Free Palestine! Stop the Bombing!
Free Palestine! Stop the Bombing!
Statement from the United National Antiwar Coalition, May 11, 2021
The forced removal of Palestinian residents of the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood in Jerusalem and the escalation of attacks by colonial settlers and Israeli forces is nothing short of ethnic cleansing. It is reminiscent of the Nakba when Zionists took half of Palestine for a Jewish state. At that time, they ravaged Palestinian towns, massacred, terrorized and forced much of the Palestinian population to flee into neighboring counties. Today, the Israeli government is telling the Palestinian residents of Sheikh Jarrah that they must leave their generational homes so that Jewish settlers can take them.
At the same time, they have attacked Muslim worshipers right inside the Al-Aqsa Mosque, one of the holiest places in all of Islam, on one of it’s holiest days. Israel has also increased bombing attacks on Palestinians in Gaza, which has been called the “world’s largest open-air prison” because Israel prevents people from leaving or coming to Gaza. This means the people cannot escape bombs, drones and rockets from Israel. This is nothing short of a war crime.
Much of the world is condemning these attacks. These condemnations are coming even from countries and people who have been reluctant to condemn Israel in the past. But where is the condemnation from the United States? US news media and politicians all use the same lying words. They say the Israeli attacks are in “retaliation” for Palestinian attacks. This is not true. There is a conscious policy by the Israeli government to take Palestinian land, homes, destroy their culture and religion. This is a genocidal policy that the US supports and encourages In recent years, in violation of international protocol, the US has recognized Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and moved its embassy to Occupied East Jerusalem. They have given Israel the green light to further annex Palestinian land and continue to send military and economic aid to Israel. Although some of this was done under the Trump administration, the Biden administration has not reversed any of it. Israel is the greatest supporter of US imperialism’s agenda in the region and has bombed and attack Iran, Syria and other countries in the furtherance of that agenda. Therefore, we in the United States have a special obligation to defend the Palestinian people against these attacks.
As these words are being written, Gaza is being bombed.
We must be out in the streets in support of the Palestinian people. Demonstrations are being organized throughout the US and the rest of the world. Join them or organize one in your area.
#freepalestine
No US aid to Israel!
Stop to the annexation of Palestinian land!
Stop stealing Palestinian homes!
Stop the bombing!