Friend—My heart is broken for all of the innocent lives lost in Israel and Palestine over the last week.

For our Israeli, Jewish, Palestinian, and Muslim communities here in Los Angeles, I offer my support during this difficult time. Nobody should be subject to war or terror; the killing of civilians by Hamas and the Israeli military are crimes against humanity and rightly condemned.

As a Jewish person, my values guide me to protect innocent lives regardless of creed or color. Anti-Zionism is not anti-Semitism, and I condemn acts of anti-Semitism.

Israel’s ability to cut off electricity, food, and water to Gaza is not a “war,” it’s an assault on people trapped in an open-air prison. Forcing more than 1,000,000 Palestinians to flee Gaza or die in 24 hours is condemned by the UN, and I reiterate that condemnation. Half of Gazans are children, and many more are completely innocent and unsupportive of Hamas. Israel’s use of internationally-banned white phosphorus and flattening of civilian housing is indefensible.

Hamas’ attacks have made it more difficult for everyday Palestinians to fight for their rights as the international media and military consent machine turns against them.

In times of turmoil, we must put everyone’s common humanity first.

“No more war” is a strong pillar of my political platform. I reject and condemn campaign contributions from military contractors, and reject military aid or intervention in other countries. This includes U.S. military support of Israel.

In March 2019, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told his party “Anyone who wants to thwart the establishment of a Palestinian state has to support bolstering Hamas and transferring money to Hamas… This is part of our strategy.”

This is where our tax dollars are going—our Congressmembers’ willingness to partner militarily with a colonial, apartheid state is directly leading to bloodshed. Israel put its own people at risk by bolstering a terrorist group for political gain.

I’m sad to see that much of the political rhetoric of the present moment is reminding me of what I saw here in the US after 9/11. Blanket condemnations of entire peoples as “terrorists,” hugely disproportionate retaliation, destabilization of entire regions; I hope that Americans have learned from events in Afghanistan and Iraq.

I call for peace, diplomacy, and a ceasefire. This is not wrong, repugnant, or disgraceful, as the White House has claimed—the inverse is true. Wiping out the infrastructure of an entire population of people is wrong, repugnant, and disgraceful. 

We can’t control what has already happened, but we can influence what happens next.

As it’s been said, an eye for an eye will make the world blind.

In solidarity,

Maebe