Dr. Jess Ghannam wrote this letter to defend my stance when I  “went out on a limb” for the Palestinian cause and was roundly criticized by Zionist zealots.

            May we all have such wonderful friends!

 

            Jess is co-founder of Al-Awda, the Palestinian Right of Return Coalition,  a group which reaches millions with the story of the Palestinian diaspora.

 

‘Just peace’ elusive

 

            First, let me thank the Times for attempting to offer a balanced perspective to the crisis in the MiddleEast.

            The piece by Steve Dufour in your Readers’ Forum (Jan. 10) was unfortunate, as it suggested an imbalanced approach to solving the current crisis. Even more disturbing was Sally Brown’s response to [Jordan White's] attempt to offer an alternative perspective. Brown offers the traditional colonial view (of) the creation of the state of Israel.

            The Palestinians did not agree with the partition plan because it was illegal, unethical, and immoral. At the time of the partition in 1948, Palestinians owned 95 percent of the land in historic Palestine and made up well over 85 percent of the population.Why would they agree to give up their homeland?

            Because the Palestinians did not agree with this plan they were forced to leave there homes and land. Why should they not be afforded such a basic human right to return? There cannot be a just peace unless this fact is acknowledged by the Israelis.

 

Jess Ghannam

San Francisco

2/11/01