An open letter to Clinton
Mr. President, the United States of America is the most God- blessed country on earth and its people have proven themselves to be very generous and compassionate.
So, one wonders why the American leadership cannot understand the suffering of the Palestinians, and continues to support the occupation and oppression of the Arab lands by Israelis. In the last 52 years, Israel -- the Jewish state -- has inflicted unbearable wounds on the Palestinians.
One fails to understand why the Jews, who have suffered terribly, can be so cruel. Only the American president has the power and capacity to end Palestinian suffering provided he has the will and the courage.
In general, the Muslim world has treated the Jews more fairly and generously as compared with the Christian world.
Around AD 1000, Spain, then a Muslim nation, became one of the greatest centers of Jewish scholarship. When the Crusaders, around AD 1100, conquered Jerusalem, they brutally massacred a large population of Jews and Muslims in the city.
Leaders of Europe's Christian world forced Jews to live in segregated areas called ghettos. During the 1200s and 1300s, almost all Jews in England and France were driven out of those countries. In 1492, the Jews were expelled from Spain and they moved to Turkey.
In the 1930s and 1940s, the European Jews came under Nazi domination, during which six million Jews were killed.
Palestine's tragedy began with the advent of Zionism -- the ideology which advanced the establishment of a Jewish state as the response to anti-Semitism of the West. Palestinians and newly arrived Jewish immigrants initially lived together peacefully.
In 1947, the United Nations recommended independence of Palestine, with all the inhabitants (574,000 Muslims, 70,000 Christians, 56,000 Jews then) living as equals in a unified state. Palestinians accepted but Zionists sabotaged the decision, and on May 15, 1948 declared the establishment of Israel.
The Zionist terrorists let loose their terror against the Arabs. When the 1948 war ended, the Zionists had taken over three quarters of the Palestinian land, 9,000 Palestinians had to take refuge in neighboring countries, and 13,000 others were killed.
Israelis claim that Palestinians left on their own will. Yet since 1948, Israel has been the source of tension in the Middle East. Israel has bombed PLO offices in Lebanon, Tunisia and recently Arafat's headquarters in Gaza, assassinated PLO representatives in Rome, Paris, etc., and bombed Lebanon at will.
Israel's occupation of Arab lands has brought suffering also to Lebanese, Syrians, Iraqis, Egyptians, etc.
Mr. President, Israel is America's so-called good friend. If you have a friend like Israel you don't need an enemy. Israel has never implemented a UN resolution, it has built over 200 nuclear bombs without any rebuke from Americans, stolen technical data from USA, and so on.
Yet all they have provided is the names of a few Palestinian "terrorists". Mr. President, you have done so much for Israel and Jews and as a friend, only you can change the evil mind-set of Israeli leadership.
The whole world has repeatedly condemned Israel but they don't care ... (I was shocked to hear Ambassador Holbrooke state that "the UN General Assembly is a useless body.") The Jews' destiny is with the Muslims of the Middle East. God has placed the holy places of Muslims, Jews and Christians in close proximity so that they all learn to live with each other.
Please convince the Israeli leadership that the total implementation of the relevant UN resolutions will bring security and peace for them as well as for others.
M. KHALIQ QURESHI
Jakarta