Call out Israel over “terrorist” claim

Jonathan Kuttab, an international human rights lawyer, recently came to Albany at the invitation of the local Palestinian Rights Committee and the New York State Council of Churches to speak about his book,

“Beyond the Two-state Solution.” Kuttab argues that a two-state solution to the Israeli/palestinian conflict is no longer viable and points a way forward where both Jewish Israelis and Palestinian Arabs can live together with security, freedom and dignity in a single, multiethnic democratic state.

Kuttab is a co-founder of Al-haq, an internationally recognized and respected human rights organization that has been critical of both Israel and the Palestinian Authority. Last month, the Israeli Ministry of Defense designated Al-haq and five other leading Palestinian organizations as “terrorist” organizations. Israel has offered no credible evidence to support this claim, but the designation means that the Israeli military has the power to close the organizations’ offices and arrest their members.

This is a blatant attempt to silence the voices of Palestinian civil society. Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International called it “an attack by the Israeli government on the international human rights movement.” U.S. church leaders said the Israeli decision was “an attack on those most dedicated to realizing a just and lasting peace.”

A resolution has been introduced in Congress condemning the move. All who value human rights should support it. The United States cannot be a credible voice for freedom if it continues to provide cover for Israel’s antidemocratic repression of Palestinian civil society. Rev. John D. Paarlberg

Loudonville Member of the Executive

Committee, New York State Council of Churches