[wvns] An Open Letter to Oprah
An Open Letter to Ms. Oprah Winfrey
From Ali Baghdadi
On Her Invitation to My Palestine
Dear Oprah,
I am so glad that you will be visiting my country, Palestine. I wish
if I could be there to greet you. Certainly, despite the genocide and
ethnic cleansing they face every hour of the day, my people will be
there. They will be happy to see you and will receive you with open
arms.
Unfortunately, I cannot be there! My family tree and my roots in
Palestine go back to time immemorial, long before Islam, Christianity
and Judaism came into being. Last July, I was given entry to my
homeland only as a tourist, with an American passport and a Japanese
camera. Though I am 70 years old, I had to stand at the Israeli
immigration window at Sheikh Hussein entry point on the Jordan River
for over seven hours before I was allowed in to visit my home and
family. Months earlier, Canadian Jews were processed and given
Israeli citizenship to my land while they were 35,000 feet high over
the Atlantic.
Arabs, throughout history, are known to be hospitable to their guests.
You will be no exception. For many centuries, Jews escaped the
discrimination and death they were subjected to in Europe, and found
safety and refuge among us. Muslims believe in Christianity and
Judaism. The Quran states there is no distinction between Muhammad,
Jesus and Moses. Therefore, according to our Islamic teachings, all
are prophets of God and all must be honored and respected.
You must know that Zionist Jews from all over the world, particularly
Europe, came to my Palestine, not as guests, but as settlers and
occupiers in the early part of the 20th century. The natives were
referred to as "snakes" from which the land must be cleansed. In
1948 they occupied 72% of my land and emptied out over 500 Arab
(Christians and Muslim) towns and villages. In 1967 they occupied the
remaining 28%. Six million of us have been living in refugee camps in
Jordan, Syria, and Lebanon for the last fifty nine years, even though
the United Nations ordered the Israeli government to allow us to
return (1948 UN resolution 194).
Our Palestine is so beautiful. You will enjoy it. It is a museum.
So many civilizations have mixed and melted there. Throughout
history, invaders came and finally left. We remained. We survived.
As we offered the Crusaders who occupied our holy lands for two
hundred years, Jews can stay and share our land, if they wish to live
in a free and democratic Palestine that respects the rights of all,
regardless of their religion, race, or ethnicity. Those who refuse
and insist to live in an apartheid state will inevitably pack up and
return to their native lands.
Please, visit Java, Haifa, Acre, and Nazareth within the so-called
green zone. Take pleasure in the aroma of our orange orchards on the
Mediterranean coast. Drive to the top of the Mount of al-Carmel and
enjoy its beauty and the splendid view.
However, don't forget to visit Gaza and the West Bank where over three
million of us still live. All attempts made to force them leave and
run for their lives have failed. Take pictures of the 700 kilometer
apartheid wall and reflect on the political messages of the graffiti
it displays. I was struck by one of these messages at the entry to
Bethlehem. "Thou not steal." Confiscation of our lands, however,
continues until this day.
Experience some of the military check points where our people have to
stand in line for hours before they are allowed to cross. Witness the
harassment and degradation my people are subjected to. A 20 minute
journey from a village to another takes 7 hours. Many pregnant Arab
women have lost their babies while waiting for clearance on their way
to hospitals. There are over 550 of these checkpoints that divide our
land into ghettos in the West Bank alone. Though the water we get
does not meet our basic needs, notice the swimming pools Israelis
enjoy in settlements built on our stolen lands.
Of course, the highlight of your trip will be the performance of
pilgrimage in Jerusalem, the city of Jesus. It is also the city of my
birth. The school I attended is the site of the palace where he
received his death sentence. My home is only a couple of blocks away
from the Via Dolorosa, the path he took to his crucifixion. Walk
through the narrow and curved alleys where he walked. I did that
without interruption for 23 years. Those days are gone.
Oprah, stand on top of the Mount of Olives, as I often did, and
experience the glory and majesty of Jerusalem, its al-Aqsa Mosque, the
Dome of the Rock, the Holy Sepulcher, and other houses of worship.
Observe the magnificence of the ancient wall built by Muslims to
defend and protect these priceless treasures. Hear al-azan, the
Muslim call for prayer, as it joins in unison with bells coming from
Christian churches. What an eternal symphony!
Please proceed to the village of Bethany, three miles to the east. Go
down the steps of the cave that leads to the tomb of Lazarus, whom
Jesus raised from the dead. The small dark room on top of the cave
was the shelter my mother, my three younger sisters, and I took after
we escaped the carpet bombing of the old city of Jerusalem in 1948.
My Muslim cousin is the custodian of the holy cave, a great honor that
his family inherited from a generation to a generation. His father,
an illiterate, was able to recite to Christian worshipers the story of
Lazarus, in English, French, German, Spanish, Russian, Greek, and
other foreign languages.
Don't miss the opportunity to drive five miles south to Bethlehem.
Feel the ecstasy of entering the most dramatic cave in which the
Virgin Mary delivered her beautiful Palestinian baby. During the
Second Intifadah, the uprising against Israeli occupation, Muslim and
Christian activists, chased by the Israeli death squads, were given
refuge in the church.
You may go and see the Jordan River where Jesus was baptized, only a
thirty minute drive. Beware; don't plunge into the dirty and polluted
waters. The river is almost dry. Its waters were diverted by the
Israelis. Five miles west, near Jericho, you will pass by the Mount
of Temptation where Jesus fasted for forty days. I can no longer walk
up the steep mountain and pay respect to the Greek monks who chose to
dedicate their lives to their Lord at their ancient and lonely
monastery at the summit.
I do know that Mr. Mandela, who is probably the most respected man on
Earth today, is your friend and hero. He is also mine. I met him in
Chicago; and I had the honor of visiting him at his home in South
Africa, years back. You are also a friend and a great admirer of
Cape Town Archbishop Tutu, a Nobel Peace Prize dignitary, a man who
has stood against injustice and racism almost his entire life. Both
men describe Israel's treatment of the Palestinians, the natives of
the land, as worse than apartheid. Recently, Israel prevented Bishop
Tutu from coming to Gaza to investigate and report Israel's war crimes
to the United Nations.
I must tell you that Israel was the closest ally to the White
Supremacists of South Africa. In fact, South Africa allowed Israel to
test its nuclear weapons in the ocean off South Africa. The Israelis
were given a blank check: they could test whenever they desired and
did not even have to ask permission. Both worked on an ethnic bomb
that kills Blacks and Arabs.
Arabs have always supported the dismantling of this racist government.
In 1962, African-Arab Sudan granted Mandela a passport to travel with
to gain international support in his struggle to free his people.
Libya, among other Arab states, provided Mandela and other African
leaders, political as well as material support. As a result, Libya
was designated by the White House as a terrorist rogue state.
Four days ago, Amnesty International's annual report was released.
The report slams Israel's conduct in the occupied territories. It
documents some of the "serious human rights abuses" Israel commits
daily. It also spoke of the "war crimes" that Israel had committed in
Lebanon.
Arnold Toynbee, the world renowned historian, stated that what the
Zionist Jews did to the Palestinians is worse than what the Nazis did
to the Jews, because, as he stated, Jews should have learned from
their tragic experience.
Dear Oprah, I do understand the enormous pressure you are subjected
to. But I am encouraged by your speech to Howard University
graduates. "My integrity is not for sale.… Do not be a slave to any
form of selling out", you remarked.
When you return, may God of the Universe grant you the courage to tell
the world of what you actually witnessed. Judging from the terrible
attacks and insults former President Jimmy Carter has recently
experienced for his book, Palestine Peace Not Apartheid, I do not
claim that the task is easy. However, it would be an unforgivable
crime for those who have suffered from slavery and are still suffering
from discrimination, to ignore the suffering of others.
With Peace and Love,
Ali Baghdadi
(arabjournl @ aol.com)
(An Arab-American activist, writer, columnist; worked with several
African-American groups on civil and human rights issues since the mid
sixties; acted as a Middle East advisor to the Honorable Elijah
Muhammad the founder of the Nation of Islam, as well as Minister Louis
Farrakhan; visited more than 80 countries throughout the world and met
with many of their leaders, including Mandela, Castro, Saddam Hussein,
Hafez Assad, Qathafi, Abdallah ibn Abdel-Aziz, Rafsanjani, Ayatollah
Khamenei, among many others.)
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