Annie letters & 5-21-2009 NOTES

My letters & 5-21-2009 NOTES

My letter to the Boston Globe regarding "Peace isn't Arab goal" By Jeff Jacoby

RE: Peace isn't Arab goal By Jeff Jacoby http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/editorial_opinion/oped/articles/2009/05/20/peace_isnt_arab_goal/

Dear Editor,

It is reasonable and it is right to insist that every home and every family is a crucial component of civilization as are basic human rights, including but not limited to the Palestinian refugees very real right to return. True return- not more forced transfer.

It is becoming blatantly obvious to many worldwide that the two state 'solution' formula has been used by Israel mainly as a way to stall for time and gather up funds as well as a huge arsenal of lethal weaponry so that Zionist immigrants and troublemakers can usurp more Palestinian land, rights- and peace.... Is Israel an Ego Trip for Western Jews with full and equal rights, freedom, respect and job opportunities in multiple wealthy sovereign nations OR is it a country with fair and just laws, full equality and true respect for all its citizens, including the native non-Jewish population?

The vast majority of Palestinians live in stateless limbo: UN Resolution 194 from 1948 makes it quite clear that the international community fully expected newly born Israel to respect the Palestinian refugees inalienable right of return to original homes and lands. 61 years later the problem is getting bigger and bigger as Israel continues to demolish Palestinian homes and fracture Palestinian families. Arabs have just cause for complaint.

Sincerely,
Anne Selden Annab

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My Letter to Christian Science Monitor regarding "Pope's urging brings Gaza blockade to forefront..."

Pope Benedict XVI arrives by car to the Aida refugee camp in the West Bank town of Bethlehem May 13, 2009. Picture taken May 13, 2009. REUTERS/Osservatore Romano (WEST BANK POLITICS RELIGION)

RE: Pope's urging brings Gaza blockade to forefront, With no clear guidelines for what Israel will allow in, aid groups have run into trouble with everything from 90 tons of pasta to nutritional bars mistranslated as steel bars.
http://www.csmonitor.com/2009/0513/p06s13-wome.html

Dear Editor,

I very much appreciate the Christian Science Monitor's willingness to honestly explore the Palestine/Israel "conflict", and the publication of revealing stories such as "Pope's urging brings Gaza blockade to forefront, With no clear guidelines for what Israel will allow in, aid groups have run into trouble with everything from 90 tons of pasta to nutritional bars mistranslated as steel bars."

I also very much appreciate the photos of the day you post online and the fact that you posted one of Pope Benedict XVI waving from his Pope mobile as he rides along the controversial Israeli barrier in Aida refugee camp in the West Bank town of Bethlehem.
One photo I would really like to see is of the pope wearing the special embroidered " kuffiyeh" lovingly stitched with the Palestinian symbols: The star of Bethlehem, a key representing Palestinian refugees’ right of return, the Al-Aqsa Mosque, the Church of the Nativity, and the Vatican flag.

The Palestinian Heritage Center presented it to him and it is obvious he put it on, but I can't find any photos of the key- and that is the part I really would like to see- and celebrate. I would also like to see (& celebrate) more reports on the importance of fully respecting basic human rights, including but not limited to the Palestinian refugees very real right to return to original homes and lands.

Thanks again for continuing to notice the very real plight of the Palestinians.
Sincerely,
Anne Selden AnnabNOTES May 14, 2009

A man wearing a shirt with "1948", in reference to Palestinian refugees' demand to return to the villages from which they fled or were chased out during Israel's creation in 1948, stands in front of Pope Pope Benedict XVI near Bethlehem. The pope is to travel to Nazareth, the boyhood town of Jesus, where he will celebrate mass and meet Israel's right-wing prime minister (AFP/Ahmad Gharabli)

NOTES 5-21-2009

BACKGROUND

The Institute for Middle East Understanding: Palestinians mark 61 years of Nakba

Palestine Heritage: Traditonal Costumes Map

Palestine Maps

Palestinian refugees

...will return

Meet Handala

PALESTINE REMEMBERED

Palestinian refugees and internally displaced persons (IDPs) are one of the largest and longest-standing displaced populations in the world today.

Nonviolent Resistance

Our Voice - Refugee Youth Magazine: Early Days of 'Our Voice' ... & Workshop Briefs

Jerusalem Capital of Arab Culture 2009

Palestinian-Israeli Conflict For Beginners

Outlandish: Look into My Eyes

Resistance Art

Mapping an occupation - the West Bank barrier, an interactive map

Closed Zone- short cartoon on youtube

Jerusalem Olive Wood Ornaments

JOIN US on Facebook: Precious Heritage of Palestine

If Americans Knew

ADC FACTSHEET: The Israeli Occupation Of Palestinian Land Is The Foremost Obstacle To Peace.

STOP THE WALL

FOCUS: THE PALESTINIAN RIGHT OF RETURN

To commemorate Al Nakba, the Institute for Palestine Studies has compiled articles from past issues of its flagship Journal of Palestine Studies...1948: SIXTY YEARS ON

Letter of Palestinian Refugee Organizations to President Mahmoud Abbas
Forced Displacement throughout the OPT, including the displacement due to the recent Israeli military attacks on the Gaza Strip – Badil’s written submission to the 10th session of the UN HRC.

Palestine's Ongoing Nakba

Exile, Exclusion and Isolation: the Palestine Refugee Experience by Karen AbuZayd, Commissioner-General United Nations Relief and Works Agency To Mark World Refugee Day: 20th June 2008
Can Jerusalem celebrate its Arab culture?

This Week in 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....

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, 1948

Global Policy Forum: The Right of Return of Palestinian Refugees

Al-Awda Fact Sheet:The Right To Return, a Basic Right Still Denied*

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

from WRITE! ALERT: Quick Letter Writing Tips

Live by The Golden Rule

Growing Gardens for Palestine

Treat People The Way You Want To Be Treated*

Do Unto Others As You Would Have Them Do Unto You...

UNWRA in partnership with al Hoash (Palestinian Art Court), announces the “WE ARE” Poster Competition to emphasize the humanity and individualism of the Palestine refugee experience. All too often the experience of Palestinian refugees is simply subsumed by the label ‘refugee’ – neglecting the fact that individuals are not defined by their status of refugee alone, but by their rich individual history, experience and humanity. The theme also hopes to encourage reflections on how the experiences of four generations have shaped what ‘We Are’ today.