12, June 2014 sent to JVP
As a Sikh whose religion vigorously promotes human rights, I wholeheartedly support targeted divestment by the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) as an effective, nonviolent tool to bring about a peaceful settlement to the festering crisis in Israel. Furthermore, I implore Americans to demand an immediate cessation of economic and military aid to Israel and reject the pernicious influence of the US Jewish lobby whose allegiance is to the apartheid government of Israel and not the US. The Palestinians are living in an extremely repressive military occupation in complete violation of international laws. Israel is a functioning democracy for Jews only but not for non-Jews. Professor Mazin Qumsiyeh of Bethlehem and Birzeit Universities exposes this myth in a recent letter to the Wall Street Journal (April 24, 2014). Qumsiyeh, a US citizen echoes much of what was stated by Professor George Bisharat, at a recent NPR forum broadcast. Both charge Israel with systematically destroying churches, mosques and Palestinian homes to construct illegal Jewish settlements. Israel has over 50 Jim Crow type laws that discriminate over non-Jews and hundreds more in the occupied territories. Nationality rights only apply to Jews; for example, American Jews can immigrate to Israel and are accorded all the rights of citizenship – a right denied to non-Jews. Jews have exclusive use of bypass roads, land, privileged access to private and public employment, special educational loans, home mortgages, preferences for admission to universities, and a host of other privileges. Finally, I urge readers to listen to a speech given by a notable Israeli, Mike Peled, a highly respected son of a former Israeli general.
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