The Great Debate

Why Now? The Arab Peace Corps

August 18, 2016 10:55

By Mr. Sami Jamil Jadallah, JD

    Founder and Executive Director

    New Arab Foundation

    www.newarabfoundation.org

    www.arabpeacecorps.org

Mr. Sami Jamil Jadallah is a Palestinian-American immigrant with over 50 years in the US and is a Veteran of the US Army where he received leadership award.

Sami attended Indiana University where he earned his BA, MPA/School of Public and Environmental Affairs and Doctor of Jurisprudence.

After a two-year stint with a major Wall Street law firm, Sami and for the last 35 years served as international legal and business consultants with clients from the Middle East, Europe, Latin America and the US.

It is in times of wars, conflicts, chaos, terrorism and despair; investments in peace and development become more urgent.
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Taking Off At Full Throttle

April 04, 2016 13:00
Abraham A. van Kempen, Editor

How else? Is there any other way to take off but at full throttle? To eventually soar through the clouds, you’ll need all the torque you can get, maximum thrust to overcome resistance. That’s what it’s going to take to secure real and sustainable peace. In the past, those in command of the peace talks dare not take off at full throttle. The results: one deadlock after the other. Oslo, Ottawa, Shepherdstown, The Wye Plantation, Annapolis, Geneva, Madrid, Nicosia, Washington, D.C., London, Bonn, and Vienna have succeeded in producing stalemates often ending in standoffs with one foot in the stirrup, the other in the sand.
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Where Is Obama’s Red Line on Israel?

October 12, 2016 17:49
Source: The Nation

Oct 11 2016

https://www.thenation.com/article/where-is-obamas-red-line-on-israel/

By Mairav Zonszein

Israel has already chosen settlements, and Greater Israel, over a two-state solution. Washington needs to come to terms with that.

In his statement condemning Israel’s latest settlement announcement, State Department spokesman Mark Toner said, “Israelis must ultimately decide between expanding settlements and preserving the possibility of a peaceful two state solution.”

But in fact, that decision has already been made by the Israeli public and is consistently reflected by the policies of its elected leaders. The settlement population has doubled over the past 20 years and now stands at between 550,000 and 600,000; there are more settlers in positions of power than in any other time in Israeli history; the current Netanyahu coalition is explicitly and implicitly against a two-state solution and a significant portion of its members openly advocate annexation of 60 percent of the West Bank; fewer and fewer Israelis polled say they support a Palestinian state or see any need for a two-state solution.

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If Israel Lets in Palestinian Refugees, Will It Lose Its Jewish Character?

October 17, 2016 19:32
Source: Forward

http://forward.com/opinion/352075/if-israel-lets-in-palestinian-refugees-will-it-lose-its-jewish-character/

By Joshua Schreier and Mira Sucharov

We watched with admiration as Hagai El-Ad of B’Tselem and Lara Friedman of Americans for Peace Now appeared recently before the U.N. Security Council to urge action against the Israeli occupation. The session was framed as a discussion of settlements in the context of “peace” and a “two-state solution.” But behind the occupation lurks an even more vexing issue: that of the “right of return” for Palestinian refugees. We feel we need to unpack this issue — and the assumptions about demographics that animate it — if we’re going to make real headway on countering the occupation.

The vast majority of Israelis, even most on the Israeli left, argue that admitting the Palestinian refugees would lead Israel to lose its “Jewish character.” For them, a Jewish-majority state provides the Jewish people with a degree of security and justice. Yet many Palestinians and their increasingly numerous and vocal supporters in North America and Europe see no justice in Israel’s exclusionary policies allowing all Jews, but no Palestinians, to “return” to the country.
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Jimmy Carter to Barack Obama: Recognize The State Of Palestine

November 29, 2016 17:51

Source: Newsweek

http://europe.newsweek.com/jimmy-carter-barack-obama-recognize-state-palestine-526252?rm=eu

BY JACK MOORE ON 11/29/16 AT 1:28 PM

The former U.S. president has urged the outgoing leader to make a bold and unprecedented move.

Former U.S. president Jimmy Carter, who brokered peace between Egypt and Israel at Camp David, has called on Barack Obama to recognize the State of Palestine (as the United Nations refers to the non-member observer state) before he leaves office in January.
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Palestinian citizens of Israel are key to resisting the occupation

April 18, 2017 19:42
Source: +972 Magazine

By Rida Abu Rass

Published April 17, 2017

https://972mag.com/palestinian-citizens-of-israel-are-key-to-resisting-the-occupation/126679/

If Palestinians with Israeli citizenship, those who have grown up in Israeli society and lived alongside Jewish Israelis, were to truly organize and leverage their unique position, it would be impossible to break without ripping off the mask of apartheid.

Israeli riot police cut off a march by Palestinian citizens of Israel protesting home demolitions, Ar’ara, January 21, 2017. (Keren Manor/Activestills)
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Open letter to Vice President Mike Pence

February 08, 2017 13:04
The Hague

Mr Mike Pence

Vice President of the United States

Number One Observatory Circle

Washington, District of Columbia 20008

The United States of America

Dear Mr Vice President,

Because you are a heartbeat away from the Presidency, the letter I addressed to President Trump dated 26 January 2017, a copy of which you received on 30 January 2017, is also meant for you. Is the Israeli-Palestinian Quest to Co-exist worth World War III? Will the people of the world ever hear a US President declare: “Mr Prime Minister, tear down those walls”. Which outcome, Mr Pence, would you prefer?
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Open letter to President Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin

January 16, 2017 14:13
The Hague, 16 January 2017

President Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin

Влади́мир Влади́мирович Пу́тин

President of the Russian Federation

23, Ilyinka street

Moscow, Russia, 103132

103132, Россия, Москва,ул. Ильинка, д. 23, Администрация Президента РФ

Taking Off At Full Throttle …

“The world cannot impose peace upon the Israelis and Palestinians”, says French President Mr Francois Hollande but warned, “the Middle East cannot be stabilised without an accord”.
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Dishing out Nutrients of Peace Smorgasbord-style…Nourishing Broken Hearts

October 12, 2016 17:47
The Times of Israel, September 5, 2016, 1:18 am

By: Abraham A. van Kempen

The Hague, The Netherlands

Part 1 of 3

The Palestinian–Israeli Pulse: A Joint Poll, released on 22 August 2016 strongly suggests that the vanilla-flavored, one-bite-feeds-all peace fare is not appetizing enough to satisfy everyone. All sides are coming to the table with their own dietary demands; and, they’d rather go home hungry than to try out different recipes. We’re going to need a Plethora of Possibilities to make Peace a Palatable Preference. And everyone knows ‘Trust is the Thrust’ but few, if any, trust the other. So, the prospects of peace continue to be a prayer without end.
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President-Elect Trump…Will You Deliver?

November 10, 2016 12:28
The Times of Israel, NOVEMBER 9, 2016, 9:00 PM

By: Abraham A. van Kempen

The Hague, The Netherlands

CONGRATULATIONS!

Dear Mr. President-Elect,

Though I could not fathom a Trump Presidency; a heartfelt congratulations, nonetheless. I thought I understood America. I am beginning to understand Americans. What a humbling experience. And now we must adapt to the new realities because truth, real or imagined, dictates.
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