Tag / Palestine

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  • An Open Letter to Taka Yamaguchi

    Note: This post in response to this article posted on the website discussing the dispute between Israelis and Palestinians.   Dear Mr. Yamaguchi, I would like to respond to your open invitation to engage in what you correctly call “important discourse” regarding the situation faced by both Israelis and Palestinians. I apologize if you saw…

  • Broaching the Palestine Question: My Response to Gideon Palte

    In the first WUPR issue of this semester, 17.1, I wrote an anecdotal piece titled The Palestinian Right of Return: What Once Was. I did not intend to primarily base my writing on historical issues; there are countless scholarly articles and UN resolutions which detail the legal and judicial basis of the right of return.…

  • The Palestinian Right of Return: Facts vs. Feelings

    Taka Yamaguchi’s article “The Palestinian Right of Return: What Once Was” purports to provide a solid foundation for Palestinians’ claim to a right of return to their former homes in present-day Israel. It provides firsthand accounts and interviews of Palestinians living in the West Bank and Jordan, and even features photographs of posters and artwork…

  • Palestinian Right of Return: What Once Was

    “Us Palestinians in Palestine, we’re not fighting for ourselves. We fight for our brothers and sisters abroad, the diaspora. We’re fighting their fight, so they can return to our homeland.” Palestinian activist speaking to me about nonviolent resistance–Beit Ummar, West Bank.   I lived in the West Bank and Jordan for most of this past…

  • Gingrich, the Bombastic Bomb-Thrower

    Newt Gingrich, the volatile new frontrunner of an equally volatile Republican presidential primary, stepped into controversy again last week. In a speech before the Republican Jewish Coalition, Gingrich argued that Palestinians are an “invented” people. His Republican opponents chastised him for meddling in Middle East issues best left to the Israelis and Palestinians to resolve.…

  • Mr. Mahmoud Has An Idea

    As Secretary of State Hilary Clinton was making a whirlwind tour of foreign dignitaries to persuade them against supporting Palestine’s inclusion in the United Nations, President Mahmoud Abbas was contented in watching the very first seedlings of his new diplomacy take root. Over the past 60 years, the Palestinian government, in its many forms, has…

  • A Veto on Palestinean Statehood

    In late September, the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO), the sole legitimate representative for Palestinians, made a formal appeal to the United Nations to be officially recognized as a sovereign nation. Approval of such a bid would give the Palestinian Authority voting rights and would make it possible for the Palestinians to join the International Criminal…