Pro-Israel Peace Activist Speaks in Piedmont

Marcia Freedman went to Israel in 1967 when her then-husband landed a temporary job as guest lecturer at Haifa University. She stayed for decades, becoming an Israeli citizen, a member of the Knesset (1973-77), an author, an out lesbian and a self-defined peace activist.

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In the 1970s, Freedman began to be active in what she describes as “the Israeli peace camp.” She sees the answer to the Israel-Palestine conflict, for which she continues to work today, as a two-state solution “that provides viable settlement for the Palestinians and security for Israel.”

This solution encompasses the concept of “land for peace.” Palestine would be “a state established in the West Bank and on the Gaza strip, including East Jerusalem as its capital,” she said. The Palestinians would cede about 2.4 percent of their land to Israel, land on the West Bank, which comprises about 80 percent of the Jewish settlers in the West Bank.

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Asked why there is need for a Jewish state today, Freedman asked, “Are we still arguing about that?”

The answer has nothing to do with the claim, argued by some, that God gave Israel to the Jewish people, she said.

“That’s not what the U.N. said in 1948. In 1948, the U.N. proposed that there be a state of Israel and a state of Palestine along partition lines,” she explained. “If you ask me as a Jew if I believe the Jewish people have a right to a state of their own, I say ‘Yes indeed.’ We are a religion, but we are also a nation, and have always been, with our own language, our own culture, our own history and our own legal system. And we have lived as a stateless people for a very long time. Under Christianity, they were very oppressive to us.”

Freedman said she prefers living in Israel. “I think that when one is among one’s own kind, a certain self-consciousness about your being different falls away,” she said. “I could forget in Israel that I am Jewish. I can’t forget that I am Jewish here. And you never know when you’ll be walking into the next anti-Semite, as rare as it may be.”

http://www.berkeleydailyplanet.com/article.cfm?issue=01-23-07&storyID=26155

but advocating to keep israeli settlements and this quote dont make any sense.

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Asked why there is need for a Jewish state today, Freedman asked, “Are we still arguing about that?”

The answer has nothing to do with the claim, argued by some, that God gave Israel to the Jewish people, she said.

“That’s not what the U.N. said in 1948. In 1948, the U.N. proposed that there be a state of Israel and a state of Palestine along partition lines,” she explained.

with places like Maale Adumim?

There are 32,000 Jewish people living there currently.

Under both the Clinton proposal and the Geneva Initiative it would become part of Israel in the final peace agreement (with a land swap to compensate the Palestinians for the territory).

its one of the more hostile settlements in the west bank, which is why no peace agreement with it has been signed.

so the answer is simple. tell them to get the fuck out and you will have your peace agreement.

Right of Return

5. a. In accordance with United Nations General Assembly Resolution 194 (III), all refugees who wish to return to their homes in Israel and live at peace with their neighbors have the right to do so. The right of every refugee to return shall be exercised in accordance with the modalities set out in the Agreement.

6. a. A Palestinian refugee is any Palestinian who was prevented from returning to his or her home after November 29, 1947.

b. Without limiting the generality of the term “refugee”, a “refugee” in this Agreement shall include a refugee's descendants and spouse.

c. Without limiting the generality of the term “refugee”, all registered persons with UNRWA shall be considered refugees in accordance with this Article.

http://www.mideastweb.org/taba.htm

as for RoR, abbas is the israelis best hope of signing a peace agreement excluding RoR. all the same a partial agreement could be achieved by just dismantling the WB settlements... which will never happen.

the settlement that Israeli officials hope will connect with E. Jerusalem, making the idea of a
contiguous Palestinian state with E. Jerusalem as it's capital an impossibilty.

Israel's 'linchpin' settlement

Last Updated: Saturday, 12 November 2005, 15:47 GMT

To the north of the settlement plans are under way for one of the most sensitive building projects in the West Bank.

Here, in an area called E1, Israel wants to build more homes and ultimately connect the settlement to east Jerusalem, about six kilometres away.

Crucial period

The Israeli settlement watchdog Peace Now says that would be a disaster for the Palestinians because it would cut off east Jerusalem from the rest of the West Bank and prevent the creation of a contiguous Palestinian state.

"Maale Adumim is critical for a future peace deal," said Peace Now spokeswoman Hagit Ofran.

"You can't really have a viable Palestinian state without territorial continuity. This is really the place at the centre of this problem."

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/4419046.stm

In West Bank, Israel Sees Room to Grow
Government Moves Swiftly to Capitalize On Pullout From Gaza Despite Criticism

By Scott Wilson
Washington Post Foreign Service
Sunday, August 28, 2005; A17

MAALE ADUMIM, West Bank -- In the tan hills a few miles east of Jerusalem, construction cranes dangle over a string of red-roofed neighborhoods that make up the largest Jewish settlement in the West Bank. It is here that Prime Minister Ariel Sharon is reengaging with his electoral base following Israel's efficient but divisive exit from the Gaza Strip.

Enjoying a moment of international sympathy, Sharon's government is moving swiftly to capitalize on its unilateral withdrawal and ongoing demolition of 25 Jewish settlements. The government's efforts are focused largely in the West Bank, land of far more religious and strategic importance to Israel than the remote slice of coastline it has left behind.

A little more than 31,000 Israelis live in Maale Adumim, a suburban settlement built on land captured by Israel in the 1967 Middle East war. Israeli officials say it will grow to more than 50,000 people and eventually touch the edge of East Jerusalem, even though the U.S. government and Palestinian leaders have said that such growth would severely complicate efforts to establish a viable Palestinian state.

Last week, as the world watched settlers being hauled from their homes in Gaza, government officials ordered the confiscation of 400 acres of West Bank land for a barrier that will separate Maale Adumim from Palestinian-populated territory. Just east of the main settlement, where construction plans had been frozen because of U.S. opposition, Israel will soon break ground on a new police headquarters serving the entire West Bank.

"I hope Israel is not going to use the fact it has done something right in withdrawing from Gaza in order to do a lot wrong regarding settlement activities, the wall and other matters," said Saeb Erekat, the chief Palestinian negotiator. "I hope they will use this to stay the course and to return to negotiations."

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/08/27/AR2005082701113_pf.html

What is Peace Now's position regarding E-1 and the future of Ma'ale Adumim?

Peace Now believes that Israel should halt all settlement activity in the occupied territories. This is especially important with respect to E-1, because of its sensitive location. The fate of E-1 should be determined through negotiations, rather than unilateral actions.

http://www.peacenow.org/briefs.asp?rid=&cid=749

exactly. however israel isnt willing to negotiate which is why they insist in be in EVERY peace agreement they agree to. israel will not begin to discuss a peace agreement without it. they know the palestinians do not want the expansion of maale adumim but they choose to unilaterally continue its expansion. why?

http://btvshalom.org/