Ukraine, Palestine, International Law, & BDS
By Jonathan Kuttab
I must admit that when the Ukraine crisis began developing, I was ambivalent. It seemed that one tyrant, Putin, was eager to reassert the status of Russia as a major power with a “sphere of influence'' over its neighbors. Meanwhile, NATO and the US were unnecessarily provoking him by extending their military reach to his very doorstep. Once the Warsaw pact had been dissolved, I saw no further use for NATO, much less the efforts to extend its military power to Russia’s very doorstep. I had no interest in that type of power struggle, aside from wishing for peace and avoiding bloodshed over such imperial machinations as this.
Once Putin invaded his neighbors, however, I quickly changed my mind. His blatant violation of the sovereignty of his neighbor, after having previously annexed the Crimean Peninsula, his reliance on brute military force, and his total disregard for international law and its provisions is truly dangerous and required a prompt and quick response. Not a military one, I thought, but a determined assertion of the international order and, through widespread international solidarity, a means of making him pay the price for these blatant violations. In other words, Boycotts, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) as nonviolent responses to his aggression.
It did not help, of course, that the US has in recent years been steadily weakening international organizations and mechanisms, itself violating international law and norms with impunity. The issue for me, however, is not just rank hypocrisy and double standards. It goes much deeper than that. To live in a peaceful world requires an international order that prohibits and sanctions those who would resort to aggression and war, the invasion of neighboring countries, or the attempt to annex and acquire lands by force. Indeed, the premise of the international order following WWII was that humanity could no longer afford to live in such a world. The overwhelming death and destruction caused by our modern war machines is intolerable, and the plethora of potential disputes between the 194 countries of the world is devastating. If we allow historical claims and grievances, security interests, national pride, and the populist opportunism of unscrupulous politicians free reign, then many countries can and will find excuses to invade their neighbors—resorting to “the rules of the jungle” whereby the powerful attack and swallow up the weak with impunity.
The speedy and effective international response to Russia’s invasion this time is heartening. Perhaps we can again generate the type of enthusiasm for international law and worldwide solidarity that has prevented many major wars in the last few decades.
To be sure, we still live in an imperfect world, and there are still a number of wars and localized conflagrations, but since WWII most countries have accepted international law, and there have been only three notable attempts to annex land by force of arms:
Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait,
Russia’s annexation of the Crimea (and now possibly Ukraine), and
Israel’s annexation of East Jerusalem and the Syrian Golan Heights, as well as its threats to annex additional portions of the West Bank.
All three attempts are blatant violations of international law, no matter what excuses and justification have been offered.
It is shameful that the United States, since winning the Cold War, has been leading a retreat from such international principles, except when they have suited its own interests. It has also abused its massive military power to either circumvent the United Nations or to veto the condemnation of Israel at the United Nations Security Council, blunting and preventing international solidarity from impacting the tragic situation.
It is my hope that the current crisis and its resultant bloodshed will end soon, with a strengthening of international law and a reassertion of the principles of self-determination and democracy. I hope for a renewed commitment to finding peaceful means of resolving international disputes, as based on the principles of justice and law rather than brute military force and chauvinistic national interests. An agreement that leads to Russian withdrawal but leaves Ukraine as an independent, yet neutral country may be the closest thing to a just solution we can hope and pray for.
News & Announcements
#JouneyWithJonathan #KeepingUpWithKuttab #Beyond2States #KuttabInPalestine
FOSNA Executive Director Jonathan Kuttab has been busy traveling throughout Palestine. In addition to connecting with the leaders of Sabeel, in both Jerusalem and Nazareth, Jonathan has been promoting the new Arabic and Hebrew versions of his book, Beyond the Two-State Solution (Free Download).
In the past week, Jonathan met with the Canadian representative to the Palestinian Authority, gave a presentation to community leaders in Bethlehem, including the current and former mayors of the city, met with 20 religious leaders in Jerusalem hosted by Sabeel to discuss the "We Choose Abundant Life" declaration, and travelled to and from Amman, Jordan via the trauma-inducing Allenby Bridge. Previously, Jonathan gave a presentation to a group US congresspersons, visited with community leaders of Christian villages destroyed by the Israeli army, and visited with religious leaders in Nazareth. In the past month, he visited the Tent of Nations, Al-Haq, Kairos Palestine, Bethlehem Bible College, Holy Land Trust, Sheikh Jarrah, and the Israeli High Court on behalf of Muhammad Halabi. Jonathan is excited to be returning to the US with a solid grasp of the situation on the ground in Palestine and to move forward with the next stages in FOSNA's pursuit of Palestinian liberation. Daily updates are available on our various social media outlets.
FOSNA invites you to join us in the following events and activities:
March 9, 2022: What about Hamas? (Hosted by the Ottawa Forum on Israel/Palestine) Canada and the US officially call Hamas a 'terrorist" organization. And it is routinely described as blindly fundamentalist based on a presumed inherent anti-Semitism. But Hamas is a political party with a significant following in Palestinian society. No matter what you may think of them, any solution to the Israel/Palestine issue will need to include Hamas. It needs to be better understood.
March 11, 2022: "Is Sumud Sufficient?" Film Series: Blind Trust. (Hosted by the Middle East Focus Ministry of St. Mark's Cathedral in Seattle) "Blind Trust" celebrates the life and work of psychiatrist and psychoanalyst Dr. Vamik Volkan, a five-time Nobel Peace Prize nominee who has spent over four decades bringing enemy groups together in areas of conflict all over the world. Join FOSNA's Jonathan Kuttab along with filmmaker Molly Castelloe for what promises to be an enlightening online conversation.
Weekly
Kumi Now! Connecting activists around the world every Tuesday with the organizations working on the ground in Palestine and Israel to bring a just and lasting peace based on international law and nonviolence.
Week 9: Restrictions on Movement. The checkpoints throughout the occupied Palestinian territory control and choke the lives of Palestinians. For Palestinians faced with the daily humiliations and delays caused by the checkpoints, we must shed light on the restrictions of movement for Palestinians within Palestine. Here’s what you need to know and what you can do so that together we can rise up.
Palestinian Innovators Series: Ranan Issa. Ranan Issa Abu Shanab is the Gender Justice Program Manager at Evangelical Lutheran Church of Jordan and the Holy Land. With over five years of professional experience in the field of gender justice, she heads the ELCJHL’s Women Ministry by working closely with its pastors and Women’s Committee.
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.