The Palestinian State of Israel
At last, there seems to be a cease fire, which means that Israel’s horrific weapons locker will not be spewing death on innocent people in Gaza.
Public pressure forced President Biden to apply pressure on Benjamin Netanyahu to stop the killing (after 11 days). War crimes were committed on all 11 days of fighting as Israel rained bombs down on families in Gaza, and gleefully knocked down buildings used for civilian purposes.
The Country Behind Israel’s Misdeeds
Israel couldn’t have played the neighbor bully without the continuous funding of military weapons and supplies by every US president in the last 50 years.
According to USA Facts:
The United States approved over $3.8 billion in foreign assistance to Israel in 2019, the most recent year of complete data. About $8.5 million of that aid went towards the economy, and the remainder went to the Israeli military.
USA Facts further states that “Israel cumulatively received $243.9 billion in inflation-adjusted US foreign assistance between 1946 and 2019, making it the largest recipient of American foreign aid since World War II.”
Commentators have pointed out that this time there was wide-spread anger from Americans and Europeans against Israel. Perhaps this is a “repeat offender” syndrome in which people lose patience with someone who continually violates the law or engages in violent acts.
No Blank Checks Any More
This anger is likely to translate into support for the BDS (Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions) movement which maintains a website at www.bdsmovement.net
BDS recommends five actions for those outraged by Israel’s attacks on Gaza: 1) Push for a military embargo on Israel; 2) Declare your institutions apartheid free zones; 3) Boycott brands supporting Israeli apartheid; 4) Cancel academic, cultural, and sporting events in Israel; and 5) Join a BDS campaign.
The ceasefire is a relief, and could have come sooner if western nations had acted faster. However, it is not the end of the story. There needs to be a lasting solution.
One State, with Liberty and Justice for All
In 2019, Foreign Affairs magazine advanced an old idea whose time has finally come. That is, one state for both Israelis and Palestinians. The state would be secular, with equal rights, dignity and respect for all regardless of national origin or religion. It no longer makes sense for medieval-style religious states to exist. That is true of Christian, Muslim, Buddhist, Hindu or Jewish religions.
It also makes no sense to have a two-state solution in this case. If it happened, Palestine would be the weaker, beggar state because of everything Israel has done to its people. The illegal settlements sealed the case against the two-state solution. It also presents the likelihood of further military action and violence.
Palestinians should receive reparations for having their property taken, being forced to live in camps and treated like second-class citizens. How would it be possible for two groups of people with such animosity towards each other to come together in friendship and for a common purpose?
We in the US had better hope that it is possible since the next few years will, hopefully, bring together two groups with great animosity and racism, that is, whites who dominate the government and society, and people of color who have equal rights that must be acknowledged. Just as Black Lives Matter, so do Palestinian Lives. We cannot go on knowing that our country is aiding and abetting this horrible situation.
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If Gaza were here, not there
Gaza, 90291
The Gaza strip
extends from
Santa Monica
south along the coast
Many thousands of us are packed tight
and cannot leave what is called
the world’s largest prison
We have been driven west
until we can go no further.
Here, under the Pagodas
we line up for UN food distributions
Walking down the Boardwalk
I see the wounded,
and the ghosts of many friends
A new explosion billows
black smoke across the sand
sending us into chocking fits.
A woman on her knees is crying
“They took our land and homes.
What more do they want?”
A man walks by.
He was a vendor not long ago
Now he is a fighter, “They want us gone.
They want us dead,” he shouts.
Ali walks up and whispers in my ear,
“They are targeting The Waldorf hotel and
5 Rose apartments today. Stay away,” he urges.
But where can I go? On the sand
I feel naked and exposed.
Should I swim out into the ocean?
And how could I run away
when our people are dying?
Once long ago, our tormentors
were the tormented.
They were horribly incinerated
on another continent.
They came here to find peace,
and found…us.
Today, another hideous crime is underway.
Scores of children dead already.
Genocide is such a big word to
describe a child being blown apart.
Boom! A missile has exploded
an apartment building a block ahead
Many of us are running to help the wounded.
Bodies are strewn across Ocean Front Walk
The living are screaming and crying.
Should we fight back?
They call us terrorists when we do.
And with what shall we fight?
Do we throw sand in their faces?
Is it sacrilege to hurl holy items at them
from memorials for the dead?
The tanks are rolling down Pacific Avenue now.
Someone has found gasoline for a
Molotov cocktail. He hurls it at the tank,
but it bursts against the steel without effect.
The tank turns and fires down Paloma.
The roof of a house flies off, a fire erupts.
Was a child inside doing her homework?
or just playing a video game?
Is there no justice in the world?
Why do people see our destruction
and turn away?
Are we not people? Do we not suffer?
In my reverie, I’ve wandered close to 5 Rose.
Soundlessly I see white bricks flying toward me.
They push me back into the parking lot
I cannot stand the pain, then it ceases.
Now I am riding the bricks into the sky
I look down and see Gaza one last time.