"The Deal of the Century"

The US administration has never been supportive of our cause as Palestinians.  And I specifically say the administration because we have a lot of support from the public, the mainstream churches, the civil society, as well as many Jewish Americans.  The United Nations records show clearly that it was the Veto of the US at the United Nations that has hindered the implementation of the UN resolutions that would have guaranteed our rights as Palestinians, basically the right to return to our homes from which we  were evicted by force or  had to flee for our lives in 1948.   We were never even offered compensation,  and Israel  continues till this day to deny its responsibility for our plight.  

But never has an administration been so blatantly proactive in its humiliation of the Palestinians and ignoring their rights like this present administration.  It actually violated  international law so as to offer Israel all that it wants on a silver platter.  First, by recognizing Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, and moving the American Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, then by cutting all US Aid that started flowing into the country after the Oslo agreement between the PLO and Israel was signed.  Yet the US found it very timely to close the offices of the PLO in the USA,  as well as cutting aid to UNRWA, the organization which was established by the United Nations to take care of the basic needs of the Palestinian Refugees until they were able to realize their right of return.   So it seems like “this great democracy in the world” is taking its cue from “the only democracy in the Middle East.”  I still remember how Mr. Netanyahu in his theatrical presentation at the UN General Assembly Meeting in September 2018 thanked the president of the USA for pulling out of the agreement signed with Iran during the term of Mr. Obama, while sending a message to Iran that Israel knows what they are doing.  Will Israel be the force behind the US to wage a new war against Iran this time.  Nothing would be surprising now that more American troops have already been sent to the bases in the region.  

Ironic indeed that the US has waged so many wars on other people’s lands in the name of democracy, while Israel continues to hold a whole population under occupation, and it has recently passed the Nation State Law in its Kenesset that would deprive 21% of its citizens most of their basic rights.  While the US has the liberty to impose sanctions on countries that do not abide by its rules, it takes harsh measures against any individual, or body that promotes the BDS (Boycott Divestment  and Sanctions) against Israel for violating international law, in the same way that Israel does.  

After seventy one years of dispossession  and fifty two years of a brutal occupation, we get a novice in political issues to come up with the “Deal of the Century.”  First they humiliate us, then they starve us and now they want to further humiliate us by  bribing  us into accepting money for our rights in a conference in Bahrain.  Thank you, but no thank you.  In our ethics lessons, we were taught that those who bribe and those who accept the bribery are just as guilty.  But who will convict the guilty in this case?   

“The world will not be destroyed by those who do evil, but by those who watch them without doing anything.” ­--- Albert Einstein

The Zookeeper's Wife

Last night one of my granddaughters was “grandma” sitting to relieve my daughter from night duty.  And she wanted to entertain me with a film as it was a hot day and I was not able to sleep early. “The Zoo keeper’s wife”  sounded like  a nice film.  With quite a variety of animals that appeared at the beginning  we thought it would be a   light and entertaining  film after all the depressing news of the commemoration of our Nakba seventy one years ago.  

Ironic indeed;  the film was about the Nazi atrocities in Poland, and we were curious enough to watch it till the end, and of course we could not help but empathize with the victims.   However, I was not surprised when my granddaughter said:  “It is unbelievable that after what they have gone through, they would turn around and do what they are doing to us.” 

Indeed it is unbelievable.  And what is furthermore unbelievable is while the holocaust is over,  our  Nakba is still ongoing and the perpetrators refuse to admit responsibility or pay the price, while compensation for the holocaust never seems to end.  Thanks to the US administration for its never ending moral and financial support to the State of Israel and for shielding it for its non-compliance with United Nations resolutions.  Sometimes my friends wonder how I keep holding on to hope; In fact I wonder my self.  But when justice is on your side, you cannot lose hope.     

Reflections from GAZA

The following reflection is by Patriarch Emeritus of Jerusalem Micheal Sabbah. 

There is a war on Gaza, as it has been once, twice and more. Gaza and its people are in a state of permanent war. It has been under constant siege for 13 years, which is war imposed upon them every day. Today, the month of Ramadan has started for fasting, prayer, repentance and good deeds. Instead, we see death exploding in and around Gaza. Israel itself complains of the war. Yesterday, Sunday May 5^th, the Israeli Defense Minister tweeted and  cried out to the world to notice and see Israelis waking up for the second day in a row of  rockets coming from Gaza and falling in Israel.

               

War is painful after two days in Israel. It is as painful and more painful in Gaza after 13 years of siege. War is an absolute evil both for the Israelis and for the Palestinians. Mr. Minister, the key to peace and the end of war is not in the hands of a world that we summon but simply in your hand and in the hands of Israel.

               

The issue is not only that of Gaza but the issue of all the Palestinian people. The issue is the injustice imposed on the Palestinian people since generations. Israel refuses to see Palestinians as human beings with same rights and equal to all human beings. Israel has tried the methods of war and violence repeatedly to solve the issue. Until today, it has not succeeded and now, on the near horizon, there is talk about a solution wrapped in darkness and non-recognition of Palestinian rights. It will not bring a just solution. It will be another failure.. 

               

The solution is simple if Israel wanted to SEE. If it wanted to see that the Palestinian people have the same rights as the Israeli people, all being equal in humanity. It is in Israel's hands - Israel is the stronger – to realize this equality. Avoiding this equality until now was useless. Israel itself today suffers from war launched on Gaza. 

The solution is simple. Israeli human beings should not remain exposed to war, as is the Palestinian human being. Both are human and equal in humanity. We call upon Israel, the friends of Israel, those interested in the survival of Israel and the security of Israel to simply see that the Palestinian and Israeli peoples are equal in rights and duties and capable of making peace. 

We say to the Israeli authorities: It is in your hands to keep us and keep yourselves in constant war and hostility, and in your hands to let us move together to an equal life with dignity, peace and security. Learn from the experience of already 70 years in war. They did not yield security and peace. The cause of the Palestinian people cannot be solved by violence or unjustly imposed solutions, but only by justice and equality. This is the key to war and peace in Israel and Palestine. The key to open the door of peace is in the hands of Israel