JEN WENDLAND STAFF COLUMNIST
Why is it that even today, people are still afraid to criticize Israel?
If we were to list the atrocities carried out by the Israeli government and put it under any other country’s name (especially, say, Iraq under Hussein or Venezuela and Bolivia today), the United States would be joining the rest of the world in condemning the acts that can be read about in every newspaper and seen on every news channel.
Yet, for some reason, the United States was hesitant even in asking for a ceasefire when the Israeli army was targeting civilians, schools and hospitals in yet another attempt to annihilate and control an entire population.
Instead of voting for a ceasefire, they chose to abstain from the vote. While in the U.S. taking a stance against Israel can be seen as political suicide, abstaining from the vote in the international community is probably as good as saying that you do not disagree with the actions of the government of Israel.
When I heard that the U.S. was not willing to stand with the rest of the international community, I was infuriated. Though they have agreed to a ceasefire now, how many more lives were unnecessarily lost in the meantime?
Personally, I view the U.S. alliance with Israel, as it has been used thus far, to be counterintuitive for the goals that are stated and, in many cases, immoral to maintain.
Annually, according to Globes Online, an Israeli financial newspaper, the U.S. gives more than $2 billion in military aid alone.
That means the U.S. is paying for the bombs that have been killing hundreds of innocent men, women, and children in the last few weeks; paying for the wall that is cutting off both Gaza and the West Bank from much needed services and resources (including, for instance, farmers from their flocks and farmland); paying for the daily violation and removal of human rights and dignity from the Palestinian people.
That means the U.S. is paying for what Cardinal Renato Martino, the President of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, has called a modern-day concentration camp, according to a recent piece in the Herald Globe, an online international newspaper. That means that through taxes, YOU are paying for this.
Are you not angry? Are you not upset with this? Are you able to stand the blood on your hands?
If you didn’t know about the role you play, look it up. Ask your professors.
Ask your peers, get into a conversation about it. This needs to change and has needed to change.
We need to hold our allies as accountable as we do our enemies.
Contact your representatives and tell them it is time to reconsider this alliance and join the rest of the international community in condemning Israel and holding them accountable to these atrocities.