Imagine-Life: New Organization to Highlight Israeli Human Rights Violations

By Rima Mutreja

It was a beautiful morning in Washington DC. I turned on the radio and heard the melodious words of John Lennon’s song “Imagine.” As I listened, one verse stood out and it goes like this: “Imagine all the people, living life in peace.”

Today we live in a dangerous world, and peace has become an illusion for many. Every day we hear of a conflict between countries or ethnic communities. But no conflict has captured the world like the Israeli-Palestinian one. The Israeli-Palestinian issue has become a truly global movement with many countries, organizations and activists struggling to broker peace.

The Palestinians live under the military occupation of Israel and are struggling for freedom and independence. Israel, as the occupying power, has a worrisome and continuous record of human rights abuses against the Palestinians. These abuses have been documented by the US State Department and many other organizations. To increase awareness of this issue, a non-profit organization called Imagine-Life has been founded by concerned Americans of different religious and ethnic backgrounds who felt that basic human rights should apply to all individuals without discrimination.

When asked if I would be interested in volunteering my time with the organization, I felt nothing but sheer excitement. When I was in India, I worked with children who were victims of ethnic clashes and could not understand how the government of my country allowed such human rights violations to take place. As I learned of human rights abuses in different parts of the world, I wondered why more people did not take clearer stands on these issues. After all, every individual is entitled to universal human rights. So why should the Palestinians be an exception to this rule? Today, I ask you to imagine life as a Palestinian.

Imagine being parents of children being killed on their way to school by Israeli snipers. Imagine being children who have to witness their homes being demolished and their friends being killed on a daily basis. Imagine your grandparents’ land and means of economic viability being seized. Imagine your wife giving birth at a checkpoint with Israeli soldiers watching. Imagine not having the freedom to move about in your own city. Imagine your son or your father being detained by Israeli forces indefinitely on no charges. Imagine living under ongoing violence and knowing that tomorrow could be the last day of your life.

Two months ago I met with Diana Buttu, legal advisor to the Palestinian Authority, and Dr. Mustapha Barghouthi, Secretary of the Palesitinian National Initiative, a democratic movement started in the realm of Palestinian domestic politics, and they told me how the West Bank Wall that Israel erected has made the life of the Palestinians worse than before. There were food shortages for weeks, limited and unclean water (Jewish settlements in the West Bank receive the lion’s share of the scarce water supplies), Israeli threats to cut off electric supply and limited access to healthcare facilities. Francois Bellon, a representative of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) told Israeli generals that the Occupied Territories were “the worst ever humanitarian crisis.” The ICRC announced that it had to end its emergency food program in the West Bank stating that the economic collapse was due to the Israeli military closures and that “Israel must live up to its responsibility as the occupying power for the economic needs of the Palestinians.”

This past week, Ariel Sharon was in Washington, DC gaining support for his plan to pull out of Gaza. Make no mistake, this will not result in making the lives of Palestinians in Gaza any better. The Israeli siege will continue, and Palestinians will be denied their basic human and civil rights. Sharon has ensured that the settlements in the West Bank will remain with the blessing of the US president. How can Palestinians begin to build their lives when all actions taken by the Israeli government lead to further devastation and escalation of violence?

Keeping these issues in perspective, Imagine-Life has partnered with organizations such Jewish Voice for Peace, The Israeli Refuser Solidarity Network, Remember these Children, and The Holy Land Christian Society, to increase awareness of Israel’s human rights violations against the Palestinians. It is a great venture and I hope that more fair-minded, peace loving Americans and other citizens of the world will seek to become involved in resolving the profiled injustices. It is not unpatriotic to hold the government of your country accountable for all its wrongdoing. As John Lennon said at the end of the song, “I hope some day you’ll join us, and the world will live as one.”

Rima Mutreja is the National Campus Coordinator for Palestine Media Watch and consultant/volunteer on the Imagine Life project.