Dear Mrs. Warren!
I am a Russian physicist and human rights activist for half a century — in the former USSR, and then in New Russia, where for the last 28 years I have also headed the non-governmental organization "The Right of the Child". I studied information about your activities and saw the similarity of our moral standards and social goals aimed at protecting victims of lawlessness and helping the vulnerable and weak ones. And the stronger was the feeling of pain and bewilderment when I read your recent accusations against Israel of genocide in Gaza.
The point here is not only in the incorrect and unfair use of the word genocide, which insults the memory of millions of victims of real horrific ethnic slaughters — the Holocaust, the Armenian massacre of 1915, in Rwanda in 1994, etc. And the point is not only that Israel has committed and is committing in Gaza not genocide, but a Humanitarian Miracle (see more about this in my attached recent Statement). The point is that despite the terrible crimes committed on October 7, Hamas has remained a problem in Gaza and a significant factor on the world stage for six months now. Why?
Worldwide accusations (although unconfirmed) of Israeli violations of humanitarian law in Gaza, including genocide, are heard constantly, and if the respected Senator Bernie Sanders avoids using this word, he still repeats again and again the so-called “information” of Hamas about thousands of Gazan children killed by the Israeli army.
We can be sure that the leaders of Hamas are by no means stupid people, and realizing the impossibility of defeating Israel in a direct battle, they quite realistically count on victory in the so-called “humanitarian battle.” And they have every reason to hope that the colossal international humanitarian pressure on the Israeli government, combined with political instability in Israel itself, will lead to a ceasefire, the withdrawal of troops and a return to the situation in Gaza before October 7, that is, to return to the Hamas’s full power over 2.5 million of Gazans.
I ask you, do not help Hamas in realizing these hopes, but please try to help Israel in resolving the humanitarian crisis in Gaza and in the final liberation of the people of Gaza from the totalitarian rule of the terrorist organization Hamas.
As a human rights activist for half a century, I insist that Palestinians must be seen first and foremost as individuals with inalienable human rights, and not as a means in achieving some “Great Goals”. I bring to your attention (copied BELOW) my statement on this topic, made 2 months ago on the eve of the visit to Moscow of Hamas, Fatah, Islamic Jihad, etc. I sent this statement to the Russian tops (there was no response) and to my personal acquaintances, the Head of the EU Delegation to the Russian Federation and the US Ambassador to Russia, Mrs. Lynne M. Tracy, — from both I received warm positive responses.
Important reference: Dr. Daniel Pipes informed me a few days ago that the arguments of resolving of seemingly unresolvable problem of Palestinian self-determination expressed in my statement (items 2 and 3 at the very beginning below) are similar to those in his book that will appear in two months: https://www.danielpipes.org/books/israel-victory.php
With best wishes from Moscow, Russia
Boris Altshuler
Member Russian (earlier Moscow) Helsinki Group
Chair of “The Right of the Child” NGO
+7-985-477-9387
Baltshuler@yandex.ru
Baltshuler1939@gmail.com
Personal Page:
http://right-child.ru/boris_altshuler.html
Some statements concerning current Russia – Ukraine tragedy:
https://www.rightsinrussia.org/?s=Boris+Altshuler
STATEMENT, 20/02/2024:
IN SHORT:
1. Palestinians must be treated as Human Beings, not as a tool or raw material in the anti-Israeli policies of some countries and terrorist groups.
2. An independent Palestinian State in its traditional unitary form is NOT the path to Peace, but the path to Hell for the Israelis and for the Palestinians themselves.
3. Perhaps the most acceptable option for Palestinian self-determination is a conglomerate of self-governing Palestinian autonomies that have concluded agreements with Israel on the joint fight against radicalism and terrorism.
***
According to the shocking results of recent polls, 11.5% of American Jews (from Jewish Voice for Peace, IfNotNow, Jews for Racial & Economic Justice, T’ruah, and similar organizations) support Hamas, believing that Hamas' October 7 slaughter of Jews is due to Israel's policies of "apartheid, occupation and suppression of the Palestinians". Similar accusations of Israel are quite widespread in the United States, in the countries of European Union and of course in United Nations.
This my message is addressed to the numerous and, I believe, sincere defenders of the Palestinians. Its main idea: please consider Palestinians as Human Beings, not as a tool, as a raw material in the anti-Israel policies of some countries and terrorist groups. Please don’t be indifferent, use all your energy and influence to protect their basic human rights.
1. To protect the Palestinians from the totalitarian terrorist way of governance.
Hamas took power soon after Israel’s full withdrawal from Gaza Strip in the Fall of 2005. And taking power Hamas immediately killed all its Palestinian opponents, including FATAH members. For 17 years the population of the Gaza Strip has been the victim of the most terrible totalitarian way of governance – without any protests at the UN or anywhere against the brutal human rights violations in the Hamas-run Gaza.
What will be beyond the Gaza war? Who, if not Israel, is capable to protect the Palestinians from the power of terrorists who would like to take the place of Hamas — Islamic Jihad, Hezbollah or any new ruthless fanatics? Perhaps UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres could guarantee this protection, or Turkish President Mr. Erdogan? Or perhaps Mr. Mahmoud Abbas, his Administration and police who will be immediately killed by the West Bank extremists if Israel ceases its daily anti-terrorism activities in the West Bank, just like it happened in the Gaza Strip with Hamas opponents after Israel withdrawal 17 years ago.
Please do your best to help Israel liberate the population of the Gaza Strip from the power of terrorists! Yes, there is most serious humanitarian crises now in Gaza. And the best way to help is to multiply humanitarian aid to the population of Gaza.
And please do not trust Hamas “Goebbels-like” propaganda about the killing of thousands of Gaza children by the Israeli military, etc. Let us look back to 1945, to the last battle aimed at the total liquidation of the awful Hitlerism. Who in the anti-Hitler coalition (USSR, USA and UK) thought at that time about millions of German civilians perishing in this battle? Nobody! And Israel thinks about civilians. You will not find in the history an example of a war when the attacking side would have warned in advance about every strike, about every bombing. The Israeli military do just that, saving civilians while neglecting the fact that these warnings also allow terrorists to escape. We must recognize that Israel made a real Humanitarian Miracle stimulating the relocation of almost 1.5 million of civil population of Gaza (most of them are children – about one million, according to Mr. Antonio Guterres) from the deadly dangerous fields of battle at the North of Gaza. And now the Israel Defense Forces postpone the final destroying of Hamas power in southern Gaza because of the huge concentration of civilians there. What to do with this small area of Rafah that remains under Hamas control is now the subject of intense negotiations and the issue is linked to the release of the hostages.
2. To protect Palestinian children from poisoning their souls with hatred.
Where did the above-stated conviction that only Israel’s daily anti-terrorism work in the West Bank saves the current PNA Administration from being wiped out by the ruthless terrorists come from? The fact is that totalitarian vulnerability of Palestinian self-government is deeply rooted in decades-long incitement of hatred towards Israel and the Jews. Why 74% (according to recent polls) of the population of the PNA express their sympathy for the Hamas slaughter of October 7 and dream of wiping out Israel “from river to sea”? This is easily understood if we look, for example. at the PNA education system where in school textbooks Jews are referred to as “Satan’s helpers” or as “wolves and snakes”. Interestingly, this poisoning of children's souls is carried out with abundant financial support from UN and European countries.
Thus, from year to year, new and new generations of young terrorists are raised in the PNA, which obviously does not add stability to the relatively moderate rule of Mahmoud Abbas.
I call on all Palestinian defenders to initiate a global movement against hatred, against the poisoning of the souls of Palestinian children in particular.
3. To realize the fundamental right of Palestinians to possessing of the full-scale citizenship.
I call on all Palestinian defenders for joint efforts:
(1) To put an end to the fatal discrimination in some Arab countries against the Palestinians — descendants of the former refugees. They are refused in granting them full citizenship, even though the given country is the birthplace not only of these descendants but in many cases is the birthplace of their parents and grandparents.
(2) To initiate the global initiative of granting citizenship to the Gaza Strip and the West Bank Palestinians. There are many countries in the world that are capable of taking such a legal humanitarian initiative without risking their well-being and security. I note that Israel is not one of these countries since the “One State for Two Nations” option will obviously blow up Israel from the inside.
Finally:
Today, the leaders of many states — from Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia to the United States, Russia and European countries, ignoring the tragic negative experience, repeat like a mantra: “The creation of an Independent Palestinian State is the only path to peace in the Middle East”. That resembles a child joke "No problem to build a house! We'll draw it and will live in it". But the Palestinians and Israelis are not laughing at all in the real situation.
With its Lab-Model of the Middle East Holocaust on 7 October 2023 and with its willingness to use Gaza's 2.5 million population as human shield in the fanatical fight against Israel Hamas finally killed the very idea of an Independent Palestinian State, showing that this “good intention” paves the path to Hell, for Israel and for the Palestinians themselves.
Perhaps the most acceptable option for Palestinian self-determination is a conglomerate of self-governing Palestinian autonomies that have concluded agreements with Israel on the joint fight against radicalism and terrorism.
Individual human rights are the highest value that cannot be sacrificed for the sake of abstract “Great Goals”. Having lived most of my life in a totalitarian country (I was born in the USSR in 1939 and now live in Russia), I am well aware of the terrible human sacrifices this fanatical desire for “Great Goals” is fraught with, which, I add, is always accompanied by an inoculation of hatred and fear, the creation of an “enemy image” — let it be “imperialists” in the USSR, “Collective West” in today’s Russia, “Israel and Jews” in the Middle East.
20/02/2024, Moscow, Russia
Boris Altshuler
Member Russian (earlier Moscow) Helsinki Group,
Chair of the “Right of the Child” NGO.
Physicist and human rights defender in USSR and then in Russia.
Author of the book “Sakharov and Power” (World Sc. Publ.. 2022).
2009, Award "Man of the Year – 5769” by the Federation of Jewish Communities of Russia (FEOR). Presentation at the Grand Kremlin Palace —
http://right-child.ru/2009_boris_altshuler.htm
2014, American Physical Society Andrei Sakharov Prize “For the life-long struggle for democracy in Russia”.
2019 — Award "Parental Thank You!" by the All-Russian Organization of Parents of Disabled Children (VORDI).
OPEN LETTER to Senator Elizabeth Ann Warren.PDF
