"Never Again" a genocide of any people

Dear Editors:

Jewish Israeli observers of the more than five month bombardment of Gaza, have stated that there is a genocide taking place. Four hundred Israelis co-signed South Africa's suit charging Israel with genocide. Over 32,000 Palestinians have been killed, most of those women and children. Israel prevents food aid from reaching Gaza, subjecting the population to starvation. Children have already starved to death. Virtually the entire population of almost 3 million human beings has been rendered homeless.

American Jewish groups do not all share the same views. Many American Jews, and groups such as Jewish Voice for Peace, If Not Now, Not in My Name, and others, share the alarm expressed by these Israeli observers. I have always believed that the words "Never Again" meant "Never Again" a genocide of any people. Because of this, I call for humanitarian aid to Gaza and a ceasefire now.

Sincerely,
Marcy


No escape from their demonic tormentors

There is a madness that comes from the daily view of genocide. All we have learned and all we have read stops at the barbed wire enclosure of Gaza. Inside, there are the images of Hell so ubiquitous in medieval art. For the damned, there is no pity, and no escape from their demonic tormentors.

But somehow to see this in real time breaks down the barriers of what we expect to encounter in our lives. That actual human beings could become the agents of such barbarism is just too horrible to dwell on, much less try to understand. This Hell on earth goes beyond rational thought.

Maybe that is why the genocide enablers keep sending Israel more weapons while they talk about ceasefires and food shipments. Are Biden and Blinken overcome by the horrors they have wrought, or are they simply part of the devil's plan?

Maybe that is why the holy stewards of Judeo/Christian religions are so determined to look the other way. Talking about genocide isn't a very civilized thing to do, especially when some are certain to take offense. The food banks they so generously organize and oversee as part of God's work aren't really for the starving children of Gaza. And the interfaith groups they so proudly belong to, won't lift a finger to condemn the charnel house that Israel has created for the Palestinians.

That leaves the rest of us. Are we too traumatized to act when the genocide is done in our name?

Fred Nagel

Journalism's critical role of informing the public.

Dear Editor,

From it's headline to the closing paragraph, Mike Corder's AP article in the February 20th issue of the Times Union could be a useful teaching tool in any college's journalism class.  Students can see how, by writing a report setting forth factual information but omitting salient points, reporters can lead readers to arrive at misinformed conclusions.
 
The article's headline, "Palestinian foreign minister accuses Israel of apartheid..." is accurate.  However, the words of the South African Ambassador, who described the policies and practices of the Israeli government as "an even more extreme form of the apartheid that was institutionalized against Black people in my country", are certainly more newsworthy than the to-be-expected accusation of a Palestinian foreign minister.
 
While he reported accurately that "Israelis were not scheduled to speak" at the hearings, Mr. Corder neglected to report that the reason they were not scheduled to speak was because of "Israel's decision not to send a delegation to the International Court of Justice this week to defend itself...".
 
Mr. Corder called readers' attention to the "146 settlements across the West Bank" that have been built by Israel but failed to mention that those settlements/colonies are for Israelis only and are illegal under International Law.
 
In his closing paragraph, Mr. Corder writes that Israel controls Gaza's  "airspace, coastline and population registry" but fails to mention Israel's control of Gaza's 37 mile land border with Israel.
 
A more thorough report would have fulfilled journalism's critical role of informing the public.
 
Sincerely,
Paul Rehm

You’ve got to be kidding, Joe

You’ve got to be kidding, Joe - build a f---ing PORT to get aid to the starving refugees??? WHY?  It's already at the Rafah gate, cruelly constrained by the genocidal paranoid Zionists. Lay down the law to them, if you have the guts, Joe, and take decisive action along lines such as this: tell them the U.S. will ensure that the trucks don't contain potential weapons and that they are COMING THROUGH!  If crybaby Bibi resists, cut off the aid you're lining up for Israel (you should have long ago) and provide armed protection for the convoys if necessary. But come hell or high water, they're COMING THROUGH, PRONTO!

Should Egypt object, suspend aid to them and they'll change their tune fast.   
          
Tough talk before Congress and cameras is easy, Joe.  If you really want respect you've got to follow up with swift, decisive, fearless action. Maybe not exactly what's suggested above, but SWIFT, decisive and fearless. It WILL succeed and greatly boost your chances against that redneck madman. You might even get our votes.

Gregory (& Nancy)

Now ain't the time for your tears

Today I am reminded of Bob Dylan's The Lonesome Death of Hattie Carroll and its refrain:

But you who philosophize, disgrace and criticize all fears
Take the rag away from your face, now ain't the time for your tears

I address this to Biden and all those who believe this moment in the agony of Palestine is the time for their tears.

The time for tears to begin was 140 years ago when European Jews first imported the extant European ideology of ethnonationalism and its practice of Settler Colonialism, grafted it on to thousands of years of Jewish history, most of it in Diaspora, invented their own indigeneity in Palestine via a highly selective reading of that history, and turned its full force on hundreds of thousands of legitimately indigenous Palestinians.

I believe we need to see the question of "Antizionism = Antisemitism" in the broader context of the hostile takeover by Zionism of Jewish religion, culture, and history to serve not Jewish but its own ends. The crimes against humanity - colonialism, ethnic cleansing, apartheid, and now arguably genocide - are all steps along the way.

Lisa quite rightly states that personal experience is essential to the narrative we are to present, and most of you know that my personal narrative spans many decades of Zionist history. But the historical context is essential for the public to know as well. "Antizionism = Antisemitism" is a rhetorical ploy used by Zionism to deflect criticism and blame as it closes in for the kill. It weaponizes Jewish victimhood, especially the Holocaust, when in fact the essential elements of the Zionist project were already in place prior to the Holocaust.

The rage, horror, and grief that I feel for my Palestinian brothers and sisters stems from the rage, horror, and grief that I felt at the unoccupied grave of my Great Grandfather, Ferdinand Ullman, murdered in Theresienstadt, when I asked myself when will there be a time when Palestinian children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren will be invited by the perpetrators to stand at the graves of their forebears, as my father and I were by the city of Frankfurt in 1992? At that moment Palestine merged with the Jewish soul that I had so recently rescued from Zionism.

With boundless love and affection for all of you, and in solidarity always,

Mark

Genocide is just another acceptable tactic

We often think of our elected officials as ordinary people, caught up in the spirit of public service. They certainly try to be like the rest of us, with families and favorite teams to cheer for. It's true, they are often a bit more patriotic than the average citizen. Not so carried away, however, as to ever fight America's endless wars in the Third World.

But when the Senate voted today for more aid to Israel, my confidence in our elected leaders faltered. We can see it on every computer screen, the genocide of 2 million at the hands of a rabid and racist Israeli army. Netanyahu's Israel behaves like the Third Reich, and our elected leaders behave like this is what normal people do.

But normal people want a ceasefire, not another shipment of bombs and missiles to Israel. Normal people are horrified at the prospect of tens of thousands of children being starved to death. Not our political leaders, however. Now that Israel has two million Palestinian civilians hopelessly crowded into southern Gaza, the "final solution" can begin. And to that rarified world of the US Senate, that's just fine.

The startling amorality of our ruling class, however, is a teaching moment. Our government is not a democracy, and its two party system is nothing more than a sham. The system is so monstrous that we have to take notice. Our late American empire is a killing machine, and genocide is just another acceptable tactic.


Fred Nagel

Call with Pat Ryan yesterday:

The statement by Kristina Hwang took everyone's breath away. She calculated that the congressman had accepted funds from AIPAC amounting to exactly $6.50 for each Palestinian child killed since October. She asked him how he felt about valuing human life that way and how his own children will one day feel about their father.

There were many other powerful statements made on the call, including by Palestinian-Americans whose families have been forced from their homes, maimed and killed-- not just these past months but for decades.

It was clear that Ryan was carefully avoiding the word ceasefire. He used elaborate dodgy substitutes but would not pronounce the word -- as if he had been muzzled.

How have we lost so much human rights ground here in the US? How have we managed to normalize attacks on hospitals and demonize the word ceasefire?

It would be great if we could gather the written statements in one place.

~Katherine