~OTHER VOICES ...

By Helene Cooper
US Scolds Israel on Plan for West Bank Settlement

In a rare public rebuke to Israel, the Bush administration said last week that an Israeli plan to construct a new Jewish settlement in the occupied West Bank for the first time in 10 years could violate the terms of an American-backed peace proposal. “We are aware of reports about the settlement,” said a State Department spokesman. “The establishment of a new settlement or the expansion of existing ones violate Israel’s obligations under the road map.”

Under the plan, Israel is not supposed to build more settlements in the West Bank. The criticism was made as Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is expected to go to the Middle East early in 2007 to shore up support for Mahmoud Abbas, Palestinian Authority president.

Israel essentially decided to stop building settlements in 1992 when Yitzhak Rabin became prime minister, although it has allowed existing settlements to grow, even as it has publicly promised to freeze settlement activity under the road map.

The Israeli announcement has particularly confounded American diplomats because it appears to run counter to the prevailing effort by Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, who offered a series of gestures to the Palestinians several days ago, after meeting with Mr. Abbas.
—New York Times

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By Amy Peters, CPT Hebron
Learning to Love My Enemies

One of the reasons I came to Palestine was to help children get to school and save them from nasty soldiers who caused them all kinds of trouble. However, being a good peacemaker, I also came wanting to work really hard at loving my enemies. My plan was to try to see the humanity of these soldiers and identify with them as individuals rather than as faceless, uniformed bad guys.

I did not have to work hard. In fact, I did not even have to try. From the beginning, these evil enemy soldiers were happy to respond to my greeting and even happier to chat for a while. The times when we argued with their orders, they remained incredibly patient. Many times, they calmly repeated that they had orders not to let us pass and there was nothing they could do about it. They often apologized for that fact.

Meanwhile, the innocent, oppressed Palestinian children whom I was to support and protect were not nearly as innocent or grateful as I expected. They mobbed us and stole from us, harassed, offended and swore at us. It was the schoolchildren who were the ones to really challenge my commitment to nonviolence. When they threw apples and stones at us, I was tempted to leave them to whatever came their way, or thinking that they deserved their fate.

I must continually remind myself that no one deserves to live a life like this, and that these kids have been formed by the conflict that surrounds them. It is no wonder they throw stones and swear at anyone who invades their space. How are they to tell which foreigners are here to help them and which are here to hurt them?

As a wannabe peacemaker, I must pray to God to give me love for these children—these children who cause me so much anger and often feel like my enemies.

—Christian Peacemaker Teams is an ecumenical initiative to support violence reduction efforts around the world: http://www.cpt.org

 

By Rabbi Dow Marmur
Retaliation or Restraint?

The predicament of Sderot, the town close to the Gaza strip, reflects one of the fundamental dilemmas in current Israeli politics. Despite the ostensible ceasefire, Qassam rockets have been raining down on the area causing casualties and damage. The question we all ask ourselves, therefore, is whether Israel should (a) retaliate in order to silence at least some of the guns on the other side, or (b) continue the policy of restraint as a first contribution to peace with the Palestinians.

(a) Retaliation seems to be the preference of the Israel Defense Forces [IDF]. It may also satisfy the residents of Sderot and silence some of the Government’s critics on the political Right. On the other hand, the previous policy of retaliation hasn’t brought about the desired results. There are, therefore, those who say that responding to violence with violence leaves us with…violence. Had retaliation brought safety to Sderot, it may have been legitimate but, as things are now, holding out for peace may, in the long run, be more advantageous for all, including the town and its surroundings.

(b) Restraint, however, has wide implications. There seems to be a consensus that strengthening Palestinian President Abu Mazen in every possible way is the best way forward. A concerted effort by Israel, Egypt, Jordan, and a number of other Arab countries in that direction may help bring about peace between Israel and the Palestinians. Though short-term party politics may favor retaliation, long-term statesmanship points to restraint.

“Opportunities to negotiate must not be ignored,
however distasteful they may seem.”

Foreign Minister Tzippi Livni seems also to favor a positive response to what some perceive as overtures by the Syrian suitor, President Assad, even though—or perhaps because—Olmert is opposed to it. This gives rise to another dilemma: (a) As even many hawks seem to realize, there’s no military solution to the conflict between Palestinians and Israel. Therefore, opportunities to negotiate must not be ignored, however distasteful they may seem. To lure Syria away from its involvement in Iraq and to create a wedge between it and Iran should be of global interest. Israeli-Syrian talks could be part of this strategic project, whether or not George W. Bush likes it.

(b) On the other hand, even those of us who believe that, despite obvious dangers as exemplified by the Hamas administration, a Palestinian state is absolutely necessary to restore some of the dignity of its citizens to bring about peace are nevertheless less than enthusiastic about giving back the Golan Heights to Syria. Such a step would in no way serve the Palestinian people but only strengthen Syria’s strategic advantages vis-à-vis Israel. Peace with Syria seems much less urgent than peace with the Palestinians. The question remains, however, whether you can have the latter without the former.

Tzippi Livni seems to think not. As she is emerging as the strongest force in the present Government, her advice may very well be heeded, even though the Right-wing opposition will rant and rave in response. This gives us peaceniks cause for optimism.

—The writer is Rabbi Emeritus of Holy Blossom Temple in Toronto

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Cold Hard Facts:
96 % of 2006 Killings Are Done by Israelis!

The Israeli human rights organization B’Tselem published its 2006 annual statistics. This past year, we witnessed a deterioration in the human rights situation in the Occupied Territories, particularly in the increase in civilians killed and the destruction of houses and infrastructure in the Gaza Strip. At the same time, there was an improvement regarding violations of the right to life of Israeli civilians.

Casualties in 2006 (figures in parenthesis indicate the total figure since the intifada started):

According to B’Tselem’s research, Israeli security forces killed 660 Palestinians (4005 to date) in the West Bank and in Israel. This includes 141 (811) minors. At least 322 (1920) of those killed did not take part in the hostilities at the time they were killed. Another 22 (210) were targets of assassinations.

Palestinians killed 17 Israeli civilians (701) in 2006, in the West Bank and inside Israel. In addition, Palestinians killed 6 (316) members of the Israeli security forces.

House Demolitions
Israel demolished 292 houses in military operations in the Occupied Territories, 279 of them in the Gaza Strip. These were home to 1,769 people. Some 80 of these demolitions were conducted after the home-owners received advance warning to the demolition. In addition, Israel demolished 42 homes in East Jerusalem that housed about 80 people.

Checkpoints and restrictions on movement
Deep within the West Bank, Israel currently maintains 54 permanent checkpoints, staffed most of the time. Twelve other checkpoints are within the city of Hebron. In addition, there are on average some 160 flying temporary checkpoints throughout the West Bank every week, along with hundreds of physical obstacles such as concrete blocks, dirt piles, and trenches to restrict access to Palestinian communities. Palestinians have restricted access to some 41 roadways in the West Bank while Israelis have full and unlimited access to these roadways.

Prisoners and Detainees
As of November, Israel held 9,075 Palestinians in custody, including 345 minors. Of these, 738 (22 minors) were held in administrative detention, without trial and without knowing the charges against them.

—For additional information, write to: saritm[at]btselem[dot]org (Note–to discouirage spam email addresses are no longer hot links.)

 

By Shaykh Ali Gomaa, the Grand Mufti of Egypt
“I want to repudiate the actions of a misguided criminal minority.”
Terrorists are ‘Criminals’,
not ‘Muslim Activists’

The rise of extremism in the Muslim world has led to the widespread view of Islam as a religion of violence, retribution and war. This is in complete opposition to the truth of our religion and, on behalf of the vast majority of the 1.3 billion Muslims who are ordinary, peace-loving, decent people, I want to repudiate the actions of a misguided criminal minority.

Firstly, they contradict the central theme of peace in Islam. Peace is the greeting of Muslims amongst themselves, the last word spoken by a Muslim in his prayers, one of God’s names, and one of the names for Paradise.

Secondly, the Qur’an permits freedom of belief for all of mankind by saying, “To you is your religion and to me is mine.”

Thirdly, the use of violence is prohibited in spreading the faith. The Qur’an explicitly states: “There is no compulsion in religion,” and “Call to the way of your Lord with wisdom and good counsel and discuss with them in the most kindly manner,” and “God does not prevent you from being kind to those who have not fought you on account of your religion or expelled you from your homes, nor from dealing justly with them, indeed God loves the just.”

Fourthly—and this is very important—none of these extremists has been educated in genuine centers of Islamic learning. They are, rather, products of troubled environments and their aim is purely political and has no religious foundation.

Thus, terrorists are criminals, not Muslim activists.

My fear is that these extremists will convince the world that the entire Muslim world is the enemy, and that a war on terror is a war on the entire Muslim world. The Qur’an tells us, “O people, we have created you from a single male and female and divided you into nations and tribes so that you may know one another.” When God said “to know one another,” he did not mean in order to kill one another.

Whom should we trust? Should we trust the extremists, or that upon which the entirety of Islamic civilization has been built over 1,400 years? The first Prophetic saying that is taught to a student of Islam is, “Those who show mercy are shown mercy by the All-Merciful. Show mercy to those on earth and the One in the heavens will show mercy to you.”

Should we trust the extremists’ views, or the freedom of choice and belief that Islam has enjoined upon us? The Qur’an says, “Truth comes from God, whoever believes let them believe and whoever does not, let them not believe.” The clarity of this verse is surely there for all to see.
—The full article is distributed by the Common Ground News Service and can be accessed at http://www.commongroundnews.org.

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“I would like to know how much it matters to the Israeli Government to have Christian communities in the Holy Land.”
Churches’ Joint Commitment to Support Bethlehem
An advent season highlight for churches in this region was the visit of high-profile religious leaders to Bethlehem and Jerusalem.

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