Call to Stop the Bombing in Gaza
Sunday December 28, 2008

Yesterday’s attacks by the Israeli Air Force in Gaza City—the most densely populated piece of land on the face of the earth—indiscriminately destroyed medical and governmental buildings, homes, and other civilian infrastructure. By this morning, about 300 Palestinians, many of whom were women, children, and civil police and traffic officers (so-called Hamas “security forces”) were killed and at least 900 injured. We and many others around the world are concerned about reports from Israel that these attacks may be only the opening fanfare of a sustained military campaign that will, inevitably, create even more casualties for an already besieged people.

American Jews for a Just Peace strongly condemns the Israeli invasion of Gaza, as a cruel and barbarous attack upon a captive civilian population. Israel justifies its attack as a defensive response to Hamas rockets fired into Israel. While the firing of Hamas rockets into civilian areas is not a justifiable response, the reality is that those rocket attacks were provoked by Israel’s own violation of the cease-fire in early November, before it expired, when Israel mounted a series of unprovoked attacks against Gaza that killed six Palestinians. But the Hamas rockets were also the desperately frustrated response to Israel’s sustained and unlawful blockade of nearly all food, medicines, fuel, and other essential supplies to the full civilian population of Gaza since the election of a Hamas government there in 2006. The people of Gaza have already been reduced to living in the dark, without heat and on a bare subsistence diet as consequences of the Israeli blockade.

The United Nations Relief and Works Agency has been feeding 750,000 Gazans who can no longer feed themselves. UNRWA reports that it ran out of food on December 18, 2008 as a consequence of Israel’s blockade and was forced to suspend all emergency and regular food aid. Three quarters of a million people now face starvation. Notably, last week Israel expelled an observer sent by the U.N. to assess the situation and has barred journalists from entering Gaza to report events based on their own neutral observance of them.

As American Jews, we are compelled to oppose these violations of widely held and agreed upon rules of ethical conduct by Israel—and by the U.S., in complicity with it. The inhumanity and cruelty of Israel’s violently excessive assaults against Gaza are an affront to the long-cherished Jewish commitment to basic principles of justice and humaneness. As American citizens, we call upon President Elect Obama to push publicly for the immedate cessation of bombing and reinstatement of the cease-fire pending resumption of fairly moderated peace talks between Israelis and Palestinians.

U.S. troops under Iraq’s authority for first time

BAGHDAD (Reuters) – The U.S. military in Iraq falls under Iraqi authority on Thursday for the first time since the U.S.-led invasion ousted Saddam Hussein in 2003, a milestone in the war-weary country’s path to restoring sovereignty.

The U.S. force in Iraq, now more than 140,000 strong, has operated since 2003 under a U.N. Security Council resolution which expired at midnight on New Year’s Eve.

Starting January 1, troops will operate under the authority of the Iraqi government, according to a pact signed earlier this year by Washington and Baghdad.

The pact gives U.S. troops three years to leave Iraq, revokes their power to detain Iraqis without an Iraqi warrant, and subjects contractors and, in some cases, U.S. troops to Iraqi law.

A sign of the times…? ;-)

from the afsc:

Dear President Bush and President-Elect Obama,

As an organization with 60 years of experience working in the Gaza Strip and committed to a peaceful future between Palestinians and Israelis, we are saddened and distressed at the spiraling violence in Gaza over the past five days. As a Quaker organization that cares deeply about the life, dignity, and security of all people, we ask you to take immediate action to end this spiral of violence.

We urge you to take all steps necessary to end the Israeli attacks against Gaza, which have as of this writing taken more than 370 lives, injured thousands, and destroyed many homes and properties. The military strike is in addition to a two year-old siege imposed by the Israeli government, and supported by the U.S. government, that has severely restricted the importation of food, medicine, fuel and other essential goods necessary to maintain the well-being of more than 1.4 million people in the Gaza Strip.

The disproportionate Israeli siege and military assault continue a policy of collective punishment. The time has long-passed to end this policy.

At the same time, we recognize that Hamas’s decision to launch rocket attacks into Israel has threatened the safety of Israeli civilians and incurred tragic consequences for the people of Gaza.

So the cycle of violence deepens. Even today, Hamas threatens to increase the number of rockets fired into Israel in retaliation for the Israeli siege and air strikes. Israel justifies the siege and the attacks because of the rocket attacks. It’s an untenable situation that need not continue.

Violence must be replaced with negotiations. Both the air strikes and the embargo should end immediately. Israel should engage in diplomacy with the Palestinians, including Hamas as elected leaders of the Palestinian legislature. And every effort should be made through the good offices of the Arab states to urge Hamas to re-establish the cease fire and put forth a good-faith effort to end the current violence.

Given its tremendous regional influence, the United States can move the parties toward a peaceful resolution. The U.S. supports Israel militarily, financially, and politically. You have the power to end weapon sales to Israel; weapons that are often used against civilians. We urge that you also stop supporting the embargo on Gaza.

The U.S. government has supported an Israeli militarist strategy that has not, and will not, lead to a lasting peace. Only a solution based in fairness, respect, and security for both Palestinians and Israelis will offer the peace that all so desperately seek and deserve. Only creative dialogue and negotiation, not military force, can lay the path to that solution.

We urge you to use your power and influence well so that U.S. policy can move further along the path to peace. We hope that this New Year is a more peaceful one, in the Middle East, the U.S., and throughout the world.

Sincerely,

Mary Ellen McNish

General Secretary,

American Friends Service Committee

That would be the day before Israel went into Palestine and killed 6 people they “suspected” of digging a tunnel thus breaking the truce and starting the rockets in reprisal. Just a co-incidence I’m sure.

As much as Israel is mocking truthtell,international treaties,the United Nations and indeed making a mockery of Jewish historic suffering by this wanton infliction of suffering and death on Gaza it is WashingtonDC that also is doing so by not stopping Israel.

The United States must come to terms with this seriously flawed state of affairs or our destiny will have become all to bound to Israels and for anyone to suggest Israel has any hope of winning anything but ultimate defeat based on population trends alone is surely displaying stupidity and disregard for truth and fact.

If WashingtonDC cannot be turned from the error riddled course it is on and stupidly remains fixated on all American citizens must accept this as being our failure as American citizens to root out the wrong and put in the right.

Israel surely is binding itself to a failed outcome with these mindless and truly cynical attacks and killing sprees on Palestinians and Lebanese.

Americans will share in this failed outcome by not breaking away from it.

It becomes this starkly simple in and with any truthful overview.