-Caveat Lector- <A HREF="http://www.ctrl.org/"> </A> -Cui Bono?- ---------- Forwarded message ---------- Date: Wed, 22 Mar 2000 21:40:34 -0500 From: "MiD-EasT RealitieS - www.MiddleEast.Org" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: MER <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subject: Palestinian Intellectuals -- Too Late? Too Little? - _______ ____ ______ / |/ / /___/ / /_ // M I D - E A S T R E A L I T I E S / /|_/ / /_/_ / /\\ Making Sense of the Middle East /_/ /_/ /___/ /_/ \\ TOO LATE? TOO LITTLE? http://www.MiddleEast.Org News, Information, & Analysis That Governments, Interest Groups, and the Corporate Media Don't Want You To Know! --------------- MER - IF YOU DON'T GET IT, YOU JUST DON'T GET IT! To receive MER regularly email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] PALESTINIAN "INTELLECTUALS" STEP UP TO THE PLATE TOO LATE? TOO LITTLE? "...what is being contrived is not peace, but the seeds of future wars." MID-EAST REALITIES - Washington - 22 March: It's the bottom of the 9th inning. The Palestinians are behind 25 to 1. They've discovered their only pitcher has a sprained arm, their catcher has lost his glove, and their long-time coach has been on the take for some time, so much so that other side has not only been listening in but actually calling most of the shots for both teams throughout the game. Now with what seems a kind of last gasp before drowning "Palestinian intellectuals" are desperately trying to call a "time out". Problem is its awfully late in the game, they've got the address wrong, and too many of those signing on have themselves been on the gravy train and few take them seriously anymore. There will be much more for MER to say about this whole predicament and this recently published Statement by "Palestinian intellectuals" in the Israeli newspaper Ha'aretz. But even with all these caveats at least the "intellectuals" have managed after all these years and all the provocations to put themselves a small bit on the historical record, however inadequately, however feebly, however late in the day Much too little, much too late? Wrong place, wrong timing? Sadly so it seems. The outlook is pretty bleak indeed. But even so this Statement is worth pondering and publicizing...as long as one doesn't shrink from facing the whole bitter context and how we've all come to this further tragedy: MESSAGE TO THE ISRAELI AND JEWISH PUBLIC We, the undersigned Palestinian intellectuals, address to the Israeli and Jewish public this message clarifying our point of view on the current peace process. We are concerned that what is being contrived is not peace, but the seeds of future wars. The majority of Palestinians, including the undersigned, believed that the time was ripe for concluding with the Israelis a historic agreement that would allow us to live together finally in peace in one land, despite the injustice, suffering and dispossession inflicted on us over the decades by the Israeli side. The majority of Palestinians believed that peace would be based on two principles: justice and the requirements of a common future. What we are witnessing in reality is far from these principles. One side believes the present balance of power to be in its favour, and that it can impose a humiliating agreement on the other side, forcing it to accept virtually anything it chooses to enforce. The historic settlement is becoming a settlement between Israelis themselves, not a settlement with the Palestinians. It is a settlement that suffocates the Palestinians humanly, territorially, security-wise and politically: humanly, because it does not recognize their human and historical rights; territorially, because it isolates them within confined areas in towns and villages while progressively confiscating their land; security-wise because it places Israeli security in principle over and above Palestinian rights, existence and security; politically, because it prevents Palestinians from determining their future and controlling their borders. We believe we express the deepest convictions of our people when we openly confront you with these realities. You will have to choose between a settlement that is imposed by a balance of forces overwhelmingly favouring your government and your military, and one that is just, which will favour both Israelis and Palestinians, and which will provide the basis for long-term coexistence on the same land. We are placing the choice in your hands. We state, in all clarity, that we see only two solutions for a just settlement of the Palestine question. The first solution is based on the establishment of a Palestinian state, with complete sovereignty over the lands occupied by Israel in 1967 and Jerusalem as its capital, the right of return for Palestinian refugees, and the recognition by Israel of the historic injustice inflicted on the Palestinian people. The Palestinian state will be established on the principles of democracy and human values adopted by the Palestinian Declaration of Independence in 1988. The second solution is the establishment of one democratic bi-national state for the two peoples on the historic land of Palestine. It is clear that the Palestinian negotiator, whose hands are tied by the overwhelming balance of power working against him, may be coerced into accepting a humiliating and degrading settlement that will lead to neither of these two solutions. History abounds with examples of nations that were coerced into settlements they did not support and which ended in catastrophe for all parties. We address this message, first and foremost, to those Israelis who believe in the values of justice and equity, and to all those who aspire for peace the world over. We want to tell them that the settlement the Israeli leadership is seeking to impose on the Palestinian negotiator could not be a settlement with the Palestinian people. It will be a fragile settlement bearing within it the seeds of its own destruction. We will neither support nor accept it. We extend our hand to you to make a real and just peace, not the militarist peace of coercion, the generals' peace. Name Position/Profession Signature Signatories to the Message addressed to the Israeli & Jewish Public Opinion: Abdel Rahman Abu Gharbia, President, Arab Thought Forum, Palestine Abdulla Mutawi, Centre for Economic & Social Rights, UK Ahmad Benani, International Observatory for Palestinian Affairs, Lausanne, Switzerland Ahmad Khalifa, Editor, Institute of Palestine Studies Journal, Oxford Ahmed Daoud, Journalist, Palestine Ahmed Jaber, Beirzeit University, Palestine Amal Ashrawi, Legal assistant, USA Anita Grossmann-Abdullah, Institute of Community and Public Health, University of Birzeit Atallah Said, Vice Chair of the Association of the Palestinian Community, UK Ayub Mustafa, Center for Palestine Research and Studies-CPRS, Nablus, Palestine Azmi Shuaibi, PLC member, Palestine Baker Abdel Munem, Ph.D.(Engineering), Ph.D.(Economics and Political Science), Canada Bassam Al Salhi, Friends School, Palestine Bassim Al-Zubaidi, Lecturer, University of al-Najah, West Bank Bilal Al-Hassan, Journalist and commentator, Editor of Al-Hayat Newspaper, UK Bishara Dowmani, Associate professor, Berkeley, USA Camille Mansour, Director, Institute of Law, Birzeit University, Palestine Eileen Kuttab, Director, Institute of Women Studies, Birzeit University, Palestine Eleine (Musallem) Hagobian, Professor Emeritus of Sociology, Simons College, Boston, USA Fadwa al-Labadi, Lecturer, University of Birzeit, Palestine Faisal Darraj, Literary critic, Syria Faoz Khalifa, Professional, Palestine Fawzi Asmar, Writer and journalist, USA Fouad Mughrabi, Professor, USA Ghada al-Karmi, Writer,UK Gazi Al-khalili, Writer & journalist, Palestine George Abed, Economist, USA George Giacaman, Professor, Birzeit University, Palestine George Sahhar, Professional, Palestine Ghassan Abdullah, Information Analyst, Institute of Law, Birzeit University, Palestine Ghassan Abu Sitta, Centre for Economic & Social Rights, UK Ghassan Faramand, Professor of law, University of Birzeit, Palestine Gibreel Muhammed, Researcher, Palestine Hadeel Rizq al-Qazzaz, Researcher, Palestine Haidar Abd Al-Shafi, Head of Palestinian Delegation at Madrid Conference Hanan Ashrawi, PLC member, and secretary-general of Miftah Hani Alhouroub, Journalist, Palestine Hani Al-Masri, Journalist, Palestine Hassan Ladadwa, Researcher at Palestine Economic Policy Research Institute-MAS, Palestine Hassan Khader, Writer and journalist, Al-Ayyam newspaper, Palestine Hisham Sharabi, Georgetown University, Washington DC, USA Ibrahim Muhawi, Lecturer, Edinburgh University, UK Islah Jad, Women Studies Institute, Birzeit University, PhD candidate, SOAS, London Isma'eel Nashif, University Professor, Birzeit University, Palestine Issam Manasreh, Professional, Palestine Issam Nassar, Researcher, Institute of Jerusalem Studies, Jerusalem, Al-Quds University lecturer Izzat Abdelhadi, Director, Bisan Centre for Research and Development, Ramallah Izzat Darwaza, Senior Lecturer, University of Manchester IST, UK Ja'far Khawaja, Professional, Palestine Jamal Zakkout, Journalist and activist, Gaza Jamey Al-Qaruoni, Writer, Palestine Jamil Hilal, Writer and researcher, PNC member, Palestine Jamil Toubbeh, Professional, USA Jawad Ibrahim, Aritist (plastic art), Palestine Jawdat Abu-El-Haj, Professor of sociology at the Federal University of Ceara, Brazil K. Husseni, Lecturer, Warwick University, UK Kamal Boullata, Visual Artist, France Kamal El-Sharafi, PLC member, Palestine Khaled Hourani, Aritist (plastic art), Palestine Khalil E. Jahshan, President, NAAA-ADC, USA Khalil Hindi, Professor of Engineering Systems, Brunel University, England Khalil Mahshi, Educationalist & Director General in Ministry of Education, Palestine Lena Jayyussi, Senior Research Fellow, Muwatin-Palestinian Institute for the Study of Democracy Liza Taraki, University Professor, Birzeit University, Palestine Magdi al-Maliki, Head of Sociology Department, Birzeit University, Palestine. Mahmud Shukair, Novelist, Palestine Mamdouh Nofal, Writer & Journalist & member of PCC, Palestine. Manuel Hassassian, Executive Vice-President, Bethlehem University, Palestine May Jayyussi, Executive Diector, Muwatin, Palestine. Mazen Qumsiyeh,Assoc. Prof. USA. Mudar Qassis, Lecturer, Univ of Birzeit, Palestine Muhammed Ghadia, Professional,Palestine Muhammed Hallaj, University lecturer, Palestine Muhammed Sulaiman, Writer, Palestine Muhammend Ali Khalidi, University Lecturer, Lebanon Muhammend Al-Msawalma, Film Director, Palestine Muhannad Abd Al-Hameed, Journalist, Palestine Muna Abdullahad, Middle East Broadcasting Center, UK Muna Tamimi, Lecturer, Birzeit University, Palestine Muneer al-Qazzaz, Lecturer, Birzeit University, Palestine Mustapha Karkouti, President of the Foreign Journalists Association, UK Muntasir Al-Gabir, MD, Nablus, Palestine Nabeel Anani, Art painter, Palestine Nadhmi al-Juba, Lecturer, University of Birzeit, Palestine Nadim Nahhas, Journalist, UK Naseer Aruri, Professor Emeritus, University of Massachusetts, USA Nawaf Al-Tamimi, Journalist, UK Nimir Sarhan, Writer, Palestine Nizar Sakhnini, NECEF, Canada Omar Al-Qattan, Film maker, UK Jamey Nassar, Chair of Political Science Department, Illinois State Department Raja Bahloul, Lecturer, Birzeit University, Palestine Raji Sourani, Director, Palestinian Center of Human Rights. Palestine Rami Bathish, Miftah, Palestine Randa Nassir, Professor, Birzeit University, Palestine Rima Hammami, Professor, Birzeit University, Palestine Rimone Kare', Consultant engineer, UK Rudaina Hamouri, Tutor, UK Sa'da Al-khateeb, Professional, Palestine Salah Hania, Miftah, Jerusalem, Palestine Saleh Abdel Jawad , Lecturer, Birzeit University Salim Tamari, Director, Institute of Jerusalem Studies, Jerusalem, Birzeit University lecturer Samih Farsoun, Professor, American University, Washington DC, USA Samir Abdullah, Chief Executive, PalTrade, Palestine Samir Awad, Ph.D Candidate, USA Sharif Nashashibi, Journalist, UK Shukri Nabulsi, Engineer, Jordan Suha Masoud, Artist, UK Suhair Azzouni, General Director, Women's Affairs Technical Committee, Palestine Sulaiman Mansour, Art painter, Jerusalem, Palestine Tahir Al-Masri, Researcher, Center for Palestine Research and Studies-CPRS, Nablus, Palestine Tal'at Harb, University of Birzeit, Palestine Talal Als'adi , Project manager, Nortel Networks Talib Awad, Researcher, Palestine Tawfeeq Abu Baker, Journalist and columnist, Jordan Taysir Barakat, Art painter, Ziryab Gallery, Palestine Wael Gharbiya, Professional, Canada Yasir Shalabi, Researcher, Palestine Economic Policy Research Institute-MAS, Palestine Yusif Abu Samra, Professor, Birzeit University, Palestine Yusif Daoud, Professor, Birzeit University, Palestine Zahi Damuni, Professor, USA. Zahira Kamal, Technical Women's Committee, Ramallah Zakaria Muhammed, Editor of Al-Karmel, poet and journalist Ziad Abu-Amr, PLC member, Palestine Zuhair Sabagh, University Professor, Birzeit University, Palestine . MID-EAST REALITIES http://www.MiddleEast.Org Phone: 202 362-5266 Fax: 815 366-0800 Email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Please forward to friends and concerned persons: To start receiving MER email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with subject SEND MER To stop receiving MER email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with subject STOP MER <A HREF="http://www.ctrl.org/">www.ctrl.org</A> DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion & informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic screeds are not allowed. Substance�not soap-boxing! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory'�with its many half-truths, misdirections and outright frauds�is used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. 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