[Peace-discuss] Fw: Huuuuge Victory - UN Recognizes Palestine!!

Fri Nov 30 18:34:51 UTC 2012

>From the WaPo, the gangsters weigh in:

*With UN vote, bipartisan Senate group threatens cutoff of US aid, closing
> of PLO office*
>

> WASHINGTON — A bipartisan group of senators warned the Palestinians on
> Thursday that millions in U.S. financial aid and its Washington office are
> in jeopardy if they use upgraded U.N. status against Israel.
>

> Hours before the expected U.N. vote to admit Palestine as a nonmember
> state, four senators called the move provocative and introduced legislation
> threatening to cutoff U.S. assistance.
>

> “The biggest fear I have is that the Palestinians achieve this status it
> won’t be very long before the Palestinians use the United Nations as a club
> against Israel,” said Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C.
>

> The measure, which the lawmakers plan to offer as an amendment to a
> far-reaching defense bill, would cut off assistance to the Palestinian
> Authority if they file charges against Israel in the International Criminal
> Court. As a nonmember state in the U.N., the Palestinians could join the
> court and press war crime charges against Israel.
>

> Unwillingness to conduct meaningful negotiations with Israel would result
> in the immediate closing of the Palestinian Liberation Organization’s
> office in Washington.
>

> “We are committed, Democrats and Republicans, to using every means at our
> disposal to ensure that this U.N. General Assembly vote does not serve as a
> precedent for elevating the status of the PLO,” said Sen. Chuck Schumer,
> D-N.Y.
>

> The Senate is debating the defense bill and could wrap up the legislation
> by week’s end. Proponents of the measure, including Sens. John Barrasso,
> R-Wyo., and Bob Menendez, D-N.J., said they expect it win overwhelming
> approval.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/congress/un-vote-looming-bipartisan-senate-group-threatens-cutoff-of-us-aid-closing-of-plo-office/2012/11/29/1d500640-3a4c-11e2-9258-ac7c78d5c680_story.html

On Fri, Nov 30, 2012 at 12:07 PM, David Johnson <dlj725 at hughes.net> wrote:

> **
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> *From:* Ricken Patel - Avaaz.org <avaaz at avaaz.org>
> *To:* dlj725 at hughes.net
> *Sent:* Friday, November 30, 2012 6:13 AM
> *Subject:* Huuuuge Victory - UN Recognizes Palestine!!
>
> Avaazers, it's time to celebrate!
>
> A few minutes ago, *the UN voted overwhelmingly to recognise Palestine as
> the world's 194th state!!!* It’s a huge victory for the Palestinian
> people, for peace, for our community, and people across the world are
> joining with massive crowds in Palestine to celebrate.
>
> The Palestinian people's journey to freedom is far from over. But this is
> a powerful step, and our community played a key role in it. Palestine's
> Ambassador to Europe said today:
>
> *"Avaaz and its members across the world have played a crucial role in
> persuading governments to support the Palestinian people's bid for a state
> and for freedom and peace. They have stood with us throughout and their
> solidarity and support will be remembered and cherished across Palestine."
> * - Leila Shahid, General Palestinian Delegate to Europe
>
>      *Brussels Action: While EU leaders were met, THIS was happening
> right outside their windows*
>     *Madrid Action: Avaaz members want Spain PM Rajoy to say YES!* The US
> and Israeli governments, beholden to extreme lobby groups (yes, sadly even
> Obama has given in), threw everything they had at crushing this vote, using
> financial threats and even threatening to overthrow the Palestinian
> President if he went ahead. *Europe was the key swing vote,* and under
> intense US pressure, leaders were, just two weeks ago, leaning towards not
> supporting the Palestinian state. Knowing the stakes, our community
> responded with the speed and democratic force that we needed to win:
>
>    - *Nearly 1.8 million of us signed the petition* calling for statehood.
>    - Thousands of us donated to fund public opinion polls across Europe
>    -- showing that *a whopping 79% of Europeans supported a Palestinian
>    state.* Our polls were plastered all over the media, and repeatedly
>    cited in Parliamentary debates in the UK, Spain and France!
>    - We sent *tens of thousands of emails, Facebook messages and Tweets
>    to leaders across Europe* and made thousands of calls to foreign
>    ministries and heads of state.
>    - We unfurled a giant *4-storey banner outside the EU Commission in
>    Brussels (right) while leaders were meeting inside.* Then, we staged
>    another stunt in Madrid. Previously, we had sailed a flotilla of ships past
>    the UN calling for a vote. Our actions made headlines all over Europe.
>    - *Avaaz staff and members met with dozens and dozens of government
>    ministers,* top advisors, senior journalists, parliamentarians and
>    thought leaders in each of the key countries, in many cases teaming up to
>    win over leaders one by one through advocacy, pressure, parliamentary
>    resolutions and public statements, always drawing on the surge in people
>    power behind this cause.
>    - We reached out to *key thought leaders like Stéphane Hessel, a
>    94-year old survivor of Nazi concentration camps,* and Ron Pundak, an
>    Israeli who played a key role in Oslo peace process, to speak out in favour
>    of statehood.
>
> One by one, key European states broke with the US to answer the call of
> justice and their peoples. In the final vote tally we got just now, only 9
> countries out of 193 have voted against! *France, Spain, Italy, Sweden
> and most of Europe has voted for Palestine.*
>
> The US and Israel argued first that statehood was dangerous for peace, and
> then, when they'd lost, that it didn't matter and the vote was just
> symbolic. But if it were just symbolic they wouldn't have done everything
> to try and stop it. And after years of bad-faith negotiations and Israeli
> comfort with the status quo as they steadily colonize more Palestinian
> land, *this move shows the US and Israel that if they do not engage in
> good faith, the Palestinians and the world are prepared to move forward
> without them*. It's a more balanced basis for real peace talks. And
> that's the best alternative to the kind of violence we saw Israel's
> government and Hamas offer in Gaza this month.
>
> For decades the Palestinian people have suffered under a stifling Israeli
> military dictatorship, repressive controls on their travel and work,
> continual denial of their rights and the constant threat of insecurity and
> violence. 65 years ago today, the UN recognized the state of Israel,
> beginning a path to the establishment of a safe home for the Jewish people.
> *Today the Palestinians take a step down the same path, and gain a
> dignity in the eyes of the international community that they have been
> denied for a generation. And from that dignity, we can build the
> foundations of peace.*
>
> With hope and joy,
>
> Ricken, Alice, Ari, Wissam, Allison, Sam, Julien, Pascal, Wen, Pedro,
> Saravanan, Emma, Ben, Dalia, Alexey, Paul, Marie, Aldine, Luca, Jamie,
> Morgan and the whole Avaaz team.
>
> PS Here are some sources - The Associated Press<http://news.yahoo.com/un-vote-recognizes-state-palestine-us-objects-222714646.html>covers today's victory, the
> Guardian<http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/nov/19/palestinian-statehood-wins-european-backing?INTCMP=SRCH>covers our polling two weeks ago, Avaaz's Daily
> Briefing <http://en.avaaz.org/1170/see-who-voted-for-palestine> provides
> a map of the vote result, and Haaretz<http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/germany-backtracks-on-palestinian-bid-israeli-official-we-lost-europe.premium-1.481392>describes Israel's response.
>
>
>
>   *Support the Avaaz Community!*  We're entirely funded by donations and
> receive no money from governments or corporations. Our dedicated team
> ensures even the smallest contributions go a long way.
> <https://secure.avaaz.org/en/donate_to_avaaz_gc/?cl=2225053795&v=19690>
>
>
> ------------------------------
> *
> Avaaz.org is a 17-million-person global campaign network* that works to
> ensure that the views and values of the world's people shape global
> decision-making. ("Avaaz" means "voice" or "song" in many languages.) Avaaz
> members live in every nation of the world; our team is spread across 19
> countries on 6 continents and operates in 14 languages. Learn about some of
> Avaaz's biggest campaigns here<http://www.avaaz.org/en/highlights.php/?footer>,
> or follow us on Facebook <http://www.facebook.com/Avaaz> or Twitter<http://twitter.com/Avaaz>
> .
>
> You are getting this message because you signed "Community Petitions Site<http://www.avaaz.org/en/distributed_organizing_signers>"
> on 2012-08-06 using the email address dlj725 at hughes.net.
> To ensure that Avaaz messages reach your inbox, please add avaaz at avaaz.orgto your address book. To change your email address, language settings, or
> other personal information,
> https://secure.avaaz.org/act/index.php?r=profile&user=a4f93c740dd16ac225131fa70e1b8cdb&lang=en,
> or simply *go here to unsubscribe<https://secure.avaaz.org/act/?r=unsub&cl=2225053795&email=dlj725@hughes.net&b=2054&v=19690&lang=en>
> *.
>
> To contact Avaaz, please *do not reply to this email.* Instead, write to
> us at www.avaaz.org/en/contact <http://www.avaaz.org/en/contact?footer>or call us at
> +1-888-922-8229 (US).
>
> _______________________________________________
> Peace-discuss mailing list
> Peace-discuss at lists.chambana.net
> http://lists.chambana.net/mailman/listinfo/peace-discuss
>
>
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://lists.chambana.net/pipermail/peace-discuss/attachments/20121130/58d8a3e0/attachment-0001.html>