My Right Word
Did you know that the Consulate-General of the United States in Jerusalem cares for the Quality of Life of its employees through its Community Liason Office and it was reported that the Consulate General Jerusalem’s Community Liaison Office (CLO) activities
...range from sports days that bring together youth from the consulate general with youth from the West Bank, to beer festivals showcasing local breweries, to Thanksgiving meals for unaccompanied post personnel. Whenever possible, CLO partners events with the community association, which has funds at its disposal, so that activities are often free to the participants. Because it is attentive to all sectors of the consulate general’s community, the CLO has a positive impact on post morale.
That's on page 53 of the report. The mission of the C-G is defined on p. 1, thus:
• The U.S. Consulate General in Jerusalem deals primarily with the Palestinian Authority, whereas the U.S. Embassy in Tel Aviv deals with the Government of Israel. Inherent conflicts of perspective have inhibited coordination in some areas, but cooperation is significantly better than it has been in the past. The two missions should adopt a written clarification of their relations to prevent backsliding. Combining some administrative functions could save resources at both missions.
Moreover, on pages 17-18, in the section entitled "Public Diplomacy", we read that there are many activities and even physical locations of the C-G but that all are directed solely to Arab residents of the geographical area under the purview of the C-G, such as these:
...The consulate has opened a new program space, “America House”, in East Jerusalem, which is used for meetings, student briefings, film showings, and other events. American officers may not travel to Gaza because of security concerns, but Consulate General Jerusalem maintains a full program of exchanges, English classes, and speaker programs there, coordinated through creative use of digital videoconferencing...The PD section conducts outreach to the West Bank through a program space in Ramallah and American Corners in Salfeet and Jericho...The PD and management sections collaborated to open an America House program space in June 2010 in East Jerusalem. This facility does not have a resident director or wide array of publications but is instead a library space and multipurpose room in a facility operated by AMIDEAST, an American nongovernment organization that conducts Department-sponsored student advising and English classes for students. The location in East Jerusalem is an attractive venue for Palestinians. The PD section...also use the space as a convenient place to meet with contacts from East Jerusalem.
Similarly, the consulate general leases a program space in Ramallah to reach West Bank Palestinians who cannot come to Jerusalem without a permit. PD officers work closely in Ramallah with AMIDEAST, which is also active in the West Bank, facilitating an array of official U.S. Government exchange programs...The consulate’s two other West Bank American Corners, in Salfit and Jericho, also make good use of outreach programs...Greater use of social media would be an effective tool in communicating with Palestinian audiences in East Jerusalem, the West Bank, and Gaza. A thriving environment for social media flourishes among Palestinians. Most Palestinians under 30 have Facebook accounts...The PD section plans to expand its use of social media to activate contacts...
There's more but the point has been made and that is:
There are almost 350,000 Jewish residents in the communities located in the territory for which the C-G is responsible (the almost 300,000 Jews in the newer Jerusalem neighborhoods and within the Old City is another matter). They do not benefit from any of these cultural, social or funding outreach activities and other programs and monies. Jews don't count, other than deserving consular needs like birth registration, visas, etc. In some instances they may even have been harmed (and here too; here; and here, as examples).
I think that is discriminatory.
I think that no matter what the diplomatic or political outcome of the negotiations, any boycotting of the Jews of YESHA first of all is illegal, it prejudges the outcome and worse, it assumes that Jews cannot and should not live there as it encourages the local Arabs to think that their apartheid approach has been adopted, in a practical sense, by the US State Department with full backing of the Administration. Jews are to be separated and considered by different, lower standards.
I think it is time Congress should be apprised of the situation.
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