For this Shalom Portland we'll revisit the issue of home demolitions in East Jerusalem. We speak first with Akiva Tor, Israeli Consul General for the Pacific Northwest. Topics will also include the conversion bill, and other topics related to the peace process.
We speak next with Efrat Cohen-Bar from the Israeli NGO Bimkom, whose mission is to strengthen democracy and human rights in the field of planning. We'll talk about home demolitions and civic planning in East Jerusalem, and how the situation today for Palestinian residents compares to that in the past, and how it could improve.
We'll finally talk with Gordon Gladstone, Western Regional Director of J Street regarding the Community of YES campaign, and the efforts by J Street to support candidates for Congress that are in favor of the peace process.
Comments
Thoughts on this week's Shalom Portland
Thank you, Ed, for your work to bring voices and ideas from the Jewish peace camp to the airwaves. It is refreshing considering all of the hateful rhetoric we always hear from the other side.
That being said, though, unfortunately the "peace process" as framed by liberals and Democrats in America and Israel, is and always has been used as a means to delay real justice for the Palestinians, and J Street is simply out of touch when it comes to building a "community of yes" for a two-state solution. There really is no viable two-state solution any more, not without removing the barrier wall and dismantling many more settlements. While I applaud J Street's desire to further the cause of peace between Israel and Palestine, what they propose are more watered-down, half-step measures.
I think sparking this type of dialogue among the KBOO community is definitely important, so again, thank you! I would just like to encourage you to consider interviewing Jewish members of such groups as Jews for Justice, Jewish Voice for Peace, B'Tselem, Brit Tzedek v'Shalom, Gush Shalom, the U.S. Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation, and Americans United for Palestinian Human Rights just to name a few. Shalom!