Security and Double Standards
Source: AFP
by Jonathan Kuttab
“Security” for Israeli Jews is a golden calf that enjoys superb and overwhelming international sympathy and support. When an Israeli is killed (even a soldier or an armed settler) Israeli security forces move into high gear. The entire area where an attack occurred, whole towns and villages, are placed under siege and curfews are strictly enforced. Palestinian life is brought to a halt. Entry and exit are denied; forces move into homes and wreak havoc. Arrests are made, and the questioning and interrogation of hundreds of Palestinians is afoot. For days and weeks, collective punishment is imposed and generally met with understanding, in the context of the sorrow and empathy for the Israeli who was killed. Individuals and organizations are pressured to issue condemnations of the killing, and steps against Israel for its policies are toned down. Even additional settlement activities are viewed as understandable responses to the killing. “Security” and the lives of Israelis are deemed to be of supreme value and are to be defended at all costs, justifying much hardship imposed on Palestinians in its wake. The process continues until and even after the perpetrator has been captured or killed and his home demolished. Even outrageous behavior is often excused as necessary, to achieve “deterrence” and prevent such a killing from recurring.
By contrast, the Palestinian civilian population lives in constant danger, always under threat of attack on their persons and property, both from the organized Israeli military and its agents and from individuals and groups of Jewish settlers who roam the occupied territories (often armed themselves) with the constant protection of the Israeli army. The army is not even authorized to stop the settlers but is charged with protecting them from any Palestinian response to their provocations or violent attacks. These forces have been emboldened lately by the new Minister of Police, Itamar Ben Gvir, and the new Deputy Minister of Defense, Bezalel Smotrich, who has authority over the West Bank. They have simply continued the known policy of impunity for those who attack and kill Palestinians that was becoming standard under the previous government. The Palestinian victim is unknown, of course, and hardly worth serious attention. The perpetrators are never seriously pursued and, even if known, usually avoid accountability of any sort.
Palestinian police and security forces are explicitly prohibited by Israel from providing their people any protection, and any Palestinian attempt to arm or protect themselves is viewed as “terrorism” and actively prohibited both by the Israeli military (with its network of informants and collaborators) and by the Palestinian Authority itself. This leaves the population totally vulnerable and in desperate need of at least some measure of international protection. Politicians who never tire of saying that Israel has the “right to defend itself” never seem to contemplate any similar right for the far more vulnerable Palestinians. The pogrom in Huwwarah and other villages (which continued even after the awful pictures that were seen around the world went out) only highlights what has become a standard feature of Palestinian life in the occupied territories.
FOSNA deplores bloodshed and killing and mourns those who die, not only among innocent civilians but also among the armed combatants of both sides. Without in any way asserting a false symmetry between violent oppressors and those resisting oppression, we still assert the humanity of all and pray for peace and an end to violence.
Nonetheless, we cannot ignore the blatant racism and discrimination implicit in this double standard. Jewish blood is no more valuable than Arab or Palestinian blood. Both are children of God; their lives matter, and they matter equally in the sight of God. They should matter equally in our eyes as well.
FOSNA News
Join us this Sunday, March 5th, at 12pm PT / 3pm ET for our online book discussion of Protecting Human Rights in Occupied Palestine: Working Through the United Nations by UN Rapporteurs John Dugard, Michael Lynk, and Richard A. Falk, with a foreword by Francesca Albanese, via Zoom.
Panelists include:
Francesca Albanese - International lawyer, academic, and current United Nations Special Rapporteur on the occupied Palestinian territories since 2022
Richard A. Falk - Professor Emeritus of International Law at Princeton University and former UN Special Rapporteur on the Situation of Human Rights in the occupied Palestinian Territories
Jonathan Kuttab - Executive Director of FOSNA, international human rights attorney, co-founder of the Palestinian human rights group Al-Haq and co-founder of Nonviolence International
Michael Lynk - Author, Associate Professor of Law at Western University, former UN Special Rapporteur for Palestinian territories
Thank you to our cosponsors: Pax Christi USA | Unitarian Universalists for Justice in the Middle East (UUJME) | Kairos USA | Indiana Center for Middle East Peace | EPF PIN | MennoPIN | UCC PIN | United Methodists for Kairos Response (UMKR) | Disciples Palestine Israel Network
As our Executive Director Jonathan Kuttab's month in Palestine comes to an end, we encourage everyone to read his reflections from his journey, starting here.
Take Action!
Senator Schumer, the West Bank is burning. What is your plan?
(If Not Now) We are horrified watching the events unfolding in the West Bank over the past few weeks. Last year was the deadliest year for Palestinians in the occupied West Bank since 2004, and this year is already set to be even worse – at least 60 Palestinians have been killed since the start of 2023. Just last week, the Israeli army conducted a deadly raid on Nablus, killing ten Palestinians and wounding over 100 others. After Palestinian militants killed two Jewish settlers as revenge, hundreds of settlers – accompanied by the army and with support from ministers in the government – set fire to the West Bank cities of Huwara, Beit Furik, Burin, and Za'tara.
Further, Netanyahu's government is annexing the West Bank, in a move that the Haaretz editorial board says amounts to legalizing apartheid.
Yet last week, you led an AIPAC-sponsored delegation to Israel, with, as you described it, “a very powerful group of senators, each head of a major committee or major area,” and did not say a word about this new government's extreme and violent agenda.
Senator Schumer, what is your plan?
Tax Dollars for Settler Terrorism
(AJP Action) Dozens of Israeli settlers rampaged through Palestinian towns on Sunday night, torching cars and homes, killing one and injuring more than 100 Palestinian civilians.
The Washington Post reports that during the four-hour rampage by settlers in Huwara near the city of Nablus, Occupied West Bank, Israeli soldiers at the scene only cordoned off the area, without moving to stop the violence. The next day, Israeli soldiers guarded a group of settlers gathering at the closest junction. These are Israeli soldiers armed and supported by our tax dollars. The U.S. government continues to send Israel $3.8 billion+ every year with absolutely no accountability. Israel’s blank-check policies are not just in violation of U.S. law that prohibits supporting human rights abusers, it is a moral scandal!
TAKE ACTION: Contact your Members of Congress now! Let them know we refuse to let our weapons and tax dollars support the criminal activities of the Israeli government and its settlers.
Fill out the simple form below to email your Members of Congress. The time to end our support of Israel’s apartheid, racism, and violence is NOW.
Get Involved!
We invite you to join us in the following events and activities:
March 5: Online
Don’t forget to register for our online book discussion of Protecting Human Rights in Occupied Palestine: Working Through the United Nations by UN Rapporteurs John Dugard, Michael Lynk, and Richard A. Falk, with a foreword by Francesca Albanese, on March 5th via Zoom.
March 18: Pittsburgh
Fasting for Peace and in Palestine: Valley View / ICP Event
This year, Lent and Ramadan overlap for two weeks. We are seeking a deeper unity among our faith communities in prayer and action and encourage others to do the same.
Our national organizer Pastor Chad Collins is working together with chair of the board at the Islamic Center of Pgh (ICP), brother Mizanoor Biswas, and former board member and friend to FOSNA brother Ahmed Arafat to get the Muslim and Christian communities together united in a time of fasting and prayer for our Palestinian sisters and brothers, as they face the reality of Israeli apartheid each day and the lack of religious freedom that comes with it.
As many of you know, Palestinian Christians and Muslims are given very limited access to their own holy places, for example Al Aqsa and The Church of the Holy Sepulchre / Church of the Resurrection. And as you can imagine, it is very difficult for them to fast, while living under constant threat of violence from Israel.
On Saturday, March 18th at 5:30pm, we will have a small discussion / dialogue at Valley View on the challenges Christians and Muslims face living under Israeli apartheid and we will feast and fellowship together.
March 19: Online
VFHL Film Salon: The Law and the Prophets
In Israel, East Jerusalem, and the West Bank, the law is whatever Israel deems to be in the best interest of Jewish Israelis, to the detriment of Palestinians. In this, Israel violates the civil and human rights of Palestinians as a matter of standard, accepted policy. However, there are brave, determined individuals — prophets —who are trying to expose the destructive, unjust, and sometimes invisible ways in which Israel exploits and oppresses Palestinians. The Law and The Prophets explains the mechanisms of control that Israel deploys to control Palestinians. These mechanisms, some violent and some nonviolent, have been perfected through decades of civil and military rule of Palestinians both within Israel, and in East Jerusalem and the West Bank.
Watch the film for free at your convenience | Join the Q&A Discussion with an expert panel.
Joshua Vis: Filmmaker, writer, activist, and tour organizer
Muhaned Al Qaisy : General Coordinator - Olive Tree Campaign; Proj. Officer - Joint Advocacy Initiative
Chase Carter: Community organizer; Communications Dir. – Center for Jewish Nonviolence;
Mercy Aiken: Author, Relationship Manager – Network of Evangelicals for the Middle East
Sabeel Ecumenical Liberation Theology Center, Jerusalem:
Weekly
Sabeel Prayer Service. Join Sabeel every Thursday (6pm Jerusalem) for online Bible Study, discussion, and prayer. Examine scripture in light of the ongoing realities confronting the Palestinian Church and the pursuit of Palestinian liberation.
Wave of Prayer. Subscribe to receive Sabeel's Wave of Prayer, enabling friends of Sabeel around the world to pray over issues of critical concern to the Holy Land on a weekly basis.
Kumi Now! (Week 9) Olive Trees Palestinians in the occupied territory face rampant destruction of their olive trees and livelihoods. As more trees are uprooted and burned by settlers and Israeli occupation forces, brave farmers work to replant and undo the damage. However, their resources are stretched thin and livelihoods and traditions are at stake. Here’s what you need to know and what you can do so that together we can help Palestinian farmers rise up.