The ravaging of humanity itself by imperialist governments is ramping up so intensely – in Gaza, Ukraine, Sudan – that it’s provoking righteous global protest, even here in the belly of the beast. I’m finding the controversy is opening people such as my neighbors, who are first, second and third generation immigrants, to learn more about the history and cause of these wars, and to question what it will take to stop them. How do we unite people? Will it take a revolution, and how does that happen? These are the moments we come alive.
We can’t possibly send all the reports we’ve received, but here is some food for thought:
James Baldwin, in The Nation, 1979: “…the state of Israel was not created for the salvation of the Jews; it was created for the salvation of the Western interests. This is what is becoming clear (I must say that it was always clear to me). The Palestinians have been paying for the British colonial policy of ‘divide and rule’ and for Europe’s guilty Christian conscience for more than thirty years.
Bob Avakian in Some Basic Truths About the U.S.-Supported Israeli War on Palestine: “Israel is a country that, with the backing of major imperialist powers, was founded as a racist, Jewish supremacist state, 75 years ago, on the basis of horrific ethnic cleansing – with mass killing, rape, and destruction of whole villages of the Palestinians, driving masses of Palestinians off of their lands and incorporating that land into the expanding territory into what became the state of Israel (which had never existed before World War II). And now Israel, with the full backing of the U.S. imperialists, is openly carrying out genocide against the Palestinians. This is the truth. It describes the essential reality of this situation and its history. This truth is not “anti-Semitic” – it is just the truth.”
Noura Erakat on Democracy Now: “We have set up this situation where Palestinians are expected to die. And what we are seeing in this moment is now an expectation that they can die in mass numbers, that they can die being in hospitals where they are cut off by electricity by the Middle East’s only nuclear power, the 11th most powerful military in the world. It’s the 12th largest military exporter, and the United States and the European community are sending arms.”
Mike Hastie, Vietnam veteran-activist: “In 2013, I went to Palestine with a group of Veterans For Peace members. We were involved in five demonstrations. We were tear gassed by the Israeli soldiers and had live ammunition fired at us. When I took pictures of Palestinian youth launching rocks at the Israeli soldiers, I had an epiphany, because what I saw were Native Americans with bows and arrows. The racism I saw was a racism you could cut with a knife. It was the superior inflicting their core belief system on the perceived inferior. And now, it is 2023, and that racism has become unmistakable Genocide. ‘The world is a dangerous place, not because of those who do evil, but because of those who look on and do nothing.‘ (Albert Einstein)
Lyle J. Rubin, WeAreNotYourSoldiers.org speaker, November 9 2023 speaking at Veterans Demand Ceasefire action outside Congress:
Medea Benjamin and Nicolas Davies in Israeli War Crimes and Propaganda Follow U.S. Footprint: “Unlike in Fallujah, Mosul and Raqqa, people all over the world are seeing video of the unfolding catastrophe on their computers, phones and TVs. Netanyahu, Biden and the corrupt “defense analysts” on cable TV are no longer the ones creating the narrative, as they try to tack self-serving narratives onto the horrifying reality we can all see for ourselves. With the reality of war and genocide staring the world in the face, people everywhere are challenging the impunity with which Israel is systematically violating international humanitarian law.”