5
,", .. ."" .... -, ;'
• •• ' •• -. .' .:' " • -, " '.� � .� • ',: ... ... .I' .'.. ..... •
I
i hop
utu bac
B· op Tutu rted
until there is justice for the
• Dative' people of P cstiae,
� wiD be DO peKC in the
. Standing firm in the face �
DSC criticism &om aumy Ja.­
raeli leaders and eitize ,
Bishop Tutu endorsed the
recognition of tbe- P ..
te the principal incredieat
fOl' a peaceful resol· of the
. . in the . iddlc Ea5l.
In adYocatiDg recopitioa fOl'
the Palestinian S
unequivocal regardiDg the
right ofIsr el to exist wi . safe
and secure boundaries.
However, the South A&icaJl
Anti-Apartheid leader .
the Isr eli govemmc
military and ceo .
South Africa. The obcl Peace
Prize wiDDer also called the -
raelis to task for past and
present cts of terrorism .
the Palestinian people.
Bishop Tutu's stand showed
great courage and co viet·
All too often debate Mid­
dle East policy has been &C¥ere-
Iy stiftled by fierce resistance by
many Israeli and .
Jews to any suggesti t· .... ·•• ....
Palestinians have a legi .
right to a homeland and a e.
Deviations from the official
policy of the Israeli government
orthe position of powerful pro­
Israel American Jewish or­
ganizations have frequently
been characterized \ as anit-
ere's
We stand at the beginninJ
not just of a new year, but of a
nc decade - and OIl the brink
of a ne century! are
very thrilling times, full of
pro · for a better world.
They're dangerous times,
too: The people's move for
. democracy tbat spilled into
the streets of eastern Europe
and China in 1989 paid for
in blood; and there are
ose only interest in the
gle against corruption i to ex­
ploit it for their 0 purpose.
But hope is in the air, walls are
crumbling; change i on the
y.
People's and nations ho·
have been among the ld'
forgotten "poor relations" and
"Black sbeep" are building DC
alliances with on an her so
that when th y sit down at th
table now with the "gre t
Po rs" they can bargain from
position of trength.
It i high time to build such
JIIIIIlOD Tutu's position on
Middle-East doIely paral­
policy rccommenda­
Id¥8DC1. eel by Rev_ J L
JacIrllOll during the 1984 and '
1988 presidential campaigns.
. oric Gary B Politi-
cal CoataatioD in 1972 broke
IiIelDCe on the . eel of
• by for
If-deter ination for t e
Palelli·_-_ people.
The Orpaizaboaof African
• been OIl record in
, P� o! PAlestinian self-
Middle­
• largely due to the
stn ... :Il the Jackson cam­
_IP'" aDd an emerging new
co on Middle East
policy, the subject of palestinian
• . openly debated at the
Democratic National Conven­
tio The subject uld have
been strictly taboo just a fe
short years o.
People like Bishop Tutu who
had couraac to put
forth a more truthful and
balanced vie of the Middle
coalll·ct have often paid a
heavy price.
Under the Carter Ad-
mmMtrlIlbOa. U.N. dor
o war (I ce4 to
r . because he dared to have
secret coatacts with a repre-
sentative of the Palestine
Libe . Organization,
The e contacts were un­
doubtebly auctioned by the
St te Department and the
Preside However, once the
e , indepeadent alliances
re in the United States - be­
the community and rank
file labor; betWeen udents
elderly; between Blacks
and gays- between and among
an those 0, year in and year
out, are excluded from the
WIIC:eID· • and dealilng that pas­
ses fOl' politics in Ameriea.
As the chairperson of the
Blact-Ied"multi-racial New AI­
IiaDce Party, I am committed to
malw· .. the 9(Ys the decade of
iDdcpcDdent politics. We began
in 1988, . my independent
Presidential rUD.
For the rust time in the his­
tory of . country, an African
American woman as on the
ballot in every tate. For the first
t.Une, every voter in American
fro Alaska to Hawaii and all
in between ·d the op­
portuaity topull the lever for an
independent candidate who
ood and stands for the Black
agenda for social and economic
tinian S a
contacts were discovered, the overtures to a traditionally
Jewish Lobby after Andy Democr· Jewish community,
Yount's head d got it. . 79% of the Je· elector e
Jesse Jackson has never been voted � Dinkins because
forgiven by most Jews for his of his assOciation wi h Jesse
meeting with PLO leader J ckson.
Y r Arafat and his eaIl for a Bishop Tutu there re has
Palestinian teo I boldly stepped forth on course
And DO matter how profuse- . that can be extreme risky.
1y Jackson apologized for During his Ch istmas
his 1984 '1lymictownw remar pilgrimage one outraged Israeli
and distanced himself hom Far- called him a "Blac Nazi pig'.
rakan, he is still a virtual pariah Tutu is not likely to win a
in much of the Jewish com- popalarity contest in Israel or
munity because of his views o� I amoagAmerican.Jews hom this
paJesrinian rights. �int OIL Fortunately n all Is-
Iodced, David Diokios, who r elis 0 'American Jews DO
docs not share all of Jackson's support a two state policy, and
. on'the Middle East, the concept of land for peace.
coDltantly hounded by mem- j Many Jews also are arply
bers of the Jewish community critical of Israel's relatio with
about his friendship with Jesse South Africa.
Jackson during the recent New African Americans should
York mayoral campaign. applaud Bishop Tutu's convic-
In the end, despite incredible tion and courage and should
\
nlack power:
11e60's . I
decaHe
justice, for peace inste d of war,
for people instead of profits. On
election Day, 1988 two of the
nation's African American
voters rebelled against the
Black political establishment by
enlisting in my crusade for fair
. electi and democracy.
That rebellion at the polls
re-enacted 0 year later in
south Bro where 42% of the
Black and Puerto Rican work­
ing cl s voters in the 11th
Councilmanic District defied
the nortorio u Iy corrupt
Democratic Party machine to
pull the lever for the gr roo
Puerto Ricp leader - Pedro
E pad , - who an for City
Council on the independent
AP line.
1990 is a ballot status year in
ew York State. A party whose
candidate gets 50,000 votes in
the gubernatorial election
thereby secures a permanent
place on the ballot - a crucial
. weapon in the fight for fair elec-
tions.
NAP has been seeking per­
manent ballot status in New
York since 1982, when we got
5,000 votes. Four years later I
ran for Governor - the first
Black woman in New Yor ever
to do so and received 25,000
votes. 1990 will be our third try
for ballot status in New York,
where t ere has not been a
prOgressive independent party
on the baDot for many, many
years.
A ballot status victory for
NAP in New York would make
a very significant political state­
ment to the entire country, one
which would have enormous
I impact in 1992, when th first
Presidential race of the new
decade takes place.
I If do our work well over
the ten years, by January 1,
2(XX) we will be able to celebrate
something truly wonderful: a
national, Black-led, multi-racial
working class-wide inde-
Ron
On
add our voices to a growing
chorus calIiDg fo the recogni­
tion of the state of Palestine.
Bishop Tutu is bsolutely
right when he proclaims that .
without a homeland for the
Palestinian people there will be
no peace in the Middle East. In
supporting Tutu's stance, we
will be on the right . de of his­
tory.
Ron Damels serves lIS Presi­
dent 01 1M InstilJlte lOT Com­
munity Organization alld
Development in Y OIUIlllO",n,
Ohio. He mG)' be COIIIIId«l lit
(216) 7465747.
L nora
Ful nl
pendent party that bel ngs not �
to Big Busin , not to th banks
and the landlords "downtown",
but to us. I invite you to roll up
your leeves and join me today.
Happy New Ye r dear
sister arid brothers. Here's to
an independent decade!
Dr. Lenora Fulani is the
chairperson of the New Alliance
Party and a practicing social
therapist in Harlem. She CIIII be
contacted at the New AUillllce
Party, 2032 Fifth Avenue New
York, Ny 10035 and at (212) 996-
4700