A Breath of Fresh Air
On Thursday, Aug. 25, Rainbow Coalition/Operation PUSH leader Jesse Jackson had a conversation with Israel’s Ambassador in Washington, Daniel Ayalon, lending his oratory to introduce a genuine peace and human rights movement to the political arena.
Ha’aretz reports,
…following the implementation of the withdrawal from the entire Gaza Strip and four West Bank settlements, “the moral burden now substantially shifts to the Palestinians.”
“Sharon made a bold and painful step toward a long-term solution. He deserves a partnership that is just as bold and committed,” said Jackson.
The reverend told Ayalon that he would try to use his influence in the Arab world to push for the Palestinian Authority to fully carry out the required reforms.
how bout renaming gush katif, heimy-free-town?
are we jews so pathetically lacking in ego and self image that the occassional kind word from an anti semitic/anti israeli radical causes us to bow down in gratitude?
ABSOLUTELY!
The day the garbage is not promptly picked up in that archipelago of bantustans, allowing time for checkpoints, we will destroy the Palestinian headquarters, then insist they redouble their efforts! And if they don’t then, we move the settlers back in!
We gave up trying to legitimize a military conquest with squatters! So what if the military’s still there! What more could we possibly have done? These Palestinians will not be satisfied until they have their land back or something!
Avi, you’re wrong to diminish the value of Jackson’s statement. He may not mean anything to you, but there are those who value what he says. He has a long history of supporting the Palestinians, and when he says the ball’s in their court, people will take that seriously.
You also have to understand that it is not the right that opposes Israel, it’s the left. So when a left wing icon, Jackson or anyone else, makes a pro-Israel statement, its important to make sure all the lefties hear it.
The Policy Brief entitled “Legal Aspects of Israel’s Disengagement Plan under International Humanitarian Law (IHL)” by the International Humanitarian Law Research Initiative states:
“Despite the military significance of the Israeli withdrawal from the Gaza Strip, the limited control of the Palestinian Authority over key functions of government, its lack of control over international borders, sea and airspace, as well as the continued Israeli control of key security and welfare aspects of life in the Gaza Strip are likely to be major obstacles for recognition by the Security Council of an eventual end of occupation that would relieve Israel of its obligations toward the Palestinian population of the Gaza Strip.
To successfully bring the occupation of the Gaza Strip to an end, one may argue that Israel will need at a minimum to withdraw the entirety of its troops and installations from the Gaza Strip, in particular from the ‘Philadelphi Road’, transferring full and sovereign control of the border of the Gaza Strip with Egypt to the Palestinian Authority. Every arrangement short of that withdrawal and transfer of sovereignty is likely to fail to bring an end to the occupation of the Gaza Strip.”
I hope Jackson is as influential as he hopes to be. If he fails, or rather if we do not get a favorable response, we must remember that our obligations do not vanish. We are accountable for our decisions to our own consciences and to the divine. Regardless of how well Palestinians fulfill their obligations we still have our own and must press forward. Hopefully we will gain their trust, but if we don’t we must continue in our struggle for justice and not allow their fears to become a self-fulfilling prophecy of hatred and violence.
Not only has praise come from Jesse Jackson, but even from the UN. “A special United Nations session on the situation in the Middle East saw UN Under Secretary for Diplomatic Affairs Ibrahim Gambari praise Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, following the disengagement from Gaza and the northern West Bank.â€
Mashiach must be on her way imminently.