Petition to the Government of Israel and the US Congress
avaaz.org / Petition
05-Jun-2009 (9 comments)

President Obama's speech in Egypt today was a stunning step toward achieving Middle East peace. His first new move: to press Israel's right-wing government to stop their self-destructive policy of building settlements on Palestinian land.
But Obama needs help from around the world to face down the powerful opposition already mobilising against him. Let's raise a massive global chorus immediately to support Obama’s statement that the settlements in occupied territory must stop, by joining our voices to a petition based on his very own words.
We’ll advertise the number of signatures in key papers in Israel and Washington DC – support Obama’s message now, sign the petition below and spread the word today

>>>
IRANdokht

Obama: "Stop the Settlements"

by IRANdokht on

//www.avaaz.org/en/obama_stop_settlements

There is broad agreement that the settlements are a significant barrier to peace, a view also shared by a silent majority of the Israeli public. Combined with a network of roadblocks and barriers, these colonies now blanket the West Bank, seizing territory and forcing Palestinians to live effectively as prisoners in smaller and smaller pockets.



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Kaveh Nouraee

Captain

by Kaveh Nouraee on

The issue isn't whether or not the settlements are illegal. As I have mentioned, I am not a supporter of these setllements. The issue is whether or not the forcing of Israel to stop these settlements by the United States constitutes foreign interference.

By definition, it is clear that it does.

I'm not even against the aim of this petition. What I am against is this double standard that exists. I'm sorry that you either don't see it, or that you choose not to see it.

If the U.S. were to make demands upon the IRI, with respect to the nuclear question, for example, or the financial and material support of Hamas, Hezbollah, Shia insurgents in Iraq, or God forbid, in one form or another supporting an entity whose goal is regime change in Tehran, this website would risk crashing from the overload of people screaming "foreign interference".

As immoral as the settlements are, it is even more immoral to call it interference when it applies to Iran, but not when it comes to Israel, especially when it is motivated solely by personal prejudice.


capt_ayhab

Kaveh

by capt_ayhab on

Settlements are illegal  by admission of everybody. It is outside the agreed boundaries of Israel, to which they agreed.

As a result, forcing the demolition of illegal settlements which are not within the boundaries of Israel will not constitute [interfering in her domestic policies]

Unless Israel want to permanently annex those areas, which I think that is grand vision of [Greater Israel] then your  arguments hold. Which case the action plainly is called OCCUPATION by FORCE which is illegal by UN charter.

Anyway you cut this my good man, Israeli action is illegal, immoral and colonial.

Petition is signed

Thanks IRANdokht

 

-YT


Kaveh Nouraee

Nojanthegreat

by Kaveh Nouraee on

If the US were to stop financial aid, I wouldn't call that intervention. Maybe that should happen.

And yes there are voices inside Israel who want these settlements stopped. They're the ones who need to push the leadership into stopping the settlements.


nojanthegreat

well kaveh gaza and west

by nojanthegreat on

well kaveh gaza and west bank are not part of israel,( not that i belive in the jews state ) . so obama asking jews to stop building outside of their borders is not foreign intervention . and we all know that there are new voices coming from inside of jews state. and we are not asking for military actions or another UN security meeting. they just need to stop the aids , millitary and financial so that jews get to decide themself .

Ostaad

Kaveh,

by Ostaad on

Thank you, I'll chew on that. I had no ideal you could slice through complex issues so easily and come to the "right" conclusion so effortlessly.


Kaveh Nouraee

Ostaad

by Kaveh Nouraee on

because by having the United States tell Israel what to do, it is a form of foreign intervention, exactly the same way as you see outside efforts to remove the IRI. There is no one single form of intervention, and we both know this. But intervention is intervention, no matter how noble the intent.

I, for one am not a proponent of Israeli settlements in Gaza or the West Bank. I have never been and I never will be.

But don't sit there and call it intervention on one hand when it suits you and call it something else when it doesn't.

Because only a undiscerning, dim-witted, pedestrian, bottom-dwelling dummy would fall for that load of crap.


Ostaad

Kaveh, how on earth did you manage to...

by Ostaad on

put an equal sign between the illegal efforts of one country to change the government of another without its people's consent and/or cooperation, AND efforts to end the illegal occupation of a people's homeland by a bunch of invaders?!!!!

Are you saying the Palestinian and all conscientious people who support them should keep quiet and wait to see if, only if, "a silent majority of Israelis" start to "want" to end the illegal colonies?!!! What principles and right(s) are you basing your brain fart on? Are you arguing the occupied territories of West Bank and Gaza are INTEGRAL parts of Israel and only a non-existing "majority" of Israelis, who seem to have settled on the wastelands between your ears and whose voices are heard only by you, is entitled to pack up and leave IF they want to?!!!  Would you use the same rationale to stop the abolishing of Apartheid in South Africa?! Do you mean to say the eradiction to sexual assaults should be left to the silent majority of rapists to want to stop assaulting their victims? Is that all you are about? I hope not.

"Hypocritical, two-faces, disingenuous, bigoted, elitist and just plain sick", and let me add attributes such as undescerning, dim-witted, pedestrian, bottom-dwelling, and plain dumb to the mix and say, right back at YOU.

 


Kaveh Nouraee

WHAT?!?!?!?

by Kaveh Nouraee on

Asking Obama to press Israel on matters of policy?

That's FOREIGN INTERVENTION, isn't it?

This is a double standard, plain and simple! Bush was blasted by you and your cronies for what you called intervening with the war in Iraq.

You don't want the U.S. to get involved in regime change in Iran.

But you want the U.S. to force Israel to stop the settlements.

Hmm, I guess it's foreign intervention only when it suits your agenda. When it has to do with anything concerning Israel vs. the Palestinians, it's what? Humanitarian? Justice? Good conquering evil?

If a silent majority of Israelis want to see the end of settlements, they can see to that on their own, can't they?

Foreign intervention isn't limited to military action. It takes many other forms. This is one of them.

After all of your posturing, all of your "holier-than-thou" grandstanding about interference in the region by the U.S., this.

Hypocritical, two-faced, disingenuous, bigoted, elitist and just plain sick.