Sixty years ago today, Zionist forces were five months
into a process of expelling non-Jews from the majority
of historic Palestine in order to create a Jewish state.
I personally doubt that the expulsions were motivated
by an evil desire to harm others; in fact, they were
what some might consider a logical necessity following
directly from the desire to create a Jewish state in a
place where the majority was simply not Jewish.
In order to create the state of one ethnicity and religion, y
ou needed to cleanse the area of others, so that's what Zionist forces did.
This process of ethnically cleansing Palestine came to be
known as the "Nakba," Arabic for the "Catastrophe,"
which Palestinians and their supporters will mourn next
month as supporters of Israel celebrate "Israeli Independence Day" during the 60-year anniversary of both.
Leading up to that time, I will be sending out ideas for supporting
Palestinian commemorations of Nakba and for demonstrating that there is not consensus regarding Israel in this country.
(1) I was delighted to learn that my colleague Hannah Mermelstein had an article published about the Nakba in the Jewish Advocate newspaper, eliciting a flood of letters both supporting and opposing the story.
Letters continue to be published:
Original article:
www.thejewishadvocate.com/this_weeks_issue
/opinions2/?content_id=4644
Letters to the editor:
www.thejewishadvocate.com/this_weeks_
issue/letters_to_the_editor/
The weekly online poll is about the Right of Return
(www.thejewishadvocate.com).
Anyone who wishes to should feel free
to write a letter to the editor
(send to editorial@thejewishadvocate.com).
Here's the letter I just
wrote them:
"It is heartwarming to see the Jewish tradition of debate still very
much alive in Israel given a place in the Jewish Advocate. Given the plight of Jews throughout history, we can certainly understand the desire to create a Jewish state. Through columns like Mermelstein's, we can also begin to understand what creating a Jewish state has meant for Palestinian people, who happened to be the majority precluding establishment of a Jewish state until a Jewish majority could be established. The question for us as Jews is, `If creating a place for the Jewish Diaspora to go requires the creation of another Diaspora population, can we accept this?' Answers to this question may vary, but attempts to avoid it are distractions: Absolving Israel of responsibility because Arab countries have not welcomed Palestinians is like absolving European anti-Semitism of responsibility because the
rest of the world closed its doors to fleeing Jews. Creating a Jewish
majority where there wasn't one meant expelling non-Jews, and
expulsions of anyone—Jews from Arab countries or Arabs from a Jewish state—is a crime.
"To those who claim that the refugee problem was caused by Arab
leaders, I would respectfully refer them to the diaries of Ben-Gurion and the findings of Israeli historians since Israel's archives were opened up, disproving many things I grew up believing. It's not a question of arguing what we've heard or believe; it's a question of doing the research."
(2) For non-Jews or others who don't think they'll be published in the Jewish Advocate, consider writing a letter to your local paper. Go to www.congress.org/congressorg/dbq/media/ and plug in your zip-code to conveniently locate media contact info.
For those short on time, please consider at least signing the
following petitions:
Urge Obama to speak out for peace & justice in Palestine:
www.thepetitionsite.com/1/
Obama-peace-for-Palestine
Thank Jimmy Carter for speaking out:
http://tinyurl.com/ycegyc
Join labor communities against the War:
www.petitiononline.com/Gaza/petition.html
Encourage fair water distribution in Palestine:
www.petitiononline.com/wat4life
Free political prisoners:
www.thepetitionsite.com/1/
release-11000-palestinians-in-israeli-jails
Offset your Tax Dollars to Israel
(not a petition, but a great idea!):
www.endtheoccupation.org/article.php?id=1607
Join "NO TIME TO CELEBRATE:
Jews Remember the Nakba," a campaign calling on Jews of Conscience to take part in Jewish opposition to Israeli Independence Day celebrations and commemoration
of the Nakba. We will also be incorporating Nakba remembrance into our Passover Seders: www.ipetitions.com/petition/notimetocelebrate
(3) I'm still touring! My schedule is below, separated by geographic area. Please inform anyone who you think might be interested at any stop along the way:
Please distribute widely
Anna Baltzer presents:
LIFE IN OCCUPIED PALESTINE: EYEWITNESS STORIES & PHOTOS
MIDWEST:
Apr 6 St Louis, MO Green Trails United Methodist Church
Apr 8 Belleville, IL Southwestern Illinois College
Apr 9 Fort Wayne, IN First Presbyterian Church
Apr 10 Fort Wayne, IN Indiana Purdue University
Apr 10 Defiance, OH St John United Church of Christ
Apr 11 Manchester, IN Church of the Brethren
Apr 12 Fort Wayne, IN First Presbyterian Church
Apr 13 Auburn, IN Crossroads Centre Church
Apr 13 Goshen, IN Church of the Brethren
HAWAII:
Apr 23 Oahu, HI Television Ch 49 DVD-screening
MICHIGAN:
Apr 26 Detroit, MI Islamic Cultural Association
SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA & AZ:
Apr 30 Yuma, AZ Northern Arizona University
May 1 Palm Desert,CA Sacred Heart Church
May 2 Claremont, CA Claremont School of Theology
May 2 Anaheim, CA Islamic Institute of Orange County
May 3 Pasadena, CA Panel, Location TBA
May 5 Pasadena, CA DVD-Screening & live Q&A
May 6 Long Beach, CA Cal State Long Beach
May 6 Irvine, CA University of California
May 7 Placentia, CA Holy Cross Melkite-Greek Catholic Church
May 8 Cypress, CA Cypress College
May 8 Orange, CA Legatus
May 9 San Diego, CA Location TBA
May 12 Long Beach, CA First Congregational Church
May 13 Newport Beach,CA The Pacific Club
May 14 Los Angeles, CA University of California
MIDWEST:
May 22 Lincoln, NE Location TBA
May 23 Minneapolis, MN Conference Location TBA
May 24 Chicago, IL Nakba Commemoration Conference
Anna Baltzer, a Jewish American Columbia graduate, Fulbright scholar, author, and volunteer with the International Women's Peace Service, is touring the United States with a presentation and book describing her experiences documenting human rights abuses in Palestine and supporting nonviolent resistance to the Occupation. Providing photographic documentation and critical information often misrepresented or ignored in the Western media, Baltzer's presentation covers checkpoints, settlements, demonstrations, Israeli activism, the 1948 war & refugees, censorship, the Separation Wall, and more. For further information about Baltzer's work and tour (including event details), please visit www.AnnaInTheMiddleEast.com
At all events, Baltzer will also be selling and signing copies of her
new updated book: "Witness in Palestine: A Jewish American Woman in the Occupied Territories."
Please distribute widely
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