Letters to the Editor, September 12, 2003

"Sweden deeply regrets that the Israeli government has acted so that the Secretary-General's fact-finding mission will be unable to investigate events in Jenin", says Minister for Foreign Affairs, Anna Lindh. "The Israeli government flouts the decision taken by a unanimous Security Council in Resolution 1405. In doing so, the country shows lack of respect for the United Nations, which represents the basis of the international legal system. Suspicions grow that the Israeli armed forces have committed serious crimes against humanitarian law in Jenin", continues Anna Lindh.

"Israel's government has chosen a course of action that risks placing the country outside the rest of the world community. This is both unfortunate and ominous", summarises the Minister for Foreign Affairs.

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Related Documents: Latest Emergency Updates: Occupied Palestinian Territory Latest By Country: Israel; Occupied Palestinian territory Other ReliefWeb documents by: Government of Sweden Source URL: http://www.sweden.gov.se/

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Source: Government of Sweden Date: 3 May 2002

Hello,

From the time my country began areating Saddam's lawn in the hopes that new oil wells would pop up there, I have been doing my best to become fully informed. I want you to know that while most Americans don't participate in government (hence, the real problem here), that may, finally, change. The sleeping giant (decent Americans who just don't pay attention) is finally waking up. We, as a nation, are finally beginning to wrestle with the fundamental questions of who we are, and where we are headed. My answer is this:

The path to peace is integrity.
The path to prosperity is integrity.
The path to progress is integrity.

America has traveled far off that path. I am responsible for what my government does in my name, whether I like it or not. I am sorry for what America has done over the last 30 years (or more). I've know that our policies were hypocritical, but this is much, much worse.

Violence begets violence. America and Israel need to grow up. I will do the part of one citizen in America to push our government in the right direction. Keep up the good work on your part.

Michael Miller
American citizen

Greetings - Salaam,

Peace be unto you.

I begin my letter with the above words because, as an American, a Jew, and a citizen of Earth, I want peace in this world.

I am an American. I also happen to be Jewish. But like many Americans, my parents are not of the same faith. My father is Protestant. My mother was Jewish. In America, there is tolerance. Although according to Jewish law I am Jewish, I choose to be Jewish because I respect Judaism as a faith, as I respect Christianity, and will do everything in my power to defend the rights of people to worship in whatever faith they choose, especially a faith which has been so persecuted.

Does that mean I have been to Israel?

No.

Does that mean I am automatically a member of a “separate race”? Or a Zionist.

No.

Does that mean I am in favor of the policies against the Palestinian people?

- Definitely not.

Does this mean I am a blindly patriotic American who sees war as the answer to all problems?

Certainly not.

What it does mean is that I cried the time I saw Israeli and Palestinian children playing together, who then cried together because they knew that this was not to be in their future. Something enshrouded in menace, hate, and death was for their tomorrow, not play.

It means I shudder when I hear people claiming that all Jews are a separate race, unrelated to any other. It means that I defy the bigotry and hate just by being Jewish, just by my very existence. It means that the many Moslems I have met, and became friends with, came to know me first as a human being, and second as a Jew or an American. And as a human beings we shared many of the exact same, likes, dislikes, needs, wants, desires, hopes, and dreams. It means that traditional Arab music and song stirs my soul as much as it does my Moslem friends, even though I cannot always understand the words.

Furthermore, it also means that I am not in favor of "my" President's policies (on practically anything), nor those of this administration. I didn't even vote for him. But it is precisely because we have tolerance, human rights, and freedom to choose that we have the ability (and responsibility) to change our misdirected leadership.

My point is simply this; many Americans do not support many of the present policies and did not necessarily vote for this present administration. And many Jews, likewise, do not support many of the policies of the Israeli government and have no influence on their government. Therefore, it is only reasonable and logical to understand that there are also many, many American Jews who also are against both many of the American and Israeli policies.

No faith, except the growing worship of hate, would see the good of lashing out against a whole people simply because some of them have joined that belief, one which is the fast road to senseless death – the faith in hate. And when so many young are convinced by their elders that it is a far better thing to die, that their Creator created them for such destruction, then do we not also die in our hearts because we are watching the future die with them?

Therefore, I write on behalf of these two very rare creatures, which once thrived on this beautiful Earth but are now almost extinct; reason and peace. It is not easy making each thrive and grow again, but it must be done.

May we all find and keep both.

Sincerely --

— Christopher

LOVE x UNDERSTANDING + COMPASSION - HATE = REAL VICTORY

— SHANTI — SHALOM — SALAM — PEACE —

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Christopher Flory —

Earth, a planet hungry for peace

The Israeli apartheid (security) wall around Palestinian population centers (Ran Cohen, pmc, 5/24/03).

The Israeli apartheid (security) wall around Palestinian population centers in the West Bank (Ran Cohen, pmc, 5/24/03).