peace and justice to all in usa and around the world
joyce to see a big organisation of the world without any
kind of discrimination(united nations as one),
where the son and daugther around the world will meet and sing
for peace together as one nation(one father,one mother, one nation,one religion:heart,faith...)
without discrimination of race,sex,religion...
AL JAZEERA.NET, January 15, 2009/excerpt:
Children 'paying price of Gaza war'
Children are bearing the brunt of Israel's war on the Gaza Strip, the United Nations Children's Fund (Unicef) has said.More than 300 children have been killed and hundreds more wounded in Israel's aerial and ground assault, Ann Veneman, Unicef's executive director, said in a statement released on Wedneday.
She said: "Each day more children are being hurt, their small bodies wounded, their young lives shattered. This is tragic. This is unacceptable.
"They are bearing the brunt of a conflict which is not theirs.
"As fighting reaches the heart of heavily populated urban areas, the impact of lethal weapons will carry an even heavier toll on children."
Anyone with an internet connection can Google "Gaza humanitarian catastrophe" and find the UN's Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs in the Occupied Territories and read the thousands of pages of evidence documenting the reality of the current fighting, and the long term siege on Gaza that preceded it.
Viewer Alert: Video is Graphic & Heartbreaking
Video: Children suffer Video: Born into war Naming the deceased
Read the full story from the source
http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2009/01/20091157268591938.html
By Mark LeVine, January 13, 2009/excerpt:
"One by one the justifications given by Israel for its latest war in Gaza are unravelling."
"The claim that Hamas will never accept the existence of Israel has proved equally misinformed, as Hamas leaders explicitly announce their intention to do just that in the pages of the Los Angeles Times or to any international leader or journalist who will meet with them."
"Anyone with an internet connection can Google "Gaza humanitarian catastrophe" and find the UN's Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs in the Occupied Territories and read the thousands of pages of evidence documenting the reality of the current fighting, and the long term siege on Gaza that preceded it."
Read the full story from the source:
http://english.aljazeera.net/focus/war_on_gaza/2009/01/2009110112723260741.html
Dear Israel:
This is the kind of letter that a loving child would send to a parent in order to clear the air. First of all - like a child to a parent - I love and cherish your joy of life and the feeling of freedom I’ve always had on my numerous prolonged visits. I admire the fact that, despite all of the terror and hardships and threats that are always lurking, you cling to democracy. In spite of so many fanatics both within and outside of your borders, you maintain the separation of synagogue and state as well as freedom for all religions. I know that there are many countries in your position who would have long ago curtailed individual and religious freedoms and felt somewhat justified in doing so. With all of the wars and fighting and terror you have contributed disproportionately to the sciences, medicine and technology - more than many nations who live in relative peace. I also love your contrasts that span centuries and ideologies and include everything from ancient ruins to gay day parades and nude beaches.
As a child of holocaust survivors I understand your fears, your insecurities, your determination to defend Israelis and, for that matter, Jews around the world from fanatics who despise us - even more than they hate others in the west.
Now that I’ve established my affection, I want to lovingly share my discomfort, both as a Jew and as a citizen of the free world. As everyone who has gone through trauma knows, outsiders often see the situation much clearer than those who are immersed in it.
In some ways my personal experience mirrors Israel’s. Despite the benevolent views of my survivor parents, I grew up feeling that the world would always be an unreceptive place for Jews. As a result I immersed myself in the Jewish community. I lived, worked and socialized there. Ghettos can be warm and welcoming. Most importantly they feel safe. They can also reinforce unwarranted suspicions and fears.
It wasn’t till ventured into the broader world, that I saw people for what they are. Most are open. Many are interested. Bigots do exist - even among our own. However, often they too are willing to take a critical look at themselves.
What I’ve seen more recently is that, with the threat of terrorism facing so many, Jews and Israelis are finally being understood at a more profound level. I, who had never gone looking for compassion or understanding - was suddenly receiving it from many - until Gaza! Here’s my take on why we‘re losing support - yet again.
There’s no doubt for most that Hamas is a terrorist organization. Few question that Hamas uses civilians as human shields. Few doubt that they worship martyrdom and won’t give up till either they or we die. Few question whether Israel has a right to defend its citizens - as do Americans, Brits, Indians and all nations that have been victimized by this scourge. It’s probably true that none have experienced as much terror as Israel has. What saddens me no end however, is that even now - when the world finally understands - Israel still holds onto the holocaust mentality that says “we can’t count on anyone but ourselves”.
At a time when so many nations are cooperating in the global war on terror, Israel - like the wandering stateless Jew - still goes it alone. Rather than eliciting understanding and cooperation like India and Britain do, Israel marches in like an orphaned child and takes it upon itself to bomb Gaza. That’s what Bush did in Iraq. It didn’t bring him many allies either. On the contrary, by acting like the Lone Ranger, he simply fanned the flames of anti-Americanism from allies and foes alike. For every Moslem he killed in his self-proclaimed war on terror, he created hundreds of fanatics.
In this world, its no longer simply about being justified. Everyone claims justification. Its about being smart, strategic and cooperative. When it comes to PR and long term strategy, it pains me to tell you, my beloved country, how short-sighted and hasty you can be. That old saying that the definition of neurosis is engaging repeatedly in the same behavior while expecting a different result couldn’t be more true.
Let me paint an alternative scenario for you. What would have happened if you had launched your PR machine a month before you launched your bombs on Gaza? What if you would have invited the international press to southern Israel and armed them with images of innocent Israeli victims of terror? What would have happened had you brought this problem with Hamas (who everyone recognizes as a terrorist organization) to the attention of the free world - shortly after Mumbai - while there was so much empathy? What would have happened if you humbly asked for their assistance and, let them know that only failing that, would you be forced to act unilaterally? The results likely would have been the same - but your case would have been so much stronger.
Instead, as usual, there was no advanced PR campaign. There was no public consultation with potential allies. As usual Israel, the perennial resistance fighter, took on the enemy alone - just like they did in the ghettos and forests of Europe.
Now instead of empathy, the world cringes at the images - not of Israeli victims - but of Palestinian victims. And who can blame them? I certainly can’t. Its difficult for me to see children being killed and injured - despite the fact that Hamas has put them in that position. Hamas may be purposely indoctrinating them - but Israel is inadvertently killing them. Indoctrinated or not, they are still children and as such are innocent.
It matters little to the world, whether they are being targeted or are simply collateral damage. The end result is they are dead.
Instead of punishing Hamas after all international options failed, Israel again did it on their own timeframe and under their own conditions. In doing so you have played right into the hands of your enemies’ strategy and regrettably superior PR machine.
For those of you who will say that the world has a double standard - one for the Jews and another for the rest of the world, well…maybe they do! Maybe they have bought the myth which we ourselves perpetuated, that “Israel will be a light unto the nations” and that Jews, because of the catastrophes we suffered throughout history, are a bit more fair, a bit more understanding and a bit more humane than most.
If that’s the case, what would be so terrible if we actually behaved that way? What about Obama’s principle that you should keep your friends close and your enemies closer? Instead of hoping that, as a result of collective punishment, Gazans would turn against Hamas, what would happen if we dropped food and medicine rather than bombs? What if we rewarded civilians with Jewish benevolence instead of punishing them with Jewish might? Think of the amazing message that would have sent to the world and the ensuing PR Israeli‘s and Jews would have benefited from. Instead, you are inadvertently playing the game of our enemy while fanning the flames of anti-Semitism - exactly like Bush fanned the flames of anti-Americanism.
The Holocaust is over. We’re not homeless wanderers anymore. For the first time in thousands of years, Jews have their own country as well as one of the world's most powerful armies. And despite what some Israeli’s and Jews still believe, we do have legitimate standing - especially now when we‘re all victims of the same plague. Its time to stop squandering it with impulsivity, arrogance and self-righteousness. Its time to stop giving the world the finger then wondering why the world points it right back at us. Its time to start practicing the higher values of Judaism that may enable us to get closer to that fabled “light among the nations” myth that we continue to perpetrate and so many continue to expect.
Israel if you are as smart, strategic, mighty and idealistic as you claim to be, it may be time - for the sake of all of us - to start behaving that way.
If you’re going to reach out to the terrorists with a bomb in one hand, you had better reach out to the moderates (if there are any left after this incursion) with firm handshake of peace. Its time to bring an end to all of this - with the help of nations who also suffer from terror. We need guarantees for Israel’s security as well as its new neighbor. Its time to implement a two state solution - one with which neither side will be happy but that will grant both parties a somewhat equitable divorce.
That means that Palestinian radicals will have to let go of their pipe dream of a return to ‘48 borders as well as the right of return for millions of so-called refugees who should have been resettled by Arab nations decades ago. It also calls for the dismantling of settlements and the Israeli radicals’ dreams of a greater Israel. If it takes other countries to implement this, so be it. Its time for all to swallow their pride and let go of their fantasies! If, at that point, Israel accepts and its neighbors don’t, then at least the world will see what’s really happening and they can help deal with it.
by
Hindy Nosek-Abelson
Toronto, Canada
December 15, 2008, Dr. Kamran Mofid
Today (15th December 2008) the British Prime Minister, Gordon Brown, hosted a Palestine Trade and Investment Forum in London. At a joint Downing Street news conference with Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad, Mr Brown reiterated Britain's commitment to a "comprehensive and just peace" in the Middle East. "Establishing a viable Palestinian state with a stable economy and flourishing private sector is a crucial part of this process," Mr Brown said. Mr Brown also expressed his hope that the election of Barack Obama as the next US president would provide a new opportunity for the international community to come together on the Middle East peace process.
I would very much like to draw your attention to an article which I wrote on this very subject and which was posted on our web site on Friday December 8th 2006, more or less two years ago today, give or take one week. I very much wish to quote a passage from this two year old piece. Just imagine if it was put into practice.
"How Can a Lasting Peace Process Move Forward?Sound economic policies, effectively implemented, are essential elements of the peace process in the Middle East. “Economics of Hope”, leading to envisioning, enabling and empowering the disposed and marginalised people of Palestine is the most effective path to a non-violent resolution of conflict in the Middle East and a long-term security for Israel. Without economic empowerment, leading to tangible economic wellbeing and prosperity, all forms of peace proposals and dialogue, although valuable, will remain ineffective in realising their overall objective: peace, security and harmonious living, side-by-side.
The Path to Peace, Reconstruction, Security and Prosperity: Challenges and Opportunities
It is increasingly apparent that the problem of economics is not just a technical problem for experts but is above all a moral and spiritual issue. The world is longing for a system that would be both participatory and socially just; a system with a functioning economy that would be at the same time sensitive to theological consequences. We must deal with the issue of economic empowerment that has a religious tract. Through our indifference and complicity, the integrity of our faith is in jeopardy.
People everywhere, given a chance prefer to be compassionate, spiritual and caring. They want to be able to practice their religions freely. More and more, they also want to see that their religious values have a bearing on their economic systems and structures. This philosophy is nowhere stronger than in the Middle-East, whose people by and large are very spiritual, religious, hospitable, informed and cultural. They largely do not reject the pivotal values behind the market economy. Indeed, the Middle-East region throughout the history has been the major area of, and for, business, trade and commerce. They do know that, under the right conditions, a market economy can drive development, decrease poverty, encourage productivity, and reward entrepreneurial energy.
The children of Abraham in the Middle East know well that religion is a major factor in the formation of social networks and trust. In addition, the impetus for focusing specifically on spiritual/theological economics draws on the growing recognition in economics and other social sciences that religion is not epiphenomenal, nor is it fading from public significance in the 21st century and the importance to social/economic dynamics of human economic intangibles. Recent developments in the social sciences suggest a growing openness to nonmaterial factors, such as the radius of trust, behavioural norms, and religion as having profound economic, political,and social consequences"...Read the article:
http://www.globalisationforthecommongood.info/2006/12/08/israel-and-palestine-can-there-be-peace-there-can-be-no-peace-without-economic-justice-in-palestine/
.........................................Kamran Mofid PhD (ECON)Founder, Globalisation for the Common Good Initiativewww.globalisationforthecommongood.infoCo-editor, Journal of Globalisation for the Common Goodwww.commongoodjournal.comGlobalisation for the Common Good, Chicago 2009http://www.gcgchicago2009.info/
Video: Al Gore's endorsement of Barack Obama (15:02) (short commercial at start)
The Syrian Option
By URI AVNERY
The Germans call it "die Flucht nach vorne" - escaping forwards. When the situation is desperate, attack! Instead of retreating, advance!When there is no way out, storm ahead!
This method was successful in 1948. At the end of May, the Egyptian army was advancing on Tel Aviv. We - a very, very thin line of soldiers - were all that stood in its way. So we attacked. Again and again and again. We suffered heavy losses. But we stopped the Egyptian advance.
Now Ehud Olmert is applying the same method. His situation is desperate. Most people in Israel do not doubt that he has received large bribes in envelopes stuffed with dollars. The Attorney General is liable to indict him any time, and this will compel him to resign.
And lo and behold, at the most critical moment, just before the most damning details come out, a joint statement is issued simultaneously in Jerusalem, Damascus and Ankara, announcing the start of peace negotiations between Israel and Syria, with Turkey acting as mediator. The talks will be based on the principles of the 1991 Madrid Conference, meaning the return of the entire Golan Heights.
Wow!!!
* * *
IN THIS, too, Olmert is the worthy pupil of his predecessor and mentor, Ariel Sharon.
Sharon was up to his neck in corruption affairs. In one of them, the so-called "Greek Island affair", the Israeli millionaire David Appel paid huge sums to Sharon's son, a novice, for "advice". At the time, too, it seemed that the Attorney General could not possibly avoid issuing an indictment.
Sharon's response was sheer genius: the Separation. Separation from the Gaza Strip. Separation from the Attorney General.
That was a gigantic operation. In a minutely orchestrated melodramatic performance, the Gush Katif settlements were dismantled. Together with several army divisions, all police forces - the same police that was supposed to investigate the Sharon family's business affairs - were deployed in a breath-taking national endeavor. The peace camp supported, of course, the evacuation of the settlements. The corruption affairs were all but forgotten.
The separation, which was carried out without any dialogue with the Palestinians, has turned the whole of the Gaza Strip into a ticking bomb, and now Ehud Olmert has to negotiate a cease-fire. For Sharon, though, the entire exercise was a success. If he had not suffered a stroke, he would still be Prime Minister today.
The lesson did not escape Olmert.
AESTHETES MAY exclaim: Phooey! We should not countenance such a dirty trick! We cannot agree to a peace conceived in sin!
Maybe my aesthetic sense is blunted. Because I am ready to accept peace even from a totally corrupt leader, even from Satan himself. If the corruption of a politician causes him to do something that will save the lives of hundreds and thousands of human beings on both sides - that's OK with me. Didn't the philosopher Friedrich Hegel talk about the "cunning of reason"?
The Bible recounts that when the army of Damascus laid siege to Samaria, the capital of the Kingdom of Israel, four leprous men brought the news that the enemy had fled (2 Kings, 7). The Hebrew poetess Rachel wrote, alluding to this story, that she was not willing to receive good news from lepers. Well, I am.
Conventional wisdom has it that to make peace, one needs a strong leader. Now it appears that the opposite also works: that a weak leader, almost submerged in troubles, whose term in office could come to a sudden end at any moment and whose coalition stands on feets of clay, a leader who has nothing to lose - he too may risk all to make peace.
THE PLOT may move on from here in several possible directions.
The first possibility: it's all "spin" - an American term that has become Olmert's middle name. He will just stretch the negotiations out like bubble gum, as he has been doing with the Palestinians, and wait for the storm to blow over.
It will be difficult for him to do so, because Turkey is now a partner in the game. Even Olmert understands that it will be sheer folly to annoy the Turks, who are risking their national prestige here. Turkey is a very important partner of our security establishment.
Whatever comes of it, Olmert's agreement to conduct negotiations based on the return of all the Golan is an important step forward. Coming on top of the previous undertakings by Yitzhak Rabin, Binyamin Netanyahu and Ehud Barak, it defines a line of no return.
The second possibility: Olmert really means it. For his own reasons, he will conduct negotiations "in good faith", as he undertook this week, and reach an agreement. In the country, a wild campaign of incitement will be launched against him. The Knesset will fall apart, new elections will be held, Olmert will again head the Kadima list and win as peacemaker.
Alternatively: he will lose those elections. But he will leave the scene in an honorable cause, not thrown out for his own corruption, but sacrificing himself on the altar of peace.
Alternatively: the Attorney General will indict him in spite of everything, he will resign but go home with head held high as a leader who has taken a historic step. The Attorney General will look like a saboteur of peace and perhaps even the cause of another war.
A PERTINENT question: if Olmert has indeed decided to "escape forwards"' why escape forwards towards peace and not towards war? This is what usually happens: leaders on the threshold of disaster prefer to start a little (or sometimes big) war. There is nothing like war to divert attention, and waging war is almost always more popular, at least at the beginning, than making peace.
Here there are also two possibilities:
The first: like Paul, Olmert had a revelation, and has really become a man of peace. The nationalist demagogue has matured and now understands that the national interest demands peace. A cynic will laugh out loud. But stranger things have happened on the road to Damascus.
The second: Olmert believes that the Israeli public prefers peace with Syria to war with Syria, and hopes to gain some popularity as a peace-maker. (I believe this to be true.)
The third: Olmert knows that all the chiefs of the Security Establishment (with the notable exception of the Mossad boss) support peace with Syria out of cold strategic calculation. In the eyes of the army General Staff, the loss of the Golan Heights is a reasonable price to pay for breaking Syria loose from Iran and lessening its support for Hizbullah and Hamas, especially if an international force is stationed there after they revert to being the "Syrian Heights".
Syria is a Sunni country, even if it is ruled by members of the small Alawite sect, which is closer to the Shia. (The Alawis derive their name from Ali, the son-in-law of the Prophet, who the Shiites consider his rightful heir.) The alliance between secular Sunni Syria and orthodox Shiite Iran is a marriage of convenience, without an ideological basis. The alliance with Shiite Hizbullah is also based on interests: since Syria does not dare to attack Israel in order to get the Golan back, it supports Hizbullah as a proxy.
ALL THIS happens without the US. This, too, has its precedents: the Sadat initiative of 1977 matured behind the backs of the Americans (as the American ambassador in Cairo at the time told me later). The Oslo initiative also ripened without American participation.
Until lately, the US has opposed any Israeli-Syrian thaw, and even now looks at it askance. In George Bush's cowboy world vision, Syria belongs to the "axis of evil" and must be isolated.
That is grist to the mill for John Mearsheimer and Stephen Walt, the two American professors who are due to visit Israel next month. Their provocative book asserted that the Israel lobby totally dominates US foreign policy. In this new development, it does indeed seem that Jerusalem has bent Washington to its will.
During his visit to Jerusalem a few days ago, Bush railed against talking with enemies. This was understood to be a rebuke aimed at Barack Obama, who has announced his willingness to speak with the leaders of Iran. Perhaps Olmert is already betting on Obama's entering the White House.
But Bush is not finished yet. He has got eight more months to go, and he, too, may come to the conclusion that he should "escape forwards". In his case: by attacking Iran.
HOW IS all this going to affect the mother of all problems, the core of the Israeli-Arab conflict: the question of Palestine?
Menachem Begin made a separate peace with Egypt and gave back the whole of the Sinai Peninsula in order to concentrate on the war with the Palestinians. Undoubtedly, Begin was ready to do the same on the Syrian front. According to the map used by Vladimir (Ze'ev) Jabotinsky, which Olmert was brought up on, the Golan, like Sinai, is not a part of Eretz Israel.
A separate peace harbors great dangers for the Palestinians. If the Israeli government reaches a peace agreement with Syria (and then Lebanon), it will have peace with all the neighboring states. The Palestinians will be isolated and the Israeli government will be able to deal with them as it wishes.
As against this danger, there is a positive prospect: that after the evacuation of the Golan, there will be increased pressure, from inside and outside, to reach peace with the Palestinians, too, at long last.
The Golan settlers are far more popular in Israel than their West Bank counterparts. While the Ofra and Hebron settlers are viewed as religious fanatics, whose crazy behavior is quite alien to the Israeli character, the settlers of the Golan are seen as "people like us". The more so, since they were sent there by the Labor Party. If the Golan settlers are evacuated, it will be much easier to deal with the "Judea and Samaria" crowd.
Being at peace with all Arab states, the Israeli public may feel more secure, and therefore more willing to take risks in making peace with the Palestinian people.
The international atmosphere will also change. If the "axis of evil" fantasy disappears together with George Bush, and a new American leadership makes a serious effort to achieve peace, optimism will again dare to raise its battered head. Some people dream about a partnership of Barack Obama and Tzipi Livni.
All this belongs to the future. In the meantime we have a weak Olmert, who needs a powerful initiative. In the Biblical legend, the hero Samson killed a young lion, and when he returned to it, "behold, there was a swarm of bees and honey in the carcase." Samson put forth a riddle unto the Philistines: "Out of the strong came forth sweetness", and nobody was able to solve it (Judges, 14).
Now we can well ask: "Will the weak bring forth sweetness?"
Uri Avnery is an Israeli writer and peace activist with Gush Shalom.
http://www.counterpunch.org/avnery05262008.html
WASHINGTON (AP) - The economic costs of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are estimated to total $1.6 trillion - roughly double the amount the White House has requested thus far, according to a new report by Democrats on Congress' Joint Economic Committee.
The report, released Tuesday, attempted to put a price tag on the two conflicts, including "hidden" costs such as interest payments on the money borrowed to pay for the wars, lost investment, the expense of long-term health care for injured veterans and the cost of oil market disruptions.
The $1.6 trillion figure, for the period from 2002 to 2008, translates into a cost of $20,900 for a family of four, the report said. The Bush administration has requested $804 billion for the Iraq and Afghanistan wars combined, the report stated.
For the Iraq war only, total economic costs were estimated at $1.3 trillion for the period from 2002 to 2008. That would cost a family of four $16,500, the report said.
Future economic costs would be even greater. The report estimated that both wars would cost $3.5 trillion between 2003 and 2017. Under that scenario, it would cost a family of four $46,400, the report said.
