Discussion about this post

User's avatar
Steve James's avatar

If the objective is victory at all costs, then by all means continue to vilify Hamas and plan for its defeat. If the objective is peace, then America, Israel, and the Palestinian people must deal with the Palestinian right of return. We all need to put aside whataboutism and keep our eye on peace if that is what we really want.

If you look back at the history of Palestine, it has been a pawn in the Ottoman empire, the British empire, and the new state of Israel starting in 1948. The PLO was corrupt, the Palestine Authority is toothless, Fatah was useless, and the various peace deals over the years did not include recognizing the Palestinians' right to return to their homes and homeland. The Palestinians in Gaza voted for Hamas in desperation in 2006. I think we need to ask ourselves why they were that desperate. Yes, Hamas is reprehensible. But they are in power for a reason. Desperate people make desperate decisions. That's not a double standard, that's human psychology.

Peace will come when Article 13(2) is honored and the Palestinians have the right to return. It's not a double standard; it's a simple fact. Why do you refuse to discuss it?

Expand full comment
Steve James's avatar

Joe, you wrote: “This December 10th marks the 75th anniversary of the proclamation of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.”

Please look at Article 13 which states: (1) Everyone has the right to freedom of movement and residence within the borders of each state.

---According to Wikipedia: “Israel enforces restrictions on the freedom of movement of Palestinians in the West Bank by employing a system of permanent, temporary and random manned checkpoints, the West Bank Barrier and by forbidding the usage of roads by Palestinians.”

Article 13 also states: (2) Everyone has the right to leave any country, including his own, and return to his country.

--- Also according to Wikipedia: “Palestinians refer to it as the Nakba, or ‘catastrophe.’ An estimated 700,000 Palestinians, a majority of the prewar population, fled or were expelled from what is now Israel in the months before and during the war, in which Jewish fighters fended off an attack by several Arab states.” They were not allowed then and are not allowed now to return to their homes in what is now called Israel.

The right to return is central to the Palestinian question. There will be no peace until this basic human right and other essential freedoms are addressed.

Expand full comment
13 more comments...

No posts