Meanwhile in the USA: Episcopal Church repudiates Doctrine of Discovery
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- Written by Gale Courey Toensing Gale Courey Toensing
- Published: 03 August 2009 03 August 2009
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Urges US adoption of UN Declaration
By Gale Courey Toensing
http://www.indiancountrytoday.com/home/content/51572857.html
ANAHEIM, Calif. – In a first-of-its-kind action in the Christian world, the national Episcopal Church has passed a landmark resolution repudiating the Doctrine of Discovery and urging the U.S. government to endorse the U.N. Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.
Organizers of the bill hope it will lead to the overturning of a 19th century U.S. Supreme Court ruling and Congress’ assumption of plenary power over Indian nations they say are illegitimate and immoral, and continue to strip American Indian nations of their inherent sovereignty.
The resolution, called “Repudiate the Doctrine of Discovery,” was passed unanimously by the Episcopal House of Bishops and by an overwhelming majority of the House of Delegates during the church’s 76th General Convention July 8 – 17 in Anaheim.
“It’s a historic event,” said Steven Newcomb, Shawnee/Lenape. Newcomb is the indigenous law research coordinator for the Sycuan Education Department, co-founder and co-director of the Indigenous Law Institute, and a columnist for Indian Country Today.
Newcomb’s work on the Doctrine of Discovery in his many essays and his 2008 book “Pagans in the Promise Land” is the spark that ignited individuals in the Episcopal Church to pursue the resolution.
Newcomb expressed his “deep appreciation” for John Dieffenbacher-Krall, Brenda Hamilton, and John Chaffee “who powerfully advocated for passage of the adopted resolution.
“Through the official action of an important religious institution in the United States, the document raises the visibility of the Doctrine of Christian Discovery, while providing a means of educating people about that doctrine and its continuing effects on indigenous nations and peoples. The resolution is also important because of its focus on and endorsement of the U.N. Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.”
The resolution is also timely: The U.N. Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues has called for a study of the Doctrine of Discovery and its historic and continuing effects on indigenous people to be completed by the forum’s convening in 2010.
“The Episcopalian Church’s resolution will no doubt factor into that study,” Newcomb said.
The Doctrine of Discovery was a principle of international law developed in a series of 15th century papal bulls and 16th century charters by European monarchs. It was essentially a racist philosophy that gave white Christian Europeans the green light to go forth and claim the lands and resources of non-Christian peoples and kill or enslave them – if other Christian Europeans had not already done so.
The doctrine institutionalized the competition between European countries in their ever-expanding quest for colonies, resources and markets, and sanctioned the genocide of indigenous people in the “New World.”
The resolution renounces the doctrine “as fundamentally opposed to the Gospel of Jesus Christ and our understanding of the inherent rights that individuals and peoples have received from God,” and promises to share the document with its churches, governments within its boundaries, and the U.N.
It resolves to eliminate the doctrine within the church’s contemporary politics, programs and structures, and urges the U.S. government to do the same. It asks Queen Elizabeth to publicly repudiate the Doctrine of Discovery, and encourages all Episcopal churches to support indigenous peoples in their ongoing efforts for their inherent sovereignty and fundamental human rights as peoples to be respected.
Johnson v. M’Intosh, an 1823 U.S. Supreme Court case, held that because of the Doctrine of Discovery American Indians have a mere right of occupancy to their lands. The ruling is foundational to federal Indian law.
Dieffenbacher-Krall, the executive director of the Maine Indian Tribal State Commission and originator of the resolution movement, said the ultimate goal is to overturn Johnson v. M’Intosh, and dismantle Congress’ claim to plenary power over Indian nations.
“This is illegitimate, this is immoral, this is evil. U.S. law shouldn’t be based on this. I want to see an all out effort to overturn Johnson v. M’Intosh just as the NAACP legal defense fund and many civil rights activists worked strategically to overturn Plessy v. Ferguson,” he said, referring to the 1896 Supreme Court ruling that upheld a “separate but equal” decision by a lower court that allowed Louisiana to operate separate railroad cars for African-Americans. The high court decision provided cover for southern states to impose racist Jim Crow laws for more than five decades until segregation was tossed out in 1954 in Brown v. Board of Education.
A longtime social justice activist, Dieffenbacher-Krall said his growing awareness and understanding of the doctrine’s history made action irresistible.
“It’s not like I had a St. Paul on the road to Damascus moment, but sometime in the winter, spring or summer of 2006, I really became aware of the Doctrine of Discovery in connection to Congress’ claim of plenary power over American Indian nations.
“So where’s the social justice behind Congress saying, ‘We’ll just do whatever we want with the Maliseets or Navajo or Hopi because we’re the U.S. and you’re not?’ I felt that because I have an uncommon knowledge for a white person about some of this stuff that I might have a role to play working in my church to make people aware of this.”
Working with the Wabanaki tribes in Maine, reading Newcomb’s articles and later contacting him helped strengthen Dieffenbacher-Krall’s determination to act, and in October 2007, Maine’s Episcopal Church responded by passing a resolution calling on Queen Elizabeth and the Archbishop of Canterbury to rescind the 1496 charter given to John Cabot and his sons to go forth and claim possession of all the lands in the “New World” that weren’t already claimed by Spain and Portugal.
Dieffenbacher-Krall also worked with Chaffee, a professor of Chinese history at Binghamton University and member of the Episcopalian diocese in Central New York, to pass its own similar resolution in November 2008, and with Hamilton, a Maine social worker, who worked with Chaffee to shepherd the national church’s resolution through the process in Anaheim.
Chaffee crafted the resolution that was adopted at the general convention.
The resolution has “a substantial practical value,” Chaffee said, because it could potentially “provide important legal ammunition in terms of pending and future legal cases that might be brought by Native Americans. I’m very happy to be just a small part of that whole process.”
Hamilton was honored to be able to participate. In an e-mail update to her colleagues during the convention, she wrote, “My testimony rebutted the comment I have often heard about this issue, ‘What, are we trying to rewrite history?’ I said that to stand in any of the colonial churches of New England was a reminder that those churches stood on a history of the Doctrine of Discovery and genocide, thus there needed to be recognition of that both by the Episcopal Church and its colonial forbears in the Church of England.”
Help! Washington State AG (with political ambitions) reached out to Israeli consulate
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- Written by Philip Weiss Philip Weiss
- Published: 03 August 2009 03 August 2009
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Help! Washington State AG (with political ambitions) reached out to Israeli consulate before meeting with Corries
In early May, Cindy and Craig Corrie, parents of the late Rachel
Corrie, learned that the Washington State Attorney General, Rob
McKenna, was one of 10 state Attorney Generals to sign on to a March 30th letter to Secretary of State Clinton
lending legal endorsement to the Israeli attacks in Gaza in December
and January. Shockingly, the letter analogizes the Hamas rocket attacks
on southern Israel to the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, and says
that both attacks invited "disproportionate" responses–war. Cindy
Corrie describes her response:
When the news broke on our various lists, there were many concerned
folks here who set to work to find out what had occurred. The AG’s
office started to get phone calls and emails. Through one, we learned
that, in fact, the AG had signed the letter to Clinton, and we were sent a copy.
As you will see, it comes from the ten "Chief Legal Officers" of their
respective states and is stunning in its inaccuracies, omissions, and
findings.
For us in Washington State (who had been working tirelessly since the Israeli attacks began in December with our expanding statewide network, the Save Gaza Campaign) this was too much.
We had seen something similar in our State Senate in January, when immediately after the inaugural week-end, a Christian-right member of the Senate with encouragement apparently from a Stand With Us group successfully introduced a resolution celebrating the wonderful democracy of Israel and the 60th anniversary of its first election–and also the Israeli-U.S. relationship. We got wind of this on the week-end, only a couple days before a vote, and tried to flood state senate offices with calls and emails and to get the resolution postponed, at least. While some receptionists seemed to get the message, the members themselves were all away watching the inaugural activities, apparently; because on Tuesday morning at 10 AM, when the State Senate reconvened, their first item of business was to pass this resolution unanimously–as bodies were still being pulled from the rubble in Gaza. Clearly, the resolution had been brought forward to lend support to Israel when a growing number were questioning Israeli military actions. Craig and I had gone off to the State Capitol to try to talk to people about this, and I managed to slip into the gallery as the vote was taken. Maybe half the Senators were on the floor. One walked in late and said he had just heard what had taken place and he thought the Senate might consider more carefully what it chose to address (something to that effect). But that was the only objection to this resolution celebrating Israel–no mention of the previous 22 day massacre in Gaza. Three co-sponsors spoke in favor of the resolution. And the twenty-five or so in the gallery from Stand With Us were asked to stand for recognition (like the boy scout troops and school groups that visit). This resolution, too, was to be sent to Secretary of State Clinton and–as a State Senator told us later–these resolutions are meant to reflect the "sense of the Senate."
I later found out that resolutions supporting Israel or Israel’s actions in Gaza had been introduced and passed at the same time in Colorado and North Dakota, too. Maybe there were more places. Craig and I were outraged by this–with the resolution and the timing of it. We did get a statement from the Senate Majority Leader saying that the passage of the resolution was a mistake and a promise to change the procedures for the remainder of the session so that resolutions with foreign policy implications would have to first go to committee for review.
Working with the Save Gaza Campaign, we tried to come up with more of a response, but felt that we delayed too long. So when this matter with the state Attorneys General surfaced, we were determined to act on it. Across the state, people who know anything about Gaza were and continue to be very disturbed by the AG letter, too. There has been a successful email and phone campaign. The AG was on a local NPR segment for an hour program–set up to talk about other matters, I’m sure–but the first 20 minutes were devoted to the AG Clinton letter.
Otherwise, there has not been media attention to the story, though we have tried. Concerned groups and individuals asked to meet with the AG.
Finally, in mid-July, we got our meeting with him and his Chief of Staff, Randy Pepple. Pepple is new to the AG staff, and it’s been widely publicized that his hiring signals McKenna’s interest in running for Governor in 2012 or for the U.S. Senate. McKenna is a popular, moderate Republican. Our meeting was quite extraordinary and powerful. Fourteen (many who had been in Gaza at various times), took just over an hour to set the record straight. We took with us the rebuttal to the AG letter written by George Bisharat and signed by nine other international legal scholars and attorneys.
As Tom Nelson, a member of Washington State Bar and the National Lawyers’ Guild Delegation that went to Gaza this year, said, we had just the right amounts of analysis, fact, and emotion. He thought it one of the best meetings of its kind that he had attended.
I was touched particularly by Ramzi Baroud whose father died in Gaza during the siege because he couldn’t get out for a medical diagnosis and by another participant who identified as a Jewish member of our local Temple Beth Hatfiloh. She said that as a Jew, she was “totally offended and disempowered” by the Attorney General’s letter to Clinton. “Somehow, I felt it was done in my name–that it was done for Israel and for Jews–and the letter is so divorced from the facts.”
We presented requests and we will wait a few weeks for McKenna’s response to those–until he meets with those who support his letter. But you’ll see that he made some small concessions already–to say that he would go to Gaza if the opportunity arose and that while it was unlikely that the same approach to such a letter would occur again, if he did get such a letter he would consult with individuals and groups represented in our meeting.
I think the change in approach he refers to must be with the NAAG (National Association of Attorneys General) whose DC office circulated the letter to the fifty state AGs with a deadline for return. Ten signed. We are trying to determine who authored the letter. We know it was the President of NAAG–the AG from Rhode Island–who told the DC office to circulate it. We know from FOIA that it was discussed by one of the AG’s at one of their earlier meetings.
Another interesting bit we learned through FOIA is that that there is an e-mail from the AG’s communications director, Dan Sytman, to Akiva Tor (Israeli Consul General at the Consulate in San Francisco) in which he refers to criticism from "anti-Israel groups" and a few paragraphs later says that the AG will be meeting with "some of those groups," including the parents of Rachel Corrie. So by inference the AG’s communications director has lumped Craig and me with "anti-Israel" groups–a label that most who objected to the AG’s actions would, I believe, feel was incorrectly applied to them and to Craig and me, and is objectionable. I have not read all of this FOIA but my daughter and others point out that Tor told McKenna that all he needed to do was say the word and they would have the Jewish Federation in Seattle ready for the call-in talk shows when they come.
I pointed out in the McKenna meeting that there were others he might turn to for information if he was interested in truth rather than simply "countering" criticism. I suggested that even our U.S. Department of State or some of the people in the room might be good resources. I quoted Michele Bernier-Toff, Managing Director of the Office of Overseas Citizen Services at the Department of State who wrote to us in March 2008, “We have consistently requested that the Government of Israel conduct a full and transparent investigation into Rachel’s death. Our requests have gone unanswered or ignored.”
I suggested to AG McKenna that if the Israeli Government couldn’t in nearly seven years get viable information to the U.S. Government about one American’s killing, that he might not want to rely on the Consul-General for information about all that happened in Gaza.
When the AG’s office wrote to Akiva Tor or to the Consulate, the staffer apparently said that AG McKenna was getting criticism from many "anti-Israel" groups and Cindy and Craig Corrie. Interestingly, Akiva Tor is one who later led the attack in San Francisco trying to censor the film Rachel– and me, from responding to questions about the film. Mr. Tor does not like the work we are doing in Washington State. I know it’s possible to get caught up in a story and to have it feel bigger than it really is. But I think it’s intriguing to see how pieces of the issue play out on a state level and then spill over–in this case to San Francisco.
The Israeli military bulldoze farm lands in northern West Bank areas
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- Written by Ghassan Bannoura - IMEMC News & Agencies Ghassan Bannoura - IMEMC News & Agencies
- Published: 03 August 2009 03 August 2009
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The Israeli military bulldoze farm lands in northern West Bank areas
The Israeli military bulldozed, on Monday, Palestinian owned lands near the northern West Bank city of Nablus.
The head of the Bureen village council, Ali Eid, told local media that the military is expanding the Israeli settlements of Barkha and Yitshar, located nearby.
The military is working on land for months and now its so close that you cane see the work from the city of Nablus, Eid told the Palestinian News and Information Agency WAFA.
Palestinians evicted in Jerusalem: Jewish settlers moved into the houses almost immediately
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- Written by BBC News BBC News
- Published: 02 August 2009 02 August 2009
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Israeli police have evicted nine Palestinian families living in two houses in occupied East Jerusalem.
Jewish settlers moved into the houses almost immediately. The US has urged Israel to abandon plans for a building project in the area.
Israel has occupied East Jerusalem since 1967, a move not recognised by the international community.
The evictions have been condemned by the United Nations, the Palestinians and also the UK government.
The US said the evictions were not in keeping with Israel's obligations under the so-called "road map" to resolve the Israel-Palestinian conflict.
'Deplorable'
The operation to evict the 53 Palestinians in the Sheikh Jarrah district of the city was carried out before dawn on Sunday by police clad in black riot gear.
It followed a ruling by Israel's Supreme Court that the land originally belonged to Jewish families. Israel wants to build a block of 20 apartments in the area.
The evictions were quickly condemned by the United Nations.
"I deplore today's totally unacceptable actions by Israel," the UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, Robert H Serry said. "These actions are contrary to the provisions of the Geneva Conventions related to occupied territory.
A night in Bilin
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- Written by Jody McIntyre writing from Bilin, occupied West Bank, Live from Palestine Jody McIntyre writing from Bilin, occupied West Bank, Live from Palestine
- Published: 31 July 2009 31 July 2009
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| PHOTO: Residents of Bilin demonstrate against nightly invasions by the Israeli army, 29 July 2009. (Oren Ziv/ActiveStills) |
Over the last few weeks, the residents of Bilin have been subjected to constant night raids by the Israeli military, in retaliation to their weekly nonviolent demonstrations, now in their fifth year, against the Apartheid Wall, which has stolen over half of their land. So far, 17 youths have been arrested, some as young as 16 years of age, usually for their participation in the demonstrations. Many of the boys will not see their family again for months. With the situation getting critical, local activists of the Bilin Popular Committee called for a night demonstration to protest against the raids.
The village has become somewhat of a symbol of the Palestinian resistance, but they have often paid a heavy price for their spirit and resolve -- the Israeli army respond to their non-violent actions with brutal force; tear gas, rubber-coated bullets, and live ammunition, in April of this year resulting in the death of Bassem Abu Rahma, a local resident.
Mohammed Khatib, a member of the Committee, explained the motivation behind the decision to have a demonstration at night, stating that, “No-one goes to sleep before four or five in the morning.” He added that, “We stay awake all night, observing the movements of the Israeli military, fearing that we may be the next person to be kidnapped and thrown in jail. Now it is time for us to seize the initiative.”
As we gathered in the center of the village, with the clock approaching midnight, there was a perceptible atmosphere of tension. This was the first attempt at a night demonstration, and I for one do not trust a teenage Israeli soldier with his finger on the trigger shooting in the dark. Nevertheless, we were determined to make our message clear -- the night raids must end.
“We don’t want confrontation with the army… this is a peaceful demonstration!” announced Abdullah Abu Rahma, another member of the Popular Committee.
With a group of around 120 Palestinian, Israeli and international activists waving torches in the air, making our presence clear, we marched down toward the Wall, turning left before we reached it in order to avoid provoking the military. All the way chanting:
"No, no to the Wall!"
From there, the path got tougher, my wheelchair grinding over gravel as we continued forging our way through the dark. The whole time we had one eye over our shoulder -- considering the tear gas, sound bombs and other weapons we are usually greeted with, God knows how they would respond to this new development.
We reached an open area, and climbed up onto the grassy bank, looking down at the soldiers now frantically patrolling the Wall. We proudly waved our Palestinian flags, and lit bonfires to mimic the "camp-fires" the Israeli army set up every night, presumably to keep the people of Bilin on edge.
Sarah, an Egyptian activist attending the demonstration, told me about the affect of the raids on family life. She explained that, “It’s terrible… even the children can’t sleep. They are being deprived of one of their most fundamental human rights.”
As we stood around our make-shift fires, I was filled with feelings of both relief, that we had not been shot at, and of achievement, that we had managed to seize the initiative from the occupying forces. After many sleepless nights waiting and searching for invading soldiers, it was a great release of frustration to show that we would not stand for this injustice any longer.
The army clearly didn't have a clue how to respond, firing flares into the sky to get a better look at our activities. The result was magnificent views of incredible beauty -- you could see for miles!
"Thank you very much," said Haitham al-Katib, Bilin's resident film-maker.
The people of Bilin responded with trademark humor, a nearby family firing flares of their own, as an impromptu firework display emanated from the house, prompting cheers all round.
After more uphill marching, by which time my wheelchair was struggling but assisted by the pushing of Palestinian friends, we returned to the village unscathed.
Everyone agreed that the action was a success -- we had really turned the tables on the Israeli army, and we vowed to integrate the new tactic into our ongoing campaign of nonviolent resistance.
So it looks like there will be more sleepless nights for Bilin, but for a completely different reason.
Jody McIntyre is a journalist from the United Kingdom, currently living in the occupied West Bank village of Bilin. Jody has cerebral palsy, and travels in a wheelchair. He writes a blog for Ctrl.Alt.Shift, entitled “Life on Wheels,” which can be found at www.ctrlaltshift.co.uk. He can be reached at jody.mcintyre [at] gmail [dot] com.