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Proposal Details

Proposal ID	825
Proposal	2016 Platform Amendment Proposal: Foreign Policy, Middle East
Presenter	Platform Committee Sponsored by Green Party of Rhode Island
Floor Manager	Jan Martell
Phase	Closed - Failed
Discussion	05-02-2016 - 05-29-2016
Voting	05-30-2016 - 06-05-2016
Presens Quorum	Two Thirds of Active Accredited States/Caucuses
Consens Quorum	Two Thirds of Yes and No Votes

Background

The following is offered to replace the current platform plank on the Palestinian-Israeli Conflict, found under Chapter I, Part D. Foreign Policy, Section 2: A Real Road to Peace in the Middle East http://www.gp.org/democracy#demForeignPolicy

The original plank follows the revision. The preamble is retained and replacement text is inserted, reducing the size of the section, from 1303 to 1142 words. The proposed changes begin with the title: The Palestinian-Israeli Conflict

Proposal

To amend Chapter I, Part D. Foreign Policy, Section 2, A
Real Road to Peace in the Middle East - The Palestinian-Israeli Conflict to read:

2. A Real Road to Peace in the Middle East

The Green Party of the United States recognizes that our greatest contribution to peace in the Middle East will come through our impact on U.S. policy in the region.

Our commitments to ecological wisdom, social justice, grass-roots democracy, and non-violence compel us to oppose U.S. government support for ÒfriendlyÓ regimes in the region when those regimes violate human rights, international law, and existing treaties. We call on congressional intelligence committees to conduct comprehensive public hearings on the development and deployment of weapons of mass destruction by all states in the region.

U.S. policy should support the removal and/or destruction of all such weapons wherever they are found there.

[Section on IranÉ]

The Palestinian-Israeli Conflict

ZIONISM AND DISPOSSESSION. We view the Palestinian-Israeli conflict primarily as a settler-colonial conflict, not one between two parties with different but equal views. We acknowledge the now consensual historical view that this conflict began with the dispossession of the majority of the natives of historic Palestine beginning in the late 19th century by the Zionist movement. From its inception, ZionismÕs intention was to create a Jewish state in Palestine despite the fact that the land was occupied by Palestinian Muslims and Christians and a tiny population of Jews. From the start, Zionism was encouraged and supported by the British Empire which sought a Western ally (European Jews) at a vital crossroads to the colonized East, which would also serve as a bulwark against Arab independence. History shows that Palestinian Muslims and Christians were ethnically cleansed en masse by Zionists between 1947 and 1949 especially, with expulsions continuing to this day. Also, since 1967 Israel has illegally occupied Palestinian land in the West Bank including East Jerusalem, and maintained a siege of Gaza. Consequently, Israel now controls the entire land of historic Palestine and, in violation of international law, continues to create Jewish-only settlements in the West Bank Palestinian Territories including East Jerusalem. Thus, the source of the conflict is the dispossession of Palestinians and IsraelÕs refusal to allow these Palestinian refugees to return to their homes because they are not Jews.

INTERNATIONAL LAW AND DEMOCRACY IN PALESTINE-ISRAEL. It has become clear with time that Israel is an apartheid-like state, with scores of laws that formally privilege Jews at the expense of both non-Jewish Israeli citizens and Palestinians living under military occupation. In sum, from its formation, the State of Israel has sought the land of historic Palestine with as few non-Jews as possible, and despite the fact that nearly 25% of the population are non-Jews, mostly Palestinians. The Green Party acknowledges the historic oppression of Jews in Europe particularly. However, we also recognize that Palestinians were not responsible for that oppression including the horrors of the Nazi Holocaust. Thus, we do not condone the dispossession of another people as a remedy to the historic injustice to Jews. This conflict continues primarily because Israel, with the unequivocal financial and political support of the United States government, refuses to become the democratic state of all its citizens and respect international law, particularly the right of Palestinian refugees to return home, for which there are feasible plans that would not displace most current residents of Israel.

ONE PERSON, ONE VOTE. Following the lead of many Palestinian leaders and citizens, we reject the two state solution begun with the Oslo process in 1993, a process that provides cover for IsraelÕs continuing seizure of Palestinian land. Indeed, this is increasingly viewed, both in Palestine and among supporters in the U.S., as a non-solution, just as advocating two states for French-colonial Algeria, or in apartheid South Africa, would have been non-solutions. Moreover, as a consequence of Israeli Jewish settlement activity and Israeli military controls, a de facto single state already exists in Israel-PalestineÑbut it is one where Israeli Jews dominate non-Jews politically, socially, economically, and militarily. Thus, recognizing that Israelis and Palestinians are now inextricably linked by their attachment to the same land, we join the growing call for the formation of one democratic state (ODS) for all those living between the River Jordan and the Mediterranean Sea, as the only just and sustainable solution. We do recognize that even among Palestinians there remain different views on this question. We also recognize that support for the outcome most consistent with Green valuesÑone democratic state, with equal civil and political rights for allÑis growing. Thus our position is meant to encourage and support those Palestinian leaders, organizations, and citizens who have reached the same conclusionÑbecause in the final analysis, a peaceful, sustainable resolution depends entirely on the choices made in Palestine-IsraelÑnot by Greens in the U.S. or elsewhere. Our view affirms that one democratic state would become one homeland for both peoples; and affirms the reality that Palestine-Israel is and has always been a multicultural land. To reach this goal, we recognize that decolonization and democratization are long-term transformations, involving negotiations, the marshalling of political support at home and abroad, and joint planning for implementation. These negotiations may also result in establishment of a Truth and Reconciliation Commission, which we would support. Thus with some urgency, we call for the immediate opening of negotiations, in which the Israeli government and Palestinian representatives will begin the process of creating a single, democratic state for all people of Palestine-Israel.

BOYCOTT, DIVESTMENT, AND SANCTIONS. Mindful that foreign governments, especially that of the United States, have been unwilling to move toward such a just resolution to this conflict, and that the Green Party of the US supports non-violent tactics toward its resolution: We call on the U.S. President and Congress to suspend all military and foreign aid, including loans and grants, to Israel; and we endorse the 2005 Palestinian Civil Society Call for a Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement against Israel until Israel

1. Ends its occupation and colonization of all Arab lands and dismantling the Separation Wall;

2. Recognizes the fundamental rights of the Arab-Palestinian citizens of Israel to full equality; and

3. Respects, protects and promotes the rights of Palestinian refugees to return to their homes and properties as stipulated in UN resolution 194.

STABILITY IN THE MIDDLE EAST. Finally, we affirm that resolving the Palestinian-Israeli conflict is a fundamental step towards restoring stability across the Middle East. We emphasize that the most radicalizing and destabilizing force there remains Western intervention which, for more than a century, has economically, militarily and socially destabilized the Arab world to serve the WestÕs own geopolitical interests. To truly stabilize the region, and overcome Islamist extremism, the U.S. must end its interventions, and address root causes of the crisis: Bringing justice to Palestine, ending Western intervention, cooperating with Arab civil societyеs progressive forces to eliminate economic and social injustice across the region, supporting Arab unity; these are the real tools towards regional stability and against extremism and terrorism.

----------------------------------------------

CURRENT PLATFORM PLANK

2. A Real Road to Peace in the Middle East
The Green Party of the United States recognizes that our greatest contribution to peace in the Middle East will come through our impact on U.S. policy in the region.

Our commitments to ecological wisdom, social justice, grass-roots democracy, and non-violence compel us to oppose U.S. government support for "friendly" regimes in the region when those regimes violate human rights, international law, and existing treaties. We call on congressional intelligence committees to conduct comprehensive public hearings on the development and deployment of weapons of mass destruction by all states in the region.

U.S. policy should support the removal and/or destruction of all such weapons wherever they are found there.

[Section on Iran...]

The Palestinian-Israeli Conflict
Our Green values oblige us to support popular movements for peace and demilitarization in Israel-Palestine, especially those that reach across the lines of conflict to engage both Palestinians and Israelis of good will.

a. We reaffirm the right of self-determination for both Palestinians and Israelis, which precludes the self-determination of one at the expense of the other. We recognize the historical and contemporary cultural diversity of Israeli-Palestinian society, including the religious heritage of Jews, Christians, Muslims and others. This is a significant part of the rich cultural legacy of all these peoples and it must be respected. To ensure this, we support equality before international law rather than appeals to religious faith as the fair basis on which claims to the land of Palestine-Israel are resolved.

b. We recognize that Jewish insecurity and fear of non-Jews is understandable in light of Jewish history of horrific oppression in Europe. However, we oppose as both discriminatory and ultimately self-defeating the position that Jews would be fundamentally threatened by the implementation of full rights to Palestinian-Israelis and Palestinian refugees who wish to return to their homes. As U.S. Greens, we refuse to impose our views on the people of the region. Still, we would turn the U.S. government towards a new policy, which itself recognizes the equality, humanity, and civil rights of Jews, Muslims, Christians, and all others who live in the region, and which seeks to build confidence in prospects for secular democracy.

c. We reaffirm the right and feasibility of Palestinian refugees to return to their homes in Israel. We acknowledge the significant challenges of equity and restitution this policy would encounter and call on the U.S. government to make resolution of these challenges a central goal of our diplomacy in the region.

d. We reject U.S. unbalanced financial and military support of Israel while Israel occupies Palestinian lands and maintains an apartheid-like system in both the Occupied Palestinian Territories and in Israel toward its non-Jewish citizens. Therefore, we call on the U.S. President and Congress to suspend all military and foreign aid, including loans and grants, to Israel until Israel withdraws from the Occupied Territories, dismantles the separation wall in the Occupied West Bank including East Jerusalem, ends its siege of Gaza and its apartheid-like system both within the Occupied Palestinian Territories and in Israel toward its non-Jewish citizens.

e. We also reject U.S. political support for Israel and demand that the U.S. government end its veto of Security Council resolutions pertaining to Israel. We urge our government to join with the U.N. to secure Israel's complete withdrawal to the 1967 boundaries and its compliance with international law.

f. We support a much stronger and supportive U.S. position with respect to all United Nations, European Union, and Arab League initiatives that seek a negotiated peace. We call for an immediate U.N.-sponsored, multinational peacekeeping and protection force in the Palestinian territories with the mandate to initiate a conflict-resolution commission.

g. We call on the foreign and military affairs committees of the U.S. House and Senate to conduct full hearings on the status of human rights and war crimes in Palestine-Israel, especially violations committed during Israel's 2008-2009 invasion of Gaza ("Operation Cast Lead") as documented in the 2009 "UN Fact Finding Mission on the Gaza Conflict"("The Goldstone Report") authorized by the UN Commission on Human Rights.

h. We recognize that despite decades of continuous diplomatic attempts by the international community, it has failed to bring about Israel's compliance with international law or respect for basic Palestinian human rights; and that, despite abundant condemnation of Israel's policies by the UN, International Court of Justice, and all relevant international conventions, the international community of nations has failed to stop Israeli violations of Palestinian human rights in Israel and the OPT, while Israeli crimes continue with impunity. We recall that ending institutionalized racism (apartheid) in South Africa demanded an unusual, cooperative action by the entire international community in the form of a boycott, divestment, and sanctions (BDS) campaign against apartheid South Africa, and that BDS can become the most effective nonviolent means for achieving justice and genuine peace between Palestinians and Israelis, and for the region, through concerted international pressure as applied to apartheid South Africa; and that Palestinian resistance to ongoing dispossession has mainly been nonviolent, including its most basic form--remaining in their homes, on their land; and that while Palestinian armed resistance is legitimate under international law when directed at non-civilian targets, we believe that only nonviolent resistance will maintain the humanity of Palestinian society, elicit the greatest solidarity from others, and maximize the chance for future reconciliation between Israelis and Palestinians. However, we also recognize that our appeal to Palestinians to continue to resist nonviolently in the face of ongoing existential threats from Israel is hypocritical unless accompanied by substantial acts of international support. We recall that in 2005, Palestinian Civil Society appealed to the international community to support a BDS campaign against Israel, and that in response the Green Party of the US endorsed this BDS campaign in 2005. Therefore, we support the implementation of boycott and divestment initiatives against Israel similar to those applied to South Africa in the apartheid era, which includes pressuring our government to impose embargoes and sanctions against Israel; and we support maintaining these nonviolent punitive measures until Israel meets its obligation to recognize the Palestinian people's inalienable right to self-determination and fully complies with the precepts of international law by

1. Ending its occupation and colonization of all Palestinian lands and dismantling the Wall in the West Bank

2. Recognizing the fundamental rights of Palestinian citizens of Israel to full equality; and

3. Respecting, protecting and promoting the rights of Palestinian refugees to return to their homes and properties as stipulated in UN resolution 194.

i. We recognize that international opinion has been committed to a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Yet, we view the two-state solution as neither democratic nor viable in the face of international law, material conditions and "facts on the ground" that now exist in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories. Given this reality, we support a U.S. foreign policy that promotes the creation of one secular, democratic state for Palestinians and Israelis on the land between the Mediterranean Sea and the River Jordan as the national home of both peoples, with Jerusalem as its capital. We encourage a new U.S. diplomatic initiative to begin the long process of negotiation, laying the groundwork for such a single-state constitution.

j. We recognize that such a state might take many forms and that the eventual model chosen must be decided by the peoples themselves. We also acknowledge the enormous hostilities that now exist between the two peoples, but history tells us that these are not insurmountable among people genuinely seeking peace.

k. As an integral part of peace negotiations and the transition to peaceful democracy, we call for the establishment of a Truth and Reconciliation Commission whose inaugurating action would be mutual acknowledgement by Israelis and Palestinians that they have the same basic rights, including the right to exist in the same, secure place.

Resources

Approval of this proposal will amend the 2016 Draft Platform, to be presented for approval at the 2016 Presidential Nominating Convention.

References

CONTACT:
Platform Committee
Bruce Hinkforth, co-chair, bhinkforth@milwpc.com, 262-569-1370
Budd Dickinson, co-chair, budd.dickinson@gmail.com, 650-773-0438
Gregg Gerritt, Green Party of Rhode Island, StateCommittee@RIGreens.org

Justine McCabe, International Committee, author of proposal

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