Hanan Ashrawi recently spoke in Portland, OR. Avigail and I prepared a question for her to ask (she did not get the opportunity). The question still needs a response. If you have the opportunity to ask her, please do (and let me know how she responds).
EXPERT ON PALESTINIAN STATEHOOD
The student activities office will have tickets available for Hanan Ashrawi's address at Benson High School on Thursday, November 1, at 7pm Presented by the World Affairs Council of Oregon, Ashrawi will present "Palestinian Statehood: A Path to Peace." Free tickets will be available Tuesday, October 30, to students, faculty, and staff members. Transportation to Benson High School is being coordinated, and more information will be available next week.
As commissioner of information and public policy for the Arab League, Ashrawi is a frequent and dynamic commentator in the U.S. media on Palestine. Ashrawi first came to international prominence as official spokesperson of the Palestinian delegation during the Middle East peace process. She has represented the Jerusalem district before the Palestinian legislative council since 1996 and founded the Palestinian Initiative for the Promotion of Global Dialogue and Democracy in 1998.
Mrs Ashwari, I am honored to have the opportunity to hear you present the case for Palestinian Statehood: A Path to Peace. This is a position that I and my family have struggled to support for over a generation. Indeed, I had the opportunity to spend some of my summer of 2000 with young Palestinians (my peers - for whose safety I fear) as we came to learn of each others' concerns and dreams of Peace.
With that in mind, I recently had the opportunity to examine the Web Site of the International Press Centre of the Palestinian National Authority State Information Service.
There, I was pleased to see the full text of UN Resolution 181 calling for the establishment of both a Jewish and a Palestinian State:
I understand the publication of this document as a clear statement that the Palestinian people recognize and accept the reality of the Jewish people's right to a state of their own. Yet, I was puzzled and disturbed to see on the same Web Site a series of maps that make no mention of Israel nor of any city in Israel (other than, oddly Ashdod - not far from where my uncle has lived for the past thirty years and has raised his family).
I also find it odd (in the least), in the text that accompanies these maps, that, while it states that Israel has occupied specific areas since 1967, it does not mention that Jordan annexed the same areas in 1948. Nor does it mention (in the text related to Hebron) that, while "although Israelis have settled in the city since 1967" ancient Jewish communities existed and thrived in Hebron until they were massacred during the riots of 1929 and 1936.
Can you, please, explain this oddity. Why, if we are to accept gladly I add for myself and many of my friends, a Palestinian state, do official Palestinian documents not make any mention of the reality of Israel?
Thank you for your thoughtful response.