[Peace-discuss] Danny Glover @HPo 1tpg: Stand w/ Keith Ellison&Barbara Lee 2 End Blockade of Gaza

[Robert Naiman via Peace-discuss]

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http://www.huffingtonpost.com/danny-glover/stand-with-keith-ellison-_b_5689392.html

Stand With Keith Ellison and Barbara Lee to End the Blockade of Gaza

"True peace is not merely the absence of tension; it is the presence of
justice." -- Martin Luther king, Jr.

I genuinely feel the need to speak out because I think to remain silent in
the face of the horrors that we have all been witnessing in Gaza is
irresponsible citizenship.

As responsible citizens we must demand that our government exercise all
influence to bring the Israeli government to honest, productive
negotiations with the Palestinian unity government, to achieve lasting
justice upon which an enduring peace, security, and prosperity can be
achieved by all. And the first step is for our government to use its
influence with Israel and Egypt to ensure that there is a lasting ceasefire
between Israel and Gaza that ends the economic blockade of 1.8 million
Palestinians in Gaza, as Representatives Keith Ellison
<http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/keith-ellison-end-the-gaza-blockade-to-achieve-peace/2014/07/29/e5e707c4-16a1-11e4-85b6-c1451e622637_story.html>
 and Barbara Lee <http://www.justforeignpolicy.org/node/1553> have called
for.

It is not just the indiscriminate killing of non-combatant Palestinian
citizens, hundreds of children among them, by the Israel Defense Forces in
Gaza that moves me to speak out. My concerns coincide with the millions
across the United States and around the world who are deeply pained and who
denounced the kidnapping and murder of the three Israeli boys. I join with
so many other people in always opposing attacks on civilians, and therefore
I staunchly denounce rockets being fired by Hamas at Israeli civilians. The
economic blockade of Gaza's people is also an attack on civilians, and we
should denounce this devastating act of economic violence as strongly as we
denounce acts of physical violence.

What should we in the USA responsibly do as citizens to contribute to a
just resolution?

I support the stand taken by President Obama in calling for a lasting
ceasefire. U.S. citizens must understand that a lasting ceasefire requires
not just meeting Israeli and Egyptian security concerns, but Palestinian
security concerns as well. And that means protecting the Palestinian
population of Gaza from the future threat of economic blockade. Palestinian
producers in Gaza must be free to export their goods, including to the West
Bank. Palestinian fishermen must be free to fish in Gaza's territorial
waters. Palestinian farmers in Gaza must be free to farm their lands.
Palestinian University students and Palestinians who need advanced medical
care must be free to travel from Gaza, including to the West Bank, without
facing arbitrary delays and restrictions.

Not only must there be a lasting ceasefire in Gaza, but as former U.S.
president Jimmy Carter and former President of Ireland, Mary Robinson, have
stated
<http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/aug/05/gaza-blockade-must-end-un-first-step-settlement>,
the international community must act to end the Gaza blockade. Carter and
Robinson have called for
<http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/aug/05/gaza-blockade-must-end-un-first-step-settlement>
a
UN Security Council resolution to end the blockade. The international
community should consider this step if the current talks in Cairo fail to
end the blockade.

The US government must take concrete steps in sync with the international
community, to ensure that diplomacy effectively addresses Palestinian
aspirations. Otherwise, experts concede
<http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/keith-ellison-end-the-gaza-blockade-to-achieve-peace/2014/07/29/e5e707c4-16a1-11e4-85b6-c1451e622637_story.html>,
a new round of violence is inevitable.

The active voices and organized demands on governments by even-handed,
responsible citizens of all persuasions can, if we will, achieve peace and
justice for all.

===
 Robert Naiman
Policy Director
Just Foreign Policy
www.justforeignpolicy.org
naiman at justforeignpolicy.org
(202) 448-2898 x1
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