Since 2006 I have been supporting The Freedom Theatre in Jenin, Occupied Palestine. I am outraged at the massive Israeli army attacks on Jenin refugee camp and The Freedom Theatre. While it is impossible to assess the true extent of the damage while the Israeli army bars entrance to the camp, we know rockets were fired into the Theatre's courtyard and the Theatre was broken into and occupied by Israeli troops. We know the refugee camp infrastructure -- streets, sewers, electricity -- has been destroyed. We know many have been killed, more injured, and hundreds arrested. This nightmarish invasion has blocked ambulances and assistance to civilians, terrorized inhabitants, and forced thousands to flee their homes. There is no excuse for this war on a civilian population. The Israeli actions are war crimes.
I am equally outraged that our government's main reaction is to repeat well-worn, empty phrases about Israel's "right to defend itself" to cover up its unstinting support for Israeli aggression. Israeli land thefts, settler violence, military raids, and thousands of arrests are the authors of resistance from a people simply insisting on their right to live in dignity. Israel is not defending itself, it is, as Israeli politicians have made so clear recently, embarked on an all-out attempt to drive Palestinians out of their homeland and annex more territory.
We must insist the US stop enabling Israeli impunity and end the funding of $3.8+ billion/year of our U.S. tax dollars to Israel’s out-of-control military.
Felice Gelman