Dear Progressive Reader,

Officials from Hamas have conditionally accepted the peace plan presented earlier this week by U.S. President Donald Trump. Next Tuesday will mark the two-year anniversary of the current war, and with more than 67,000 killed, and nearly 170,000 wounded, and an entire population facing starvation, the end of this war is something that almost all people are seeking as soon as possible. Trump touted the news saying “This is a big day” on his social media, but in spite of the U.S. President’s call that “Israel must immediately stop the bombing of Gaza,” reports out of Gaza City indicate that dozens of strikes by missiles and artillery continued through the night. In the coming days, the plan will be test as Hamas asks for further talks that include a “unified Palestinian movement, of which Hamas will be a member and to which it will contribute responsibly,” and Israel demands the “release of all the hostages” (living and dead) within seventy-two hours, in spite of continued battlefield conditions in the region.

This most recent news comes immediately on the heels of the seizure of more than forty ships in the humanitarian aid mission known as the Global Sumud Flotilla. Sumud is an Arabic word that means “steadfastness” or “resistance” and has come to symbolize the nonviolent struggle of the Palestinian people against the occupation of their homes and land. This convoy of vessels was the largest of several attempts to get food and medical supplies into Gaza in recent years. In 2010, the ship Mavi Marmara was seized and ten activists were killed. Thankfully no one was killed or injured in Wednesday and Thursday’s interdictions. As Saurav Sakar wrote on our website when the flotilla launched at the end of August, “The Global Sumud Flotilla (GSF) describes itself as a coalition of organizers, humanitarians, doctors, artists, clergy, lawyers, and seafarers who ‘believe in human dignity and the power of nonviolent action.’ ” In an update, filed this week, Sarkar noted that “Organizers expect Israel will intercept the humanitarian fleet absent significant international pressure.” This did in fact take place on October 1 and 2, and since that time, protests from citizens and governments around the globe have been swift. South African President Cyril Ramaphosa called the interception of the ships “another grave offense” against global solidarity.

In the United States earlier this week, much of the news was dominated by the unusual meeting of generals called by Secretary of War Pete Hegseth. Hegseth used his time speaking to the military officials to criticize them for being overweight and allowing soldiers to have beards. Trump’s comments were much more ominous as he told nation’s top brass that his intent was to “use some of these dangerous cities as training grounds for our military, National Guard, but military.” The President went on to explain, “it's the enemy from within and we have to handle it before it gets out of control. It won't get out of control, once you're involved,” he said.

On hearing this, my thoughts turned to the 2015 book War Against the People by Israeli-American anthropologist and activist Jeff Halper, who wrote about how Israel had developed its high-tech weaponry and methods of pacification by testing them on Palestinians. “Israel develops its weapons and security systems ‘in action.’ They are the products of continuous engagement in the real-life, on-the-ground laboratory of the Occupied Palestinian Territory,” Halper explains. Halper, who has lived in Israel since 1973, and served (as all citizens of Israel must) his mandatory time as a reservist in the Israeli military, co-founded the group Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions in 1997 to work for a just peace between Israelis and Palestinians. The group notes that more than 175,000 Palestinian homes have been demolished since 1947. Halper’s analysis of the way the government of Israel has used weapons and techniques of “pacification” on its own population rings particularly ominous in the wake of Trump’s recent statements about the U.S. military being sent to train in U.S. cities.

Elsewhere on our website this week, Gabriel Furshong speaks with director Michael Workman about his documentary on the student movement against the war in Gaza; Ed Rampell reviews the new PBS documentary film about the 1970 “Hard Hat Riot” in New York City; and Terrence Sullivan looks at the U.S. Supreme Court’s hypocrisy of racial justice. Also, Michael Felsen pens an op-ed on how Trump’s fixation on loyalty is “bad for the nation;’ and Kari Hamerschlag opines on how dismantling proven food programs will not help “make America healthy again.”

Finally we sadly note the passing of primatologist and conservationist Jane Goodall. In early 2022, I had been in conversation with Goodall’s staff to try and setup an interview for The Progressive about her recent book, The Book of Hope, written with California author Douglas Abrams (much of it during the COVID-19 pandemic). The timing did not work out, but they did share a link that allowed me to participate in a program she was doing for college students. It was wonderful to listen to her engage with these future young scientists and animal-rights activists about her own history and the things that inspired her work and her passion for our shared future. Goodall was confident and firm in her belief that we can work together to build a better world, but she delivered that message to her audience in a style that was both engaging and sometimes self deprecating. It was clear that she held her passions for both the human and the animal world deeply. “What you do makes a difference, and you have to decide what kind of difference you want to make,” Goodall famously said. Her work will carry on through the organizations she created, and the countless lives she inspired.

Please keep reading, and we will keep bringing you important articles on these and other issues of our time.

Sincerely,

Norman Stockwell
Publisher

P.S. – For readers in the area around Madison, Wisconsin, The Progressive is co-hosting a screening, together with the local union Madison Teachers, Inc., of the new film The Last Class with Robert Reich at The Barrymore Theatre on Sunday October 19 at 7:00 p.m. Tickets are available online and at the door. Please join us if you can.

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