Palestine Think Tank

Friends: Many of us search for an avenue, act, effort or voice to demand that Israel stop being treated as a separate nation on this planet, a nation above all divine and human laws, a nation that can get away with ethnic cleansing, murder, wars, invasions, genocides and war crimes without any accountability to the rest of humanity including you and me. 

If you seek such an avenue then here’s the unique opportunity to do so.  Sweden holds the current Presidency of the European Union and is deciding to introduce a resolution to be adopted by the E.U. that proposes recognizing East Jerusalem as a capital of a future Palestinian State.

This is the first time in 61 years that any nation has had the courage of its convictions and is willing to defy Israel’s power and hold on western governments, none more so than ours, especially upon our slavish Congress that has never seen an AIPAC initiative or resolution it doesn’t automatically adopt in large bipartisan numbers.   This proposal only seeks to implement and adopt what the U.N. Security Council Resolutions and the rest of the world already have proclaimed for decades that Israel’s annexation of East Jerusalem is “null and void”. 

We can’t let Sweden face Israel’s juggernaut alone.   All of us must send letters of support to the Swedish Government, especially its Prime Minister, Minister of E.U. Affairs, and its Foreign Minister.   Let them know we stand with them and support their noble efforts that Jerusalem is a Holy City for all Faiths not just a Jewish only city.   Christians and Muslims have the inalienable right to worship in freedom from occupation in their Holy City as well. 

Please be active and brave in this effort otherwise hold your peace.  You’re either with human justice and freedom or with your silence you’re complicit with the evil called Israel. 

Below is the website to use for your letters as well as my letter to the Swedish Prime Minister that I also forwarded to the appropriate Ministers on E.U. Affairs and Foreign Affairs.   

http://www.sweden.gov.se/pub/road/Classic/article/117/jsp/Render.jsp?a=70244&m=popup&l=en 

December 2, 2009

"Right and wrong are the same in Palestine as anywhere else. What is peculiar about the Palestine conflict is that the world has listened to the party that has committed the offence and has turned a deaf ear to the victims."

 –British Historian Arnold Toynbee 

Dear Honorable Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt

I honor your decision to support the Goldstone Report despite Israel's threat to sever diplomatic relations with Sweden.   Now Israel is threatening the entire E.U. with retaliation for the possibility of considering East Jerusalem as a future Capital of a Palestinian State.    What other nation has the chutzpah to threaten an entire continent for its freedom of speech and action except Israel? 

No nation has so blatantly defied the will of the international community including close to 85 UN Security Council Resolutions (not including the 44 Resolutions the U.S. vetoes) that condemn Israel's actions such as the illegal occupation of Arab territories, the building of illegal settlements, annexation of East Jerusalem and the Golan Heights, the protected violence of its settlers against Palestinian civilians and their total destruction of farms and olive trees, and its flaunting of the Fourth Geneva Convention while demanding Israel's withdrawal from such occupied land and its safeguarding of civilians under its control.   Israel's annexation of East Jerusalem was unanimously condemned by UNSCR 478 of August 20, 1980 that declared Israel's annexation of East Jerusalem "null and void" adding that “this action constitutes a serious obstruction to achieving a comprehensive, just and lasting peace in the Middle East.” 

There have been many UN Security Council Resolutions that dealt with the status of Jerusalem, among them Resolutions 252 (1968) of 21 May 1968, 267 (1969) of 3 July 1969, 271 (1969) of 15 September 1969, 298 (1971) of 25 September 1971 and 465 (1980) of 1 March 1980. 

Yet for 42 years Israel has defied and insulted all International organizations, peace efforts and agreements, EU and U.S. policies, the Arab initiatives, the Road Map Quartet, and recently thumbed its nose at President Obama's modest proposal to simply freeze settlements.   This while demanding the U.N. pass and immediately implement Resolutions against Arab nations and Iran. 

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had the hypocritical audacity to insult the U.N. from the General Assembly’s podium by stating that such body “has no shame or decency” to deal with Iran that according to him defies the few UN Security Council Resolutions dealing with its nuclear program.  

The U.S., the Arab and Muslim world are paralyzed to deal with Israel and its policy of force and war upon innocent civilians to achieve its goal of "Greater Israel"   The U.S. is constrained by the power of Israel’s lobby and its supportive financial and media institutions while the Arab world is impotent given the dependence of its corrupt leaders on U.S protection for their dictatorial hold on power. 

The single courageous and humanitarian hope left for occupied Palestinians is Sweden's extraordinary proposal to encourage the E.U. to proclaim East Jerusalem as a future Palestinian capital. 

There is no doubt that Sweden, like other nations, organizations such as Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, ICRC, B'tselem, Peace Now, media outlets who dare criticize Israel including BBC's simple act of raising funds for besieged Gazans, academicians, universities, politicians and individuals who believe in the freedom from oppression for all peoples; will endure an Israeli smear and attack campaign upon your government and people supported by its Lobbies, the U.S. Government, especially the ever compliant Congress, and much of the Pro-Israel American media. 

The freedom, justice, peace and saving of human lives from oppression, ethnic cleansing and the constant use of force and wars, is most worthy of Sweden's, the E.U.'s and the world's sacrifice and endurance for such inalienable rights for all peoples as enshrined in the U.N. Charter, the Declaration of Universal Human Rights as well as countless U.N. Resolutions. 

In a recent interview Israeli former minister of education Shulamit Aloni admitted that Israel's weapon of mass destruction:  "Anti-Semitism" is a trick:  She said: 

"Well it's a trick, we always use it. When from Europe somebody is criticizing Israel then we bring up the Holocaust. When in this country (U.S.A) people are criticizing Israel then they are anti-Semitic." 

Sir, no nation or individual must be considered above any divine or human law.   Israel must be held accountable for its expansionist military policies on defenseless civilians. 

The world, although intimidated into silence, surely supports your honorable efforts on East Jerusalem.  Such a decision will definitively break Israel's domination regarding Middle East peace and bring hope to the world that someone somewhere does value justice for all and is willing to speak loudly and proudly.   The world is sure to follow your courage and finally demand Israel, a historically persecuted people, cease persecuting another people innocent of their history. 

May God bless your efforts and may I personally express to you, your government and the Swedish people my deepest gratitude and respect for being the world's first nation to act for justice. 

Respectfully;

Mohamed Khodr
USA