January 15, 2008
Pomona Valley UNA of USA
Minutes of Board Meeting – Porter Hall, January 15, 2008
Present: Mel Boynton, Harry Brunger, Jane Burtis, Richard Harris,
Jane
Purcell, Gloria Reynolds, Marilee Scaff, Bob Smith, Art Sutton,
Board
members, plus Alice & Rizek Abusharr, Carol Billings Harris,
Pete Nelson,
Bob Wallace, Margaret Coston, Mary Lou Southworth, Ruth Auld, Don
Stumpf,
John Hernandez, Judy Stanley, S. Mansoor. Refreshments rovided
by Jane
Purcell.
Meeting was called to order by Mel Boynton at 5:35 pm.
Announcements; (1) So Calif UNA Division meeting will be next week
on
Saturday at Pilgrim Place.
(2) Pomona Valley UNA will hold its Annual Meeting Sun. Jan 27,
5 pm, Decker Hall Pilgrim Place, a potluck dinner. Speaker will be Cyndi
Torres of Habitat for Humanity.
Speaker, Rizek Abushar, a life-long resident of Jerusalem and an Arabic
Christian, who came to Claremont one and a helf years ago after a career
directing the YMCA in Jerusalem.
Text of speech by Rizek Abusharr The Palestine and Israel Issue from Inside by
Rizek Abusharr
From the United Nations Charter: WE THE PEOPLE OF THE UNITED NATIONS
DETERMINED TO SAVE SUCCEEDING GENERATIONS FROM THE SCOURGE OF WAR
TO REAFFIRM FAITH IN FUNDAMENTAL HUMAN RIGHTS, IN THE DIGNITY AND
WORTH OF
THE HUMAN PERSON, IN THE EQUAL RIGHTS OF MEN AND WOMEN, AND OF
NATIONS LARGE AND SMALL.
TO ESTABLISH CONDITIONS UNDER WHICH JUSTICE AND RESPECT FOR THE OTHER PERSON
CAN BE MAINTAINED
TO PROMOTE SOCIAL PROGRESS AND BETTER STANDARDS OF LIFE.
This abbreviated Charter of the UN has driven me to join over a quarter of a
century ago the United Nations Association in Jerusalem. For many years I
attended meetings regularly and spoke at gatherings and met officials of the
UN over the years, including Kofi Anan some years ago.
Being the only Palestinian Arab in the group which numbered over 35 men and
women, I often felt isolated and also felt that I was tolerated because the
Jewish members wanted to portray themselves as true abiders of the Charter
and principles of the UN, by having an Arab among them. I always felt the
respect of the group, but was challenged every time I pointed out that the
declarations within the UN Charter have been abused by Israel in its
treatment of the Arabs in Israel itself and in the occupied territories
since 1967. In 2004 I tendered my resignation to the dismay of some of the
members who asked me to reconsider. I did not change my mind and pointed out
that the group wanted to deal with issues which are thousands of miles away
and did not want to ruffle the feathers of the locals.
As a Palestinian and a recent US citizen, may I share with you a time line
with regard to Palestine/Israel history.
° In 1897, a European Jewish Political movement, the Zionist movement has
for some time been seeking to secure a national home for the Jewish people.
The Zionist conference of 1897 settles on Palestine, which was then part of
the Ottoman Turkish Empire.
° In 1917 the Balfour Declaration: The British Government promises Lord
Rothschild a ‘national home’ for Jews in Palestine, while upholding
the
civil and religious rights of the existing non-Jewish communities. At this
time only 6% of the population of Palestine was Jewish and 94% Arab
Palestinian.
° In 1918 and after the collapse of the Ottoman Empire, Britain occupies
Palestine and from 1918 until 1948 sponsors Jewish immigration from Europe
and the US. Britain crushes the Arab revolts which opposed the influx of
more Jews. Britain had a mandate over Palestine by the League of Nations and
later by the United Nations.
° In 1948 and after hostilities, which killed 13000 Palestinians and made
homeless
750 000. Britain departs its mandate. At that time the Jews
constitute one third of
the population and owned 7% of the land. The number of Jews who
died as a
a result of the violence was 2900.
° In 1948 Israel’s might was able to secure and establish
ISRAEL in 73 %
of Palestine. UN resolution 194 calls on Israel to allow the return
of the
refugees. The resolution was ignored and 500 Palestinian villages
were razed
to the ground.
Following the June 1967 war the situation in the Middle East was
discussed
by the UN General Assembly, which referred the issue to the Security
Council. The key issue was the insistence of the Arab states on
a provision
for total Israel withdrawal. After lengthy discussions, adjustments
where
made. A final draft presented by the British Ambassador, Lord Caradon
was
adopted on June 22 1967 numbered 242, which reads:
The Security Council,
Expressing its continuing concern with the grave situation in the
Middle
East,
Emphasizing the INADMISSIBILITY OF THE ACQUISITION OF TERRITORY
by war and
the need to work for a just and lasting peace, which every state
in the area
can live in security,
Emphasizing that ALL Member States in their acceptance of the Charter
have
undertaken a commitment to act in accordance with Article 2 of
the Charter.
Affirms that the fulfillment of Charter principles requires the
establishment of a just and
lasting peace in the Middle East which should include the application
of
both these principles:
1.Withdrawal of Israeli armed forces from the territories occupied
in the
recent conflict.
2.Termination of all claims of state belligerency and respect and
acknowledgement of the sovereignty, territorial integrity and political
independence of every State in the area and their right to live
in peace
within secure and recognized boundaries free from threats or acts
of terror.
3.Acheive a just settlement of the refugee problem.
This resolution, 242 was adopted universally by the United Nations
over 40
years ago….
And we are still waiting for its implementation. Another resolution
338
followed it a couple of years later, reaffirming the first………
Almost three years ago I resigned from the UN Association as I
could not
influence the members, that the UN was not anti-Semitic or anti
Israel.
It is well known and documented that over 70 UN Resolutions have
been made
with regard to Israel and Palestine and over 50 of them vetoed
by the US
because Israel and the US perceived these to be, not in the primary
interest
of Israel.
We have just witnessed Israeli, Palestinian and US leaders meeting
in
Annapolis attempting to revive a new understanding and a deal.
We have also
witnessed the visit to the region of President Bush just this last
week. We
have felt from the outset that outlines of a deal have already
been devised,
in bits and pieces, through the Clinton parameters, the Taba summit,
the
Arab League proposal, international law, including the myriad UN
resolutions
and semiformal understandings, such as the Geneva Initiative.
The facts on the ground are: fear, enmity and hate which have quintupled
several times in the last forty years. The Association for Civil
Rights in
Israel has recently released its annual report for 2007. The Hebrew
language HAARETZ newspaper printed an article entitled: “Israel
has reached new heights of racism”. The number of Jews expressing feeling of hatred
toward Arabs has doubled, and that is according to the June 2007
Democracy
Index of the Israel Democracy Institute. Less than half of the
population
believes that Jews and Arabs must have equal rights. 55 percent
support the
idea that the state should encourage Arab emigration. 78 percent
oppose the
inclusion of Arab political parties in government. According to
a Haifa
University study 74 percent of Jewish youth in Israel think that
Arabs are “unclean”.
This does not mean that the Arab population is magnanimous towards
the Jews.
The Arabs have felt that their rights have been usurped and blame
the
Israeli Government for the abuses meted out to them. There is hatred
and
fear. The suspicion every Arab faces at every intersection at every
shop at
every train, bus or plane is evident in dozens of ways.
We have always said that fear of the other, brings hate, hate for
the other
brings violence and revenge, and revenge for acts perpetrated means
a
continuous cycle of war and terror.
World powers and mainly the United States should and must publicly
endorse a
DEAL which is the only way to secure a place in the global economy
that both
Israel and Palestine need.
The foundation for this deal is that the borders of the two states
will be
those prior to June 1967. Border modifications are necessary and
essential
for the deal to pass in Israel. Israel will compensate the Palestinians
by
exchanging land for land so that a contiguous Palestine emerges.
Jerusalem will be the capital for both states. Israel and Palestine.
The Old
City will be an open city free of checkpoints and restricted areas.
UN
forces will keep the peace.
The Palestinian refugees will have a choice of returning to Palestine
or to
compensation. Some refuges will be allowed to return to Israel
under family
unification. At the present moment there are 400 000 Jews living
in
settlements in Palestine, they will be allowed to remain in Palestine
and an
equivalent number of refugees will be allowed to return to their
towns and
villages in Israel.
Settleling the problems created in 1948 as a result of the establishment
of
the state of Israel is of paramount importance not only to the
region but to
the world. The recent fear of nuclear armaments could trigger a
world wide
confrontation of a magnitude far beyond any person’s imagination.
We are talking of added fear of consequences if this trouble spot
remains
unsolved for any longer. The United Nations is crucial, but the
key player
is the US government.
The United States must become an even handed and a fair broker
in bringing
the groups together. Leaders in this country must be audacious
and not fear
the effects of this lobby or that. We are talking about homeland
security,
the home meaning the globe. There are so many brilliant minds in
this nation
who see beyond the narrow confines of political gain for a particular
party
or religious group or even a financial group.
The recent article published in the LA times by Walt and Mearsheimer,
points
to the fact that Israel itself is at risk if the US continues to
approve
actions by Israel no matter what.
The Christian right in America, which wishes to bring about Armageddon
in
our lifetime, has to be reeducated in their faith.
WE RECOGNIZE THE INHERENT DIGNITY AND THE EQUAL AND INALIENABLE
RIGHTS OF
ALL MEMEBRS OF THE HUMAN FAMILY WHICH IS THE FOUNDATION OF FREEDOM,
JUSTICE
AND PEACE IN THE WORLD.
This is the first preamble of the Universal Declaration of Human
Rights. No
additional articles are needed. These words say it all.
As members of the United Nations family, we need to promote these
ideals and
defend them without fear and trepidation of retribution. This is
our
fundamental plea that comes to us from the near and the far neighborhood.
From California, to Ontario, to Caracas, to London and to Dar Al
Salam, to
Sydney, to New Delhi, to Islamabad, to Washington, to Baghdad and
to
Jerusalem.
Let us as members of the World Family bring Peace to the City of
Peace.
Peace with Justice for Jew and Arab, for Muslim Christian and Jew.
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