Don't deny our rights: open letter to Mahmoud Abbas
Don't deny our rights: open letter to Mahmoud Abbas
Don't deny our rights: open letter to Mahmoud Abbas
Create successful ePaper yourself
Turn your PDF publications into a flip-book with our unique Google optimized e-Paper software.
Open <strong>letter</strong> <strong>to</strong> <strong>Mahmoud</strong> <strong>Abbas</strong> 29.07.2010 1/2<br />
<strong>Don't</strong> <strong>deny</strong> <strong>our</strong> <strong>rights</strong>: <strong>open</strong> <strong>letter</strong> <strong>to</strong> <strong>Mahmoud</strong> <strong>Abbas</strong><br />
<strong>open</strong> <strong>letter</strong>, various undersigned, 29 July 2010<br />
The following <strong>open</strong> <strong>letter</strong> <strong>to</strong> Palestinian Authority President <strong>Mahmoud</strong> <strong>Abbas</strong>, whose elected mandate<br />
expired in July 2009 and who has remained in power under controversial emergency laws, was issued on<br />
22 July 2010:<br />
We are Palestinians of diverse perspectives and affiliations -- scholars, intellectuals, artists, activists,<br />
trade unionists, human <strong>rights</strong> advocates and civil society leaders, inside his<strong>to</strong>ric Palestine and in exile --<br />
who are united in <strong>our</strong> commitment <strong>to</strong> the fulfillment of the fundamental <strong>rights</strong> of all Palestinians, particularly<br />
<strong>our</strong> inalienable right <strong>to</strong> self-determination. This universally sanctioned right encompasses, at a minimum,<br />
freedom from occupation and colonization in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, including Jerusalem;<br />
full equality for Palestinian citizens of Israel; and the right of return for Palestinian refugees and their<br />
descendants.<br />
During a 9 June meeting with the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, you reportedly said: "I would<br />
never <strong>deny</strong> [the] Jewish right <strong>to</strong> the land of Israel," a statement that you have yet <strong>to</strong> retract. We regard<br />
this announcement, which adopts a central tenet of Zionism, as a grave betrayal of the collective <strong>rights</strong> of<br />
the Palestinian people. It is tantamount <strong>to</strong> a surrender of the right of Palestinian citizens of Israel <strong>to</strong> live in<br />
equality in their own homeland, in which they have steadfastly remained despite the apartheid regime<br />
imposed on them for decades. It also concedes the right of Palestinian refugees <strong>to</strong> return <strong>to</strong> their homes.<br />
No Palestinian institution or leader has ever accepted an exclusive Jewish claim <strong>to</strong> Palestine, which is<br />
irreconcilable with the internationally recognized <strong>rights</strong> of the Palestinian people. Our <strong>rights</strong> inhere in us<br />
as a people; they are not y<strong>our</strong>s <strong>to</strong> do with as you please.<br />
We, as Palestinians urgently need a legally and democratically elected leadership that is responsible,<br />
capable and committed <strong>to</strong> the fulfillment of <strong>our</strong> national <strong>rights</strong> and aspirations <strong>to</strong> live in freedom, dignity<br />
and just peace in <strong>our</strong> ancestral homeland. We call on all Palestinians <strong>to</strong> immediately revive the democratic<br />
processes that <strong>our</strong> people have struggled so hard <strong>to</strong> build, so that we can designate leaders with an<br />
effective vision and strategy for achieving <strong>our</strong> <strong>rights</strong> as a people.<br />
Initial Signa<strong>to</strong>ries:<br />
Saleh Abdel-Jawad, Assoc. Prof. of His<strong>to</strong>ry, Birzeit University (Ramallah)<br />
Abdul-Rahim Al-Shaikh, poet and academic (Jerusalem)<br />
Naseer Aruri, Prof. Emeritus, University of Massachusetts (Dartmouth)<br />
M<strong>our</strong>id Barghouti, poet and author (Ramallah/Cairo)<br />
Omar Barghouti, commenta<strong>to</strong>r and human <strong>rights</strong> activist (Jerusalem)<br />
Ramzy Baroud, author and edi<strong>to</strong>r of the Palestine Chronicle (Seattle)<br />
George Bisharat, Prof., UC Hastings College of the Law (San Francisco)<br />
Haidar Eid, academic and boycott, divestment and sanctions activist (Gaza)<br />
Samera Esmeir, Assist. Prof. of Rhe<strong>to</strong>ric, Univ. of California, Berkeley (Haifa)<br />
Wael Hallaq, Prof., Columbia University (New York)<br />
Nadia Hijab, author and human <strong>rights</strong> advocate (Washing<strong>to</strong>n, DC)<br />
Jamil Hilal, sociologist and author (Ramallah)<br />
Islah Jad, Assist. Prof. of Gender & Development, Birzeit Univ. (Ramallah)<br />
Hatem Kanaaneh, medical doc<strong>to</strong>r and author (Sakhnin)<br />
Ghada Karmi, author and Fellow, Exeter University (Exeter)<br />
Nur Masalha, Prof. of Religion and Politics, St. Mary's Univ. College (London)<br />
Joseph Massad, Prof., Columbia University (New York)<br />
Jean Said Makdisi, author (Beirut)<br />
Saree Makdisi, Prof., University of California at Los Angeles (Los Angeles)<br />
Zakaria Muhammad, novelist (Ramallah)<br />
http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article11433.shtml
Open <strong>letter</strong> <strong>to</strong> <strong>Mahmoud</strong> <strong>Abbas</strong> 29.07.2010 2/2<br />
Karma Nabulsi, Fellow in Politics, University of Oxford (Oxford)<br />
Eyad Sarraj, psychiatrist (Gaza)<br />
(alphabetical order - institutions for identification only)<br />
Endorsers:<br />
Mohammed Abu Abdu, Pal. Student Campaign for Academic Boycott of Israel (PSCABI) (Gaza)<br />
Bashir Abu-Manneh, Prof., Columbia University (New York)<br />
Mohsen Abu Ramadan, civil society activist and independent political commenta<strong>to</strong>r (Gaza)<br />
Salman Abu Sitta, Palestine Land Society (London)<br />
Abdefattah Abusr<strong>our</strong>, President of Palestinian Theatre League, Jerusalem - General Direc<strong>to</strong>r of Alrowwad<br />
Cultural and Theatre Society, (Aida refugee camp, Bethlehem)<br />
Majeed Al-Barghouthi, poet and writer (Amman)<br />
Musa Al-Hindi, Coord. Comm. member, US Palestinian Community Network (USPCN)<br />
Hala Al-Yamani, Assist. Prof., Bethlehem University (Bethlehem)<br />
Lubna Arikat, community activist (San Diego)<br />
Huwaida Arraf, at<strong>to</strong>rney and human <strong>rights</strong> activist, New York<br />
Khaled Barakat, writer and activist, Vancouver<br />
Nasser Barghouti, human <strong>rights</strong> activist (San Diego)<br />
Diana Buttu, lawyer (Ramallah)<br />
Yasmeen Daher, lecturer at Birzeit University and human <strong>rights</strong> activist (Jaffa)<br />
Seif Da'na, Prof. of Sociology, University of Wisconsin, Parkside (Parkside)<br />
Lamis J. Deek, at<strong>to</strong>rney and human <strong>rights</strong> advocate (New York)<br />
N<strong>our</strong>a Erakat, human <strong>rights</strong> at<strong>to</strong>rney (Washing<strong>to</strong>n, DC)<br />
Leila Farsakh, Assoc. Prof., University of Massachusetts (Bos<strong>to</strong>n)<br />
Jess Ghannam, Prof., University of California, San Francisco (San Francisco)<br />
Lubna Hammad, lawyer and human <strong>rights</strong> activist, Adalah-NY (New York)<br />
Rema Hammami, Assoc. Prof. of Anthropology, Birzeit University (Ramallah)<br />
Nizar Hasan, filmmaker (Nazareth)<br />
Zaha Hassan, civil <strong>rights</strong> at<strong>to</strong>rney and human <strong>rights</strong> advocate (Oregon)<br />
Kamel Hawwash, Assoc. Prof. in Civil Engineering, University of Birmingham (Birmingham)<br />
Monadel Herzallah, US Palestinian Community Network (USPCN), San Francisco<br />
May Jayyusi, Exec. Direc<strong>to</strong>r of Muwatin, Palestinian Institute for the Study of Democracy (Ramallah)<br />
Ray Jureidini, sociologist, Cairo<br />
Jamal Kanj, author, (Nahr el Bared refugee camp)<br />
Osamah Khalil, PhD Candidate, University of California, Berkeley (Berkeley)<br />
Suleiman Mans<strong>our</strong>, visual artist (Jerusalem)<br />
Dina Matar, academic, SOAS - University of London (London)<br />
Moammar Mashni, Co-Founder, Australians for Palestine (Melb<strong>our</strong>ne)<br />
Mazen Masri, lawyer and human <strong>rights</strong> activist (Toron<strong>to</strong>)<br />
Fouad Moughrabi, Prof. and Head of Dept. of Political Science, Univ. of Tennessee (Chattanooga)<br />
Rana Nashashibi, activist, Coalition for Jerusalem (Jerusalem)<br />
Mary Nazzal-Batayneh, Barrister, Palestine Legal Aid Fund (London)<br />
<strong>Mahmoud</strong> Oriqat, Engineer (San Diego)<br />
Mazin Qumsiyeh, Prof. (Bethlehem)<br />
Ahmad Sadi, Academic (Galilee)<br />
Grace Said, activist (Washing<strong>to</strong>n, DC)<br />
Dalal Yassine, lawyer and human <strong>rights</strong> advocate (Beirut)<br />
Raja Zaatry, j<strong>our</strong>nalist (Haifa)<br />
Elia Zureik, Prof. Emeritus of Sociology, Queen's University (Kings<strong>to</strong>n, Ontario)<br />
(alphabetical order - institutions for identification only)<br />
http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article11433.shtml