October 13, 2023 – Salt Lake Tribune
Badawe Khader and Mustafa Khader: How we can help resolve the tragic cycle of violence in Israel and Palestine.
This is a leading civil rights issue of our time.
By Badawe Khader and Mustafa Khader | For The Salt Lake Tribune | Oct. 13, 2023, 6:00 a.m.| Updated: 3:53 p.m.
As Palestinian-Americans who have lived in Utah for many years (Badawe 51 years, Mustafa 18 years), we’d like to invite fellow Utahns to consider actions that can help resolve the current tragic cycle of violence in Israel/Palestine.
First, we mourn the loss of life on both sides of the conflict, and we decry the violence on both sides. All life is precious. Both Palestinians and Israelis have the right to life and to be safe. In addition, we believe there is no military solution to this conflict.
Second, 75 years of mass displacement, oppression and inequality under the law have not brought us any closer to peace than we were in 1948. Two-thirds of the population of Gaza are refugees from the 1948 Arab-Israeli war. It’s time to try a new approach.
Third, the international community and people of goodwill all over the world can and should call for an international peace conference and a Truth, Justice, and Reconciliation Commission to address foundational grievances. Restorative justice principles should be implemented.
Fourth, civil society can and should seek out unbiased reporting on the conflict. That includes calling for an end to the constant dehumanizing of the Palestinian people in the media and by elected officials at the highest levels of U.S. government.
Fifth, our elected leaders need to hear from the grassroots that pouring gasoline on a fire does not put out a fire. U.S. blind support for Israel – which currently stands at $3.8 billion annually, plus any additional appropriations tacked on – is only feeding the military-industrial complex and does nothing to advance peace.
We believe peace work requires sitting down and talking with your adversaries. It requires airing the grievances on both sides and asking honestly what justice requires to bring closure to the suffering at hand. We note that the five “final status issues” that were left on the table when the long-abandoned peace talks were underway are: Palestinian refugees, Jerusalem, the settlements, borders and security. We can add to that the siege of Gaza. Civil society institutions can educate themselves on these issues and put forward suggestions for resolution.
[Read more: Utahns share their perspectives on what’s happening in Israel and Palestine]
Without addressing the core of the problem, violence will erupt again, even if Hamas is completely eradicated. Hamas is a byproduct of the underlying conflict. The silent majority needs to speak up to ensure that the above issues are addressed comprehensively to prevent the ongoing cycle of violence.
This is a leading civil rights issue of our time. Americans believe in the principle of equality under the law, yet this principle has never been applied towards Palestinians in the 75 years since the state of Israel was created in 1948. Isn’t it time people stood up for human rights for all?
Badawe Khader (retired) and Mustafa Khader (an independent businessman) were both born in the Old City of Jerusalem. They both volunteer with Utahns for a Just Peace in Holy Land, which is a registered 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that has been in existence for 20 years and seeks to foster education on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and possible resolution of it.
June 1, 2023 – Haaretz
How U.S. Conservatives Use BDS Boycott Laws to Target Other Progressive Causes
A Jewish dermatologist from North Carolina was invited to speak to a group of medical students at the University of Arkansas earlier this year. After delivering his address, Dr. Steven Feldman went to the state-funded university’s website in order to collect his $500 honorarium – only to find that in order to submit the online form and collect his payment, he needed to check a box stating that he pledged not to boycott the State of Israel.
This peculiar condition stemmed from an Arkansas law stipulating that public entities are not allowed to contract with or invest in companies and individuals that boycott Israel.
As online Jewish publication The Forward reported, Feldman was perplexed by the university’s demand. Being a staunch supporter of Palestinian rights and particularly the movement to boycott, divest from and sanction Israel (BDS), he could not agree in good conscience to such a requirement.
Moreover, regardless of his political views, why should his payment be conditioned upon what he decides to do with his money? He is currently considering suing the state of Arkansas for infringing on his right to free speech.
May 26, 2023 – Washington Post
Israeli agents conducted raid against militants in civilian area, killing a child
This exclusive front-page story exposes an Israeli assassination squad and their “collateral damage” — the unacknowledged killing of a 14-year-old Palestinian boy on his bicycle. The Washington Post team “synchronized 15 videos and reviewed dozens more from March 16, including CCTV footage from surrounding businesses. The Post also spoke to nine witnesses and obtained testimonies from four others to produce a 3D reconstruction of the raid.”
This is what real reporting looks like.
April 20, 2023 – Letter to Sierra Club
Dear Director Ben Jealous,
I have long admired your work for human rights in the past and hope you will
take action to end the Sierra Club trips to Israel. I have been a member of Sierra
Club for years and would love to renew my membership, but I cannot in good
conscience do so while your organization leads greenwashing expeditions to a
racist, apartheid country guilty of appalling human rights abuse. I was
disappointed you chose to lead “nature outing” to Israel this March.
As we celebrate Earth Day, it is important to recognize that environmental
protection is inseparable from issues of social justice and human rights. The Israeli
government’s policies of land theft, segregation, and occupation have resulted in
the displacement and oppression of the Palestinian people. Israeli settler
colonialism has also had severe environmental consequences, including the
destruction of natural resources and the displacement of indigenous
communities.
By taking “nature outings” to Israel, Sierra Club condones these human rights
violations and ignores the interconnectedness of social justice and environmental
protection. I urge you to cancel your trips to Israel and stand against
environmental colonialism.
I am looking forward to rejoining your organization when these trips to Israel are
no longer offered. ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE includes Palestine.
Sincerely,
Mary Miller
(former Sierra Club member #49830902)
April 15, 2023 – Deseret News Opinion
Perspective: A radical solution for peace in the Middle East
The Israel-Palestine conflict is neither ancient nor intractable. When it comes to solutions, there is another way.
By Carrie Skarda, published in the Deseret News, Apr 15, 2023, 9:00pm MDT
April 1, 2023 – Letter to Utah Senator Lee’s Staff
Dear Mr. Axson,
We are a group of concerned citizens writing to ask you to use your influence to help Senator Mike Lee understand the plight of the Palestinian people living under Israel’s prolonged military occupation.
Our Concern
Our primary concern is the severity of Palestinian daily living conditions. We are troubled that the United States government does not stand up to Israel when Israel violates the rights of these people. Our tax dollars are funding these injustices without any of the same oversight it would require of other countries receiving U.S. aid.
Your Recent Visit
In light of your recent visit to Israel & the Occupied West Bank as a representative for Senator Lee’s staff, we would like to ask for your help. We need leaders in congress, like Senator Lee, who will speak out against Israel’s misuse of U.S. tax dollars to carry out human rights abuses against the Palestinian people including, but limited to, the following.
Human Rights Violations
- Israel exploits civil laws in ways that result in confiscation of Palestinian property, demolition of Palestinian homes and obstruction of Palestinian economic growth.
- Israel confiscates Palestinian water (in violation of the Johnston Agreement, brokered by the U.S. in the 1950’s) and then sells limited amounts of that water back to Palestinians at exorbitant prices.
- Israel uses military force to invade Palestinian homes, destroy water tanks, playgrounds, schools and to defend illegal Jewish settlers living on Palestinian land.
- Israel has created apartheid conditions and threatens ethnic cleansing of Palestinians.
- Palestinian children have no rights or legal process–children are taken away in the middle of the night & placed in solitary confinement with no adult present. They sign confessions in Hebrew which they don’t understand and plead guilty so they can go home. An offense as minor as throwing a rock, will be on their permanent record, stripping them of privileges for the rest of their life. Tried in the adult system, 98% lose their case.
Taking Action
As a concrete action, we respectfully request that Senator Lee introduce a companion bill in the Senate to Representative Betty McCollom’s H.R. 2590 “Defending the Human Rights of Palestinian Children and Families Living Under Israeli Military Occupation Act.” In summary, H.R. 2590 aims to promote and protect the human rights of Palestinians living under Israeli military occupation and to ensure that United States taxpayer funds are NOT used by the Government of Israel to support the military detention of Palestinian children, the unlawful seizure, appropriation, and destruction of Palestinian property and forcible transfer of civilians in the West Bank, or further annexation of Palestinian land and water in violation of international law.
Respectfully, your Utah constituents undersigned
(signed by about 20 individuals)
March 29, 2023 – Jewish Currents
Jamaal Bowman and Bernie Sanders Urge the Biden State Department to Investigate Israeli Use of US Weapons
A letter signed by eight other Democrats is congressional progressives’ most forceful response yet to Israel’s new far-right government.
REP. JAMAAL BOWMAN AND SENATOR BERNIE SANDERS are leading an effort to urge President Joe Biden and Secretary of State Antony Blinken to investigate whether Israel is using US weapons to commit human rights abuses against Palestinians, in violation of United States law, according to a letter and e-mail sent to other members of Congress obtained by Jewish Currents. The letter was written by Bowman, while Sanders is spearheading efforts to garner support from other senators, according to Bowman’s office. The letter has so far been signed by eight additional lawmakers
March 20, 2022 – Letter to the Editor, Salt Lake Tribune
Letter: In light of the suffering in Ukraine, consider the ongoing suffering of Palestinians
By Frances ReMillard | The Public Forum | March 20, 2022, 6:00 a.m
As we watch, horrified by the violence in Ukraine, I hope we realize that what Ukrainians are suffering today, Palestinians have been suffering for 74 years. Unlike Ukrainians, Palestinians do not have the luxury of taking refuge. Palestinians living in Gaza are sealed in – Israel will not let them out. And in the state of Israel, in occupied East Jerusalem and in the occupied West Bank, Israel has a history of sealing out Palestinians who have left to avoid war and violence. They are not allowed to return to their homes!
Yet, recently our Congress approved $13.6 billion in military aid to Ukraine and in the same bill quietly slipped another $4.8 billion in military aid to Israel. I suggest to those readers who care — watch and share Amnesty International’s new 14 minute YouTube Tutorial on Israel’s system of apartheid. You can find it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AUGICfaULXA&t=407s
Amnesty’s study finding Israel guilty of apartheid is not the first legal study to draw that conclusion. The first was completed by the Human Sciences Research Council of South Africa in 2009. Nor is it the second. The second was the Russell War Crimes Tribunal Hearings on Palestine held in South Africa, 2010. The third was completed by a United Nations committee. (Our country demanded it be withdrawn.) The fourth, B’TSelem, an Israeli Human Rights organization. The fifth, Human Rights Watch. And somewhere in the list is Adalah’s study. And now we have the seventh study, this time from Amnesty International, the largest and most well recognized human rights organization in the world! Will we listen? Stop funding these crimes? Isn’t there something a bit ludicrous about fussing when Russia does it and funding when Israel does it?
March 13, 2023 – Presbyterian Mission
PC(USA) Joins Faith Letter Calling on US to Hold Israel Accountable for Human Rights Violations
Nine churches and church-based organizations issued a letter calling on Congress and the administration to end U.S. military aid to Israel ($3.8 billion per year) and to hold Israel accountable for violating Palestinians’ human rights.
December 26, 2021 – Letter to the Editor, Salt Lake Tribune
Letter: Palestinian Christians feel abandoned by Christians in America
By Warren S. Wright | The Public Forum | Dec. 26, 2021, 6:00 a.m.
Consider the irony if Jesus were born today in Bethlehem and his parents wanted to take him to Jerusalem to visit a holy site — they would likely be barred from doing so. First, they would be living in a condition of Israeli occupation, required to apply for a permit, face a 24 feet high barrier wall, and go through numerous checkpoints along the way. The same would be true for any Palestinian Christian. (Maybe in some ways not so different from 2,000 years ago, when it was the Jews who were subject to the domination of Rome).
Today, Palestinian Christians feel abandoned by Christians in America — a sort of modern day “because there was no room for them in the inn.” South African Archbishop Desmond Tutu has put it clearly: “It is unconscionable that Bethlehem should be allowed to die slowly from strangulation. Bethlehem’s residents increasingly are fleeing Israel’s confining walls, and soon the city, home to the oldest Christian community in the world (from some 90% of population in 1950 to 10% in 2020) will have little left of its Christian history but the cold stones of empty churches.”
September 7, 2021 – Letter to the Editor, Salt Lake Tribune
Letter: As long as the United States permits Israeli abuses toward Palestinians, they will continue
By Barbara Taylor | The Public Forum | Sep. 7, 2021, 6:00 a.m.
On Aug. 27, President Biden hosted Israeli premier Naftalie Bennett at the White House. There were two items that Bennett insisted not be discussed. First, that his plan to continue to expand illegal settlements on Palestinian land should not be challenged. Secondly, that he has no plans to end the occupation.
Judaism is a religion of values. Respect ((Kavod), responsibility (Achrayut), fairness (Tzedek), caring (Chesed), community (Kehillah), kindness (Sever panim yafot), role modeling (Dugma Eesheet), keepers of the Earth (Shomrei Adamah) and trustworthiness (Emunah).
When applied these values mean: treat others with respect; be tolerant of differences; don’t threaten hit or hurt anyone; deal peacefully without anger, insults or disagreements; don’t take advantage of others; use self-control; forgive; help people in need; be a good neighbor; apologize and admit mistakes; support human rights; be an excellent steward of the earth.
You know where this is going. Do the six million Jews who live in Israel pretend that Palestinians are not suffering, sometimes as close as five miles away? When Israeli sons and daughters return from their IDF (Israel Defense Force) service, do their parents plead ignorance about the unjust acts that were committed? Do Israelis pretend that they don’t know about housing demolitions, nighttime home invasions, settlers uprooting Palestinian olive groves, Palestinian children being shot with live ammunition, arrests and detention of children, settlers confiscating water wells from Palestinian land.
Since Israel built a wall around the Occupied Territories and built roads that only Jews can drive on, Israelis can look the other way rather than admit that they aren’t living their values. Do they not see the hypocrisy that they do not apply their values to their cousins, the Palestinians?
As long as the United States permits these abuses and continues to give Israel $3.8 billion a year with no conditions, the abuses will continue. We must insist Israel live up to its Jewish values and end the cycle of violence. We must insist that our leaders make ending the occupation a priority.
Utahns for a Just Peace in the Holy Land 
You must be logged in to post a comment.