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To the editor:
The Democratic National Convention, which suppressed dissent over the administration’s Middle East policy, showed that Kamala Harris will provide no relief from Biden’s unconditional military, diplomatic and economic support for Israel.
Harris during her acceptance speech not only made disingenuous remarks about Israel’s war in Gaza. She also omitted the attacks by the IDF and extremist settlers on Palestinians in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, the widespread condemnation of U.S. policy by numerous nations, and the findings of plausible genocide, war crimes and human rights abuses against Israel by multiple United Nations agencies and human rights groups, some of them in Israel.
She said, “I will always stand up for Israel’s right to defend itself … [against] a terrorist organization called Hamas.” Israel’s self-defense, however, is actually offense. It has killed at least 40,000 Palestinians, most of whom were civilians. These included a majority of women and children. The injured number more than 93,000. The Gaza Strip’s infrastructure has been virtually destroyed, and the siege has made life unbearable for over two million Palestinians. Harris also said that “what has happened in Gaza … is devastating … many innocent lives lost. Desperate, hungry people fleeing for safety over and over again. The scale of suffering is heartbreaking.”
What Harris calls heartbreaking is overwhelmingly the result of Israel’s indiscriminate bombing, its war strategy and the actions on the ground of the IDF. These have caused the suffering and it has all occurred with the complicity of the United States.
Finally, Harris claimed that a goal of ending the war is that, “the Palestinian people can realize their right to dignity, security, freedom and self-determination.” How is that possible when Israel will never accept a two-state solution, and has no intention of completely removing its military from Gaza?
Howard Elterman
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thePuma
the overwhelming majority of US elected officials agree the only solution starts with a two state solution. Netanyahu has been for his entire career a stumbling block to that achievement. He has generally been propped up by GOP leadership, Democrats would be happy to see him replaced with a more moderate (liberal leaning) leader, and perhaps some realistic progress toward the two state solution can finally be achieved.
Wednesday, August 28 Report this