Thursday, November 25, 2010

The Russell Tribunal on Palestine, and Alice Walker's statement

"The Russell Tribunal on Palestine (RToP) is an International People's Tribunal created by a large group of citizens involved in the promotion of peace and justice in the Middle East. These past years, following, inter alia: the international community's failure to implement the International Court of Justice's 2004 Advisory Opinion on the construction of a wall in the Occupied Palestinian Territory ; the lack of implementation of the resolution ES-10/15 confirming the ICJ Opinion, adopted by the United Nations General Assembly on 20 July 2004 ; and the Israeli offensive on Gaza in December 2008 – January 2009, committees have been created in different countries to promote and sustain a citizen's initiative in support of the rights of the Palestinian people, with public international law as a legal frame of reference."
The rest of the description of the Tribunal can be found on its website, at:
http://www.russelltribunalonpalestine.com/en/about-rtop

Alice Walker's statement to the Russell Tribunal on Palestine says, in part:
"It has been an honor to be invited to join the present session as part of a
jury hearing testimony on international corporate complicity in the
destruction of the Palestinian people, who, since I visited Gaza a year and
a half ago, have become part of the earth¹s peoples to whom I have felt duty
bound to show up for. What has happened to them has happened to countless
others. Including my own tribes: African, Native American, poor European
immigrant. It is because I recognize the brutality with which my own
multi-branched ancestors have been treated that I can identify the
despicable, lawless, cruel and sadistic behavior that has characterized
Israel¹s attempts to erase a people, the Palestinians, from their own land.
For isn¹t this what the US military was ordered to do to the ³Indians² of
America? Did not the British burn out communities of Scotts and
horrifically oppress the Irish? Did not wealthy and powerful Whites,
generally, for a time, rape, kill, capture, and/ or enslave Africans? And
are not some of their descendents, at this very moment, stealing and
confiscating African and Indian and poor white land, and harming people,
using many of their ancestors¹ ancient tools of brute force and deceit?..."

The statement in its entirety is to be found at:
http://www.russelltribunalonpalestine.com/en/1195/alice-walker-thoughts-on-the-russell-tribunal

Racheli Gai.

................................................................
--------
Jewish Peace News editors:
Joel Beinin
Racheli Gai
Rela Mazali
Sarah Anne Minkin
Judith Norman
Lincoln Z. Shlensky
Rebecca Vilkomerson
Alistair Welchman
------------
Jewish Peace News archive and blog: http://jewishpeacenews.blogspot.com
------------
Jewish Peace News sends its news clippings only to subscribers. To subscribe, unsubscribe, or manage your subscription, go to http://www.jewishpeacenews.net

No comments: