Dear
Readers,
These columns began on my area of America Online, called: Judaism
Today: Where Do I Fit? People anonymously
sent me E-Mail, and I began to choose one for a public response
in my Jewish E-Mail of the Week column. The column has become
quite popular and is now syndicated internationally in many
Jewish papers and websites. I hope you find they help you
as you think about the Ethics, Spirituality and Peoplehood
components of the Jewish way of Life. I welcome your
comments... see the end of the column.
Gil
PS
Teachers and others, feel free to copy my columns and forward
them or use them as you see fit. Please see the friendly
copyright notice at the end. |
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An
Open Letter to the Palestinians
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Gil
Assalamu Alaikum / Shalom:
I am a Palestinian Arab-American.....secular with built in aversion to
fundamentalist thinking and to religious exclusiveness. I love you
as much as I love my own origins...my own people. You, too, are my own
people....if I consider myself to be human I must love all
humanity....Israelis and Jews are no exception.
My wish is to serve this country [USA] as a "monitor" in any
Palestinian autonomy government administration to report on any return
to the current and past "Arafatist" influences .....and to
monitor any possible corruption and nepotism.
I only hope that Israel would revert back to benevolent Zionism instead
of the current malevolent and "land grabbing" one......I would
love to return to the Holy Land someday soon and work for a peaceful
Middle East.....or for helping the process of creating a Palestinian
State that works hand in hand with a post Sharon/Natanyahu mentality.
I am convinced that the Arab/Muslim Middle East requires urgent
"surgical" procedures to lay down the path for a democratic,
secular and principled Palestinian Administration. Any
suggestions???
M
Dear M and the Palestinian People:
My main suggestion is that many others should read what you have
written...especially other Palestinians. With that in mind, I am
writing my response to you as an open letter to the Palestinian people.
I hope readers will email this on so many will see your words and mine.
As a Jew and a human being, I too have feelings of compassion and warmth
towards all fellow humans beings and Palestinians are no exception.
I grieve for innocent Palestinian lives lost and wounded. I am
saddened by the conditions that you live in. For many years, I was
a left leaning supporter of a Palestinian State...far before the idea
became popular and politically correct.
Even as I feel empathy for your pain and still favor an eventual
Palestinian State, I am not in favor at the moment, and sadly, probably
won't be anytime soon.
Why have I changed? Because Palestinians do not appear to have
changed. Unlike M, I fear that most Palestinians do not want
peaceful coexistence with Israel.
Before the recent violence I believed the talk about "The New
Middle East." I believed in the great potential of a
Palestinian State populated by your resourceful, educated and creative
people forming thriving partnerships with Israel and other countries in
the region to elevate the lives of all.
My hopes were naive. I wish I could say, I have heard many caring
and refreshingly honest voices like those of M. But, the truth is
M's email is a rare exception.
Over the last 2 years, I have watched in horror as your leadership, your
people, your parents and especially your children have proven that you
don't really want peace. While some Palestinians have talked a
good game of peace...actions speak louder than words.
Your actions have proven that much of your society glorifies death and
still aspires for the destruction of Israel. From your nursery
schools to your mosques, we in the West have seen and heard what you
teach your children and adults about killing, maiming and destroying.
(Anyone who has never seen what is in Palestinian textbooks, mosques and
official PA Newspapers and TV and Radio broadcasts should go to
www.memri.org). We have seen your pictures of babies dressed in
explosive belts. Seared in our minds is the image of your pathetic
celebrations of the terrorist murders of thousands of innocents on 9/11.
How can anyone make peace with this kind of culture?
As for arguments that "the occupation" is the problem, what
kind of occupier allows the occupied people to create a force of 30,000
men armed with automatic machine guns? Incredibly, that's what
Israel gave you as part of peace negotiations! As for settlements
the last Prime Minister (Barak) offered to dismantle almost all of the
settlements.
The problem is that rather than wanting peace with Israel, you want
Israel piece by piece. Even the logo your "President"
Arafat wears on his uniform shows the State of Palestine as all of
Israel! (To see this logo, go to: www.christianactionforisrael.org/isreport/mayjun99/plomaps.html)
That state will never be. For that matter, there will be no
Palestinian State until your society changes, because most Jews and
Israelis feel as I do. We desperately want to live in peace with
you, but more resolutely, we refuse to rest in peace because of you!
Your only hope is to make the changes President Bush has demanded of you
(new leaders, no terror, no incitement to hate and violence, no
corruption, true democracy.) Even more importantly, your society
must change from honoring death and violence to one that cherishes life
and peace. If you heed these words, a future Palestine will enjoys
the support of millions like me and M.
Salaam/Shalom/Peace
Gil
A FRIENDLY COPYRIGHT NOTICE
© Copyright Gil Mann
These columns can be found at www.beingjewish.org. Not
only do I give you permissions to copy these Jewish Email
columns...I HOPE YOU WILL and that you share them with others!
All I ask is that you never charge anyone for them and that you
also include this little copyright notice. Thank You!
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