http://www.atlanticfreepress.com/content/view/5576/1/
| A Yank In Palestine |
Anne Selden Annab: WOW!
Thrilled to see this.. An important story well told !
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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:
READER COMMENTS (1) Post a comment
http://people.boston.com/articles/oped/?p=articlecomments&activityId=5424612719250763103Op-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..."
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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.
*********************************************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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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.
- 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
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_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.htmUnited 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
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.
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*********************************************
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
*********************************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:
'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
anne selden annab wrote: