An interfaith group delivered a letter to Gov. Linda Lingle yesterday criticizing her trip to Israel. Among those present at the state Capitol were Laura Crites, left, co-chair of the Peace, Justice and Stewardship of the Earth Team of Church of the Crossroads; June Shimakawa, advocate with Peace with Justice Hawaii District of California Pacific Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church; and activist Chuck Burrows.
Group protests gov’s
stance on IsraelCritics say her recent trip did
not explore Palestinian problems
An interfaith group has criticized Gov. Linda Lingle for taking sides in the complex Middle East conflict by a recent trip to Israel that was paid for by the Israeli government.
About 40 people from Christian, Muslim, Buddhist and native Hawaiian groups rallied outside the Governor's Office at the state Capitol, using her trip as a platform to spotlight the plight of Palestinians who have been displaced from their homes and deprived of their livelihood in the prolonged strife.
The Hawaii Coalition for Peace and Justice urged Lingle to "join us in contributing our collective efforts to promote peace, nonviolence and justice for all people.
"You can do this by speaking publicly about the condition of those people whose suffering is no less than that of the Israelis," said the group in a letter delivered to Lingle's office. It informed her that 560 of the 660 children killed since September 2000 were Palestinian and a total of 963 Israelis and 2,994 Palestinians were killed in that period.
"Our state needs elected leaders who reflect and accurately represent us as compassionate people," said the letter. "We appeal to you to use your unique leadership position to plant seeds of peace by supporting more awareness and dialogue about the pain, suffering and needs of both people."
Lingle did not emerge from her office to meet the group. She was committed to previously scheduled appointments, said spokesman Russell Pang. She was not available for comment after the rally.
Lingle has characterized the trip as establishing a link that will benefit Hawaii's economy. She met with Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and other government officials and signed a memorandum of agreement to exchange knowledge and technology in agriculture and aquaculture.
Lingle was accompanied by 26 people, including five Cabinet members and three Hawaii rabbis, on the May 17-22 visit. The state of Israel paid for four tickets and the others traveled at personal expense, said Pang.
"I didn't see the trip as an expression of foreign policy for the United States," said Rabbi Avi Magid of Temple Emanu-El, who made the trip. "I am not convinced that the governor of any state is the person who leads that kind of conversation.
"I definitely understand and am supportive of the concerns of the group," said Magid, but he said the interfaith group failed to mention Palestinian terrorism in their statement.
Two Palestinian-Americans who fled their homeland because of violence spoke at the rally.
Raji Abuzalaf, a Christian, said: "For years, the Israeli military has consistently imposed its disproportionate power upon Palestinian civilians. Retaliation by the Palestinians ... against civilians is abhorrent and completely unacceptable. However, we cannot continue to blame one side, completely ignoring the provocation of the other side."
