October 22, 2023
Since the eruption of hostilities between Hamas and Israel on October 7th, several rallies and vigils have been held in Portland, Maine. We are standing in solidarity with others throughout the world to demand that Israel cease its attacks on Gaza and allow lifesaving supplies to enter through the Rafah Crossing which borders Egypt.
We demand that the US end its unconditional support of and financial aid to Israel and hold Israel accountable for its criminal actions against the Palestinian people over the last 75 years, including its life-strangling siege of Gaza these last 16 years.
My social media has been filled with desperate pleas for help from Palestinian friends accompanied by deeply disturbing images of injured and dead children, their grieving parents, and exhausted medical and rescue workers.
Food, water, medical necessities and fuel are quickly running out. If not directly killed from the bombings, many people are at risk of dying from illness and lack of life saving basic supplies.
As of today, UNRWA* reports 4,385 Palestinian people have been killed since October 7th including 1,756 children and 967 women; 13,561 persons have been injured; nearly a million people are displaced from their homes. In the West Bank, tensions are mounting and the number of Palestinians killed by Israeli forces or settlers during this same time period is 90, including 27 children. Without question, this is genocide. And the world is watching the horror unfold day-by-day.
To be clear— the loss, too, of Israeli lives (1400) and the abduction of 210 Israeli citizens are horrific. But how Israel is responding is grossly disproportionate and unconscionable —It is retaliatory collective punishment and illegal by international law.
Important to remember is how this horror could even have happened. A 16-year siege punctuated by violent attacks, ongoing deprivation, and dehumanizing treatment by Israel have created life-denying, hopeless conditions for Palestinians living in Gaza. Such conditions breed despair and from despair, acts of desperation.
It is crucial that this context be understood and broad and deep systemic changes in the Holy Land (political, social, economic, etc) be made once this crisis is over so that such a tragedy as is happening right now never happens again.
However, before any systemic change can happen, the killing and displacement of Palestinians must end and the hostages must be released unharmed. Both must happen—now.
At a rally last week, I asked a few participants “why are you here?” Please listen to their responses.
http://www.haaretz.com / October 22, 2023 Amos Harel and Jack Khoury
Buddhist Travels in the Holy Land 