We are Wisconsin members of the Green Party, and we would like to respond to the opinion article in the Dec. 30 Chronicle, “Green Party’s divestment call doesn’t promote peace,” which opposes the party’s resolution urging divestment from Israel.
Greens offer “real solutions for real problems.” Our party’s platform on the Middle East “recognizes that our greatest contribution to peace in the Middle East will come through our impact on U.S. policy in the region.”
We view the Israeli-Palestinian conflict as an especially relevant issue given our government’s pivotal role in providing Israel with political cover for its unlawful policies and financial support — to date more than $105 billion of our tax dollars.
Like the authors of the Dec. 30 article, we have a “keen interest in hastening peace in the region” and we seek to “focus on efforts of reconciliation, including investment in meaningful coexistence programs that are necessary to foster a generation of Israelis and Palestinians who will work and live side-by-side in peace and security.”
Our membership includes Muslims and Jews, as well as a variety of others, who are working for the rights of Palestinians in harmony with both Israeli and Palestinian peace groups.
The resolution for divestment was written through the collaboration of members with Jewish and Muslim backgrounds. It is through people working together with such diverse backgrounds that we gain the wisdom to see our way to peace.
Addressing the roots
The article’s authors, officials of the Milwaukee Jewish Council for Community Relations, assert that the Green Party’s resolution “goes far beyond any other divestment initiative.” Of this, we are guilty.
We are proud that our positions do not reflect “politics as usual.” Our party often takes radical stances that address the roots of a given problem, rather than the symptoms.
Only by addressing the basic cause of problems can lasting solutions be reached.
This is the case in the Green Party approach to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. It has its roots in the creation of a state that displaced hundreds of thousands of people, and subsequently broke international law in settling on surrounding territories.
Despite consensus among international human rights monitoring groups like Israel’s B’Tselem, at least 65 United Nations Security Council resolutions, and the 2004 International Court of Justice decision on the separation wall against it, Israel, with the continuing support of our government, continues to stand above the law.
Our platform states: “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.” Yet self-determination for Israel increasingly comes at the expense of that of Palestinians.
The Green Party acknowledges that both Israelis and Palestinians have a right to be secure. Our position attempts to realize the conditions under which that security could best be attained.
We have a profound belief that peace cannot be attained without justice, and that it cannot be attained through violence. Therefore, we condemn violence committed by all in the conflict, and advocate for measures that encourage justice. Our resolution is such an example.
Recently, we received these words from Jeff Halper, head of the Israeli Committee Against Housing Demolitions, in our communications about the Green Party’s divestment resolution:
“Please pass on the appreciation of progressive Israelis for the GP’s courageous stand that lends strong backing to our own efforts to bring about a just and sustainable peace.”
The Green Party has not taken a stance on the existence of Israel as a Jewish state. Since we strongly believe in self-determination, we have no stance on either a one-state or two-state solution.
Instead, we advise consideration of a one-state solution because of the current realities in the region. We support any solution that will implement justice, access to a livelihood, water, health care, security and self-determination for all.
Many Greens believe that the best hope to achieve peace, self-determination and security for both Israelis and Palestinians is to bring the pressure of the international community to bear on Israel through such a divestment movement. We invite Chronicle readers to become our allies.
Jill Bussiere is Wisconsin representative to the International Committee of Green Party of the United States. Bob Poeschl and Ruth Weill are co-chairs of the Wisconsin Green Party.
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