Ariga: June 2000

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June 28 2000 Time to Agree, By Dr. Gershon Baskin Now is the time for President Arafat and Prime Minister Barak to come to an agreement. The sides have never been closer than they are now. Israeli public opinion is also more ready now than ever before to accept "painful" compromises. Putting off an agreement now can only lead to more violence and suffering which will only make the chance of reaching an agreement more difficult. Mr. Barak appears to be ready to agree to conditions that no other Israeli leader has ever conceded to. The Israeli political arena offers no better alternative to Mr. Barak. The remaining months of Mr. Clinton's presidency also offer an historic opportunity to secure a deal with significant American support and input. To the full article

June 28 2000 A Vision of Hope by Julie Hart
Where there is no vision, the people will perish, advises Proverbs 29:18. But in this land of diversity, much of the conflict is due to competing visions. However, after meeting with Jewish, Muslim, and Christian religious leaders who separately articulated a common vision for this land, I was given a sense of hope. Hope is a rare but necessary commodity in this land. To the brief, but poignant article.

June 28 2000 UN International Day in Support of Victims of Torture A message from LAW -- The Palestinian Society for the Protection of Human Rights Today the UN Committee against Torture, the UN Fund for Victims of Torture, the UN Special Rapporteur on torture and the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights issued a joint declaration denouncing torture as “one of the vilest acts to be perpetrated by human beings upon each other” and recalling that under international law torture is absolutely forbidden and its systematic practice a crime against humanity. The declaration urges governments to ensure that torture is a crime under their domestic law and torturers are brought to justice. Special emphasis is furthermore placed on reparation for torture victims and preventive measures. To the full LAW piece

June 12 2000, Uri Avnery on "Death of a Lion" -- the passing of Hafez Assad
Like Rabin, Ehud Barak is a man of logic. And, like Rabin, he lacks political intuition. Unlike Clinton, unlike Begin. To the full text

May 27 2000 Rabbis for Human Rights writes:
Our alternative Jerusalem Day is approaching. The event will be at the New Gate in Jerusalem, oposite the city hall building from 16:00-20:00 on Wednesday, May 31st. This family event will include food music, children's activities, human rights exhibits, and a chance for Israeli and Palestinian families to mingle. Speakers will include Shulamit Aloni, Faisal Husseini, Leah Shakdiel, Naim Ashab, Leah Tzemel and a representative of the Akel family (whose home Hebrew U wishes to demolish.) Supporting organizations include Rabbis for Human Rights, Betzelem, HaMoked, DCI-Israel, Public Committee against Torture, ICAHD, B'Mkom, Kol HaIsha, Jerusalem Center for Social and Economic Rights, LAW, Palestinian Youth, and others.
The event is based on the following common statement, due to be published as an ad in Haaretz:
We, the people of Jerusalem, Israelis and Palestinians have a shared vision of a city of peace and justice. "Jerusalem Day" too often commemorates the imposition of one people's will upon another. The "unification of Jerusalem" has also meant sustained occupation and led to serious violations of Palestinian human rights, including home demolitions, ID card confiscations, denial of health care, land expropriations, discrimination in housing and the providing of municipal services, closures and other elements of the "silent transfer" of Palestinians from Jerusalem.
We represent diverse opinions regarding the final status of Jerusalem. We are united in our conviction that both peoples' rights must be respected now and in any final status solution, and that no side has the right to impose a solution on the other.
Noting that June 1st is both Jerusalem Day and International Children's Day, we invite all those who share the vision of a better future for our children to attend our Alternative Jerusalem Day "Happening" the previous day.
Ariga adds: For more information about all the above mentioned groups, see http://www.ariga.com/humanrights/

May 25 2000
A lot could be said about the Israeli withdrawal from Lebanon. But instead of journalistic analysis and prognosis, or even praise for Ehud Barak we'll let Anika say it quite nicely and simply:

From Anika

Just for Today
Happy and sad at the same time
I am celebrating and mourning
A major shift in the chances
for PEACE
in our region the Middle East
has taken place
Our army has finally pulled out of Lebanon

Living in the north of Israel
just out of the fire range of the kathusas
but close enough to hear the air raid sirens
the sounds of canons, helicopters fighter planes

I feel relief and a stone on my heart at the same time for what has been and what will be
There is a chance for Peace
but the Wheel of Fortune
is standing still in Mid Air

I breath in and out
and hope for the Best

We are One World
where Every One
wants a place
and call it Home

Greetings from the Mandala Woman
Anika
in cyberspace at
http://www.haderech.org/mandala - Earth Mandala
and Ariga adds -- check out her web site.

May 15 2000
The Palestinian -Israeli world music band will get you on your feet in their upcoming performance. Thursday, May 18, at 21:00 in "Bikurei Ha-itim" house, 6 haftman St. Tel Aviv (behind the Cinemateque) Tickets for 50 NIS are available at Windows or at club entrance starting 20:30. For further information please contact Shadi, Windows - Channels for Communication 35 Trumpledor St. Tel Aviv TEl: 03-5251929 Fax: 03-5282373

May 11 2000
BY-PASS ROAD? LIE-PASS ROAD! -- Gush Shalom message of the week: One of the beauty spots of this country is about to be destroyed. North of Ramallah, near the village of Dora-al-Kareh, between two steep ridges, there lies a beautiful valley, with fields stretching from end to end. Natural springs enable the villagers, who have been living there for generation, since Roman times, to grow organic products. There the so-called Civil Administration has now decided to build a broad high-road, because of the need - so they say - to connect Beth-El settlement with Ofrah settlement. It is easy to see that this pretext is a lie. Altogether, it will save five minutes driving time, compared to the existing roads. With its security shoulders, the road is 220 meters broad, 5.9 kilometers long. Truth is, this is another means to remove the Palestinian inhabitants from their land and to prepare the area for annexation. This is called "settlement blocs". In actual fact, the by-pass road is a lie-pass road, confiscating land, cutting off big chunks of Palestinian land in order to add it eventually to Israel. It destroys fields, family homes and the landscape. Far from being an isolated case, this happens all over the occupied territories, in order to preempt the "permanent settlement" negotiations. Everyone who feels an obligation towards peace between the two peoples and the landscapes of this country, must say: No! We call for decisive action to stop these destructive attacks! Gush Shalom

May 8 2000
Not all Israelis believe in "us here and them there" as the ideal peace solution. Hagit Ra'anan organizes tours of Gaza and meetings in the West Bank for Israelis and others, so they can meet the "enemy" in informal chats, and also see life in refugee camps. Check out her Peace trips to Gaza web site, part of the indefatigable Middle East Web

May 3 2000
The Gush Shalom add for this week: FOR THE SAKE OF ABU-DIS WILL I NOT HOLD MY PEACE, AND FOR THE SAKE OF SUWAHARA I WILL NOT REST! (Jes. 62, 1)
I PREFER EZZARIA ABOVE MY CHIEF JOY! (Ps. 136, 6)
IF I FORGET THEE, O A-RAM, LET MY RIGHT HAND FORGET HER CUNNING! (Ps. 136, 5)
This is the new Bible of the chauvinist-religious demagogues, who want to condemn us to another hundred years of bloody conflict.
Visit the Gush Shalom Site

May 1 2000
The Nobel Peace Prize Laureates have put the Appeal for the Children of the World at the top of the international community's agenda. Visit their site at International Decade for a Culture of Peace and Non-Violence for the Children of the World, where you can see the text of the appeal by the Nobel Peace Prize Laureates, find out about the object of the appeal (to confront the root causes of violence, sources of suffering for millions of children throughout the world.), see the UN resolution in response to the Nobel Peace Prize Laureate's Appeal, and sign up to pledge your own commitment to the effort.

Within that context, Ariga once again recommends Sleeping Giant, a site dedicated to informing people about the dangers of nonconventional weapons (biological, chemical and nuclear) in the hands of terrorists, whatever their ideology.

There's no better place to visit on May 1 -- International Workers Day -- than Eric Lee's fantastic portal for trade unionists www.LabourStart.org, which is where, as he says, trade unionists begin their day. Eric cut his Internet teeth on the much acclaimed BibiWatch, which covered the shenanigans of Bibi Netanyahu until Eric convinced someone in England that Labour needed an international web portal. He was right. He has inspired labor unions all over the world to use the 'net to keep their membership informed, let the world know about unfair labor practices, and most of all, to keep the labor union spirit alive. I personally believe that labor unions should be first in line demanding stock options for all their membership at any given company. If the unions demanded stock options for their memebrs from Ford, GM, GE and all sorts of other places that could do it without batting an eye, people all around would benefit. Eric, I think, would simple prefer a world without money.

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