[Peace-discuss] Support Genuine Peace in the Middle East

[prorobert8 at hotmail.com]

Hello,

Your friend, prorobert8 at hotmail.com, has sent you this email from tikkun.org, urging you to sign the Tikkun Resolution for Middle East Peace.

Your friend writes:
"Here is Tikkuns official resolution on Israel/Palestine."


The Resolution, presented by members of the Tikkun Community to the U.S. Congress, offers a "Progressive Middle Path" to Middle East Peace that is *both* pro-Israel and pro-Palestine.  To learn more about the Resolution, and to sign it online, please go to:
http://www.tikkun.org/community/resolution/

The text of the Resolution is below:

A RESOLUTION FOR MIDDLE EAST PEACE

WHEREAS we recognize the humanity and fundamental decency of both the Israeli
and Palestinian people, and wish to see them living in peace with each other,
side by side in a safe Israel and a safe Palestine,

AND WHEREAS we abhor acts of terror, violence and denial of human rights,

AND WHEREAS the continuation of this conflict is destructive to the people of
the Middle East, counter to the best interests and values of the United States,
and might contribute to an increase in anti-Semitism and anti-Arab prejudices,

BE IT HEREBY RESOLVED THAT THE CONGRESS OF THE UNITED STATES URGES THE
PRESIDENT TO:

Seek an immediate end to violence and terror in the Middle East by introducing
an international buffer of genuinely unbiased and neutral

(a) Return of Israel to its pre-1967 borders, with minor border modifications
mutually agreed upon (language adopted at Taba in 2001 by both parties to
indicate that a few Israeli border settlements and the Jewish sections of
Jerusalem including the Wall would be incorporated into Israel, and that Arab
sections of Jerusalem including the al-Aksa mosque would be incorporated into
Palestine);

(b) Creation of an economically and politically viable, democratically governed
and human-rights-respecting Palestinian state in all of the pre-1967 West Bank
and Gaza including East Jerusalem;

(c) An international fund to provide compensation for Palestinians and to
assist in resettling Palestinian refugees inside the borders of the new
Palestinian state, and to provide compensation for Israelis who fled from
persecution in Arab lands, and to resettle Israeli settlers within the pre-1967
borders of Israel;

(d) Peaceful relations, economic cooperation, and diplomatic recognition of
Israel and the Palestinian state by surrounding Arab and Islamic states;

(e) Sharing by Israel, Palestine and surrounding Arab states of the water and
other resources of the area and joint cooperation to preserve the region's
ecological wellbeing;

(f) Active participation of Palestine and Israel, in cooperation with
international forces, to protect both countries from the inevitable violence
and terrorism that will continue after this peace agreement has been
implemented - recognizing that some groups will continue to use violence
against Israel even after it has returned to its pre-1967 borders or against
Palestine even when its government and the majority of its people seek to live
in peace with Israel;

(g) International guarantees of the safety and security of both Israel and
Palestine, either through bilateral mutual defense agreements with the United
States, or some similar arrangements with a credible international force which
will protect Israel and Palestine from any states or terrorist groups that have
hostile intentions;

(h) The creation of institutions in both societies designed to eliminate the
teaching of hatred and stereotyping in the media, religious communities, and
educational systems, and to support educational and social practices aimed at
building trust and cooperation between the Israeli and Palestinian peoples,
fostering repentance for past violations of human rights, and promoting a new
spirit of reconciliation, recognition of the humanity of the other, and
generosity towards each other.

To learn more about this Resolution, and to sign it online, go to:
http://www.tikkun.org/community/resolution/