Coastal Post Online
MARIN COUNTY'S NEWS
MONTHLY - FREE PRESS
(415)868-1600 -
(415)868-0502(fax) - P.O. Box 31, Bolinas, CA, 94924
|
|
It's Time To Ask Questions For Peace
There can be no peace for Israel until the Palestinians have justice.
The Palestinian catastrophe since 1948 has included expulsion from their homes and lands. For those who remained in the West Bank and Gaza, it has meant extra-judicial executions, land confiscations, no freedom of movement, nor the freedom to build homes and communities, Palestinians live always with the fear of Israeli military incursions. Since September 29, 2000 Israel has killed 6,248 Palestinians. 1,487 of these have been children.
Israel has claimed that these actions against the Palestinians were meant to assure the security of Israelis. I can tell you about security. I am a Jewish woman who is both American and Israeli. I have lived in Israel for over 50 years, and I can tell you that I have had enough of wars and insecurity.
America keeps on sending us billions of dollars in weapons every year, and yet Israel has become the least safe country for Jews to live in. We have no security. 61 years of the use of force have not brought Israelis one iota of security.
To make matters worse, those of us who are seeking peace find ourselves harassed by the Israeli police. A number of my colleagues have had their computers confiscated, been called to interrogations, or have been made to sign declarations forbidding them to talk with one another. To add insult to injury, the police actions were carried out on Israel's Memorial Day to send a subtle message to the public that our activism may compromise Israel's security.
Our crime? We dared to ask questions. We dared to ask whether militarism was the only way. We are undeterred. We will continue asking. Here in Israel, we do not need more US weapons. We need you to help us achieve real peace.
If you are an American or a Canadian, ask yourself why your government is involved in this trade of weapons and destruction. And please, help us to bring it to an end.
Adapted from the text "It's time to ask questions", by Israeli author Dorothy Naor. Published on line by the human rights group, "A Jewish Voice for Peace" at the website: http://withstringsattached.org/
Distributed by PAJU (Palestinian and Jewish Unity)
WWW.PAJUMONTREAL.ORG