As of today I will no longer be posting anything regarding those who were kidnapped on October 7, whether or not they remain held hostage. I can no long contribute to an ongoing justification for the continuing murder of Palestinian people by the IDF and the Netanyahu government. The last straw? The deaths of over 100 people and the injuries to more than 700 that were directly attributable to the Israeli blockade and occupation of Gaza. The IDF claims they are not responsible. This is disingenuous at best, but frankly, it’s a lie. Some relevant facts:
- Before the October 7 attacks roughly 2.2 million people resided in Gaza. Over half of them were children under the age of 20
- More than 30,000 have been killed so far. Approximately 70% of the dead are women and children. That’s 21,000 people that are NOT combatants. They are not Hamas fighters. Thousands more remain unaccounted for, believed buried under the rubble.
- Since October 7 the IDF has maintained close to a complete blockade of Gaza, denying shipments of food, water, fuel, and medicine. There are no functioning hospitals in Gaza. Bibi claims that shipping food and other humanitarian aid would benefit Hamas. Frankly, this is seriously perverted logic that is resulting in near famine. There is NO justification for trying to starve to death innocent civilians.
- For those of you that may say that all Palestinians are culpable because Hamas is their government, I say “really?” I guess that makes us, as Americans who did not support Trump equally responsible for the separation of immigrant children from their families, from the reign of terror that Trump perpetrated against non-white people. The children being murdered are NOT combatants and are NOT responsible for the actions of Hamas.
The IDF and the Netanyahu government claim no responsibility for what happened yesterday. The deaths and injuries happened in an area in Gaza occupied by the IDF, yet they claim no responsibility for maintaining security in the region. People who are starving, who are being starved by the Israeli government tried to access (OK, maybe even steal) food. Some where shot by the IDF. Some were run down by panicked truck drivers trying to escape. Others were trampled by a panicked crowd. In the end the IDF bears complete and sole responsibility for every death. They put the blockade into place. The IDF created the food shortages through their attempt to starve the Palestinian people.
I will always stand with the right of the Jewish people to be safe and secure. I cannot continue to stand with a government, a country, that murders indiscriminately without regard for the lives of people they deem irrelevant. It’s time to stop the blockade of Gaza and feed the Palestinian people. And it’s time to end the occupation of Gaza and the West Bank.
Frankly, I’m finding it harder and harder to refute the claims that what Israel is doing in Gaza is genocide.
Stop the killing now.
#resist