[Peace-discuss] Fwd: [HumanRights] Orthodoxy, visions of Palestinian Arabs in Israel, and more

Sun Feb 25 23:30:33 CST 2007

A report from Mazin Qumsiyeh, who visited us a couple of years ago;  
he continues his fight for Palestinian rights. --mkb

Begin forwarded message:

> -------
> On a cold Sunday morning in New Jersey, a group of us (included  
> Jews, Christians, Muslims, others) picketed the sale of houses  
> built on Palestinian land to those Orthodox Jews who think God gave  
> them the right to make us homeless (see Associated Press story  
> picked up by Haaretz at http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/ 
> 830508.html and also posted together with a sound clip from radio  
> at http://1010wins.com/pages/264891.php? 
> contentType=4&amp;contentId=347676 )
>
> Later in the day and back in CT I attended the Orthodox Christian  
> services for the small Arab Christian community here (it is the end  
> of the first week of Lent fasting leading up to Easter).  Orthodox  
> by definition means following rituals and structures that go back  
> hundreds of years (Both Rabbinical Judaism and Orthodox  
> Christianity developed structurally between the first and third  
> Century AD).  Similar strands within Islam also exists.  Orthodoxy  
> means rather rigid interpretations of theology.  Yet, on earthly  
> matters, there are significant differences between the many  
> Orthodox brands.  Even within Judaism itself we find for example  
> the Ultra Orthodox Naturei Karta Jews to be vehemently anti-Zionist  
> and consider it an idolatry (and a sin/affront to God). How a large  
> segment of Orthodox Jewry came to believe in stealing native  
> people's lands and in Jewish supremacy is a story for others to  
> tell (see for example Marc Ellis's book "Out of the Ashes"). How  
> the actual events unfold in my home town of Beit Sahour and  
> hundreds of other Palestinian towns and villages is being told  
> daily by the victims despite their voices being silenced and their  
> lives cut short.  Most of it not by Orthodox but by self described  
> "secular" (even atheist) Jews who believe in another kind of  
> orthodoxy, the orthodoxy of racist Zionist imperialism/colonialism.
>
> The Greek Orthodox Christian Churches are not monolothic either and  
> their understanding of our role on Earth also varies. It can be  
> said that various beliefs make for an interesting diversity on  
> earth BUT as long as no harm is being done to others. In the Quran  
> we find a verse that says that if God had wished it, all people  
> would be of the same faith but instead God made us different  
> peoples in his wisdom "so that you know each other" (another  
> verse.  That is I think a beautiful sentiment.  To know each other,  
> and as Jesus said to love one another (even those who chose to be  
> our enemies).  It is a shame that some interpret their commandments  
> to mean to hate others, oppress them, and steal their land.  
> Ultimately hate harms the hater and the blowback is always  
> unpledasant to say the least. As John F Kennedy said "those who  
> make peaceful revolution impossible, make violent revolution  
> inevitable".  As the song says "in the end only kindness matters".   
> At one point in our demonstration, an Orthodox man and his son  
> offered us hot chocolate.  At another point, a young Orthodox Jew  
> (perhaps 16-18 years old) was curiously listening and watching us.  
> We were behind a police barricade so I called to him and offered  
> him copies of two of the flyers we were distributing.  I said a few  
> words to him about the need to do justice (per Hillel). An older  
> man (likely his father) came rushing out of the synagogue and took  
> him back in while rebuking him for speaking with us.  That is a  
> real shame.  I do not know how many people were duped into sinking  
> their hard earned money in buying houses built illegally on  
> Palestinian land.  I also do not know how many may start to reflect  
> on their orthodoxy to see if it promotes justice and peace or  
> violence and oppression.  I do know that little will change unless  
> each and every one of us becomes involved and puts themselves in  
> positions of discomfort by having to deal with the reality of our  
> diversity AND our sharing of this small planet.
>
> Report: over 5,000 Palestinians killed by the Israeli army since 2000
> Bethlehem - Ma'an - Since the outbreak of the second Palestinian  
> Intifada in September 2000, until late January 2007, the Israeli  
> army has killed 5,050 Palestinian men, women and children, wounded  
> 49,760 others and detained 10,4000 others, a report by the  
> Palestinian Authority-run 'Palestinian State Information Service'  
> has revealed.
> http://www.maannews.net/en/index.php?opr=ShowDetails&ID=19746
>
> "The Future Vision of the Palestinian Arabs in Israel"
> "We are the Palestinian Arabs in Israel, the indigenous peoples,  
> the residents of the States of Israel, and an integral part of the  
> Palestinian People and the Arab and Muslim and human Nation. The  
> war of 1948 resulted in the establishment of the Israeli state on a  
> 78 percent of historical Palestine. We found ourselves, those who  
> have remained in their homeland (approximately 160,000) within the  
> borders of the Jewish state. Such reality has isolated us from the  
> rest of the Palestinian People and the Arab world and we were  
> forced to become citizens of Israel. This has transformed us into a  
> minority living in our historic homeland. Since the Al-Nakba of  
> 1948 (the Palestinian tragedy), we have been suffering from extreme  
> structural discrimination policies, national oppression, military  
> rule that lasted till 1966, land confiscation policy, unequal  
> budget and resources allocation, rights discrimination and threats  
> of transfer. The State has also abused and killed its own Arab  
> citizens, as in the Kufr Qassem massacre, the land day in 1976 and  
> Al-Aqsa Intifada back in 2000. Since Al-Nakba and despite all, we  
> maintained our identity, culture, and national affiliation; we  
> struggled and are still struggling to obtain just, comprehensive  
> and permanent peace in the Middle East region, through achieving  
> fair and lasting resolution concerning the Palestinian refugees'  
> resolutions status according to UN and for reaching peace through  
> the declaration of an independent Palestinian State. Defining the  
> Israeli State as a Jewish State and exploiting democracy in the  
> service of its Jewishness excludes us, and creates tension between  
> us and the nature and essence of the State. Therefore, we call for  
> a Consensual Democratic system that enables us to be fully active  
> in the decision-making process and guarantee our individual and  
> collective civil, historic, and national rights.... More at
> http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article6381.shtml
>
> Apartheid looks like this
> http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article6588.shtml
>
> Convincing data that the Bush administration could have captured  
> Bin Laden less than two weeks after 9/11/01 and chose not to. It is  
> either derelectiuon of duty or high treason
> http://www.counterpunch.org/osseiran08212006.html
> http://www.muckrakerreport.com/id339.html
> http://www.lonestaricon.com/absolutenm/anmviewer.asp?a=1043&z=103
>
> Mazin
> http://qumsiyeh.org

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