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BEING
PEACE
Barack Obama has now been President of the United States for
nine months. In that short time, he has said and done some
remarkable things. His being awarded the Nobel Peace Prize
on the strength of the change in tone from the Bush administration
rather than on the strength of specific concrete accomplishments
recognizes the intangible but very real changes for which
he has been responsible.
However, the forces of reaction, the angry-old-white-men cohort
(the regular audience of Fox News) is doing everything it
can to destroy (their word) his presidency, the authority
of the leader of their own nation. Clearly he needs and wants
all the support he can get for his goals: the rejuvenation
of the American economy, the abolition of nuclear weapons,
the passing of a comprehensive health-care bill, and the resolution
of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
The consensus is that if he gets the health-care bill through,
and the economy keeps moving, he will experience an enormous
boost to his political capital. Which brings me to the Israeli-Palestinian
conflict. I see his engagement with this issue as being on
hold until the resolution of the health-care issue. Meanwhile,
Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu is doing everything he can to
yield nothing while attempting to present a reasonable face.
In fact, this attempt is failing. The rejection of the Goldstone
Report on the assault on Gaza has further isolated Israel
from many nations and individuals who want to be friends to
Israel, but are finding it harder and harder to do so.
In this regard, it is encouraging to see that many North American
Jews are saying, loudly and clearly, “Not in my name.”
Such organizations as J Street in the US and Independent Jewish
Voices in Canada are providing vehicles for Jews who wish
to counter the paranoia of the Israeli government and of the
mainstream Jewish organizations that support it uncritically
and fearfully, and which is losing support for Israel day
by day. So while Obama’s energy is of necessity focused
elsewhere, it behooves those of us who support justice for
Palestine, and security for Israel as both
necessary for peace in the Middle East to do whatever we can
to further these goals while we are waiting, as it were.
Thus, as always, I ask you to reflect on the amount of time,
energy and money you are giving to active citizenship, and
to take action accordingly.
THINGS YOU CAN DO
"Become the change you want to see in the world."
Mahatma Gandhi
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