I believe that (A) Jewish Israelis have a right to live in Israel but also that (B) Palestinian exiles have the right to return to their homes, as it is recognized by international law. (A) and (B) are not mutually exclusive, theoretically and practically.
At 2:33 PM -0800 2/22/03, andie nachgeborenen wrote:
>Yoshie asks, Is it unreasonable to ask that Israel live up to its
>obligations under international law? No. Is that sensible place to
>start as a practical political demand right now? You gotta be
>kidding. The sensible place to start right now is: End the
>Occupation! Stop the violence!
The depth and width of ordinary Americans' support for Palestinian refugees' right to return to their homes is deep and wide (as shown in the Arab American Institute/Zogby International poll in 2000), despite the fact that US leftists have hardly discussed the right even amongst ourselves, much less doing a lot of work educating the public, probably because the idea of exiles and refugees, Palestinians or any other people, having the right to return to their homes has a visceral moral and emotional appeal, as well as well grounded in international law.
Given the size and level of militancy of the solidarity movement today, as well as the result of the latest Israeli election, there is _no_ demand of ours ("end the occupation," "stop the violence," etc.) that is "practical" in the sense that the USG and the state of Israel are likely to agree to it in the next couple of years. That being the case, we must do groundwork for a future (a post-Zionist Israel?), and one of the crucial tasks of such groundwork is to create an emotional identification between Americans and Palestinians -- more Americans need to feel and identify with Palestinians' anger and sorrow, their dreams and aspirations. The idea of home, the images of exiles, and the longing to return have important psychological roles to play here.
Palestinians have stories to tell, and their stories did not begin in 1967, and we have to help them tell their stories in all their complexities, rather than attempt to silence them. Have you seen _500 Dunam on the Moon_ (Cf. <http://www.500dunam.com/>), directed by Rachel Leah Jones (an Jewish American artist who grew up in Israel)? That's one example of Palestinian stories, powerful stories of devastating experiences of dispossession, which can move all who listen to them. The more Americans learn Palestinian stories of dispossession, the more they will be moved to solidarity with Palestinians and won to the demand that the US end its military, economic, and political support to the state of Israel, the key demand of US leftists with regard to the USG. -- Yoshie
* Calendar of Events in Columbus: <http://www.osu.edu/students/sif/calendar.html> * Student International Forum: <http://www.osu.edu/students/sif/> * Committee for Justice in Palestine: <http://www.osudivest.org/> * Al-Awda-Ohio: <http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Al-Awda-Ohio> * Solidarity: <http://solidarity.igc.org/>