By Kenneth J. Theisen
On Thursday the U.S. Senate confirmed its support for Israeli war crimes by passing a resolution in support of Israel’s attack on the Palestinians of Gaza. The resolution also called for a one-sided ceasefire. The resolution was passed on a voice vote and was sponsored by both Democratic and Republican party leaders in the Senate.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid stated just before the vote, “When we pass this resolution, the United States Senate will strengthen our historic bond with the state of Israel, by reaffirming Israel’s inalienable right to defend against attacks from Gaza, as well as our support for the Israeli-Palestinian peace process.” George Orwell must be delighted in his grave to hear such Orwellian bull.
Israel is not on the defense, but rather it is the aggressor. It has occupied Gaza for over four decades and held the inhabitants of Gaza in a vast open-air prison. And the peace process that Reid mentions is the peace of the grave for those who resist Israel and its imperialist sponsor, the U.S. government. Israel has killed hundreds of Palestinians in Gaza in many military operations over the years of occupation. The latest attack has killed even more than past attacks, however. To date, there are more than 700 dead in Gaza as a direct result of Israeli aggression.
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell spoke a partial truth when he urged senators to support the resolution. He said, “The Israelis … are responding exactly the same way we would.” This is true. The U.S. has set an example for Israel in its level of aggression against the people of the world. And no country can even hope to reach the level of war crimes committed by the U.S. But Israel is trying.
The Senate resolution calls on President Bush “to work actively to support a durable, enforceable and sustainable ceasefire in Gaza as soon as possible that prevents Hamas from retaining or rebuilding the capability to launch rockets or mortars against Israel,” according to Senator Reid. The resolution puts the full blame for Israeli war crimes on Hamas and makes it appear that Israel is the victim. It also, in effect, delays any real ceasefire by putting the burden on Hamas to cease defensive actions. This is exactly what Israel seeks, the complete surrender of Hamas.
Reid went on to say that the resolution, “allows for the long-term improvement of daily living conditions of the ordinary people of Gaza.” Give me a break! Reid and the others voting for this resolution are allowing the continuing assault on the people of Gaza. Their daily living conditions are hell-like and the invasion of Gaza is resulting in death and destruction for the Palestinian masses there. The Senate is complicit in Israeli war crimes and no amount of Orwellian speak will hide this. As of this writing, even the United Nations has halted its aid work in Gaza, stating its staff was at risk from Israeli Army forces after two U.N. drivers were killed.
The House of Representatives, under Nancy Pelosi, is expected to pass a resolution similar to the Senate in the very near future.
It is clear that we can not expect the aggression launched by Israel to end if we depend on “our leaders.” They are the cheerleaders and teachers for Israel in this latest of the Zionist war crimes. They also serve to distort the truth of what is really happening in Palestine and throughout the Middle East. Whether it is war against the people of Afghanistan, Iraq, or Palestine, we are told that the purpose of the attacks is to bring peace to the people of the region. We are told that the “victims” (the U.S. and Israel) are just fighting terrorists and that we need to support the U.S. imperialists and their Israeli co-conspirator in order to make us safe. These are all lies and we need to expose these lies for what they are – justification for continuing war crimes and crimes against humanity.
The criminals include not only soldiers and officers taking part in the genocidal atrocities, but also political leaders who gave the orders and instructions.
It is true that there are no guarantees at the moment that the war criminals will be apprehended, and prosecuted,or punished for their crimes, given the international political environment and the absence of the international will to challenge the Israeli-Nazi state and her guardian-ally, the United States.
The souls of these Gaza children, mercilessly killed and incinerated by the Israeli-American war machine are calling on us to pursue the murderers.
We must not let these vile murderers and child killers sleep quietly.
The reality is that the establishment of the illegitimate settler State of Israel in 1948 was a political determination that came through genocide against the Palestinian people.
The U.S. government’s funding of the Israeli State’s genocide in Occupied Palestine is complicity. Israel functions as a military outpost for U.S. government interests in the Middle East region. It is exposing that the U.S. government can provide billions to the illegitimate settler State of Israel for its continuing genocide while it can find no resources to relieve people in the U.S. who have lost their homes as a result of the bankers’ subprime mortgage scams that targeted African and Latino people. We also recognize that U.S. president-elect Barack Obama’s refusal to speak to the holocaust being waged against the Palestinian people is a statement that with his presidency, the U.S. government will continue its participation in genocide in the Middle East, Africa and elsewhere.
We have a natural unity with the people of Palestine because the occupation experienced by the people of Palestine is not unlike the occupation experienced by African communities in the U.S. Just as the People in the Gaza Strip experience containment, African communities in the U.S. experience police containment. Just as Israeli military forces use brutality, prison and murder to repress and prevent the Palestinian people from exercising their right to self-determination, so do police in African communities in places like Chicago, New York and St. Petersburg use brutality, prison and murder to contain and repress the African community. So it is easy for the African community to support the right of the Palestinian people to self-determination.
We are calling on all freedom-loving people to increase actions in support of the Palestinian people and an immediate end to the Israeli military offensive against the 1.5 million civilians in the Gaza Strip.