Where The Line Is Drawn II

See the previous post.

No government has a monopoly on injustice.

"He knew that Jordan would do everything it could to stop him and others who supported Palestinian statehood, and he paid the price for his politics. His Jordanian passport was withdrawn and he was disbarred." (p. 11)

"In 1953 he won a case against Barclays Bank that allowed Palestinian refugees access to the accounts Israel had seized from them, resulting in the return of substantial sums of money to the holders of these accounts." (ibid.)

"But Israel, which was now behaving with imperial arrogance, was not interested in peace with the Palestinians." (ibid.)

"I had published my first book on human rights, The West Bank and the Rule of Law, which was getting considerable attention and I then believed it could help in curbing the abuses that were occurring, such as the acquisition of Palestinian land for Jewish settlements, the demolition of Palestinian houses, the closure of banks, the collective punishments and restrictions on free speech and assembly." (p. 23)

"...the Likud government under Israel's sixth prime minister, Menachem Begin, was speeding up the establishment of Jewish settlements. Over a hundred were established in our midst." (p. 24)

"The occupation was turning into a colonial regime that deprived us of our land and gave our natural resources, our land and water, to their own people. In every way, large and small, it affected our lives and restricted our prospects. To fight this we Palestinians were left to fend for ourselves." (p. 25)

"...I can see not only the beautiful walls of the Old City but another wall, ugly and concrete, that looms on the horizon, demarcating a new separation causing further hardship for non-Jewish residents. I can still see Silwan, which is now under vicious attack by the right-wing settler organization Ateret Cohanim, which is trying to evict Palestinians, take over their homes and revive what they claim was the City of David." (p. 27)

Two responses to past injustices: either perpetrate fresh injustices or work to end the causes of injustice.

Does humanity need to be divided into armed nation-states? Unfortunately at present, yes, but not I believe indefinitely. While states, instruments of coercion, at best a necessary evil, do exist, they should treat everyone within their borders with full equality.

Do we need walls between communities? No. Certainly not walls designed to maintain inequality.