Comments on: Palestinian Unity Government: What’s Next for the Peace Effort?

By: Martin Edwin Andersen

Martin Edwin Andersen — Mon, 09 Jun 2014 02:05:13 +0000

Stale, highly-polemical positions that stymie any real progress towards peace can be overcome only with a fresh (but already legitimized) perspective that both illuminates and eventually utilizes commonalities in the just demands of all the peoples of the Holy Land. One such perspective is found in “Common Lands, Common Ground: The indigenous agenda, Israel, Palestine and breaking the post-Oslo Peace Accords”.

By: Martin Edwin Andersen

Martin Edwin Andersen — Thu, 05 Jun 2014 15:22:54 +0000

The current stale, highly-polemical positions that stymie any real progress towards peace can be overcome only with a fresh (but already legitimized) perspective that both illuminates and eventually creates commonalities in the just demands of all the peoples of the Holy Land.

That perspective is found in “Common Lands, Common Ground: The indigenous agenda, Israel, Palestine and breaking the post-Oslo Peace Accords logjam”.

The essay encapsulates many of the ideas expressed repeatedly by Pope Francis, underscoring his powerful message of inter-faith respect.

Prime Minister Netanyahu’s concern, as recently expressed in an interview with Bloomberg, that “something must be done to prevent the collapse of Israel as a Jewish-majority democratic nation,” is also clearly and fairly addressed.

“Common Lands, Common Ground’ shows how Israel can legitimately claim it is the first (or one of the first) modern indigenous nation-states and that the Palestinians would find their demands better expressed if they recognized that fact as well as their own undeniable situation as a people seeking legitimate guarantees to a homeland.

By: Atul Singh

Atul Singh — Thu, 05 Jun 2014 02:36:44 +0000

Each time I read Gary Grappo, I learn something new. Personally, I have come to the view that a two-state solution is past its sell-by date. Eventually, there will have to be one state where everyone has equal civil liberties and where the common law system with its roots in the British Empire will form a basis for a multi-ethnic society. The dangers of such an experiment can be seen in Lebanon where civil strife is tearing that country apart but there seems to be no other viable solution, especially given the increasing percentage of Israel’s Palestinian population.