tagged w/ Statehood
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source: http://chycho.blogspot.ca/2012/11/an-apology-from-canada-to-palestine-and.html
On 29 November 2012, John Baird, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Canada, addressed the United Nations General Assembly on the Question of Palestine. Below you will find the video in which he accuses UN of abandoning its principles by recognizing Palestine.
Canada, Question of Palestine, General Assembly, 44th plenary meeting
http://webtv.un.org/topics-issues/watch/canada-question-of-palestine-general-assembly-44th-plenary-meeting/1998380448001
Most Canadians are embarrassed and utterly disgusted with what our Conservative government has done. Unfortunately, because of our ’First Past the Post’ electoral system and the bitter reality that a majority government can do anything they want, we can’t do much about it, at least not until the next elections. When that time comes, we promise to do our best to remove from power these fanatics who have shamed Canada and put us on the wrong side of history.
Palestine, of course, was welcomed as a Non-Member Observer State. “Voting by an overwhelming majority - 138 in favour to 9 against (Canada, Czech Republic, Israel, Marshall Islands, Micronesia (Federated States of), Nauru, Panama, Palau, United States), with 41 abstentions — the General Assembly today accorded Palestine non-Member Observer State status in the United Nations.“
Voting, Question of Palestine, General Assembly, 44th plenary meeting
http://webtv.un.org/meetings-events/watch/voting-question-of-palestine-general-assembly-44th-plenary-meeting/1998380449001
For those Canadians who have not been in the loop and would like to put into context what the Harper Government has just done, ask yourself this; was it to the best interest of Canada to vote and lobby against this resolution? If the answer is that you don't know, then Canada should have abstained.
In Canada, however, three times as many Canadians supported the Palestinian bid as those who opposed it. The most likely reason, we understand that when two parties are negotiating for peace they must be allowed to come to the table as equals, which was not the case when one party was recognized as a State and the other not.
For now, please accept our humble apologies for what our government has done. I can assure you that many of us are elated and celebrating much like the rest of the world. Congratulations, Palestine.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7EVO1b3r5vM&feature=player_embeddedsource: http://chycho.blogspot.ca/2012/11/an-apology-from-canada-to-palestine-and.html... more
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Nearly 70 percent of Israelis surveyed recently said that Israel should accept a Palestinian state if the United Nations chooses to recognize it, according to a report in Thursday's edition of The Jerusalem Post.
The poll results fly in the face of American conservatives and even President Barack Obama, who have taken the lead in discouraging the U.N. from voting on the matter, claiming that it could threaten Israel's security.
The study was carried out by the Harry S. Truman Research Institute for the Advancement of Peace and the Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research. They found that just over 69 percent of the Israeli respondents felt the country should accept the U.N.'s ultimate decision on a Palestinian state. A further 83 percent of Palestinians said that turning to the U.N. for statehood is the right thing to do.
The United States has vowed to veto any request for Palestinian statehood at the Security Council, potentially sparking a new Middle East crisis. Tens of thousands of Palestinians took part in rallies to back the Palestinian leader on Wednesday.
Both Israel and the United States insist that only direct Israeli-Palestinian negotiations can set up a peace deal that could lead to the creation of a new state.
"I am convinced that there is no shortcut to the end of a conflict that has endured for decades," Obama told the U.N. General Assembly.
He did not mention the U.S. threat to veto the Security Council bid, but said: "Peace will not come through statements and resolutions at the UN -- if it were that easy, it would have been accomplished by now."
Obama insisted Israelis and Palestinians must sit down to "reach agreement on the issues that divide them: on borders and security; on refugees and Jerusalem."
For Obama, the confrontation is an embarrassment as 12 months ago he stood before the same assembly and called for Palestinian membership in the United Nations within a year.
Obama said he believed then and now "that the Palestinian people deserve a state of their own." But he added Israel must have security guarantees because of the threat from "neighbors that have waged repeated wars against it."
http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2011/09/22/poll-vast-majority-of-israelis-want-u-n-to-recognize-palestine/?utm_source=Raw+Story+Daily+Update&utm_campaign=6cb5df8e27-9_22_119_22_2011&utm_medium=emailNearly 70 percent of Israelis surveyed recently said that Israel should accept a... more
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Hanan Ashrawi, a senior member of the Palestinian delegation that came to New York, summed up her view of the events to come:
'We expect an American veto but we expect the Europeans to take a principled stand, as always.'
As far as the Europeans go, both French President Nicolas Sarkozy and British diplomatic head William Hague met with Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas on Tuesday, but there has been no indication thus far as to the results of those meetings. Abbas is expected to deliver an application to UN Secretary General Ban-Ki Moon for membership for the state of Palestine on Friday.
Benjamin Netanyahu extended an invitation to Abbas for direct talks in New York between the two men. Abbas had declined at first, but today was reported to have indicated that he 'might' accept.Hanan Ashrawi, a senior member of the Palestinian delegation that came to New York,... more
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The Israeli Ministry of Diaspora Affairs, which is headed by Yuli Edelstein, has decided to erect a 'tent' in front of the United Nations HQ building in New York starting on September 22, 2011. He has called it a 'dialogue tent', with the purpose of explaining Israel's position regarding the Palestinian action of seeking support recognition of a unilateral declaration of statehood.
You are urged to listen to MK Edelstein in the accompanying video to get an understanding of how this might work.
http://www.examiner.com/foreign-policy-in-national/israel-plans-to-erect-a-tent-at-un-headquarters-new-yorkThe Israeli Ministry of Diaspora Affairs, which is headed by Yuli Edelstein, has... more
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So, this is awkward, but, as it turns out, North Dakota may not actually even be a state at all, thanks to a constitutional conflict only recently discovered by an 82-year-old resident of Grand Forks. How embarrassing!
According to John Rolczynski, North Dakota's state constitution omits "the executive branch, the Governor and other high ranking officials when it explains who needs to take the oath of office." Since this places it in conflict with the federal constitution, it theoretically renders the state constitution invalid, and means that North Dakota has been a territory for the past 120 years or so.
And, honestly, we would be okay with North Dakota being a territory! I mean, Christ, we have two Dakotas right now, for no reason. And this one doesn't even have a giant mountain of president-heads! It might even might be an improvement, given that North Dakota has the population of an average congressional district and yet gets two whole senators, all to itself, who are free to do silly North Dakota-type things like call themselves "deficit hawks."
Unfortunately, State Senator Tim Mathern is trying to fix the constitution through an amendment that'll be voted on next year. Oh well! Next up for Rolczynski: Fixing the other mistake in the constitution, which incorrectly defines the territory's lower boundary. (Guys! Proofread!)
http://gawker.com/5820646/north-dakota-may-not-actually-be-a-stateSo, this is awkward, but, as it turns out, North Dakota may not actually even be a... more
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This Saturday, a march organized by various peace groups and political parties of Israel including Kadima, Hadash, Labor and Meretz delivered 25,000 people in the streets of Central Tel Aviv in support of the establishment of a Palestinian state based on 1967 borders.
One need not understand Hebrew nor Arabic to appreciate the video shown. The posters are worth a thousand words, especially the one showing President Barack Obama, and the words yes we 'ken' (ken means yes in Hebrew). Other posters in red show the year 1967 with either Hebrew or Arabic text under the year. Today, the pro-peace lobby group JStreet is jumping on the bandwagon, and offering a free Obama poster in the original English/Hebrew to all who support the US president's vision of a two-state solution.
To Claim your free poster, click here.
Continue reading on Examiner.com Israelis in Tel Aviv say ’yes we ken’ to Obama - National Foreign Policy | Examiner.com http://www.examiner.com/foreign-policy-in-national/israelis-tel-aviv-say-yes-we-ken-to-obama#ixzz1OXE2opXkThis Saturday, a march organized by various peace groups and political parties of... more
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In reaction to violent incidents that took place on Israel's borders on Sunday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that Israel was determined to defend itself and its sovereignty. Ha'aretz, 5/15.2011
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he had ordered the military to act with "maximum restraint." Seattle PI 5/15/2011
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) accuse Iran of orchestrating two waves of fighting along its northern borders, as Palestinian protesters tried to infiltrate from Syria and Lebanon during nabka protests, reports the Israeli daily Haaretz, citing IDF spokesman Brig. Gen. Yoav Mordechai as saying the protests bore Iran's "fingerprints."Christian Science Monitor 5/15/2011
But there is no information (yet) that on Sunday, as the commemoration of the Palestinian Nakba continues in Israel, where the West Bank has been ordered sealed off by defense Minister Ehud Barak, that 44 minutes ago, Israeli drones and helicopters were seen circling above Gaza:
Continue reading on Examiner.com: Breaking news: Israeli drones and helicopters over Gaza's skies - National Foreign Policy | Examiner.com http://www.examiner.com/foreign-policy-in-national/breaking-news-israeli-drones-and-helicopters-over-gaza-s-skies#ixzz1MRmxu5FC
Slide show of Nakba dayIn reaction to violent incidents that took place on Israel's borders on Sunday,... more
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Tensions are very high on this Sunday, May 15th, the day that Palestinians call 'Nakba', meaning catastrophe, and commemorate the displacement of some 750,000 of their citizens after the 1948 formation of the independent state of Israel.
Every year, around this time, Palestinians march in protest while Israelis celebrate their independence. However, this year has seen widespread solidarity with and for the Palestinians not only from neighboring Arab countries, but worldwide. Here in New York, a protest is planned at 1:00PM, EST. in front of the United Nations Building. Similarly, another solidarity protest is being planned in Washington DC where protesters will rally in front of the White House and plan to have a NAKBA mobile LED truck circulating between the White House and the Lincoln Memorial.
In Israel, several people have already been killed and many are injured. In what appeared to be an unrelated incident, according to Israeli police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld, a a 22-year-old Arab Israeli driver drove his truck into a number of vehicles in South Tel Aviv, killing one Israeli and injuring 17 others. This year's Nakba has also brought scores of Palestinian youth near the Erez Israeli border (Beit Hanoun on the Palestinian side), an unprecedented move and testament to the change in the region's political mood.
Continue reading on Examiner.com: Palestinians march on Nakba Day, demanding the right of return - National Foreign Policy | Examiner.com http://www.examiner.com/foreign-policy-in-national/palestinians-march-on-nakba-day-demanding-the-right-of-return#ixzz1MR9MMzjvTensions are very high on this Sunday, May 15th, the day that Palestinians call... more
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I was given the accompanying video to watch a couple of days ago, which shows a Palestinian woman by the name of Manal Tamimi being interviewed in her home in Nabi Saleh. Nabi Saleh is a village in the West Bank that I had heard about for the first time from reporter Joseph Dana. Dana lives in Israel and emigrated there from the United States. Allow me to reproduce below a few lines from his article titled 'From Nabi Saleh to Tahrir Square. Resistance Spreading in the Middle East':
Nabi Saleh, a small village west of Ramallah, has engaged in an unarmed demonstration against the confiscation of their land by the neighboring Jewish settlement of Halamish for the past year There have been countless injuries, arrests and collective punishment against the village over the past year as the army has tried to crush the protest. The army has been raiding the village at night, terrorizing the villagers and arresting children. The military repression of resistance in Nabi Saleh has moved to an advanced stage. The army arrests children, puts them through psychological torture and then gets them to deliver script against the leaders of the popular committee. The army does it in Bil’in, Ni’ilin and other villages that fight for the spirt of freedom denied to them by the Israeli occupation.
Continue reading on Examiner.com: Why there needs to be a separate Palestinian state - National Foreign Policy | Examiner.com http://www.examiner.com/foreign-policy-in-national/why-there-needs-to-be-a-separate-palestinian-state#ixzz1KO9D2qsQI was given the accompanying video to watch a couple of days ago, which shows a... more
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Today, on Feb. 15, the Jerusalem Fund held a very informative panel discussion on the contents of these leaks and the effect they may have on the future of negotiations. The discussion featured Khaled Elgindy, who served as an adviser to the Palestinian leadership in Ramallah on permanent status negotiations, Georgetown adjunct professor Noura Erakat, a Palestinian human rights attorney and activist, and journalist Mark Perry, a frequent guest commentator on Al Jazeera.
Al Jazeera created an uproar across the Arab world when it leaked 1,684 documents on Jan. 23 pertaining to Israeli-Palestinian negotiations.
In this candid discussion of importance to the worldwide Palestinian Diaspora, as well as to Palestinians living under Israeli occupation, the panelists weigh in on how recent events in Egypt affect the legitimacy of negotiators and may even tip the balance in future negotiations.
Continue reading on Examiner.com: Video: Roundtable on the fallout from the Palestine Papers - National Foreign Policy | Examiner.com http://www.examiner.com/foreign-policy-in-national/video-roundtable-on-the-fallout-from-the-palestine-papers#ixzz1E4x5qhUKToday, on Feb. 15, the Jerusalem Fund held a very informative panel discussion on the... more
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Palestinian Authority chief negotiator Saeb Erekat resigned from his post yesterday, as it became clear that the information leaked to al-Jazeera, which enabled it to publish the Palestine Papers, came directly from his office. The Qatar-based station began to release over 1,600 confidential documents last month which revealed embarrassing allegations toward Erekat’s posture vis-a-vis Israel. Both he and Mahmoud Abbas, President of the PA, were depicted as having made concessions that were tantamount to selling out their own people in return for a Palestinian homeland.
His resignation came as the Palestinian Authority called for new elections in the wake of the people's revolution that overthrew Egypt's Hosni Mubarak. According to the Christian Science Monitor, Palestinian officials said the Egyptian revolution will add fuel to non-military Palestinian protests against Israel such as those already taken place against the separation barrier in the West Bank.
Continue reading on Examiner.com: Palestinian Authority Erekat resigns; new elections are called for in July - National Foreign Policy | Examiner.com http://www.examiner.com/foreign-policy-in-national/palestinian-authorty-erekat-resigns-new-elections-are-called-for-july#ixzz1DsCpU6HYPalestinian Authority chief negotiator Saeb Erekat resigned from his post yesterday,... more
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The pro-Israel, pro-peace movement JStreet will be holding its annual conference in Washington DC February 26, 2011 through March 1, 2011.
JStreet is seen as the opposition to Washington's AIPAC Lobby, however, it continues to grow in numbers and in importance.
The following represents a partial list of anticipated speakers:
* Daniel Ben Simon; Member of Knesset
* Sara Benninga; Israeli activist and organizer, Sheikh Jarrah Solidarity Movement
* Dr. Yuval Benziman; USA Representative, Geneva Initiative
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Ambassador Maen Areikat; Chief PLO Representative to the U.S.
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Mustafa Barghouti; Palestinian democracy activist, former presidential candidate for the Palestinian National Authority and finalist for 2010 Nobel Peace Prize
Continue reading on Examiner.com: J Street rallies supporters for its Washington DC Conference on Middle East - National Foreign Policy | Examiner.com http://www.examiner.com/foreign-policy-in-national/j-street-rallies-supporters-for-its-washington-dc-conference-on-middle-east#ixzz1CvmephIHThe pro-Israel, pro-peace movement JStreet will be holding its annual conference in... more
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The Saban Center for Middle East Policy held its seventh forum at the Grand Ballroom of the Mandarin Oriental Hotel in Washington, D.C. December 10th through December 12, 2010. Entitled, 'U.S.-Israeli Relations: Facing Hard Choices', the Forum brought together leading officials and policymakers from Israel, the Palestinian territories and the U.S. Some of the attendees, such as Israeli Leader of the Opposition Tzipi Livni, defense minister Ehud Barak and Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad appeared on Sunday talk shows.
The Forum comes only a few days after the announcement that the United States was unable to persuade its Israeli ally to prolong the moratorium on settlement building. Following that declaration came statements from Secretary of State Hillary Clinton that the U.S. was not 'giving up' and was taking alternative steps to move the process forward. It will be interesting to see how the people involved in this process intend to move forward as the Israelis continue to build on Palestinian land.The Saban Center for Middle East Policy held its seventh forum at the Grand Ballroom... more
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It didn't take long for Cristina Kirchner's Argentina to follow Brazil's lead.
On Monday, Kirchner wrote to Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, to express her support for his bid on an independent Palestinian state which draws its borders according to its 1967 borders. There was indication that more such endorsements would come from the Mercosur member countries which are: Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay with membership for Venezuela still pending. Associate members include Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador Ecuador and Peru.
Brazil drew strong criticism from Israel and the United States who have maintained that any state solution must be borne from an agreement between the parties and an endorsement from Israel.
A recent AP report indicated that one of the compelling reasons for Argentina's action was the frustration at the lack of progress of bilateral talks.It didn't take long for Cristina Kirchner's Argentina to follow... more
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Long Island's latest quest to split from New York and become its own state had a promising start last year. Legislators in Suffolk county, upset over a new payroll tax to fund New York City's subways, voted 12-6 in favor of a secession plan. It seemed viable: In terms of square miles, Long Island is bigger than Rhode Island; its gross state product would be larger than that of 20 states. Some optimists even proposed a state bird: the duck.
Objections from the rest of New York effectively killed the idea, but attempts to make Long Island a state will almost certainly return. The proposal was just the most recent in a series of statehood crusades, usually arising from complaints of unfair taxation. During a campaign in the 1890s, one proponent—Long Island sugar magnate Adolph Mollenhauer—said, "We're tired of bosses and bossism." His quote could be the rallying cry of any number of secessionist movements.
Across the country, there have been a persistent and surprising number of attempts to redraw borders and create new states. Last month, objecting to proposals to create a national park in northern Maine, State Rep. Henry Joy submitted legislation to split his state in two. He suggested calling the southern part "Northern Massachusetts," a thinly veiled insult that assured rejection of the legislation. In recent years, new state proposals have cropped up in Florida, Washington, Kansas and Maryland.
Modern quests for statehood may seem like nothing more than odd footnotes, because Americans have largely forgotten that adding and dividing states is one of the primary mechanisms used throughout U.S. history to solve problems and redress grievances. As far back as the proposed state of Franklin in 1785, disaffected regions have attempted to cleave themselves from their mother states. Like most subsequent secessionist movements, the Franklinites believed that the established state government (North Carolina, in this case) wasn't responding to their needs. So, in a workmanlike manner, Franklin unilaterally adopted a constitution, established courts, and elected a governor, John Sevier. Then they decided not to collect any taxes, which meant the state had no revenue to pay a militia. Without a militia, Franklin quickly crumbled.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702304510004575185973863870474.html?mod=rss_Today';s_Most_PopularLong Island's latest quest to split from New York and become its own state had a... more
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