Solidarity with Palestine & Hands Off Lebanon!
Speech given by Anti-War Committee member Wyatt Miller on September 17, 2020 at our Palestine Bannering: Remember the Sabra & Shatila Massacre event in Minneapolis.
The Sabra and Shatila Massacre reminds us how US aid to Israel is spent: on war crimes, unspeakable atrocities unleashed against Palestinians. Although it took place in Lebanon, the Sabra and Shatila Massacre first and foremost is part of the history of the Palestinian nation and the oppression it’s suffered on its path to liberation.
But we must also remember that the massacre took place as part of an invasion of a sovereign country. The history of US and Israeli intervention in Lebanon is long and ugly. Not only did the US support Israel’s invasion of Lebanon in 1982, it sent US Marines to participate in it! Thousands of US troops were in Beirut when the massacre took place. They were supposed to be “peacekeepers” and had promised to guarantee the safety of Palestinian refugees as part of the deal for the PLO’s departure from the city. That didn’t happen. There’s even evidence that the US knew of Israel’s plans to unleash the massacre beforehand. The United States bears direct responsibility for the massacre.
The Anti-War Committee says end US aid to Israel, and hands off Lebanon. This is especially important in 2020. Last month saw the ammonium nitrate explosion which destroyed Beirut port. Trump has exploited this tragic accident by introducing sanctions against Lebanon. His administration claims the sanctions are “targeted” but we know from Iraq, Iran, Venezuela and too many other countries that even “targeted” US sanctions are used to slowly ramp up suffering and deprivation on an entire population, as a form of brutal, coercive pressure.
Quoted in Al Jazeera, Sami Nader, director of the Levant Institute for Strategic Affairs, said, “By making formal trade more difficult, the US sanctions on Lebanon have driven commerce further underground and turbo-charged the smuggling of fuel, wheat and other basic goods. […]
Demand for US dollars increased sharply as people sought to hoard greenbacks before new sanctions were enacted. The rush on US dollars saw the value of the Lebanese currency plunge sharply on parallel and black markets in recent weeks.”
US sanctions also block Lebanon from buying electricity from its much larger neighbor Syria. During a pandemic, this should amount to a war crime. Let’s not forget that half a million Palestinian refugees still live in Lebanon and rely on its infrastructure to survive. Sabra and Shatila reminds us we can’t abandon them. And we won’t abandon them.
When Palestine is under attack, what do we do? Stand up fight back!
When Lebanon is under attack, what do we do? Stand up fight back!