Annapolis Capital Punishment

As one who has closely followed and tried to understand the ongoing Arab-Israeli War, CP has long contended that all prospects for peace in that region depend upon the seething forces of the Arab world accepting Israel as a fact. I attended an interfaith rally for peace today where a Rabbi, an Imam a Minister and others spoke on behalf of peace. They did not provide specifics. They did not go into detail about who did what or how to undo what has been done. Instead, they spoke plainly of peace and of supporting the political leaders in reaching that elusive goal. The Imam said, "peace cannot be bought, but it can only come from the heart."

There was a handful of other speakers, including a Lebanese woman who pleaded for rights and equality for women in the Middle East , but no speaker was as eloquent, as impassioned or spoke with such strength and moral clarity as a diminutive Egyptian woman who grew up in Gaza. Nonie Darwish was a little girl when her father, an Egyptian military intelligence officer was killed in the 1950's. Now Darwish devotes her life to spreading a message of peace and reconciliation between Arabs and Israelis.

Author of a book entitled, "Now They Call Me Infidel, Why I Renounced Jihad for America, Israel and the War on Terror" Darwish told the crowd that rallied at the World War Two Memorial overlooking the Severn River and The US Naval Academy near Annapolis, MD that Arabs must stop preaching and teaching hate to children. Arabs should accept and partner with Israel rather than continuing to try and destroy the Jewish State.

"This conflict is not about land", Darwish said, but is about the "poison" of hate. How could Israel, such a "tiny country that it can barely be seen on the map" be the cause of all this war, she asked?

She repeated this to me personally when I spoke with her at the end of the rally and told her how much I respected her message of "peace for peace" rather than a message of "land for peace."

A friend asked her if she fears for her life because of her message.

"Absolutely yes. All the time. Anybody could stab me in the back at any moment," said Darwish.


From her website, "Arabs for Israel:

To Muslims and Arabs across the globe:
Reject hate, embrace love. Bring out the best in Islam by showing your compassion, gratitude and forgiveness. Make the holy land truly holy by giving Israel and the Jewish people the respect they deserve in their tiny little country. This is not a crisis over land. It is a crisis of the soul; a crisis in our faith, judgement and self confidence. Israel should not be regarded as an enemy, but as a blessing to our neighborhood. We need not fear peace, but embrace it.

Now that's a message that is hard to argue with. Simple. Concrete. Clear. Learn more at:
http://www.arabsforisrael.com/home.html