The citizens want to live in peace, but the leaders make it very hard to happen.

January 17, 2009

The citizens want to live in peace, but the leaders make that very

hard to happen....

Dear All,

It is just so sad, that the citizens want to live in peace, but the

leaders make that hard to happen. The leaders really need their Self

realization. It seems that only then, will peace prevail for the citizens. It

seems that only then, will they have the Third Sight and thus a clear vision, of

" what Is " .

violet

By Janine Roberts

Much has been made of Hamas' reported failure to honour last year's truce. But,

an extraordinary correspondence between Jewish residents of the much-rocketed

town of Sderot, nearby kibbutz, and the Palestinians living within sight in the

Gaza strip paints a very different picture of that truce from that repeatedly

given by the Israeli government.

Barrack Obama was taken to Sderot last year to show him the effects of

rocketing. He remarked on how Israeli towns looked like American from the air

and offered his full support to the town's citizens, promising to invite its

representatives to the White House soon after taking office. At the time in

mid-July Sderot was safe to visit. There had been no casualties from rockets

since the ceasefire started 4 weeks earlier.

On July 12th 2008, a Gaza resident, using the pseudonym of " Peaceman, " emailed

friends in Sderot to say. " The situation is calm and this make people happy a

lot, because there are no dead and wounded [but] the border is still closed… I

myself have been waiting two years to go to Europe to study.' Nevertheless `we

have now a golden opportunity to try to build a new world without violence.'

His friends replied to say how much better it was now the rockets had stopped.

They told how they cycled along the Gaza borders and were greeted with waves by

Gaza residents. They revelled in the freedom from danger. A joint children's

holiday was planned and greetings cards exchanged. (See samples at end)

One such message read " I live with my family in Kibbutz Beeri, close enough to

Gaza to see the houses and the sea. On weekends I ride my bike with my husband

through the fields along the border … I hope the violence will come to an end

and the Palestinian State will be established with peace between our peoples and

peace within each of our countries between the extremists on each side. "

Sderot is built on the lands of Najd, a Palestinian village ethnically cleansed

by Jewish militia in 1948. Its residents probably fled into the Gaza strip. Most

of Gaza's population is descended from such refugees. However, this history was

not allowed to prevent this growing friendship – nor were the deaths of people

from both towns in the months preceding the ceasefire.

The ceasefire was still intact months after Obama's visit. In October 2008 an

Israeli in Sderot, using the pseudonym " Hopeman, " emailed his friend in Gaza to

say: " We have lived for almost 5 months in a ceasefire situation. On my side of

the border, things returned to normal and we once again felt safe. Kids played

freely outdoors, streets filled once again with people, and the constant fear of

the rocket alerts disappeared. My kids went to sleep in their room again,

instead of the safe room, and I could walk out to the fields surrounding the

town without the fear of being out in the open with nowhere to hide. "

On October 9th an Israeli newspaper, the Star, headlined: `Israeli town

celebrates end to daily rocket fire. It reported: " Besieged residents of Sderot

were relieved by the quiet start to Yom Kippur, thanks to the ceasefire with

Hamas …Young boys horsed around on their bicycles, families hurried to make

last-minute purchases at the downtown supermarket, and food stands did a steady

business in shawarma and beer. "

" Everything is different, " exulted Jasmine Aboukrat, 25, sales clerk at the

Cochovit Dress Shop near Hagofer St, " People go out more. " " Now you see all the

children outdoors, playing, " said David Coyne, 38, who owns a candy shop in the

centre of town. " It's secure. "

The paper explained: " For seven years, local residents barely went out at all.

But, late last June, under Egyptian mediation, the Israeli government reached a

ceasefire agreement with the Palestinian militant group Hamas. Since then, with

only a few violations, the rocket salvoes from Gaza have stopped. "

Sderot is " a rambling community of boxy bungalows and low-rise apartment blocks.

interspersed by palm, cypress and eucalyptus trees " with a library with nearly

as many books in Russian as Hebrew, reflecting its recent arrivals. Its people

" say they are hugely pleased with the new air of tranquillity that now permeates

their town. "

The newspaper also reported that there were no more " punitive Israeli military

incursions into the neighbouring strip – attacks that had been a frequent and

deadly feature of Palestinian existence prior to the laying down of arms in

June. "

But Hopeman emailed from Sderok: " During this time I have been in touch with

many friends of mine in Gaza, and from them I heard a very dark and troubling

reality…The siege Israel had imposed on them continues. They have many power

shortages and very little fuel and cooking gas. "

On the 4th November, the day when Americans were watching the results of the

Presidential election, the Israeli army broke the ceasefire by raiding the

strip. Six Palestinians were killed. Next day the Palestinians reacted as could

be expected by sending a shower of rockets and Israel immediately slashed

supplies of medicine, fuel, food, cooking gas for the 1.5 million people of

Gaza. The number of truckloads fell from October's daily average of 123 trucks

to less than 5 trucks. Some families were reduced to easting bread made from

animal feed. Others were reduced to eating grass.

An email was sent: " Peace Man and I talk every day. We support each other and

worry for each other's well being. I am in contact with others in Gaza and share

my situation while hearing of theirs. Much fear and pain on both sides. Once

again we should all call to end the violence, open the siege, start talking and

bring back hope to us, civilians on both sides, pawns in the unbearable

senseless political game. "

Then Hamas told Israel that a renewed ceasefire must be accompanied by an end to

the increasingly cruel siege, but Israel refused to accept this.

The friends " realized that the situation was about to deteriorate into total

chaos " said Arik Yalin, 43, of Sderot, the spokesman for this Israeli-Arab

group. They put up a website that stated: " Up until now we have cried, called,

demonstrated, and asked our leaders to do something about this insane reality in

which we live. The leaders have tried every possible idea that involves violence

and military force – with no success at all.

" We shoot at them and they shoot at us. We retaliate and they strike back.

" This is an endless and vicious cycle.

" Today we say: ENOUGH! It is our turn to take our destiny into our own hands and

to ACT to stop the cycle of bloodshed. "

They sent a petition to the Israeli Government in the name of their group; `Kol

Acher' (The Other Voice). Five hundred citizens of Sderot signed it as well as

another 1300 Israeli and Palestinian citizens. It read:

" Kol Acher from Sderot and the communities around Gaza calls on the Prime

Minister and the Defence Minister to act urgently to restore calm in the area.

" The ceasefire changed the lives of the people of Sderot, Ashkelon and the

region beyond recognition, allowing all of us to experience again a life that is

more normal and sane. The continuation of this calm is essential and critical to

the residents of the region from every possible aspect: physical, mental,

spiritual and economic.

" Another round of escalation may break our already brittle spirit, and take us

all to another round of self-destruction and pointless bloodshed. It is not

certain that we will survive. And you must be aware of that, if you indeed care

about the residents of this area. We've been through this movie too many

years–and results speak for themselves: feeling trapped, abandonment, and

hopelessness for our children and us!

" On the other side of the border live a million and a half Palestinians under

unbearable conditions, and most of them want, like we do, calm and the

opportunity of a future for themselves and their families.

" We live in the feeling that you have wasted that period of calm, instead of

using it to advance understandings and begin negotiations, as well as for

fortifying the houses of residents as promised.

" We call on the Prime Minister and the Defence minister not to listen to the

voices of incitement and do everything they can to avoid another round of

escalation, to secure the continuation of the calm and to work...towards direct

or indirect negotiations with the Palestinian leadership in Gaza in order to

reach long term understandings.

" We prefer a cold war without a single rocket to a hot war with dozens of

victims and innocent fatalities on both sides.

" We ask you to offer us the possibility of political arrangement and hope and

not an endless cycle of blood. "

Their petition had no effect. On December 27th, while politicians in the West

were on holiday and the US had a lame duck President in his final weeks of

office, Israel launched a savage assault.

That same day the Israeli Foreign Ministry changed its website, removing charts

giving the numbers of rockets and mortars fired every month from the Gaza strip,

perhaps because they revealed the near-total cessation of fire during the truce.

These charts were based on statistics supplied by the Israeli Intelligence and

Terrorism Information Center and provide striking evidence of Hamas' good faith.

Contrary to government statements made repeatedly since then, Israeli government

statistics show Hamas kept the ceasefire.

Together with a similar graph for mortar fire, these reveal that the total

number of rocket and mortar attacks launched from Gaza fell from over a hundred

a month to just 12 in all from the start of July to the end of October. The

Ministry has replaced these graphs with one that is harder to interpret. It

claims `227 rockets were fired during the lull in the fighting' but notes that

203 of these were fired after November 4th, the date when Israel broke the

ceasefire. This is still on the Government website.

Credit for the 12 rockets fired during the ceasefire were reportedly claimed by

Fatah's al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade, Islamic Jihad or the " Badr Forces.' Hamas

condemned them.

It is worth going back to what else Obama said in Sderot: " I will not wait until

a few years into my term or my second term if I'm elected, in order to get the

process moving. I think we have a window right now that needs to be taken

advantage of. I think you've got a set of moderate Palestinian leaders who are

interested. I think the Israeli people are interested in moving this process

along. But I also think there's a population on both sides that is becoming

increasingly frustrated with the lack of progress. And where there's

hopelessness and despair that can often turn in a bad direction. "

Obama on January 11th said he would be ready to do all he can to bring peace

from the day he takes office. But – has Obama heard these voices of Sderot? I

doubt he did when he went to their town, but, if he did, then he will know that

the Israeli government is wrong to claim that the only way they can stop the

rockets is by physically destroying Hamas with all the slaughter this entails.

Perhaps Obama should also take advice, not already doing so, from the former UK

Ambassador to Israel, Sir Jeremy Greenstock. January 9, 2009 he unhesitatingly

said during a BBC interview: " Hamas is not a terrorist organisation, " adding he

knows from talking to them that they are focussed on ending the decades of

military occupation. He also affirmed; " Israel broke the truce by its actions on

4th November. " '

Perhaps Obama should also listen to the Catholic priest, Fr. Latham, who

preached in Bethlehem on Sunday 4th January, saying the Palestinians are being

" crucified everyday. "

http://palestinechronicle.com/view_article_details.php?id=14661

- Janine Roberts has written for many major Australian newspapers and both the

Independent and Financial Times in the UK. Her investigative films have appeared

on the PBS network in the USA and on the BBC and Australian television. She was

invited to testify at a US Congressional Hearing on Human rights in Africa and

the blood diamond trade. Her latest investigative books are " Glitter and Greed "

and the " Fear of the Invisible. " She contributed this article to

PalestineChronicle.com. Contact her at: jan, or visit her

blog: www.speakingloudly.blogspot.com.

January 17, 2009

Dear All,

Here is a URL, showing that leaders from many countries are very shocked with

this situation, but other than voice their shock and dismay and try to get some

humanitarian aid, they do not seem to be able to do much, practically, about

this situation:

http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5id2EhQv6jq0iG07Ezz2yR2JkKScA

Shri Mataji gives the suggestion that a Supreme Council could be formed over the

United Nations, to yet get a possible World Peace, and also to give people the

opportunity to have their Sahaja Yoga experience of Self realization:

" If persons of high eminence, integrity, wisdom, character and intellect are

elected to the proposed new high body to direct and guide the entire United

Nations system, the people of the world may have a new chance of seeing the

world governed by righteousness and dharma and not by narrow selfishness, greed

and immorality. In that case, world peace and a good social, political and moral

order may yet be established. Such a high body which we may call the Supreme

Council, will not be dominated by any one country, not even by America. "

" We cannot say with certainty that this Supreme Council which will be created to

control the U.N. will be absolutely perfect. First of all, they will not be paid

very highly, but an honorarium would be given and they may try to do something

which is not honest if they are by any chance, money-oriented. So the only

conclusion one can reach is that this Supreme Council should be constituted by

the election only of excellent Sahaja Yogis. They have all the requisite

qualities in abundance--they are selfless, they are compassionate, they are

devoted to public interest without the slightest bias on grounds of race,

religion or nationality. They will thus always make sound and proper decisions.

Most importantly, the Supreme Court consisting of Sahaja Yogis, will spread the

message of Sahaja Yoga throughout the world not merely by words but by deeds

which will inspire all the people and thus ensure a new peaceful and just world

order. Sahaja Yoga is thus the only solution to world problems because it will

ensure the transformation of all human beings and thus create a new highly

evolved human race. "

Shri Mataji Nirmala Devi, book 'Meta Modern Era', Chapter 8, World Peace,

29/09/95

Here is the article, again.

regards,

violet

" Most of the people lose their values because of wars. They lose faith in God

Almighty. God has given freedom to human beings which he would not wish to take

away. Only through freedom can we learn about the Absolute. In a school a

teacher teaches students that two plus two is four but when the students go up

to the level of college, they are given freedom to find out the solutions

themselves. In the same way, today, the human race is on the brink of that jump,

where through its freedom it must know that the highest thing is to achieve

spiritual ascent.

After every war there is a so-called peace time, but during the peace time

people are preparing for the next war. The reason is that they cannot forget and

forgive the people whom they have fought or those who killed their kith and kin.

It has to be realised that for the maintenance of world peace, we have to have

some sort of a global organisation. We have established the U.N. organisation,

but basically the U.N. cannot effectively fulfil this peace mission because it

has no effective power of its own and is dependant on the wishes of its Member

States who do not always act in unison. They all put forward their own

individual ideas and their own demands to the U.N., which is always dominated by

America. Americans are not the right people to dominate the world, because they

are very immature and very sex-oriented.

We have to have another higher house for the U.N. We can get very well known

judges like those of the World Court at the Hague. These people should be

elected by the whole world and should not come from any one particular country.

They should have the necessary detachment and wisdom as well as a great

understanding of the problems that affect the peace of the World. This new body

of the most distinguished persons on top of the U.N. can manage much more than

the U.N. which is absolutely under the thumbs of the countries which are

governed sometimes by very odd governments. There is then the problem of getting

adequate financial resources for running this new body as well as the U.N.

Considering that Governments are not willing to contribute large sums of money,

it is extremely necessary to reduce the total number of U.N. employees and also

to scale down their salaries. If the salaries are not as high as they are today,

those who are purely money-oriented will not be attracted to the U.N. In that

situation only the public-spirited people will join and work for the world body.

Every effort should be made to secure the services of people of global eminence,

possessing higher ideas and idealism to work in the true spirit of service. They

should be persons of great intellect and high and renowned moral character. In

particular they should be very mature and highly experienced so that they can

clearly and properly understand the problems of the world, especially those

affecting global peace.

If persons of high eminence, integrity, wisdom, character and intellect are

elected to the proposed new high body to direct and guide the entire United

Nations system, the people of the world may have a new chance of seeing the

world governed by righteousness and dharma and not by narrow selfishness, greed

and immorality. In that case, world peace and a good social, political and moral

order may yet be established. Such a high body which we may call the Supreme

Council, will not be dominated by any one country, not even by America. I

sometimes feel that on the whole the Americans are still very immature people.

There have been very great Americans like Abraham Lincoln and George Washington,

but what one sees in America now is that people need to become mature, and this

maturity will only come if they take to Sahaja Yoga and not to some sort of

evangelists or false gurus.

We cannot say with certainty that this Supreme Council which will be created to