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It's My Turn: Burlington Free Press, December 11, 2002

Dean should fight to end the plight of Palestinians
By James Brooks

Dear Governor Dean:

I think you would agree that in Vermont we try to listen to all sides, and seek just and legal solutions to our disputes. I had hoped that your candidacy for President would bring those values to bear upon our problems around the world. Then I read about your trip to Israel.

Your junket to Jerusalem was funded by AIPAC, the notoriously powerful pro-Israel lobby that bullies and bribes Congress into parroting the Israeli government on Middle East issues. Your views quoted in the Free Press seemed indistinguishable from those of your host, Ariel Sharon, a man who has made a career out of preventing peace. You told him that you would approve up to $14 billion in additional US aid to Israel, including another $4 billion in weapons. Did you stop to think about attaching a few conditions to this generous waste of our tax dollars? Perhaps Israel could agree to comply with the Geneva Conventions and the dozens of UN resolutions it violates every day.

You said, "Inches matter here -- and until you see it, you do not fully understand how difficult the situation is." That is very true. You could see Ramallah from where you were in Israel, but you didn't go there. Over in Ramallah, kids are starving. Often, the city is under curfew, meaning a citizen may be shot for leaving her home. In Ramallah, Israeli soldiers routinely detain ambulances for hours, causing many needless deaths—when they’re not targeting clearly marked Palestinian ambulances with rockets and gunfire. These and many other crimes are well-documented, and continuing. The once-thriving economy has been ground into rubble by the Israeli occupation. Many buildings have been damaged or obliterated by Israeli tank shells, rockets, and bombs, and the infrastructure is in tatters. Unemployment in the West Bank exceeds 60%, but most of the lucky employed cannot even get to work due to curfews, roadblocks, and checkpoints. The schools, once the pride of Palestine, can barely function. Children take their lives in their hands just trying to get to class. In Ramallah, you're far more likely to be killed by Israeli fire than an Israeli civilian is to be killed by a Palestinian, not to mention your chances of being wounded, arrested, humiliated, beaten, or strip-searched and left naked in the street.

In the Jerusalem Post(1), you were quoted that you "believe it will be impossible to make peace” until there is fundamental change on the Palestinian side. “The test must be performance based. We need to see, for instance, an empowerment of women in Palestinian society." Are you aware that currently the Palestinian Authority has more women in positions of authority than the Israeli government? How are Palestinian women empowered by the Israeli occupation? Must the occupation continue until the Palestinians achieve mass sainthood?

When you get back and have a little time to reflect away from the influence of the "charming" Mr. Sharon, I urge you to look at the rest of the story. A diverse group of Vermonters is working for a better solution in the Middle East (Vermonters for a Just Peace in Palestine/Israel, www.vtjp.org), and would like to meet at your convenience to share some crucial information your staffers may have missed.

Governor, America and the world yearn for a President who will finally end this wretched game. Our global stature and our progress in stopping terror would grow immeasurably. You could be that President, if you would travel those extra inches to Ramallah, and learn about the just solutions already available under international law, and the scandalously neglected Palestinian point of view.

(1) Democratic presidential hopeful to 'Post': I back loan guarantees, Jerusalem Post, Dec. 5, 2002 http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=JPost/A/JPArticle/ShowFull&cid=1039001450662

James Brooks
Worcester, VT