[statecom] Proposal to Convention Tomorrow: A Proposal to Revise, Expand, and Improve the Green-Rainbow Party Statement on Palestine

[Colby E. Peterson]

I intend to introduce this proposal to the Convention tomorrow.

This proposal is based on my experience as Communications Director of  
this party when regularly dealing with members of our party, the  
general public, and the news media.

Despite the fact that we are a state-level party, this issue ties  
directly to our local lives, and eventually to our wallets. Our  
stance on this issue is very important to our members. There have  
been a recorded loss in membership due to our stance on this issue.  
There is also a theoretical gain in membership, although I personally  
have not observed any. The problem is not our stance, which is just  
and correct, but what we leave up for interpretation. Our "enemies"  
in the media will create false interpretations of our stance and turn  
it into a viral publicity smear to demonize us and our position. This  
vulnerability is unacceptable and is due to the exclusion of certain  
key principles in our statement. These principles add balance to the  
statement, clarify the statement, make it less debatable, and bring  
it up to a higher standard.

Correct statement? Absolutely.
Flawless statement? Hardly. The statement could not even get passed  
by consensus.

With the changes I propose below, I think it can be. I ask for your  
co-sponsorship.

See you at the Convention.

- Colby Peterson,
   Communications Director (Incumbent and running for re-election!)








A Proposal to Revise, Expand, and Improve the Green-Rainbow Party  
Statement on Palestine

Background:

At the Green-Rainbow Party State Convention of 2005, the party  
adopted by majority vote the Green-Rainbow Party Statement on  
Palestine. Since its adoption, the statement has been controversial  
within and outside the party for several reasons:

1. The statement lacks a reason why the party has chosen Israel as a  
subject of focus, attacking it for having a Jewish-privilege system  
while many of the other countries in the world, and particularly in  
the Middle East, that have other ethnic or religious privilege for  
some of their residents, go without criticism or even mention.

2. The statement does not contain a clause condemning or even  
regretting the violence in the region. Section 5 is often  
misinterpreted as an endorsement of violence against non-combatants,  
and demands clarification.

3. The statement does not acknowledge or recognize the history behind  
Jewish presence in the region, one of the key selling-points for Israel.

4. The statement does not address the generations of Israeli  
nationals now living in the region. Their fate is left ambiguous and  
this is offensive and frightening to many people.

Because of these loose ends, the Green-Rainbow Party has been under  
constant fire from Zionist and non-Zionist media outlets and has been  
labeled by one outlet as "the most anti-Semetic mainstream political  
entity in Massachusetts."

The written and actual conduct of some high-profile GRP members has  
exacerbated this perception, a perception which we all know is  
completely false. As a political party that believes in human rights,  
certainly we cannot, by definition, be "anti-Semetic" nor "anti- 
Jewish." This proposal will also contain guidelines which party  
officials must adhere to when dealing with this highly sensitive issue.

If we are to tie these loose ends, we will no longer be open to such  
criticism and we would be able to better stand on our statement. The  
party must be united and just on this issue.


Definitions:


Party official: Any member of the Administrative or State Committees  
for the purpose of this proposal shall be considered, "party officials."

Zionist: Any person that defends or advocates for the apartheid  
system currently in effect in Israel and the occupied territories.  
Any person that believes that Jews have a greater claim to the land  
in the region than any other group.


Proposal:

The Green-Rainbow Party will change the Green-Rainbow Party Statement  
on Palestine in to reflect the following text:

"Green-Rainbow Party Statement on Palestine

The Green-Rainbow Party of Massachusetts, in consonance with its  
adherence to its Ten Key Values, has the following position on the  
issue of Palestine and Israel. This revised statement will be  
submitted to the national party through the International Committee:

1. The Green-Rainbow Party is opposed to all forms of government that  
favor or give privileges to one or some groups of residents over  
other groups. We take special issue with the government of Israel  
because it receives the highest amount of foreign aid per year from  
the United States. We see this aid as funding an illegal occupation  
and as supporting oppression against non-Jews in Israel. The Green- 
Rainbow Party calls for the end of all American military and economic  
aid to Israel. Additionally, the Green-Rainbow Party of Massachusetts  
supports the following means to bring pressure to bear on Israel:  
Divestment initiatives that seek to withdraw institutional  
investments from Israel state bonds and corporations that do business  
with Israel; academic boycotts of Israeli academics and academic  
institutions.
2. The Green-Rainbow Party calls for an ecologically sound commitment  
to equitably sharing and conserving all water and other natural  
resources among all peoples of the region.
3. The Green-Rainbow Party supports full implementation of the Right  
of Return for each Palestinian refugee, which means each Palestinian  
has the right to choose to return to his or her home and lands. This  
right is a fundamental human right and is enshrined in international  
law for all peoples of the world.
4. The Green-Rainbow Party also recognizes the historical  
significance of the region of Palestine and Israel for many different  
people, and supports initiatives for Jews, as well as other cultures  
originating in the region, to return to the region provided that  
these initiatives do not infringe nor supersede in any way on the  
rights of others.
5. The Green-Rainbow Party of Massachusetts calls for a secular,  
democratic governing entity for all people in the geographic region  
of historic Palestine, today referred to as Israel, the West Bank and  
Gaza. We support a democratic system with equal rights for all in  
which the peoples of the region democratically decide their future.  
We support a system that will unite all people to live together in  
peace, and support reconciliation between the generations of national  
Israelis and the oppressed in the occupied lands.
6. The Green-Rainbow Party recognizes the right of Palestinians to  
self-defense as well as nonviolent resistance to Israeli occupation  
and the Israeli project of forced displacement of the indigenous  
Palestinian population which has been ongoing since 1948. The right  
to resist occupation is guaranteed to all peoples of the world by  
international law. We do not support the targeting or killing of non- 
combatants in the region by any party."

Additionally, this State Convention brings forth the following code  
of conduct for party officials when describing or dealing with this  
issue. Party officials are representatives of the party, and must  
maintain a high level of respect and decency when dealing with the  
public and the media, especially when public opinion has never been  
higher in support of the status-quo in Israel, a status-quo that we  
aim to change.

1. Party officials will not refer to Israel as merely a fictitious  
place, or otherwise arbitrary location. Referring to the region  
simply as Palestine is both acceptable and historically accurate.  
However, Israel is a UN-recognized body and has people, and possible  
allies, who identify as Israeli. This means that in written  
communications, party officials will not refer to Israel in quotation  
marks. To do so is disrespectful, arrogant, and possibly racist to  
people who identify as Israeli. It is also seen as possible allies  
and members of the media as immature and unprofessional.

2. Party members will recognize that the crimes we are opposed to are  
those of the government of Israel and the Zionist occupiers in  
Israel, and not of all of the Israeli people themselves.

3. Party officials will show tact and respect when appearing at pro- 
Palestinian or anti-Zionist events. If an event organizer expresses a  
request to a party official in respect to sign-age, message, or  
behavior at an event, the party official should immediately comply.  
Evidence of failing to comply with the requests of event organizers  
will be interpreted as conduct unbecoming of a party official and  
will result in recall proceedings for the violating party official.

Budget Impact: None

Implementation:

1. The GRP Secretary or their appointee will record and modify the  
existing statement to reflect all amendments and changes for the record.
2. The Green-Rainbow Party Communications Director or chair of the  
Technology Committee or their appointee will update the GRP web site  
to reflect the changes.
3. The Green-Rainbow Party Communications Committee will prepare and  
disseminate information to the public, membership, and the media  
relating to the modified language, why the language was modified, and  
the changes themselves.





---------------------------------------------------------------
Colby E. Peterson
Communications Director
Green-Rainbow Party
www.green-rainbow.org
communications.director at green-rainbow.org
cell: 978.895.0650
---------------------------------------------------------------