Saturday, December 01, 2007
Comment on Comment Is Free
An excellent op-ed appears in today's Los Angeles Times, written by third generation Palestinian refugee and Exeter professor, Ghada Ageel: 'Will Peace Cost Me My Home?
"And it is fundamentally racist to believe that I would pose a threat to Israel if I were to move back to my family's village (which I would do if I were given the option). The notion of a Jewish state that must always retain a Jewish character -- so that people of other ethnicities can be barred from living in their ancestral homes and minorities groups are treated as second-class citizens -- is frighteningly similar to the apartheid state of South Africa, where different ethnic groups were treated unequally under law."
And from Diana Buttu's "Palestinian Refugees and Negotiations":
"Today, the number of Palestinian refugees residing outside Palestine exceeds the number of Palestinians living in Occupied Palestinian Territory. Moreover, with the rights of Palestinian citizens inside Israel as well as internally displaced Palestinians still hanging in abeyance, the PLO will be unable to claim to legitimately sign onto an 'end of conflict' agreement that Israel wants. Instead, it is time to challenge Israel's ethnic desires and the concept of a 'Jewish state' rather than continuing to view Palestinians as a 'demographic threat' instead of individuals whose rights must be upheld for comprehensive peace to be achieved. Without so doing, the international community will have promoted the very racist ideals that it has long sought to eliminate."
"And it is fundamentally racist to believe that I would pose a threat to Israel if I were to move back to my family's village (which I would do if I were given the option). The notion of a Jewish state that must always retain a Jewish character -- so that people of other ethnicities can be barred from living in their ancestral homes and minorities groups are treated as second-class citizens -- is frighteningly similar to the apartheid state of South Africa, where different ethnic groups were treated unequally under law."
And from Diana Buttu's "Palestinian Refugees and Negotiations":
"Today, the number of Palestinian refugees residing outside Palestine exceeds the number of Palestinians living in Occupied Palestinian Territory. Moreover, with the rights of Palestinian citizens inside Israel as well as internally displaced Palestinians still hanging in abeyance, the PLO will be unable to claim to legitimately sign onto an 'end of conflict' agreement that Israel wants. Instead, it is time to challenge Israel's ethnic desires and the concept of a 'Jewish state' rather than continuing to view Palestinians as a 'demographic threat' instead of individuals whose rights must be upheld for comprehensive peace to be achieved. Without so doing, the international community will have promoted the very racist ideals that it has long sought to eliminate."
