An
Appeal To America's
Jewish Leaders
By Thomas Daly
02 August, 2007
Countercurrents.org
House Members: Ackerman, Berkley, Berman, Cantor, Cohen, Davis, Emanuel,
Engel, Filner, Frank, Giffords, Harmin, Hodes, Israel, Kagen, Klein,
Lantos, Levin, Lowey, Nadler, Rothman, Schakowsky, Schiff, Schwartz,
Sherman, Wassermann Schultz, Waxman, Weiner, & Yarmuth
Members of the Senate: Boxer, Cardin, Coleman, Feingold, Feinstein,
Kohl, Lautenberg, Levin, Lieberman, Sanders, Schumer, Specter, &
Wyden
Honorable Members of the House and Senate
Out of 435 members in the House, 30 of you, 6.89 percent, are of Jewish
heritage.
Out of 100 members of the
Senate, 13 of you, 13 percent, are of Jewish heritage.
You hold the key to world
peace in your hands and I urge you to act now to bring about the needed
changes to accomplish this goal. Throughout the Middle East there is
one, and only one prominent problem which affects the entire region.
The resolution to this problem will bring peace to the region and greatly
enhance worldwide peace efforts. The problem is the ongoing, unresolved
Israeli/Palestinian Conflict.
This conflict has lasted
for almost 50 years and much of the blame for not resolving the conflict
rests in the hands of the American government. Influenced by powerful
lobbies the American government has always taken a decidedly one-sided
approach to the conflict. (Info about Jewish and Arab Lobbies see:
http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/
jsource/US-Israel/lobby.html). The result of this one-sided view
is obvious to anyone who will take the time to actually look at the
situation. Led by a relative handful of Zionist (see: http://www.mideastweb.org/zionism.htm),
generations of Israeli governments have continued to occupy and oppress
the Palestinians. Armed by the U.S., the Israelis are able to reek havoc
upon the Palestinians on a daily basis. Rather than return to the 1967
boundaries, the Israelis have continued to occupy more and more of Palestine's
land. In addition, they are in the process of building huge walls to
further isolate and separate the Palestinians.
Largely at the insistence
of the U.S. Government, the Palestinians held democratic elections.
However neither the U.S. nor Israel were willing to accept those elections.
Nor were they willing to even hold dialog with the winning Palestinian
party. Now a cleverly orchestrated wedge has been driven between differing
factions of the Palestinians which will undoubtedly lead to more land
grabs by Israel.
None of this is to say that
the Palestinians are blameless. In their efforts to resist the Israeli
encroachments, Palestinians have committed many unspeakable atrocities.
Their suicide bombers have extracted and alarming toll upon largely
innocent Israeli citizens. Their actions are always labeled as terror
by the U.S. and Israel while equally alarming atrocities committed by
Israeli troops upon largely innocent Palestinians are always labeled
as defensive moves.
The unending occupation of Palestine and the failure of the Israelis
to negotiate a real and lasting peace has brought, and will continue
to bring, hostile relations toward Israel by much of the free world,
especially the countries of the Middle East. (See http://www.mideastweb.org/briefhistory.htm).
Travel anywhere in the Middle East and nearly every citizen will tell
you there will be no peace unless and until Israel recognizes Palestine
and withdraws to the 1967 borders. The Arab League has had a peace plan
in place (see: http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/
jsource/Peace/arabplan.html) since 2002 which has been largely ignored
by the George Bush led American Government and the Israelis. Today,
that plan has been resurrected and emissaries from several Arab countries
have recently visited Israel. Secretary of State Rice is currently shuttling
around the region in an effort to stimulate the dialog. (see: http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/888657.html).
There is serious talk now about a Regional Peace Conference sponsored
by the U.S. It is important that the Conference be held and, it is equally
important, that all countries in the region be included.
You, members of the House
and Senate and influential leaders of the American Jewish Community,
have an important role to play and the time to assume your role is now.
You must look at what is happening in the entire world and explore worldwide
attitudes about what is driving the anti-American and anti-Israel campaigns.
These sentiments are caused by the Israeli occupation of Palestine,
the disastrous war in Iraq, the Israeli invasion of Lebanon, the calls
for democracy and then the rejection of democratically elected governments,
the refusal to even talk with Iran and Syria, the labeling of Hamas
and Hezbollah only as “terrorists”, and many other events
which have only served to embolden Muslim fanatics. Rather than stem
“terrorism” the actions of America have only fanned the
flames. Hatred of America grows daily.
While Israel is an important
part of the overall equation, it is not the only factor which should
influence your opinions and your votes. There are active groups within
Israel who are urging their government to make peace and settle the
Palestinian conflict. Their voices are growing, but are largely unreported
in the U.S. press. You, the American Jewish Leaders, must set aside
much of your old personal views and prejudices, many of them generated
by influential American lobbyist, and look more closely at the entire
region and the entire world and then use your substantial influence
to bring about a permanent solution of the Israeli/Palestinian Conflict.
Peace in Israel and Palestine will go a long way toward bringing peace
to the entire world. Peace in Israel and Palestine will greatly help
in diminishing the influence of radical Muslim groups who use the conflict
as their primary call to arms.
Throughout American history
Jews have played a vital part in numerous causes. Many of the freedoms
Americans enjoy, such as rights to vote, civil rights, and labor rights
were all brought about by the assistance of dedicated and hard working
American Jews. I urge you to take your places in history now by leading
the American government in achieving a permanent peace settlement in
Israel and Palestine.
Sincerely in peace,
Thomas Daly
Thomas Daly
is a retired California newspaper publisher. See his web site: www.tomasdaly.com
for additional information.
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