Editor,
Thank you to the 100 people who attended the Salt of the Earth presentation on Oct. 10 where we heard firsthand accounts of the conflict in Israel and Palestine from an Israeli Jew and a Palestinian who grew up in the West Bank.
The entire history of the State of Israel has been contentious, with the explosive mix of national aspirations and world power brokers. The tragedy of genocide, targeted nationalism and deprivation of a safe homeland continues 76 years later. To list just a few key factors inflaming the conflict on both sides: the Nazi Holocaust and displacement of 390,000 European Jews who sought refuge in Palestine/Israel; the expulsion of 750,000 Jews from Arab lands after the establishment of the state, the violent expulsion of 750,000 Palestinians (almost three-quarters of the population), the suicide bombings inside Israel, the wars between Israel and its neighboring countries and the continuing violent oppression of Palestinian rights. And now the massacre of at least 42,000 Gazans and 2,300 Lebanese. The number of people killed is staggering.
Because Israel has managed to deflect most missile attacks and because there are safe shelters protecting civilians in Israel, we don’t hear much about the daily Hezbollah and Hamas attacks on Israel. These attacks and the Oct. 7 massacre keep the majority of the Jewish Israeli population convinced that they must destroy Palestinians, or be destroyed.
On the other side, the years of intentional brutal Palestinian oppression, catastrophic murders of Palestinians in Gaza, bombings in Lebanon, and attacks in the West Bank of Israel make it almost impossible to imagine that Palestinians could be willing to work for co-existence. Given all this, how could it be that there is a reawakened peace movement in Israel that calls for an end to Palestinian oppression and safety for both Jews and Palestinians? This is the hope that Osama Iliwat and Rotem Levin courageously personify. The first steps must be an end to the fighting and a commitment to both Palestinian rights and safety for all.
We can help them. Support B’Tselem, an Israeli organization for Palestinian rights, and Standing-Together, a group supporting co-existence led by young Jews and Palestinians in Israel/Palestine. Support efforts to provide needed supplies to Palestinians in Gaza and in Egypt, where many have fled.
Most of all, advocate for an end to U.S. support for weapons of war. Contact your Congress people and the president letting them know that you oppose American support of these inhumane attacks on Palestinians. Join efforts such as Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP), Code Pink, American Friends Service Committee, and IfNotNow.
Thank you for considering what you can do.
Janet Staub
Clinton
