| This letter was originally sent to
the New Haven Register and the New Haven Advocate on
July 10, 2002.
The New Haven Register reported recently that Dr.
Jimmy E. Jones, a local peace activist, college
professor, prison chaplain and a friend for over 20
years, was denied entry to Israel. Traveling with a
group of 16 Muslims and three Christians, Dr. Jones
was detained at Ben Gurion Airport for hours and
treated as if he were a "security risk".
After their cameras and other expensive equipment were
confiscated, his group of peace activists was sent
back to the United States.
The Register did not report, however, what Israeli
peace activists publicized several days later: Michael
Tarazi, a U.S.-born legal adviser to the PLO Peace
Negotiations team, likewise, was refused entry to
Israel upon his return from a visit to the United
States. In addition, 17 U.S. citizens traveling under
the auspices of Fellowship of Reconciliation, a New
York-based international pacifist organization
committed to nonviolence, also were denied entry to
Israel, where they had planned to meet with members of
the Knesset, Israel’s parliament.
I fully understand Israel’s need to maintain
secure borders and protect its citizens from suicide
bombers and other terrorists. I am perplexed, however,
by Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon’s government’s
policy, introduced in March, to keep peace activists
out of Israel. I also am troubled by the attempts of
our elected officials from President Bush to
Congresswoman DeLauro to excuse or ignore the blatant
excesses of Sharon’s government.
The most important role for the United States is to
help the warring parties negotiate a lasting peace, by
not allowing extremists on either side to derail the
peace process. Palestinian Authority President Yasser
Arafat was elected with 87% of the vote in 1996
elections in the West Bank and Gaza, declared to be
free and fair by international observers, including
former US President Jimmy Carter. When President Bush,
who was elected with only 47.87% of the popular vote
in 2000, recently questioned the legitimacy of
Arafat's government and called for new Palestinian
elections, he also should have demanded new elections
in Israel, as Sharon’s government, in my opinion, is
an equal obstacle to peace in the Middle East.
I hope Jimmy Jones tries again to take a delegation
of peace activists to Israel. Only when Muslim, Jewish
and Christian peace activists build a strong
nonviolent movement for democratic change and justice
in both Israel and Palestine will there be any chance
for peace in the Middle East.
Charlie Pillsbury
Green Party Candidate for Congress, Third District, CT
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