In the News

 

NEW YORK -- "Eyewitness News UpClose" With Diana Williams is a political talk show focusing on issues and information important to residents in the tri-state area.  Here is what we talked about this week on "Eyewitness News UpClose."

On Sunday, January 20, 2008

President Bush vowed there will be peace in the Mideast before he leaves office. Many say it's not realistic. We take a closer look at the Israeli-Palestinian conflict from those living in the front line.   We also talk to two fighters, a Palestinian and an Israeli who are now searching for a non-violent resolution to the conflict, together. Join us for up close this morning at eleven.

 

http://abclocal.go.com/wabc/story?section=news/politics&id=5790359

 

 

Turning swords into plowshares

Jerusalem Post - Israel - Jan. 16, 2007

The park and playground are named in honor of Aramin's 10-year-old daughter, Abir, who was killed on January 16, 2007 just outside the courtyard of Anata's ...

 

 

http://www.imemc.org/article/52133 Friday December 28, 2007 07:08 by Miko Peled - PalestineChronicle.com

I grew up in Jerusalem, which is a ‘mixed’ city, but I never had an Arab friend, or even an Arab acquaintance (Israelis growing up in the 60's and early 70's had never heard of Palestinians so we just called them Arabs.) There were never any attempts to integrate Israeli and Arab children in Jerusalem, nothing organized by the schools, no mutual cultural events, not even sporting events. The two communities were and still are completely segregated.

 

Baltimore Sun - Bassam's Op-Ed

 http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/opinion/oped/bal-op.combatants24jan24,0,5445601.story

 

 

End the occupation - and get justice for its victims

By Bassam Aramin

January 24, 2008

 

This month, President Bush visited the Israeli-occupied West Bank towns of Bethlehem and Ramallah and declared that the occupation must end.

These were no doubt welcome words to Palestinians and Israelis alike. They provide hope for peace; for without occupation, peace is truly possible.

 Unfortunately, for many, including my 10-year-old daughter Abir, it is too late.

 

 

Democracy Now!

 

http://www.democracynow.org/2008/1/22/as_gaza_plunges_into_darkness_israeli

 

As Gaza Plunges into Darkness, Israeli and Palestinian Fighters-Turned-Peace-Activists Speak Out

The United Nations is accusing Israel of collectively punishing the Palestinian population in Gaza by cutting off fuel supplies as part of a blockade of the Gaza Strip. In the midst of the deepening crisis, we speak with Israeli and Palestinian peace activists Yonatan Shapira and Bassam Aramin. They are from a group called Combatants for Peace that is made up of former fighters from both Israel and the Occupied Territories. Shapira is a former captain in the Israeli Air Force and Black Hawk pilot squadron. Aramin was an armed member of Fatah and spent seven years in an Israeli prison. His ten-year-old daughter Abir was shot dead by an Israeli soldier last year.