[Peace-discuss] Fwd: [NotInMyName] From NIMN: Punishing Palestinians will not save Israeli lives

[David Green]

--- finkel at sd-il.com wrote:

> To: "NIMN-National" <NotInMyName at yahoogroups.com>
> CC: "'JVP Talk'" <JVP-Talk at googlegroups.com>
> From: <finkel at sd-il.com>
> Date: Sat, 1 Jul 2006 18:58:56 -0500
> Subject: [NotInMyName] From NIMN: Punishing
> Palestinians will not save Israeli lives
> 
> FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
> 
> Date : Saturday, July 01, 2006>  
> 
> Punishing Palestinians will not save Israeli lives
> 
> Not In My Name, a predominantly Jewish organization
> based in Chicago,
> categorically condemns the actions of the Israeli
> government in Gaza.  Bombing
> Gaza's only electrical plant, destroying most of its
> bridges, and arresting
> one-third of the Palestinians' elected government,
> simply cannot bring peace and
> security to Israeli citizens.
> 
> As usual, diplomacy is the last resort for Israel's
> leaders.  These attacks have
> endangered the life of Corporal Gilad Shalit, the
> young Israeli soldier who was
> captured in a military raid. Rather than consider
> the proposal to exchange
> Shalit for several hundred Palestinian women and
> children being held in Israeli
> prisons, Israel's leaders immediately closed the
> doors on this diplomatic
> option, preferring only military action.
> 
> By bombing Gaza's only electrical plant, Israel has
> cut electricity to more than
> 700,000 Palestinians.  Hospitals can no longer
> refrigerate medicine, sterilize
> equipment, or generate oxygen.  Hundreds of
> thousands of people have no running
> water.  This deepens an already serious humanitarian
> crisis in Gaza created by
> Israel to punish Palestinians.
> 
> The U.S. government has done nothing to prevent this
> gross violation of
> international law.  Its only public statement has
> been that Israel has a right
> to defend itself.  It is hard to fathom how the
> imposition of collective
> punishment on the Palestinian people, and the
> massive destruction of the civil
> infrastructure, which the Geneva Conventions
> obligate Israel to protect, is a
> matter of self defense.  The U.S. government has
> enabled these actions, and the
> Occupation, through its continued economic,
> military, and diplomatic support.
> 
> The last 39 years of military occupation have proven
> that brutalizing a captive
> population, stealing their land and water, and
> taking away their ability to live
> normal, fruitful lives, will neither lessen their
> anger nor make Israelis safer.
> This current action will be further proof.  It
> demonstrates the
> single-mindedness of Israel's leaders.  They limit
> their responses to actions
> that always make the situation worse.  While these
> leaders maintain their power
> and authority, the Occupation, now in its 40th year,
> has been ruinous for both
> peoples.
> 
> Not In My Name is committed to a just and lasting
> peace that is created by the
> Palestinian and Israeli people.  This can only be
> accomplished by ending the
> Occupation, which is destroying both societies. 
> There should be no unfortunate
> young soldiers like Gilad Shalit and no criminal
> acts like bombing population
> centers and civil infrastructure.  To bring about
> this day, we will work to end
> the use of our tax dollars to support the
> Occupation, and we will continue to
> support the Israeli and Palestinian people who are
> working hard to build peace
> together.
> 


__________________________________________________
Do You Yahoo!?
Tired of spam?  Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around 
http://mail.yahoo.com