by Pa Rock
Citizen Journalist
In scenes reminiscent of LBJ being hounded by anti-war protesters back in the sixties, President Biden is also beginning to draw hecklers when he tries to speak at campaign events and public appearances. Biden's hecklers are people who are angry about the US support of Israel during that country's unrelenting attacks on Gaza, attacks which have already killed north of 24,000 people, many of whom were non-combatant civilians and children, and has reduced the territory to piles of rubble.
Gaza, by reputable accounts from international relief agencies, is on the verge of mass starvation and a humanitarian catastrophe. Yet the savage assaults by Israeli armed forces continue, blocking the deliveries of aid - including food, water, and medicine - and pounding the Palestinians well beyond defeat and toward annihilation.
The United States has always provided military aid to Israel, and the level of aid has increased since the Hamas attacks on Israel on October 7th. That support is arriving without any pre-conditions, things such as a stated expectation that the country receiving the aid will work to ensure the safeguarding of basic human rights.
This week Senator Bernie Sanders, an Independent of Vermont, introduced a resolution in the US Senate that would have conditioned US aid to Israel on that country's adherence to basic human rights and international accords in its war in Gaza. Sanders, who is himself a Jew, wanted to force his colleagues in the Senate to go on record as to their concerns regarding the human rights of Palestinians.
Eleven US Senators voted to condition US aid to Israel on the safeguarding of human rights in Gaza. That vote failed with 72 opposed - and several Senators unable to make it to the Capitol because of inclement weather.
The eleven senators who voted for the resolution to try and force Israel to adopt a human rights focus in Gaza were: Bernie Sanders (I, VT), Peter Welch (D, VT), Rand Paul (R, KY), Martin Heinrich (D, NM), Ben Ray Lujan (D, NM), Jeff Merely (D, OR), Chris Van Hollen (D, MD), Ed Markey (D, MA), Elizabeth Warren (D, MA), Laphonsa Butler (D, CA), and Mazie Hirono (D, HI).
It's a small group, but but their cause is just. There was a time when the Vietnam war protesters were few in number, also, but they eventually forced a sitting President into early retirement.
1 comment:
Machiavelli taught us in "The Discourses" that the bad use of evil is the prolonged use of evil and that the good use of evil is the quick use of evil. Benjamin Netanyahu seems Hell bent on proving the former, as he provides no signal of ending his genocidal Gaza in the name of a war on terror. The culprit here is not Joe Biden.
Iran has clearly aligned itself with Putin's war mongering by supplying military drones for use against Ukraine. Iran is a source of instability in the Mideast having funded HAMAS and their attack on Israel as well as the Houthis in Yemen. The Houthis are actively attacking American and allied interests and shipping in the Red Sea. The culprit here is not Joe Biden.
House Republicans are blocking aid to Israel and Ukraine on the pretext of Mexican/American border security. The Senate is working feverishly to put together a bill that gives Republicans the best deal that they could hope for according to Republican Senators Graham and Thune. The Speaker of the House, Mr. Johnson appears to be blocking the bill. Johnson is beholden to Donald Trump. Trump does not want Ukraine to remain free from Putin. Trump is beholden to Putin. Trump is not concerned about the genocide in Gaza. Trump wants to be elected President, suspend the Constitution, and establish himself as a dictator; his words not mine. The culprit here is not Joe Biden.
Small d democracy is on the ballot. A vindication of the rights of women is on the ballot. A new initiative made possible by Joe Biden and leading Arab states is calling for an end to the war in Gaza and the establishment of a Palestinian nation. The culprit here is not Joe Biden.
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