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WRITE!'s main goal is to encourage ordinary citizens to participate in the formulation of public opinion in the country with respect to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, by writing to print media that publishes opinion pieces by various authors/pundits. Very often, we find that these opinion pieces do not reflect the situation on the ground, and often omit the framework of international law, human rights and justice on both sides, and not just one. Our focus is clear, we focus on such pieces in the print media, to allow ordinary citizens to express their opinions to correct and challenge what is being said. |
<< prev - page 1 of 31 - next >> Yesterday, the Richmond Times Dispatch published an excellent op-ed by Ahmad Tibi, a Palestinian citizen of Israel and member of the Israeli Knesset, 'World beginning to understand Palestinians' hopes for state' (12/22) in which Tibi takes issue with the one sided and irresponsible rhetoric about Israel/Palestine coming from American politicians this election season.
Tibi dedicates much of the op-ed to addressing the inflammatory comments of US House Majority Leader Eric Cantor about the criteria Palestinians must satisfy in order to become a state - noting that the United States had failed to meet Cantor's same critieria upon its founding in many key respects. Tibi adds that while Cantor is content to constantly lecture Palestinians, the congressman has virtually nothing to say about Israeli obligations that come with the billions in US aid received annually. In addition, US presidential candidates Gingrich and Bachman have made statements which sought to marginalize Palestinians or place limitations on Palestinian human rights.
The op-ed maintains that "American politicians can use their free speech to taunt Palestinians and inflame tensions in the region or they can think sensibly about what they would do were they oppressed and dispossessed by Israel." Furthermore, Tibi states that the US should begin to think more critically about what is happening on the ground in Palestine/Israel and warns "the America that was once respected around the world is increasingly reviled in the Middle East for backing Israeli domination rather than Palestinian freedom."
Please WRITE! your letter of support (or comment below the article) to the Richmond Times Dispatch at letters@timesdispatch.com. Letters should be kept under 200 words and be sure to include your name, address, and phone number for verification purposes. Today, The Tennesean has published an important op-ed by Nour Joudeh 'Two Roads to Justice Meet in Palestine' (11/16) which highlights similiarities between the US civil rights movement and the Palestinian freedom struggle. The op-ed focuses on a new campaign by Palestinians to board "segregated Israeli public transportation in the West Bank to travel to Occupied East Jerusalem" reminscent of the Freedom Rides in the segregated US South. Yesterday, six Palestinian 'freedom riders' sought to nonviolently challenge the "system of segregation and apartheid that governs their lives." Shortly after boarding a bus and beginning the trip to Jerusalem, the bus was "surrounded and boarded by soldiers who demanded the Freedom Riders get off. After refusing, the six riders were dragged off the bus, one by one, as they chanted slogans, including "Boycott Israel," "Free Gaza" and "I'm a Palestinian Freedom Rider and I want to go to Jerusalem." Joudeh maintains that this type of nonviolent civil resistance that is the way forward for Palestinians, just as in the American South, especially where the Oslo peace process has only served to increase settlements, movement restrictions and other abuses. Joudeh concludes her op-ed with a call to action, "To those who stood against injustice in the 1960s and who are proud of that moment in history, the time has come to raise your voices again, to demand justice for Palestinians. The ride to freedom is long and ever-evolving. But it is a ride that knows no geographical boundaries - whether in the Jim Crow South or Occupied Palestine." Please WRITE! your letter of support (or comment below the article) to The Tennesean letters@tennessean.com or use the following link http://www.tennessean.com/section/OPINION9999?nav=6. It is vital that we continue to support Palestinian voices in the mainstream media. Letters should be kept under 250 words and be sure to include your name, address, and phone number for verification purposes. << prev - page 1 of 31 - next >> | |||||
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