Note from Editor: As a general rule Rye News is just that, news from Rye and the surrounding area - national and international matters are more than adequately covered in the national press. However, just occasionally it does no harm to allow readers to air their views, and perhaps start a conversation going, on wider matters. Rye, after all, is part of the wider world and we also have readers in many parts of that world, including, in this instance, the US who might be interested in what ordinary people - not just politicians - think.
While Rye News publishes stories about what happens locally, I do feel that at times it's important to speak out about news and decisions made in the wider world which might affect us globally and seem to me to be unjust. To quote Martin Luther King Jnr: "When you know something is wrong and you don't speak up, you become part of it."
I am referring to the action of President Donald Trump, who without thinking or awareness of the sensibilities of the Israel-Palestine situation, announceD that the US endorses Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and that he will relocate the embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. He could have just simply said he will relocate offices.
Without trying to disentangle the history from years back, as there are too many differences of opinion, the fact is that East Jerusalem used to be Palestinian territory though occupied like the rest of the West Bank. Trump suggests he is doing something for the peace process. This is laughable, as he has alienated most of the Arab world and has been criticised by the West.
Instead, what would have helped is endorsing the stopping of illegal settlements and stopping the occupation and oppression of another people. Palestinians cannot freely move to hospital, see their friends and family or go to work on their olive groves without permission of the gatekeepers at the checkpoints. Indeed, many of their homes have been destroyed.
Sir Vincent Fean KCVO (British Consul General to Jerusalem 2010-2014) pointed out in his speech at Central Westminster Hall on October 31 2017: "The occupation is terrible for the Palestinians and, for those ordered to impose it, a dehumanising and demeaning act. That's why the gatekeepers of security argue for a peace agreement with the Palestinians based on security for both people." The Balfour Declaration promised a two-state solution and should be reiterated and negotiated with both countries (not giving up at the first hurdle), and accept the recognition of the State of Israel alongside the State of Palestine on the basis of the pre-June 1967 borders, as most UN members have done. President Trump has pushed the peace process way back and in my mind is playing a dangerous game that may affect us all eventually.
And just to stop any accusation of bias, I have a Jewish background that had grave consequences for my family.
Photos: Library images
Photos: Library images
