THE RAMALLAH, NAZARETH, JERUSALEM CALL (December 2000)
Rocks against bullets, firebombs against tanks, and then bullets against rockets :
What more ? More bombs, and more bombings ? Three hundred persons murdered (30 of them Israelis) since September 29th, 2000, Year of the Millenium… More than 10,000 wounded (97% of them Palestinians, in the same time, in 2000, year of the Jubilee…
Have we forgotten Albert Einstein’s warning : « Peace cannot be kept by force, it can only be achieved by understanding » ?
Lynchings, pogroms, chain killings : how can this be the Holy Land ? Injustice, fanaticism, blind hate, and separatism è Jews and Arabs in a deadly lock, ready for the massacres, in the name of what they are : « Jews » and « Arabs » ?
There must be an end to the blood-smeared logics of talion, and armed forces ! We call for a final stop to all territorial provocations and to a clockwork repression that precipitates us to the pit. In the face of the appalling waste of lives and opportunities to reach a real peace, do we have to reaffirm yet that it can only be built upon foundations of dignity, equity, and justice ?
Both peoples have a right to live in peace and safety in their own respective States, according to the rules of international law. And complete equality of rights must be ensured to all the inhabitants of Israel-Palestine, without any discrimination ! There is no other human alternative : we have to move forward in mutual respect, reciprocity, and understanding !
| Supported by : Physicians for Human Rights (Israel), Neve Shalom – Wahat al-Salam, the Israeli Council for Israeli-Palestinian Peace, Rabbis for Human Rights, Sabeel Mossawa, Democracy & Workers’ Rights in Palestine |
and by 31 Nobel Laureates :
Peace : the Dalai Lama (Tibet, 1989), Mairead Maguire (Ireland, 1976), Joseph Rotblat (Poland, 1995), Betty Williams (Ireland, 1976)
Chemistry : Elias Corey (USA, 1990), Sir John Cornforth (G-B, 1975), Paul Crutzen (the Netherlands, 1995), Herbert Hauptman (USA, 1985), Roald Hoffmann (USA, 1981), Robert Huber (Germany, 1988), Jerome Karle (USA, 1985), Sir Harold Kroto (G-B, 1996), Jean-Marie Lehn (France, 1987), Max Perutz (Austria, 1962), Jens Skou (Denmark, 1997)
Medicine : Werner Arber (Switzerland, 1978), Günter Blobel (Germany, 1999), Stanley Cohen (USA, 1986), Jean Dausset (France, 1980), Christian de Duve (Belgium, 1974), Edmond Fischer (USA, 1992), François Jacob (France, 1965), Ed Lewis (USA, 1995), Cesar Milstein (Argentina, 1984), Richard Roberts (G-B, 1993), Torsten Wiesel (USA, 1981), Maurice Wilkins (G-B, 1962)
Physics : Klaus von Klitzing (Germany, 1985), Simon van der Meer (the Netherlands, 1984), Heinrich Rohrer (Switzerland, 1986)
Literature : Wole Soyinka (Nigeria, 1986)
Physics : Klaus von Klitzing, 1985 (Germany), Simon van der Meer, 1984 (the Netherlands), Heinrich Rohrer, 1986 (Switzerland).
Literature : Wole Soyinka, 1986 (Nigeria)
This Call was published in Le Monde (online edition : November 24th, 2000) and Le Monde Diplomatique in December 2000, refered to in Haaretz (February 2001)