MidEast: More death, less peace

[Maxine Nunn]

forwarded by Maxine Kaufman-Lacusta
---------- Forwarded Message ----------

RE: More death, less peace

Friends,

We note with anger and grief the terrible loss of lives and the many
injuries resulting from Israel's brutal response to the Palestinian
demonstrators who were marking al-Naqba (the catastrophe), the
Palestinian term for Israel's creation in 1948. The rage and
frustration expressed by the demonstrators are a clear message -- the
loss of hope that progress can be made for peace.

To our Palestinian sisters and brothers, we extend our sympathy and
solidarity as these terrible events take their toll. We appeal to you
not to despair. We pledge as Israeli peace activists that we shall
not relent in our efforts until a fair and just solution, mutually
agreeable to both sides, is in place.

Before the riots began and in commemoration of al-Naqba, a joint
statement was issued by the Jerusalem Link (the coordinating body of
Bat Shalom and the Jerusalem Center for Women). The statement reads
in part:

The birth of Israel was inextricably bound up with
tragedies for the Palestinian people -- the transformation
of 750,000 Palestinians into homeless refugees, separation
of family members from each other, destruction of
Palestinian villages and erasing all trace of their
existence, the deterioration of community life, and the
loss of a homeland...
Peace requires a political solution that recognizes
the inalienable right of the Palestinian people to exist as
an independent state beside the state of Israel. This
necessitates Israeli withdrawal from the Occupied
Territories...
We seek a peace that permits all the peoples of the
region to live in security and dignity, guided and
inspired by the values of freedom, democracy, justice,
and equality.

Yesterday's events give even greater meaning to these words.

Gila

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