Israel, fully backed by the United States, has engaged in
collective punishment of the Palestinian people since 1948 through forced
evacuation, war, occupation, apartheid practices, expanding settlements, mass
incarceration, and outright terrorism. From its inception, the Zionist
objective has been ethnic cleansing and land appropriation.
The Israeli propaganda machine always has a pretext, based
on charges of anti-Semitism and “existential” threat, to justify its murderous
actions against the indigenous Palestinian population. Today, they blame Hamas
for the kidnapping and killing of three teenagers. This comes in the context of
the Israeli government’s anger at the recent reconciliation agreement between
Hamas and the Palestinian Authority.
In “retaliation” for the slain Israeli youth, reminiscent
of the Southern lynchings in the U.S., a racist gang of thugs kidnapped a
Palestinian 16-year old, Mohammad Aba Khudair, and brutally beat and tortured
him and finally, burned him alive. Days later, his American 15-year old cousin,
Tarek Abu Khdeir, was savagely beaten by masked police and others, and then
arrested and held while medical treatment was withheld.
In recent weeks, the State of Israel has carried out
thousands of military raids of Palestinian homes, arrested hundreds, encouraged
mob violence against Palestinians and their civic institutions, killed and
injured hundreds of Palestinians, including many children, and intensified air
attacks.
The people of Gaza, living in the world’s largest penal
colony, who have never recovered from Israel’s last major assault of
2008-2009 and the ongoing siege, are once again the targets of a reign of terror
from a major military power. On July 8, Israel launched a new military
offensive called “Operation Protective Edge” with a barrage of intensifying
missile attacks on Gaza, activating reservists, and massing thousands of
infantry and assault units at the Gaza border, threatening a full-scale ground
and air invasion.
There is no justification for the latest escalation of
massive military and civilian violence and racist hatred directed at the
besieged Palestinians. Without U.S. financial (over $3 billion dollars
annually) and political backing and military weapons, Israel could not carry out
its campaign of terror and ethnic cleansing.
When U.S. State
Department spokesperson Jen Psaki justified the support for the Israeli
slaughter in Gaza by claiming that Israel has a right to defend itself, the
question was asked whether the Palestinians have a right to defend
themselves. Despite considerable pressure, Ms. Psaki did not honor the question
with a response. In spite of the
hugely disproportionate might of the forces arrayed against them, the
Palestinians heroically continue to resist. The U.S. antiwar movement must show
our solidarity with them and build protests everywhere.
At the UNAC founding conference in 2010, for the first
time, a large representative gathering of antiwar and social justice activists
took a strong stand in solidarity with the Palestinian people. We demanded the
U.S. end all aid to Israel - military, economic, and diplomatic - and
took a stand in support of the Palestinian Right of Return and the international
campaign for Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions. This stance was a turning
point for the Palestine solidarity movement in the U.S. and should be embraced
by all who stand for justice.
We demand:
· Stop Israeli bombing and
killing
· End all U.S. aid to
Israel
· Support the Palestinian
call for BDS
7/10/14
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