Palestinian nonviolence, a vision for Jerusalem and a personal request to you all

Israeli checkpoint on the outskirts of Jerusalem - several km inside
internationally recognised Palestinian territory 

As I mentioned in a recent post, the violence here always attracts more coverage that the nonviolence. Of course, there is some violence from the Palestinian side, but it is far outweighed by people of dignity trying to achieve peace and a Palestinian state through nonviolence.

Here's a brilliant article summing up so many of my thoughts on these issues, to my surprise in the Economist - thanks Claire for the lead.

With the events surrounding Nakba Day and the border incursions mentioned in the article, the momentum for change is building. The Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu is in the USA over the coming days and as one commentator put it, Obama seems to have thrown down the gauntlet making it clear that he expected Israel to work for peace based on the 1967 borders. (Obama delivered a major and wide ranging speech yesterday on the middle east in general). Some are saying this is not groundbreaking, and that he should have said a lot more - I don't disagree necessarily - but it is crucial to recognise that the Europeans and the US have now made it clear to Israel that these borders are internationally recognised and firm.

And whatever you think of Obama, his words about a vision for a future Jerusalem are eloquent and beautiful - here they are:

Too many tears have flowed. Too much blood has been shed. All of us have a responsibility to work for the day when the mothers of Israelis and Palestinians can see their children grow up without fear; when the Holy Land of three great faiths is the place of peace that God intended it to be; when Jerusalem is a secure and lasting home for Jews and Christians and Muslims, and a place for all of the children of Abraham to mingle peacefully together as in the story of Isra, when Moses, Jesus, and Mohammed (peace be upon them) joined in prayer.

So, here's my urgent plea: If you care about peace, if you care about any of the issues that I've been writing about, or if you just want me to buy you a coffee when next I see you, please act. Now. There are dozens of things you can do, groups to join, petitions to sign . . . but seeing as you're at your computer I'm suggesting just one letter to your local politician. (you do know who they are right? otherwise you've got google). 20 minutes, a few lines is all it takes.


Write a letter or an email expressing your support for the international pressure for urgent peace talks; for a commitment by both sides to nonviolence; for a commitment for Israel to stop confiscating Palestinian land and building internationally illegal settlements...


Please, write something. I won't ask this often, and now seems to be the moment.


I'm off to a demonstration now where the Israelis have confiscated parts of a Palestinian suburb...