This blog is cross-posted at StewartAcuff.com
President Barack Obama said Palestinians have a “right to self-determination, their right to justice” and a right to their own homeland to thunderous applause in Israel. Then he said he was going off script and told the story of talking with young Palestinians. He humanized the Palestinians and challenged the crowd to see the humanity of Palestinians.
Even though Netanyahu had disrespected President Obama and lectured Obama publicly in front of the press at the White House, the President went to Israel with nothing but goodwill to stand up again for peace.
Palestinians are human beings and deserving of respect and dignity and the hope for a better future of peace, dignity, and freedom.
Until the daily disrespect of Palestinians stops, peace is but a hope, and the Jewish community in Israel will be threatened.
We cannot expect peace with Palestinians nor with the Muslim world until we respect the humanity, dignity, and religion of Islam.
All of us would do well to remember that the roots of both Christianity and Islam are Judaism.
Image Credit: Adam Zivner via Wikimedia Commons
© Creative Commons Copyright 2013
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Stewart Acuff is the former organizing Director of the AFL-CIO. Acuff has also written two books: Playing Bigger Than You Are: A Life in Organizing, and Getting America Back to Work.
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