Chanting "Free, free Palestine," hundreds of people gathered in Seattle on Saturday to oppose the recent violence in the Middle East, mirroring protests worldwide that have drawn thousands as Israel has faced increasing criticism for its attacks on the Gaza Strip. Full Story »
Posted by Dwight Rousu
Good account of the rally, not such a good account of the underlying issue. The most important missing pieces are the grossly unequal ratio of power and might between Israeli military and Hamas; the small fact that Hamas is the elected governing body of Gaza Strip, making it the official government of this "non-state" Israel refuses to recognize and has sworn to wipe out; and the humanitarian atrocities created through the blockade of Gaza by the Israeli government.
In the crowd, Wendy Somerson, 40, a Jewish woman from Seattle, clutched a sign that read, “The State of Israel Betrays Jewish Values.” “We don’t support collective punishment of the Palestinian people. All people are equal and all lives are equal,” said Somerson, a member of Jewish Voice for Peace. “The 400 Palestinian lives. We’re mourning them just as we’re mourning the four Israeli lives,” she added, referring to those who have died recently.
The protestors were angered by recent actions of Israel, which on Saturday sent military forces into the neighboring Gaza Strip. It was the Jewish state’s latest move in its eight-day offensive against Hamas, the ruling party in Gaza, aimed at forcing the Islamist Palestinian group to stop firing rockets at Israel’s southern cities.
This crowd was not “angry,” we were heartsick. I was there, as were many friends and associates. I spoke with the police officers on guard, asking them how it was from their perspective: “Very peaceful, no problems,” said the officer in charge. This was a multicultural interfaith gathering for peace, dedicated to stopping the violence.
Officials estimate more than 435 Palestinians died since Israel started its offensive. Four Israelis have also died in the violence. The United Nations estimates at least a quarter of the Palestinians killed by Israeli airstrikes on Hamas militants were civilians.
Prior to the land invasion of Gaza by Israeli troops, the death count was 435 Palestinians, one Israeli. All these deaths and injuries are tragic and criminal. But consider the proportions: 100/1. How can that be viewed as a serious threat to Israelis?
The Israeli government has rejected calls for a temporary cease-fire, saying it would be a “mistake” to give the movement time to rearm and regroup. Hamas, which denies Israel’s right to exist, seized control of Gaza in 2007 after a brief power-sharing arrangement with Abbas, of the rival Fatah movement. In late December, the American Jewish Committee’s Greater Seattle Chapter released a statement, saying that Israel supports a two-state solution for coexistence but that Hamas “calls for Israel’s destruction.”
How can Gaza “rearm” when all their borders are sealed by Israel and Egypt? Indeed, Hamas is wrong to deny Israel’s right to exist, but Israel also denies Hamas’ right to exist. The Israeli government has gone beyond denying Hamas the right to exist: it is destroying Palestinian civilians captive in Gaza, creating a new “Warsaw Ghetto” where the Israeli government is the aggressor and the US Bush administration is the primary enabler, together bringing the full weight of their US-funded and supplied military might against a small wedge of land isolated on all sides and blockaded by Israel since its inception.
The protest was a planned gathering to stop the violence against Gaza and the Occupied Territories, and against the US complicity by blocking UN Security Council sanctions and providing taxpayer money to fund purchase of "state of the art" weapons to the Israeli government. I know many of the organizers and I was a participant. To me, the overarching message was one of the need for peace, not vengeance. After the Holocaust, we said "never again," and now, we are not only standing by, but supporting the destruction. We must stop it now.