[eDebate] Fwd: [al-awda-unity] ICRS: executions of Palestinians "Barbaric"

[jack stroube]

>From: Mazin Qumsiyeh <mazin.qumsiyeh at yale.edu>
>Reply-To: mazin.qumsiyeh at yale.edu
>To: Mazin-qumsiyeh at yahoogroups.com
>Subject: [al-awda-unity] ICRS: executions of Palestinians "Barbaric"
>Date: Thu, 08 Nov 2001 12:25:21 -0500
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>International Committee of the Red Cross Condemns Israel?s Inhumane 
>Measures
>Against the Palestinian People: ?Israel?s Execution of Palestinians is 
>Barbaric?
>(from PMC)
>
>From AFP: "Anti-Zionist Rabbi scores posthumous victory over Herzl." A Tel 
>Aviv
>street is renamed (from Hertzl to Schach) after the death of the 103 year 
>old
>respected anti-Zionist Rabbi.  The Jewish Agency is upset.  The Jewish 
>Agency
>BTW is the custodian of the land of Israel "for its owners, Jewish People
>everywhere" (the only country in the world where the majority of its lands 
>do
>not belong to citizens but to extraterritorially defined "nationals" by 
>law).
>Many Israelis are beginning to question this and other "basic laws" (Israel 
>has
>no constitution).
>
>From Peace Action: Ending Terrorism Means Promoting Justice. A thoughtful
>article suggesting concrete and alternative agenda for peace
>
>Mazin Qumsiyeh, PhD
>http://Al-Awda.org
>____________________________
>
>International Committee of the Red Cross Condemns Israel?s Inhumane 
>Measures
>Against the Palestinian People
>
>8 November 2001
>Palestine Media Center - PMC
>http://www.palestine-pmc.com
>
>Yesterday 7 November, President Arafat met with the General Director of the
>International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), Mr.
>Paul Grossrieder. The President discussed the details of the persistent 
>Israeli
>violations of human rights in the Occupied Palestinian
>Territory since the outbreak of Israeli hostilities fourteen months ago.
>
>Mr. Grossrieder stated that the Israeli execution of the three Palestinians 
>in
>Nablus on 6 November was ?a barbaric act?. ?Not only
>is it highly unacceptable, it is one of the worst human rights violations 
>that
>one could possibly imagine. I do hope this
>would be the last of such an act?, the General Director stressed. ?The 
>Israeli
>occupation forces should have allowed the
>Palestine Red Crescent Society ambulances and medical crews to treat the
>injured,? he added.
>
>Mr. Grossrieder also stressed that the International Committee of the Red 
>Cross
>is going to forward an official complaint to the Israeli
>government for carrying out acts that contravene human rights standards.
>
>Finally, the General Director confirmed to the President that the ICRC is 
>going
>to increase the number of its employees in the West
>Bank and Gaza Strip ?for better observation and more comprehensive 
>reports?. He
>also stated that the ICRC will do all it can to
>provide aid and improve the living conditions of Palestinians detained by 
>the
>Israeli occupation authorities.
>
>On 6 November, at approximately 1 pm, PRCS ambulances arrived at Tel south 
>of
>Nablus City to rescue three injured Palestinians.
>However, Israeli occupation soldiers prevented the medical team from 
>reaching
>the three reportedly injured Palestinians. After the
>medics were unsuccessful in saving an Israeli soldier?s life, as he had 
>been
>severely wounded, seven Israeli occupation soldiers
>executed the three injured Palestinians as they bleeding less than a 
>hundred
>meters away from the witnessing medical crew.
>
>
>__________________
>
>Anti-Zionist rabbi scores posthumous victory over Herzl
>
>Agence France Presse
>November 8
>
>One of Israel's most revered Orthodox rabbis and a vehement opponent of  
>Zionism
>scored a point over the originator of Israel's founding philosphy Thursday,
>almost a week after his death.
>
>The Tel Aviv suburb of Bnei Brak renamed a section of Herzl Street,  named 
>after
>Zionism's founder Theodor Herzl, after Rabbi Menachem Schach, who died last
>Friday, aged 103, and was buried in the town. The move irked the Jewish 
>Agency,
>the organisation tasked with implementing Herzl's dream of a Jewish 
>homeland and
>arranging for immigration of Jews from all around the world to Israel.
>
>"The council could have chosen another street, they had plenty of choice, 
>but it
>wanted to show that orthodoxy won out in the end," an agency official said 
>on
>public radio.
>
>Schach, one of the key figures behind two religiously inclined political
>parties, was opposed to the concept of Zionism, the idea that Jews should 
>return
>to Israel after 2,000 years.
>
>He argued that the Jews should only return to the Holy Land after the 
>arrival of
>the Messiah, or saviour, although he gradually toned down his criticism 
>after
>Israel's creation in 1948.
>_____________________________________
>
>
>
>                     Ending Terrorism Means Promoting Justice
>
>                      Glen Stassen and Steven Brion-Meisels*
>
>* This essay is based on work developed by the authors for Peace Action, 
>and in
>a cooperative book edited by Glen Stassen (Just Peacemaking, Pilgrim Press,
>1998)
>On September 11, the deaths of thousands of civilians in the United States
>created feelings of sadness, anger, injustice and helplessness across our 
>nation
>and the world. When political leaders turned feelings of anger, 
>helplessness and
>injustice into a call for revenge and retribution, the cycle of violence 
>was
>accelerated rather than stopped. If we care about true peace (the kind of 
>peace
>that Dr. King called ?not the absence of violence but the presence of 
>justice?),
>we must break the cycle that has led to the twin terrorisms of 9/11 and its
>aftermath: attacks on civilians in the United States, and attacks on the
>livelihoods of desperate and starving people in Afghanistan. In both the 
>short
>and long terms, the way out of this cycle is to focus on justice rather 
>than
>retribution, law rather than war, development rather than destruction.
>Justice calls on us to prosecute those who committed murder on September 
>11. But
>justice also calls on us to understand and address the roots of terrorism,
>including both its acts and its capacity to recruit. Law calls on us to 
>follow
>procedures designed to protect other innocent lives, to use force to 
>apprehend
>rather than destroy ? because as Representative Barbara Lee reminded us, we 
>must
>not ?become the evil we deplore.? Development calls on us to share our 
>immense
>wealth in ways that promote reasonable lives for the millions of people who
>daily face the terror of starvation, disease, homelessness, violence and 
>early
>death ? in our own cities, in Afghanistan and around the world.
>It is easy to reject current U.S. strategies. There is growing agreement 
>even
>among former military leaders that unilateral militarist actions will not 
>make
>American citizens safer. Outside the U.S., there is growing agreement that 
>a
>long-term response to terrorism requires using available legal structures 
>to
>prosecute international criminals, while at the same time addressing the 
>ways in
>which injustice fuels terrorism.
>
>But those of us who oppose war and militarist strategies must propose
>alternative paths. Fortunately, we can draw on a century of successful
>non-violent strategies that have promoted peace and justice at home and 
>abroad.
>Here are six principles and practices that we believe can address the roots 
>of
>terrorism, help make communities around the world safer, and promote 
>sustainable
>justice rather than cycles of violence.
>
>   1. 1. Address the roots not just the symptoms. Jonathan Moore (former 
>U.S.
>      coordinator for refugees during the Reagan and Bush senior 
>administrations)
>      writes that ?the increasing gap between rich and poor? is both 
>morally and
>      politically dangerous, and requires a new appreciation that our 
>national
>      interest is increasingly defined in terms of the lives of others.? 
>(Boston
>      Globe, 9/29). Moore cites President Bush?s own speech to the World 
>Bank,
>      where the President said,
>
>? A world where some live in comfort and plenty, while half the human race 
>lives
>on less than two dollars a day, is neither just, nor stable.? We call on 
>our
>elected leaders to stop military action and increase humanitarian aid in
>Afghanistan; to seek safety, justice and freedom from terrorism for 
>Palestinians
>as well as Israelis; to turn America?s talent away from retribution and 
>toward
>sustainable, democratic economic development.
>
>   2. 2. Recognize the role of all parties. The United States will diagnose 
>the
>      causes, create more effective responses, and receive more 
>international
>      support if we are able to recognize our own role in the cycle of 
>terrorism.
>      Our government armed Taliban leaders in a proxy war against Russia, 
>just as
>      we armed Iraq against Iran. The U.S. did little to help rebuild
>      Afghanistan; post-war chaos and devastation allowed the Taliban to 
>gain
>      power. In Iraq, U.S.-led sanctions have contributed to more than one
>      million civilian deaths. Media images of Islamic and Arabic peoples 
>as
>      fanatical terrorists, have led to ethnic profiling at home and a 
>neglect in
>      advocating for human rights in the Middle East. We call on our 
>elected
>      officials and media to recognize the role our nation has played not 
>only as
>      a democratic leader but also as a contributor to violence through our
>      foreign policy and our weapons sales. The end of denial is the first 
>step
>      toward healing and recovery.
>   3. 3. Take independent initiatives that reduce violence and promote 
>justice.
>      First, we must accept the request of Taliban leaders to talk about
>      solutions. Second, we must move rapidly from bombing Afghanistan to 
>aiding
>      its starving people. geometrically increase humanitarian aid, through 
>U.N.
>      and other NGO representatives rather than the ineffective 
>high-altitude
>      food drops that now dominate headlines. Third, we must press Israeli 
>and
>      Palestinian leaders to take initiatives towards a sustainable truce 
>that
>      includes the Mitchell Commission recommendations to stop all new 
>Israeli
>      settlements in the West Bank. The distrust there is so deep that both 
>sides
>      must take credible initiatives of de-escalation and justice before 
>the
>      people will accept a negotiated peace. Independent initiatives have 
>been
>      used successfully to break stalemates in the past; we can use them 
>again in
>      this situation.
>
>     4 Re-engage with international forces. A bright spot in this tragedy 
>has
>been the administration?s recognition that it             needs support of 
>many
>other nations if the struggle against terrorism is to succeed. European, 
>Arab
>and Muslim leaders  have pressed for avoiding harm to innocent people in 
>the
>bombings, and for justice for people in need in Afghanistan,
>Palestine and Iraq. From the start of his administration, President Bush
>disengaged from peacemaking between Israel and Palestine, between South and
>North Korea, and from international treaties: the ABM Treaty, the 
>Comprehensive
>Test Ban Treaty, and the Kyoto Accords. Without international pressure, the
>desperation of Palestinians in the face of a  powerful Israeli military 
>supports
>the recruitment of young men and women willing to kill and be killed in 
>their
>search for justice. A program to address the roots of terrorism requires 
>the
>U.S. to work collaboratively with other nations, and to         hear their
>wisdom. Sustainable solutions in Israel and throughout the Middle East will
>require a new collaborative role for   the United States ? beginning with a
>commitment to press the Israeli government to curtail settlements and
>implement             new agreements along the lines of the Mitchell 
>Commission
>plan.
>
>   5. 5. Use force only to apprehend and protect, not destroy. Since 
>September
>      11, a growing number of voices have called for the rule of law, not 
>the
>      rule of war. This commitment includes protection of civil liberties 
>as well
>      as airport terminals, and respect for the rule of law not the rules. 
>In
>      William Sloane Coffin?s words, ?What we need is the force of law, not 
>the
>      law of force.? ( New Haven Register, 9/24). We can look to important
>      examples of successful legal approaches to the killing of innocent
>      civilians. From Milosevic to Lockerby, from Chile to Rwanda, 
>successful
>      international prosecutions provide a model for how terrorism can be
>      addressed without recreating cycles of violence. It takes time, but 
>it
>      works. We call on our elected officials to press for legal rather 
>than
>      militarist strategies; to support the International Criminal Court, 
>the
>      International War Crimes Tribunal, and the World Court. Together, we 
>can
>      create a new kind of force for the 21st century, based on 
>multilateral
>      persuasion and enforcement, rather than unilateral retribution
>
>6. Increase the capacity of multilateral, civilian based organizations. The
>fight against international terrorism must be truly multilateral ? based 
>not on
>?with us or against us? bullying strategies, but on collaboration and
>persuasion. We call on our elected leaders to re-energize the role of the 
>United
>Nations and other Non-Governmental (NGO) organizations. These groups have a
>demonstrated success record for delivering humanitarian aid; and they have 
>the
>international networks required to move beyond ?us against them? positions. 
>The
>Twin Towers demonstrate the connections and interdependence of the world?s
>peoples. The victims included civilians of many nationalities; the 
>solutions
>must be found across national borders and beyond traditional governments.
>
>7. Foster inter-cultural understanding and reconciliation. One bright spot 
>in
>our national response to September 11 has been the broad commitment of 
>ordinary
>people to respect the rights of Islamic and Arabic peoples within the U.S. 
>Early
>calls for retribution, along with wanted posters of Osama Bin Laden in 
>store
>windows contributed to racial profiling and the deaths of innocent U.S.
>civilians who looked Arabic. If war continues the cycle of terrorism, this 
>kind
>of violence is likely to re-appear. The grassroots citizen initiatives to 
>reach
>out and in some cases protect Islamic centers and mosques must be supported 
>and
>applauded. We call on our elected leaders to actively foster inter-cultural
>understanding and reconciliation at home and abroad. This requires 
>sustained
>dialogue with Islamic leaders about their perspectives on international 
>issues,
>the end of media and government stereotypes, and better education about 
>Islam
>here in the U.S. It calls for Muslims and Arabs not only to be for peace, 
>but to
>articulate and teach their peacemaking practices; and it calls for others 
>to
>listen with open minds and hearts.
>These actions will not stop terrorism tomorrow or the next day, but they 
>will
>address deep roots and sustainable solutions. They do not provide simple
>responses to our feelings of anger, sadness, injustice and helplessness, 
>but
>they are an alternative path toward healing and reconstruction. These kinds 
>of
>actions have proven over the past century to be the only sustainable path 
>to
>real peace: a safety rooted in justice rather than fear.  Militarist 
>responses
>at home and abroad will take us farther down the path of fear, anger, 
>injustice
>and violence that brought us to September 11. In fact, militarist responses 
>will
>recruit more terrorists and lead to further acts of terrorism against 
>people at
>home and abroad. If we care about our own children, and the children of 
>people
>like us around the world, we will use September 11 as the starting point 
>for a
>different journey, down a different path. We have the roadmap; we must 
>decide to
>use it.
>
>
>[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
>


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