that you tried to sully and vilify an organization that embodies an honest plea from the harshly oppressed and persecuted... from those who need our hope and our help and our good intentions the most.

Sincerely,
Anne Selden Annab

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9-27-2007 Chicago Tribune online comment regarding
11 Palestinians Killed in Gaza Fighting http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/sns-ap-israel-palestinians,1,5936715.story
http://www.topix.net/forum/source/chicago-tribune/TVUSC4OBHB0U7QV51#lastPost

The people of Palestine need to be free- instead they are imprisoned, tortured, starved and bombed by one of the most powerful miltaries in the world. We the world should be horrified- disgusted by political Zionism and its ongoing racist war on dissidents who refuse to idolize Israel as "The Jewish State."

Anne Selden Annab

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9-24-2007 CBS News online comment regarding

Israel's Stealthy Statement

The New Republic: Bombing Raid Puts Syria — And The United States — On Notice

Comments 8

Sept. 24, 2007

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/09/24/opinion/main3291435.shtml#Post

(AP / CBS)

The Zionist State in stealthily stealing Palestinian land and rights for the past sixty sovereign years, has inspired quite an arms race in the Middle East...we really should not be admiring Israeli stealth or its war mongering ways. In fact we should not trust our "friend" Israel at all.

Posted by anneselden at 09:42 AM : Sep 25, 2007

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9-23-2007 Washington Post online comment regarding
"Mr. Abbas will need Arab support to compromise on the refugee issue, and Mr. Olmert wants to use the prospect of Saudi recognition to win over Israelis."

The Mideast Core, Condoleezza Rice nudges Israelis and Palestinians into talking about the terms of a final settlement.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/09/22/AR2007092201171.html?wpisrc=newsletter
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/09/22/AR2007092201171_Comments.html

annieannab wrote:

I object- I firmly object to advancing the idea that basic human rights can or should ever be compromised... The Palestinian refugees right to return is simply that- a basic human right enshrined by international law that seriously needs to be respected. No politicians or 'peace process' can negotiate this individual and collective right away.

Ethnic cleansing should not be ignored- or rewarded: To give any nation state, politician or religious leader the power to usurp property and force families into exile because they are the 'wrong' race or religion is an abhorrent principle- totally uncivilized and a terrible precedent to set. It is asking for trouble. Today it is the Palestinians, and tomorrow who ? Tomorrow who will be the group targeted for harassment and forced transfer !

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from the September 20, 2007 edition - http://www.csmonitor.com/2007/0920/p08s02-cole.html

Letters to the Editor

Readers write about a one-state solution for Israel/Palestine.

Is a one-state solution the answer for Israel/Palestine?

Regarding the Opinion piece on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict: I was delighted and relieved to see John Whitbeck's probing piece. Political Zionism is a huge problem mainly because the institutionalized bigotry, injustice, and hate inspired by political Zionism simply is not compatible with real freedom, equality, and the rule of fair and just laws – real democracy.

The Palestinian territories today are being brutalized – harshly oppressed, insulted, impoverished, and fragmented - and the Palestinians need our sympathy, compassion, and understanding.

Our highest priority really must be full respect for the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, including but not limited to the Palestinian refugees' sacred and secular right to return: true return, not more forced transfer creating divisive segregation and despair.

Anne Selden Annab

Mechanicsburg, Pa.

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9-18-2007 Chicagao Tribune online comment regarding

Protect us from Sally Field?

Near the end of her rambling Emmy Awards acceptance speech Sunday night, the actress Sally Field...

http://www.topix.net/forum/source/chicago-tribune/T7AIANNLM6D6LGECB#lastPost

Thank you for publicizing Sally Field's passionate Emmy speech. Fox could have easily bleeped out the only the "god-damned" bit and let the rest of her statement simply be what it was- a wonderful antiwar cry from an adorable celebrity.

Meanwhile major anti-war protests this weekend in Washington DC objecting to war have also been censored with a rousing and an inspiring plea to respect international law and the Palestinian refugees inalienable legal and natural right to return ignored. The call to "Free Free Palestine!" should not be erased form the conversation... Such 'mainstream' media censorship simply does not help anyone any where.

We The People need to be free to speak out- and be heard!
Anne Selden Annab

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9-19-2007 Baltimore Sun online comment regarding

Palestinians sue for use of road built for them -

Every day, thousands of Israeli drivers speed through the olive-tree-dotted hills and valleys of the West Bank on Highway 443, a popular four-lane roadway connecting Jerusalem and Tel Aviv.

Full story: Baltimore Sun

http://www.topix.net/forum/source/baltimore-sun/TMD7TPQ177MC5HVDH

Thank you for publishing the news concerning the Israeli only roads in the West Bank. We got rid of Jim Crow Laws and policies a long while ago, but our 'friend'(and charity of choice for many myopic fools) has been firmly embracing institutionalized bigotry and segregation for generations.

How much worse does it have to get before we the world wisely say NO MORE POLITICAL ZIONISM! It really is a totally toxic ideology that has brought endless grief, sorrow and suffering to countless men, women and children.... No more poisonous Apartheid in historic Palestine: Let one land, one people, one peace emerge to benefit ALL the people equally, regardless of supposed religion or lack thereof.

Anne Selden Annab

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9-16-2007 Baltimore Sun online comment regarding

Palestinians sue for use of road built for them: Israel has denied access over security concerns

http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/nation/bal-te.highway16sep16,0,7313726.story
(posted online- http://www.topix.net/forum/source/baltimore-sun/TMD7TPQ177MC5HVDH )

Dear Editor,

Thank you for publishing the news concerning the Israeli only roads in the West Bank. We got rid of Jim Crow Laws and policies a long while ago, but our 'friend' (and charity of choice for many myopic fools) has been firmly embracing institutionalized bigotry and segregation for generations.

How much worse does it have to get before we the world wisely say NO MORE POLITICAL ZIONISM! It really is a totally toxic ideology that has brought endless grief, sorrow and suffering to countless men, women and children.... No more poisonous Apartheid in historic Palestine: Let one land, one people, one peace emerge to benefit ALL the people equally, regardless of supposed religion or lack thereof.

Anne Selden Annab

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9-14-2007 Miami Herald online Comment regarding

Preparing for peace -- and war

http://pod01.prospero.com/n/pfx/forum.aspx?msg=8502.1&nav=messages&webtag=kr-miamitm

Comments

Yes apparently "Israel is a good place to live."... But only if you are Jewish. However if you are a native non-Jewish Palestinian whose near and far ancestors lived for generations tightly tied to the land and a cherished heritage as part of the Arab world, "Israel" is an investment in institutionalized bigotry and injustice- a sovereign system of divide, destroy and displace historic Palestine that has been pushing millions of Palestinian men, women and children into dire poverty and despair.

Israel has been an outsider trying to bully its way into being beloved. Its many talented propagandists try every tactic to empower it, but time always tells and time has told the story of Palestine to the world.

Miracle of miracles the people of historic Palestine are much more than merely one religion or another, more than politics and petty bickering, more than puppets to be played on a stage... The people of Palestine simply are... They are men, women and children who have been cruelly oppressed and wrongly persecuted for generations. The people of Palestine are war and peace and everything in between in their ongoing struggle to be free from the barbaric bigotry and injustice brought by political Zionsim.

In both optimism and pessimism the people of Palestine are- and in their memories and dreams- in every heartbeat and blink- in every Arabic word and recipe and embroidered dress and bird and stone a very real Palestine will always be, no matter how hard Israel tries to erase Palestine from the map.

Posted by: Anne Selden Annab
9/14/2007 6:57 AM

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9-14-2007 Time Magazine Middle East Blog online comment regarding

http://time-blog.com/middle_east/2007/09/nahr_al_bared_update.html

Nahr al Bared Update

Reader Comments

Kudos to UNWRA and all its good works to help those in dire need, and Kudos to all those countries that have been hosting huge refugee populations as the largest longest running refugee crisis in the world today continues... But what exactly will be rebuilt in rebuilding Nahr al Bared? Seems to me that NOW would be a good time to start seriously respecting the Palestinian refugees (inalienable) right to return to original homes and lands.

Posted by Anne Selden Annab
September 14, 2007

*******************************
The Baltimore Sun
Letters to the Editor

September 11, 2007

http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/opinion/letters/bal-ed.le.11ssep11,0,1929522.story?page=3

Welcome reminder of Palestinian plight

I was delighted to see the excellent letter "Palestinian refugees have a prior claim" (Sept. 3), which reminded us all of the vital importance of making it a priority to respect international law and the Palestinian refugees' right of return.

May the letter writer's words echo around and around the world to help build a battle cry for a just and lasting peace in the Holy Land and beyond.

And may hope, decency and true community return to the Holy Land with every home rebuilt and every heart healed by reconciliation.

Anne Selden Annab
Mechanicsburg, Pa.

************************************************

posted online.. Washington Post 9-9-7
Regarding Hoagland'sTony Blair Vs. History
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/09/07/AR2007090702251_Comments.html

annieannab wrote:

In the days before the internet and our global information age History was owned by those who had the power to tell the story: Technology has forced our world to become much more democratic as the oppressed and scorned (plus many a crazed radical) find ways to speak out to challenge the organized powers that be who might- for what ever reason- try to own the story of humankind so as to undermine civilization and the rule of fair and just laws.

There is actually good reason for everyone (except crazed radicals) to feel optimism on the upcoming peace talks based on The Arab Peace Initiative, primarily because The Arab Peace Initiative is a very generous and reasonable offer. It is also the last hope Jews worldwide have to save at least a semblance of dignity as "The Jewish State" called Israel has clearly spent the pasty 59 years telling the world that it acts on their behalf...

The Arab Peace Initiative

1. Requests Israel to reconsider its policies and declare that a just peace is its strategic option as well.

2. Further calls upon Israel to affirm:

I- Full Israeli withdrawal from all the territories occupied since 1967, including the Syrian Golan Heights, to the June 4, 1967 lines as well as the remaining occupied Lebanese territories in the south of Lebanon.

II- Achievement of a just solution to the Palestinian refugee problem to be agreed upon in accordance with U.N. General Assembly Resolution 194.

III- The acceptance of the establishment of a sovereign independent Palestinian state on the Palestinian territories occupied since June 4, 1967 in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, with East Jerusalem as its capital. http://www.al-bab.com/arab/docs/league/peace02.htm

Subtract any of these crucial ingredients (including full respect for the Palestinian refugees' sacred and secular right to return to original homes and lands) from the peace plan and you only have more of the same totally toxic status quo of institutionalized bigotry and escalating injustice which has made every other Mideast peace process such a dismal failure and waste of time.

We are only at the beginning of the information age as global technology helps free hearts and minds everywhere by revealing the past and present in documented detail with living color, fascinating nuance and a vibrant availability that enables (and inspires) many individuals to research and think for themselves. This intellectual revolution has both the passion and the power to open up the dialogue by challenging sovereign lies, dangerous myths, ideological hate mongering and racist segregation.... We the people are now more able than ever to choose to build a better world, a kinder world, a freer world and a safer world where all men, women, and children are cherished and valued by the powers that be- regardless of race, religion or nationality.

9/9/2007 8:16:56 AM

********************************************

23 - 29 August 2007
Issue No. 859
Reader's corner

http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/2007/859/letters.htm

Clearly right

Sir-- Why is it that here in the West most academics, scholars, news pundits, political heads and even religious leaders of every type, all as one blithely speak about the Palestinian refugees as if human beings should be categorised by religion, and based on that, be individually and collectively oppressed, harassed, expelled from their homes and denied basic human rights, privileges and freedoms? We have Holocaust museums -- we should know better! It simply is not reasonable to speak about "Israeli fears" as if the blatant institutionalised bigotry and injustice of political Zionism should be rewarded. The Palestinian refugees' right of return simply is and always will be. It has clearly been spelled out by international law for Israel's entire existence. And every day that goes by merely means damage done and the reparations due to the Palestinian refugees all add up exponentially. That's the real problem that racist Israel simply does not want to face.

Anne Selden Annab

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Time Magazine Blog- Regarding Requiem for a Jewish Settler
http://time-blog.com/middle_east/2007/08/requiem_for_a_jewish_settler.html

Posted by Anne Selden Annab
August 25, 2007

The Palestinians, in honestly loving the land AND in being right about the many perils of political Zionism, won long ago- Tragically Zionist ideologues would rather play out this cruel and divisive charade called "The Jewish State" for as long as possible, as if there can ever be true peace or security for any one in the mess made by racist Israeli laws and walls.

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The Guardian Comment is Free online comment

No level playing field: The Foreign Office ruling that has refused entry visas to a Palestinian football team is unfair, illogical and plain prejudiced. by Simon Hattenstone

http://commentisfree.guardian.co.uk/simon_hattenstone/2007/08/no_level_playing_field.html

\AnneSelden Comment No. 777965

August 25 12:40 USA

Simon- THANK YOU... Far too many bigots are far too eager to vilify and punish the persecuted and impoverished Palestinians no matter what they might do or not do as they struggle for freedom, rights- and basic respect.... You did a good thing in writing about the Palestinian kids with compassion, realizing that this situation simply is not fair- or right.

These kids chose to play sports and they worked hard, they trained to be the best team they could be under very difficult circumstances: They deserve our support and compassion.

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Miami Herald online commetns 8-24-2007

The Gaza dilemma

http://pod01.prospero.com/n/pfx/forum.aspx?msg=5236.1&nav=messages&webtag=kr-miamitm

Comments

Yes indeed what to do about Hamas and the fact that the persecuted, impoverished and imprisoned people of Palestine, in total desperation and despair, have elected armed Islam to free them from Apartheid Israel's punitive stranglehold on land, life, liberty and real democracy with full and equal rights for all. A huge portion of Gaza's impoverished residents are Palestinian refugees who have long been denied their inalienable right to return to their original homes and lands. Zionist Israel's ideologues insist that allowing the Palestinian refugees to return would destroy Israel. Well then- so be it... Israeli racism really should be eradicated: If the only way Israel can continue to exist is by denying native non-Jewish Palestinians full freedom and rights in the land of their birth then good heavens get this mess over with as fast as you can- gently and with compassion and empathy, dismantle and disarm the blatant injustice and institutionalized bigotry that is Israel today.

Posted by: Anne Selden Annab 8/24/2007 6:49 AM

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Comment is Free- the Guardian
Regarding: The Propaganda Machine by Jonathan Cook
http://commentisfree.guardian.co.uk/jonathan_cook/2007/08/the_propaganda_machine.html

comment published online

Comment No. 773537

THANK YOU Jonathan Cook !

You have done an excellent job introducing the subject of Zionist propaganda. May there be many more conversations and explorations of the topic- and what a negative effect Zionist ideologues have had on freedom and democracy here, there and everywhere.

I was poking around more than one of the pro-Israel web sites yesterday, information centers geared for American readers. Studying their well organized polished spin on various "anti-Israel" groups and it becomes very clear to me that that many media savvy "pro-Israel" groups and individuals really are mainly interested in vilifying the Palestinians individually and collectively. Zionists systematically frame the story in order to build a case that demonizes those who support Palestinian rights- basic human rights and freedom. I can not imagine how much time and effort went into carefully culling details and organizing chosen tidbits (while ignoring the larger picture) to build a case against individuals and groups that dare speak out to explain the very real plight and pain of the persecuted and oppressed Palestinians.

AnneSelden

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Houston Chronicle 8-22-2007
RE: It is up to the Palestinians
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/editorial/outlook/5073064.html

comment left on line

AnneSeldenAnnab wrote:

What a shame that your letter writer (Judi Adler) simply can not see how cruel- and brutal- Israeli bigotry and Apartheid have been all along. The people of historic Palestine are belittled and demonized no matter what they do or don't do.... It is tragic that any American would join the agents for a very foreign country with its disastrously dangerous ideology in trying to bully and force the persecuted, impoverished and imprisoned Palestinians into signing on the dotted line to endorse an increasingly toxic situation whereby Hasbara efforts empower political Zionism and the Israel Industry with its continued war on the native non-Jewish Palestinians.

In becoming a more real democracy, we wisely condemned institutionalized bigotry and formally ended government imposed segregation years ago here: Time to end it in our foreign policy too... Start by divesting emotionally and financially from the heavily armed manipulative delusion that has been misnamed "The Jewish State". Invest in a fully free Palestine instead, a place and a dream where all people are free and equal, and all refugees can return to their real homes and hope for a better life, and a better world- regardless of anyone's perceived race or religion.

8/22/2007 5:24:33 AM

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Washington Post 8-22-2007
Regarding: Another Test in Iraq: Our Aid to Refugees
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/08/21/AR2007082101419.html

comment published online:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/08/21/AR2007082101419_Comments.html

annieannab wrote:

The highest priority for any refugee population must always be return- true return, not more forced migration and a permanent fracturing and fragmenting of families and ancient communities.

The current Iraqi refugee crisis comes in on top of the longest running refugee crisis in the world today, as the people of historic Palestine have endured 60 painful years of forced exile and insult with one very racist Israel continuing to push more and more Palestinians into poverty, exile and despair.

Immediate aid to all refugees and the host countries trying to deal with this escalating crisis is crucial, as is opening our own doors for those who might want to find security and hope here in America- but even more important is sending the message that civilization itself values homes and families- and the rule of fair and just laws including international laws that already clearly spell out the fact that all people have the inalienable right to return to original homes and lands.

Start peace in the Middle East by fully respecting the Palestinian refugees inalienable right to return ASAP, to help rebuild a better Holy Land and beacon of hope for all people, a better nation where all people are valued and protected, regardless of race, color or creed.

8/22/2007 5:24:37 AM

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Baltimore Sun 8-22-207
Regarding: Arming Israel lessens nuclear danger
http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/opinion/oped/bal-op.israel22aug22,0,7220707.story

comment published online

http://www.topix.net/forum/source/baltimore-sun/TDER5KKSBIPBS61SP

By arming and funding Israel as "The Jewish State" we send the clear message to the Middle East that a favored religion should have sovereign political power plus lethal weaponry to 'defend' itself from all enemies both real and imagined.

By arming and funding Israel as an Apartheid nation of privileged immigrants that freely persecute and impoverish the native non-Jewish Palestinians, we make sure that segregation and more forced transfer- and war- is the wave of the future everywhere.

By arming and funding Israeli crimes against the people of historic Palestine we pollute all religion, and we betray the very ideals that made America a great nation once upon a time.
Anne Selden Annab

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Washington Post 8-20-2007
Regarding: Checklist for a Peace Pact By Ephraim Sneh
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/08/19/AR2007081901109.html

comment i just left online
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/08/19/AR2007081901109_Comments.html

annieannab wrote:

Middle East peace plans shaped to reinforce Israeli made apartheid are only a recipe for more and more war- and outright genocide... A truce that tries to take away the Palestinian refugees' inalienable right to return to original homes and lands simply maintains a very toxic status quo whereby one very racist Israel continues to be rewarded for pulverizing Palestinian land, rights and life.

For everyone's sake the highest priority should be full respect for the basic human rights including but not limited to the Palestinian refugees sacred and secular right to return- true freedom and true return, not more forced transfer.

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The Evening Bulletin

http://www.thebulletin.us/site/news.cfm?newsid=18708330&BRD=2737&amp;PAG=461&dept_id=576361&rfi=6

Letter To The Editor 8/16/2007

What A Mess Israel Has Made

By: Anne Selden Annab, The Bulletin

08/16/2007

To the Editor:
Joseph Puder with his article "The Moral Conundrum Over Palestine" (Aug. 9) is way off base and totally out of touch with reality.
The Palestinian refugees have every legal and moral right to return to their original homes and lands. And after 60 sovereign years of racist Israeli rule, political Zionism seriously needs to be shelved. It's been a disaster because it is primarily an investment in institutionalized bigotry and armed religion. What a mess it has made of the Holy Land.
ANNE SELDEN ANNAB
Mechanicsburg

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Economist online letters

The one-state option
letter by Yakov M Rabkin

http://www.economist.com/blogs/theinbox/2007/08/the_onestate_option_july_21st.cfm#list-comments

SIR –

Yakov M Rabkin's excellent letter on The One-State Option really should be headlined in all our mainstream newspapers... Personally I don't think any religion should be armed with lethal weaponry to 'defend' itself. Rather than investing in Apartheid brutality with heavily armed Jewish Jihad let political Zionism reinvent itself to become a better way to help heal the many wounds caused by racist Israel: Let Israel go back to the spiritual realm and help the Palestinian refugees return to full and equal rights in the land of their birth.
Posted by anne selden annab at August 9, 2007 12:49 PM

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Israeli, Palestinian Leaders Meet

Olmert and Abbas Meet on Palestinian Territory for the First Time

http://www.abcnews.go.com/International/WireStory?id=3450547&page=4

The fate of the Palestinian refugees was already been decided long ago, and officially outlined in 1948 and many times since- full respect for basic human rights including the sacred and secular right to return to original homes and lands. Full and equal rights in the land of their birth- its the civilized thing to do...and would go a long way towards making right the many wrongs Apartheid Israel has inflicted on on the people of historic Palestine

Posted by:
AnneSeldenAnnab 9:38 AM

Our words have a way of echoing out into either war or peace....

letters & comments published May- August 2011

Anne Selden Annab :

letters & comments published March 2011- July 2009

Darwish & Dickinson

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Reasonable right

Policies create poverty

Palestinian resistance

Good Riddance, Abbas by Saree Makdisi

One state deplored

Discuss Daoud Kuttab's Sept. 10 Op-Ed

Jerusalem - one city, undivided

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Desperate straits for Palestinians in Iraq

By: AnneSeldenAnnab

By: AnneSeldenAnnab

Constructive dialogue long overdue

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published comments & letters 1-1-2009

Israel's acts heinous

Winter 2008 - Annie's published letters & online comments

Letters to the Editor

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By: AnneSeldenAnnab

November 30, 2008 at 5:36 a.m.

By: AnneSeldenAnnab

into Autumn- my comments published on line from tributes to Palestinian Poet Mahmoud Darwish to Kay Mukhar 's A Yank In Palestine October 26,2008

READER COMMENTS (1) Post a comment

Comments 1 - 5 of 5

By: AnneSeldenAnnab

September 25, 2008 at 10:35 a.m.

Posted By: AnneSeldenAnnab @ 09/21/2008 8:24:24 PM

By Mohammed Omer

http://annies-notes.blogspot.comMechanicsburg , PA

By: AnneSeldenAnnab

How safe are any of the token Arabs currently allowed to remain in racist Israel for now as even the Knesset discusses more forced transfer? Israel has already created and constantly exasperates the largest, longest running refugee crisis in the world today- there is nothing trivial about that!

August 24, 2008 at 8:42 p.m

By: AnneSeldenAnnab

Your tributes to Mahmoud Darwish

mid-summer 2008

Comments 1 - 1 of 1

By: AnneSeldenAnnab

August 5, 2008 at 8:03 a.m.

By Mohammed Omer

July 31, 2008

http://annies-notes.blogspot.comMechanicsburg , PA

July 29, 2008 1:10

letters & online comment published 2008

Rogue nation

Houston Chronicle

An obvious bad idea

Letters to the Editor

Palestinians still have right to return

Israeli ideals don't match the reality

In your voice

Letters to the Editor

Anne Selden Annab

posted 2/27/08 @ 11:53 AM EST

Comment forums reveal beauty of debate

January 25, 2008 5:48

Middle East peacemaking requires steady mediation

Mt. Nebo

In our garden room....

Published letters

O Little Town of Bethlehem

Washington Times

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What Most Palestinians BelieveReader comment on: What Most Palestinians Believe

Philadelphia Daily News

The Palestinian response

Was Cancellation Of Dance Performance Justified?

Charges dropped against last of 'Los Angeles Eight' by Michel Shehadeh

anneselden wrote:

Palestinian dance troupe performances in Old Saybrook canceled

Fighting imaginary terrorist threats

Internal divisions make it a bad time for Israeli-Palestinian..

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The Deal on the Table By Jackson Diehl

ISRAEL: Long odds for Rice and peace

http://annies-notes.blogspot.com
Mechanicsburg , PA

http://annies-notes.blogspot.com
Mechanicsburg , PA

What Most Palestinians Believe
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