[R-G] Save Palestine and Israel petition

[shniad at sfu.ca]

http://www.ffipp.org/petition_save_p_i.htm

Urgent Appeal for International Involvement: 

Save Palestine and Israel

The elimination of the Palestinian national presence west of the Jordan
River is implicit in the long-term aims of the Israeli right wing. A
violent, apocalyptic driving-out of the entire Palestinian population is
explicitly advocated by the rightmost political circles. What has actually
been taking place since the beginning of the 35 years of Israeli occupation
of the West Bank and Gaza Strip, but at an unprecedented rate for the last
two years, is a systematic process of demolition of Palestinian private and
public property, and mass expropriation of Palestinian land on behalf of
settlers. The guiding principle is the effort to minimize the size of the
area actually inhabited by Palestinians. At the same time, huge-scale
harassment has been taking place, by means of prolonged curfews,
road-blocks, humiliations, of Palestinians have been reduced by Israeli
government policies to life in fearsome ghettos. Most are now subsisting
under the poverty line, on savings or handouts from beatings, military
invasions of densely populated areas, detentions of thousands without trial
under sub-humane conditions, obstruction of access to work, medical care,
schools and universities, and a host of other means. The soldiers were given
license to treat any Palestinian as a potential terrorist. Millions
humanitarian organizations. 

The ever-intensifying oppressive measures are being inflicted on
Palestinians by the Israeli government, ostensibly to fight terror. We
unequivocally condemn terrorist attacks against Israeli civilians. There can
be no justification for acts of violence against any unarmed people.
However, the Israeli policies are not a way to reduce terror; rather, they
promote it, as evidenced by the dramatic increase in terror acts during the
last two years. The terror acts are then cynically used by Prime Minister
Sharon as a pretext to inflict more damage and hardships on the
Palestinians, and to further de-legitimize their existence in the occupied
territories in the perception of the Israelis. THE PALESTINIAN PRESENCE
STANDS IN THE WAY OF SHARON'S LIFE-LONG VISION OF GREATER ISRAEL, WITH
SETTLERS SUPPLANTING PALESTINIANS. THIS OBJECTIVE IS TRANSPARENT TO ANYBODY
WHO FOLLOWS WHAT HIS GOVERNMENT HAS BEEN ACTUALLY DOING, rather than
listening to the frequently uttered but empty declarations about peace
intentions, "once the security problems are solved". 

The Israeli society pays a high price for the attempts of its politicians to
extend the Israeli domination, and for their addiction to territorial
expansion. The drive to develop Israel as a modern, productive and tolerant
society was cruelly truncated. This drive has been evident in periods of
hopeful peace negotiations with neighboring Arab states, and with
Palestinians. Fatalistic resignation to the vicious circle of fear,
oppression, violence and counter-violence is depriving the whole society of
positive energy, forward looking projects and hope. The drain on the state
resources by the war effort and the expansion of the settlements and the
concurrent loss of investment result in large scale unemployment and
economic recession. Large sectors of the Israeli society are denied access
to a a decent standard of living, to decent education, and to productive
integration into modern technological and cultural world. Instead,
backward-looking ultra-nationalistic ideologies are taking firm hold on the
social and political scene. Young Israeli soldiers sent to implement the
brutal occupation measures are likely to be morally scarred for life. 

The ongoing devastation of Palestine must be stopped, for the sake of both
Palestine and Israel. 

Signed:

Prof. Zach Adam, Prof. Colman Altman, Dr. Janina Altman, Dr. Issam Aburiya,
Dr. Amotz Agnon, Dr. Shmuel Amir, Prof Daniel Amit, Prof. Zalman Amit, Dr.
Yossi Amitay, Prof. Michael Ardon, Dr. Judith Avrahami, Prof. (Emeritus)
Shalom Baer, Dr. Outi Bat-El, Prof. Maya Bar-Hillel, Prof. Daniel Bar-Tal,
Prof Ron Barkai, Dr. Anat Barnea , Prof. Matania Ben-Arzi, Ofra Ben-Arzi,
M.A., Dr. Shmuel Ben-Dor, Prof. Ziva Ben-Porat, Dr. Louise Bethlehem, Prof.
Anat Biletzki, Dr. Jose Brunner, Dr. Ido Bruno, Prof. Victoria Buch, Prof.
Ruth Butler, Raz Chen-Morris, Dr. Eliot Cohen, Dr. Raya Cohen, Dr. Veronica
Cohen, Dr. Leo Corry, Dr. Michael Dahan, Prof. David Degani, Prof. Sidra
DeKoven Ezrahi, Dr. David De-Vries, Athena Elizabeth DeRasmo, Prof. Tommy
Dreyfus, Dr. Otniel E. Dror, Dr. Freema Elbaz-Luwisch, Prof. Emmanuel
Farjoun, Dr. Elizabeth Freund,Prof. Gideon Freudenthal, Dr. Iris Fry , Prof.
Michael Fry , Michal Gal, Prof. Chaim Gans, Dr. Ido Geiger, Prof. Avner
Giladi, Prof. Rachel Giora, Dr. Snait Gissis, Prof. Eli Glasner, Dr. Daphna
Golan, Prof. Oded Goldreich, Dr. Ofra Goldstein-Gidoni, Dr. Neve Gordon,
Prof. Lev Grinberg , Prof. Yossi Guttman, Dr. Ruth HaCohen, Prof. Uri Hadar,
Dr. Jeff Halper, Yuval Halperin, Shoshana Halper, M.A., Prof Don Handelman,
Prof. Galit Hasan-Rokem, Prof. Avram Heffner, Dr. Sara Helman, Dr. Yitzhak
Hen, Prof. Hanna Herzog, Prof. Ze'ev Herzog , Prof. Hannan Hever, Prof.
Peter Hillman, Uri Horesh, Prof. Ehud Hrushovski, Tal Itzhaki, Prof. Eva
Jablonka, Dr. Devorah Kalekin-Fishman, Prof. Naftali Kaminski, MD, Prof.
Jacob Katriel, Prof. Tamar Katriel, Dr. Shoshana Keiny, Prof. Baruch
Kimmerling, Judy Kupferman, Dr. Orna Kupferman, Prof. Raz Kupferman, Dr. Ron
Kuzar, Dr. Idan Landau, Prof. Hubert Law-Yone, Daphna Levit, Joyce
Livingstone, MS, Prof. Ram Loevy , Dr. Orly Lubin, Haim Luski, Prof. Ruth
Manor, Prof Uri Maor, Dr. Anat Matar, Dr. Nina Mayorek, Dr. Sara Meilijson ,
Prof. Isaac Meilijson, Prof. Amnon Meisels, Prof. Ben Tzion Munitz, Dr.
Doron Narkiss, Prof. (Emeritus) Gad Nathan, Dr. Isaac (Yanni) Nevo, Prof.
Ami Oren, Prof. Avraham Oz, Ronie Parciack, Dr. Nurit Peled-Elhanan, Prof.
Yoav Peled, Dr. Kobi Peter, Dr. Yuri Pines, Dr. Uri Ram , Dr. Amnon
Raz-Krakotzkin, Dr. Ofra Rechter, Prof. Ya'acov Ritov, Dr. Daniel Rohrlich,
Prof Freddie Rokem, Dr. Dana Ron, Dr. Moshe Ron, Prof. Tova Rosen, Dr. Maya
Rosenfeld, Dr. Zeev Rotem, Dr. Amalia Sa'ar, Dr. Ilan Saban, Prof. Benny
Shanon, Dr. Nita Schehet, Dr. Christoph Schmidt, Prof. Avraham Schweiger,
Dr. Gideon Shelach, Ricki Shiv, Prof. Moshe Shokeid, Prof. Idan Segev, Prof.
Leon Sheleff, Rinah Sheleff, M.A., Prof. Nomi Shir, Prof. David Shulman,
Prof. Anna Sfard, Marcos Wasem, Dr. Amiel Vardi, Dr. Vered Vinitzky, Renata
Wolfson, M.A., Smadar Tabenkin-Ezer, M.A., Dr. Zvi Tauber, Dr. Dudy Tzfati,
Rakefet Zalashik, Dr. Niza Yanay, Dr. Michael Yogev, Prof. Joseph Zeira, Dr.
Moshe Zuckermann, Prof. Moshe Zimmermann