This article first appeared on Aljazeera.
It was very kind of Brenda from the US Consulate in Jerusalem to finally return my call at 7pm, long after work hours.
I had been trying since early morning to get an appointment for a group of concerned US citizens living in Palestine to meet with a policy officer. We came together through social media and word of mouth because we are desperate to speak out about the unjustifiable slaughter of Palestinians in Gaza that is now under way.
We want to express our opposition to United States’ complicity in the Israeli attacks that have taken over 90 Palestinian lives, with hundreds more injured. We want to demand a change of policy before the threatened Israeli ground invasion becomes a reality. But it turned out that it was difficult to reach anyone in the consulate, much less to get an appointment.
Brenda was clearly in a hurry, but she responded professionally and explained that the American Citizen Services section was busy trying to help US citizens stuck in Gaza to get out to safety. They had priorities, she explained. They couldn’t take time to hear our views. Besides, her office doesn’t do policy work. That would be the other office.
No, she didn’t know the name of the person responsible for policy at the other office. It’s that transitional time of year when people finish their missions and new people replace them. She advised that we not bother the policy people either. There is a crisis now and everyone is busy.
How convenient! US representatives are “too busy with the crisis” to talk about US responsibility for creating the crisis. I explained my view: The US gives billions in military aid to Israel year after year; it provides unconditional political support despite Israel’s belligerent settlement policies; and it has refused to hold Israel accountable for violations of international law in the 2008-9 attack on Gaza and the 2012 attack on Gaza, not to mention the current attack. Isn’t the US government – and, by extension, US taxpayers – complicit in creating the emergency that has now placed over 1.5 million lives at grave risk in Gaza?
Sounding a bit frustrated, Brenda said she understood my point but still advised that we cancel our visit to the US consulate tomorrow since no one would be available to hear our complaints.
There are protests here in Palestine, in Boston, Chicago, New York, Washington DC, and in cities across the United States and the world. People want the US to stop unconditional support for jingoistic Israeli actions. But our government is too busy to hear our complaints? How loud must we scream before our government hears our demand for justice for Palestinians?
Nora, do you care at all the thousands of Islamic rockets raining on Israel? Or are you too ignorant to know about it?
Yes I care!
“An Arab majority and a Jews minority lived in peace under the Ottomans”
Bullshit.
From the words of Lydia Mamreoff von Finkelstein Mountford who lived in Palestine in the 19th century:
“The Jews, as well as the native Christians, throughout Syria and Palestine, were daily and hourly subjected to oppression, extortions, exaction, robbery and insults from their Moslem neighbours. It was no unusual occurrence for the Moslem to enter their houses, ransack closets and boxes, and appropriate any article of wearing apparel, furniture, or food that took the marauder’s fancy. The local Government authorities would occasionally, when in need of funds, levy blackmail to the amount of hundreds of pounds on the Jews and native Christians, threatening them with massacre and plunder in default of payment. Consequently, Jews and native Christians dared to make any display of wealth only at the risk of losing life or property, and often both….”
Taken from http://www.israeldailypicture.com/
So? Is your point that Arabs and Jews can never live together in peace? That’s ridiculous. Of course they can.
I moved this comment from another post since it is a continuation of the previous comment by the same commenter. -Nora
Your statement ” There are protests here in Palestine, in Boston, Chicago, New York, D.C., and in cities across the U.S. and the world. People want the US to stop unconditional support for jingoistic Israeli actions.” What about supporters of Israel?
There are many more that would love to see Islam disappear. Almost every conflict in the world is caused by Muslims, and the world is starting to realize that Islam is not the religion of peace. Most of the world is intolerant of intolerance today.
Americans are tired of the people coming to the US with 0 intent to contribute or become Americans. We do not need them; they need us. They should respect our laws and learn English. If they prefer Sharia Law, they should go to those places where that is the state law! They should be refused special privileges;we should not try to change our laws to fit their desires, no matter how loud they yell “discrimination”. American customs and traditions are not compatible with the lack of culture or primitive ways of most minorities. National interest should come first!
Note: I moved this comment from another post to this one to which it refers. -Nora
You should stick with fiction! Your “Aljazeera” is quite naive when it comes to history, and the way things seem to work there. You have been brain washed!
The truth is very different:
An Arab majority and a Jews minority lived in peace under the Ottomans.
As the Ottoman empire was falling, French and British forces pushed into the area.
By that time, many Jews already began coming to the land. They organized institutions, and by the beginning of the 20th century were buying land and creating refuge for those attacked in the pogroms in Europe. (This is about the time the West in the US was being transformed by immigrants from Europe).
During the 20s and 30s, Arab gangs were attacking, slaughtering, raping and robbing from Jewish families, most noticeably in 1921 and 1929. The Great Arab revolt 1933-1939 against the British occupiers included ongoing attacks on Jews.
In the 40s, the Arab leadership in British Palestine was collaborating with the Nazis.
Jewish attacks on the British forces were limited, and the main Jewish organizations were fighting the extremist groups, while focusing on diplomacy in the UN.
While Israel won multiple wars the Arab started, and held up while being attacked continuously by various forces since it was established, it has also sought peace and withdrew 100% from Egypt and Jordan in return for peace, as well as from Gaza and Lebanon.
It has agreements with the Palestinians, and continues cooperation with the Palestinian authority on ongoing basis.
As for Gaza, to reiterate, Israel withdrew 100% from Gaza, as verified by the UN.
The Palestinian militants destroyed the greenhouses and other assets Israel left behind to enable gradual rehabilitation of the labor market there, and prevented World Bank aid from reaching the people of Gaza. Then, Hamas took over Gaza by force, killing PLO activists.
As a response, Israel AND Egypt launched a blockade, in order to curb the Islamist organization and prevent it from realizing its extremist violent agenda which calls for a destruction of a nation state. Hamas began smuggling weapons into Gaza, and has been launching missiles on Israeli towns for over 7 years, hiding its own leadership under hospitals and keeping its missiles next to schools and offices of international organizations.
This is the same Hamas that blew up civilian buses and sent suicide bombers into coffee shops, with help from Iran in the 90s to sabotage the Oslo peace process, the same Hamas that believes women have no place in academia or business. It has failed in running Gaza, and as the economy got worse, and the organization realized it is not able to gain more power from within Gaza, it intensified its rocket launching, shooting hundreds of missiles on Israeli civilians over recent months, before Israel retaliated.
Witnessing more radical Islamist organizations and to crime families gain power, Hamas tried teaming up with the PLO. However, after the kidnapping and murder of 3 israeli teenagers (by some within Hamas who are against Palestinian unity), and a horrible murder of a Palestinian boy, both parties escalated the conflict.
In the meantime, Israel keeps providing electricity to Gaza, send tons of food and medicine these very days, and before bombing any specific target, it a) calls the residents of the house in which there are weapons of armed fighters and asks them to move out, b) drops a small bomb next to the house to clarify its intensions, and only then c) hits the target. I am sure that if terror was the key consideration they would not have gone through such trouble.
So let’s sustain a dialogue based on facts.