“Israel right or wrong” is the approach America takes in its support of Israel against the Palestinians. Israel has a right to defend itself against attack. Israel has no right to commit indiscriminate crimes against the Palestinian people.
Pope Francis recently said this, “I continue to receive very serious and painful news from Gaza. Unarmed civilians are subjected to bombings and shootings. A mother and her daughter were killed by Israeli snipers while going to the restroom. It is terrorism.”
Why are we supporting Israel in this terrorism? Why don’t we stop the genocide being committed against the Palestinian people?
America has the power to end this war by cutting off the funding we provide for all the weapons and bombs that have so far killed more than 40,000 Palestinian men, women, and children, and displaced more than 1.5 million Palestinians since last October.
If Israel possesses precise technology to assassinate the lead Hamas ceasefire negotiator, Ismail Haniyeh, in Tehran, why do they use cluster bombs on hospitals, schools, and refugee camps, claiming their target is Hamas.
While Israel has the ability to allow deliveries of medicine, food, and water to the millions of Palestinians close to starvation throughout Gaza, why do they close the roads needed for these life-saving deliveries.
A large majority of the countries in the United Nations have condemned Israel’s war crimes. The International Court of Justice and the International Criminal Court maintain that both Benjamin Netanyahu and the leaders of Hamas are equally guilty of war crimes.
But instead of distancing ourselves from Benjamin Netanyahu, we invite him to speak before the U.S. Congress, where the standing ovations he received from our Congress insult the memories of all the Palestinians who have died needlessly in this war.
The American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) and other pro-Israel lobbying groups are spending millions to defeat Congress members who are critical of Israel and who speak up for the Palestinians. Why aren’t these groups classed as foreign agents? Why should they be able to influence U.S. elections with their money?
We need more Americans to speak up against the genocide in Gaza. We must move our leaders to end the funding of weapons for Israel. How do we do this if there are forces working against our guaranteed free speech?
Last spring, free speech came to life at our colleges and universities. This fall, our schools are creating physical barriers to discourage peaceful assembly.
Without proof, pro-Israeli groups claim pro-Palestinian protests are fueled by “anti-Semitism.” University presidents have lost their jobs as a result of this lie. Big funders have threatened to withdraw their support if pro-Palestinian protesters are not punished for what they say and do. Videos of the protests last spring show how harsh law enforcement was against those supporting the Palestinian people.
All this has emboldened Benjamin Netanyahu to attack Hamas leaders in Iran and Hezbola leaders in Lebanon. Now, America is sending one third of our naval forces to the Middle East to defend Israel from possible attack.
Are we powerless to stop this? Only if we remain quiet and let the war in Gaza expand into a wider conflict.
We cannot let that happen. We must speak. We must protest. We must convince our leaders that it is time for a ceasefire and peace talks in order to prevent a disaster. Now is the time to end this war and establish peace in the Middle East.
Gale McNeeley
Santa Maria
