Israel is bombing Palestinians
in Gaza again. Al-Awda reports that “on November 9, 2012 Israel's army
killed a teenage child playing soccer in Gaza and then launched an unprovoked
bombardment of the Gaza strip...”
The strip is home to 1.5 million Palestinians, 80% of whom are refugees
denied by the Zionist state the right to return to their homes and lands
of origin from which they were expelled by the Zionist occupation in 1948
and thereafter. Nearly half of the Gaza
population are children who along with the elderly and ill remain completely
deprived of food, water, fuel, electricity, humanitarian relief and medical
supplies or facilities.
My heart cries out, but I am also experiencing a personal state of paralysis,
because this is the same old thing that has already broken my heart before.
In the modern age, you can watch people being massacred but you can’t
do anything. In any case, you can feel like you can’t do anything about
it. The pain just goes on and on because it never changes. It just gets
worse and worse.
I feel very much like my country is a home overrun by mice, which become
shameless and daring in their grotesque adventures when there is no cat
around to patrol. Since the Democrats have vowed during their election
campaign to back Israel no matter what they do, all forgiven ahead of
time - who is going to be that cat?
I just can’t see how the US could possibly back out of the Israel partnership
now, after things have come so far in terms of Israel taking over US military
security and intelligence, and domestic spying - especially under Obama.
Israel's preferred outcome of their aggressive warfare would likely be
to annex Gaza. It makes sense, looking at the map. Unless people make
a lot of noise, Israel could probably do it too, because America’s Blacks
and Latinos, Obama’s voter base, have no opinion on Palestine or Israel.
They remain in a supporting position to Obama, and are making few demands.
They remain misinformed by mainstream media.
British journalist and Middle East analyst Alan Hart suggests idealistically
that in Obama's last year in office he may finally use his power as president
to oppose Israel's defiance of international law. Alison Weir, of If Americans
Knew, wisely comments:
“We think this is possible (and wish it could be much, much sooner)
but this will only happen if we build public support for this action!”
"And what reason have you that you should not fight in the way of Allah
and of the weak among the men and the women and the children, (of) those
who say: Our Lord! Cause us to go forth from this town, whose people are
oppressors, and give us from Thee a guardian and give us from Thee a helper,"
states the Holy Qur'an: Chapter 4, Verse 75.
Noam Chomsky, on a recent trip to the Gaza Strip observed that "[Gaza]
is a lesson for people from the West. If they can struggle on under really
harsh and brutal conditions, it tells us we ought to be doing a lot more."
American Muslims for Palestine believes that the occupation leaders are
using Palestinian blood for election purposes. “Each time the political
climate in Israel reaches a dead end Israeli officials attack Palestinians
for political gain in hopes of swaying the Israeli voter.”
British-Israeli commentator Gilad Atzmon notes also that, “in order to
win the Israeli election, Benjamin Netanyahu feels the need to present
the Israeli voter with a substantial pile of Palestinian corpses.”
“Israel is using the escalation in Gaza to try and thwart the PLO's bid
for state membership of the UN, a senior Fatah official said Monday,”
reports Ma’an News.
The Chinese government expressed support for the Palestinians to be represented
in the UN, but Obama has rejected Palestinian UN membership categorically.
Israeli commentator Jonathan Cook says “Obama’s policy towards Israel
and the Palestinians will be the same as in his first term, with policy
determined by Zionist pressure and concern for future Democratic Party
prospects.”
“The bombs that are falling on Gaza right now are paid for by US tax dollars,
as unconditional military aid to Israel remains an unquestioned budgetary
priority,” writes Jewish Voices for Peace (JVP).
Yet, a recent article by Akiva Eldar states that “American Jews seem to
have lost interest in Israel.” A recent study two researchers from the
California State University and the Hebrew Union College asked young American
Jews whether they would regard Israel’s destruction as a personal tragedy.
Fifty percent said they would not.”
Israeli columnist Ari Shavit noted in the newspaper Ha’aretz last week,
“In the past, both the Zionist movement and the Jewish state were careful
to be identified with the progressive forces in the world. … But in recent
decades more and more Israelis took to leaning on the reactionary forces
in American society. It was convenient to lean on them. The evangelists
didn’t ask difficult questions about the settlements, the Tea Party people
didn’t say a word about excluding women and minorities or about Jewish
settlers’ attacks and acts of vandalism against Palestinians and peace
activists.” Israel, Shavit added, assumed that “under the patronage of
a radical, rightist America we can conduct a radical, rightist policy
without paying the price.”
“No more.” admitted Thomas Friedman.
John Spritzler writes in a commentary, How Can We End the U.S. Government's
Pro-Israel Foreign Policy? that “it's not just the Middle East that is
at stake. The balance of power in the United States itself is at stake.”
International observers note: “The people of Gaza are being subjected
to ongoing drone strikes, air strikes, tank shellings, and naval fire
in this indiscriminate and disproportionate military offensive... We call
on people of conscience around the world to stand up against this unlawful
aggression against Palestinian civilians. The international community
must take urgent action to put a stop to these violent attacks.”
Omar Baddar of American Muslims for Palestine (AMP) writes, “There is
no military solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The military
asymmetry clearly favors Israel, but the Palestinians are too resilient
to ever accept living without their basic rights... The only way to resolve
the Gaza problem for good is to reach a comprehensive Israeli-Palestinian
peace agreement that gives freedom and dignity to the Palestinians. That
starts with ending Israel’s illegal occupation of the Palestinian territories,
the single largest factor responsible for Israeli-Palestinian violence.
Unfortunately, Israeli leaders seem to still be under the illusion that
their military superiority can lead them to total victory, despite many
decades proving otherwise.” |