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Global Roundup

A Modern "Raja Rishi"

In ancient Indian history, kings were called "raja rishis," philosopher kings. Wisdom, benevolence and peacefulness were their characteristic of their rulership.

King Hussein of Jordan symbolically stepped down from his Hashemite throne last month to visit and comfort the Israeli families of the young victims of an irrational shooting by one of his soldiers. "I feel I have lost a child," the king told a bereaved father of a 15-year-old girl who was killed. "And I feel if there is anything left in life, it will be spent to insure that all the children may enjoy the kind of peace and security that we never had in our times."

The healing power of Hussein's words and his grand gesture of human warmth and reconciliation were returned by a mother whose 15-year-old was also killed in the shooting. "Despite the sorrow," the Israeli woman declared, "I say this: I hope and believe in King Hussein and a real peace."

King Hussein is a modern "Raja Rishi," an exemplary role model for all national leaders.

The Abraham Federation: A True "Peace Process"

In a lengthy personal letter to Israeli leader Benjamin Netanyahu concerning his government's decision to construct a Jewish settlement in East Jerusalem, King Hussein rebuked the prime minister for his "intent to destroy all I worked to build between our peoples and states." But the Jordanian monarch concluded his letter on a more hopeful note, citing "God's will for the final reconciliation of all the descendants of the children of Abraham."

Netanyahu's reply failed to respond to this reference to a common Muslim-Jewish scriptural root under divine will.

The so-called peace process between Palestinians and Israelis also lacks this historical common bond. A true peace process begins with a common identity. The patriarch Abraham represents one such link, his commonality affirmed in the same Bible the Israelis continually quote to justify their occupation of land historically known as Palestine.

Law is another potential binding agent that can make true peace possible. And in our 20th century global community, world citizenship is something all can share and is, of course, most relevant to achieving "peace in our time."

Simultaneously, however, the exclusionary nature of what Emery Reves' called the "feudal state" not only denies but betrays such commonalities and processes.

In Vol. 1, No. 1, World Citizen News published a proposal for a fictional state for the Holy Land: the Abraham Federation. It was conceived by Norman Kurland, president of the Center for Economic and Social Justice. In September 1994, following the famous handshake on the White House lawn, symbolic Abraham Federation citizenship cards were duly mailed to Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, PLO Chairman Yasir Arafat and King Hussein.

In today's tense Mideast circumstances, the story of the worship of the Golden Calf (read, nation-state) seems particularly appropriate to recall for both Jews and Arabs--and for the rest of the human race.

Why NATO?

"NATO was designed to fight the USSR. With the Cold War over, the Alliance has lost its mission. As an anachronism, logically, it could be disestablished. [But] largely for domestic political reasons, the U.S. administration is insisting that NATO be extended eastward to include nations like Poland, Hungary and the Czech Republic. Russia, alarmed that NATO expansion will renew the Cold War division of Europe and push the dividing line closer to its border, strenuously opposes such a move." (The Defense Monitor, February 1997.)

A perverse child of Western nation-state military policy, NATO, now middle-aged, is desperately trying to justify its continued existence by adding further political fictions: Poland, Hungary, the Czech Republic.

But has anyone voted on the existence of NATO? Has there been an international or even European referendum on the organization's continuance? According to The Defense Monitor, "With the Cold War over, NATO's members no longer need to defend against external enemies. Nevertheless, each nation believes its sovereignty requires it to maintain armed forces."

The Defense Monitor concludes that NATO still serves a useful purposes because it puts "these [nation-state arsenals] into a common alliance, [discouraging] the members from using them against each other."

Wouldn't a government with jurisdiction over all these "members," based on popular will, do a better job, while also saving the billions now wasted on military machines? After all, as Emery Reeves wrote in 1945, only the community is sovereign. And the community now is global.

Anarchy Reigns in Albania and Without

The population of Albania is 3,249,000, less than the population of many major cities, including New York, Tokyo, Sao Paulo, Mexico City and London. All these cities have mayors, councils, police, courts and a citizenry more or less respectful of common standards of behavior. They represent the sovereignty of real communities.

Today, however, the supposedly sovereign state of Albania has succumbed to mob rule.

Since the collapse of Communism in 1991, Albanians have dreamed of becoming instantly rich. The best-known Albanian writer, novelist Ismail Kadare, commented in an interview in Paris that "the people wanted to catch up with lost time, to forget their poverty." But now, he added, "They are a people who have lost their serenity and are in the process of devouring themselves."

The majority of Albania's citizens, however, deplore the current breakdown of law and order. They equate this with the recent pyramid investment scheme which robbed them of their life savings--with the government's collaboration. Their confidence in the government shattered, they saw no alternative but to take over the city streets themselves.

Western governments are helpless to come to Albania's aid, just as they are helpless to come to humanity's aid. Instead we see U.S. and Italian helicopters attempting only to rescue their own nationals.

Albania now is a striking metaphor for the world community of nation-states. Their "mobs" are national armies. The arms they employ are used against cities and civilians. There is no law, court or governing body to stop them. Nation-states are a law unto themselves, just like the thugs roaming the streets of Tirana and Vlore.


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