[Peace-discuss] Re: [Peace] minutes of 9/24/06 AWARE meeting

[C. G. Estabrook]

> ...AWARE presents panel on U.S. Policy on Israel/Palestine:
> Frank Knowles bowed out of organizing the panel
> Panel reconstituted by Stuart and Gary
>  Some comments from Michael Shapiro regarding an effective moderator and
> assurances on conditions
>  Ken Cuno, Fred Jahar, Jamal Nassar are other panelists
>  10/26 7-9PM City Council Chambers, televised for UPTV or taped to be televised
>  TJ Wilson is slated as moderator
>  15 minutes position statements, Q&A after that...

I still don't understand why the panel consists only of voices 
acceptable to, say, the College Republicans.  In the US today in this 
matter perhaps particularly there's an effort to keep the discussion 
within the limits of allowable debate, and AWARE Presents seems to be 
accepting that requirement.

Shouldn't the "Anti-War Anti-Racism Effort" include a voice actually 
anti-war -- viz., opposed in principle to US war in the Middle East 
(including Lebanon and Gaza)?  "By now [2002] the US-Israel-Turkey 
alliance is a centerpiece of US strategy, and Israel is virtually a US 
military base, also closely integrated with the militarized US high-tech 
economy" (Chomsky).  Will the panel contain any principled objection to 
that situation?

Shouldn't the "Anti-War Anti-Racism Effort" include a voice actually 
anti-racist -- viz., opposed in principle to US support for its 
principal client, an explicitly racist state?  Where is our "Anti-Racism 
Working Group" to condemn this panel's silence in the face of racism?

I thought the point of the panels was to consider what US policy should 
be now.  Why is there no one on the panel to call for a reversal of 
support for Israel, at least to the extent of demanding that Israel 
observe UN resolutions going back almost 40 years?

If these opinions are being excluded, as was suggested, in order not to 
turn people away, isn't it clear that AWARE has sold its birthright for 
a mess of pottage?  This seems to me an acquiescence as bad or worse 
than that to Sen. Obama, where AWARE was told to refrain from 
criticizing a pro-war senator because he was a black liberal.

Perhaps some of us should try our hand at a leaflet for this event that 
tries to do what the original remit for the panel suggested --  namely, 
say what US policy should be in regard to Israel.  If you're interested 
in working on such a thing, let me know.  --CGE