What would you ask the Presidential Candidates about Palestine?

June 27, 2024

The people running for President have a lot of explaining to do.

As current President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump take to the debate stage tonight in Atlanta, the CNN moderators will probably not ask what we would if given the opportunity.

We’d really like straight answers: Do they think unconditional support of Israel’s war aims is truly in the best interests of the United States?

Do they have any concerns at all about a new report that, in addition to the known casualties, there are an additional 20,000 children missing in Gaza? Or whether reports that Israeli air strikes are intentionally targeting Palestinian civilians give them any pause.

The reality is ignoring human rights violations in Palestine is a gruesome bipartisan affair, and the mainstream media has a terrible track record of asking the right questions. Our commitment to human rights transcends partisan politics, even if we have to keep electoral truths and consequences firmly at the forefront of our pressure campaigns.

Strong majorities of Americans across the political spectrum support a change in policy on Palestine. Democrats, Republicans, the majority want a ceasefire now. But the gulf between what Americans want and what elected officials are doing is vast. If we’re going to get the answers and action so sorely needed on this critical issue, it’s going to continue to be up to us to pressure lawmakers to do the right thing. Of course, please come out for ongoing resistance events. You can find local Bay Area events here and national actions here.

Can’t find an action near you? You can make it happen!Here is a wonderful toolkit put together by the Ceasefire 24 Network with step-by-step instructions on how to get organized.

If you haven’t already done so, please take a few moments to sign our action demanding President Joe Biden and Congress cease providing aid to Israel.

No matter what the candidates say up on the debate stage tonight in Atlanta, we know we still have our own questions. And we won’t stop until we have our answers until we have a ceasefire and an end to occupation and apartheid.

Yesterday, while millions across the United States and around the world watched the Superbowl, Israel’s Prime Minister Netanyahu unleashed death and slaughter in Rafah – where 1.4 million people – fully 85% of Gaza’s population – are sheltering, crammed into an area 150 kilometers squared, after being driven from their homes by bombs, shells, and ground troops.

The official story that this attack was conducted to rescue hostages is a flimsy lie, much like all the other lies deployed to cover the nakedly genocidal actions of the Israeli state. Over 30,000 people, nearly half of whom are children, are already dead. The International Criminal Court of Justice has found it “plausible” that Israel is engaged in genocide.

And our own eyes and eye-witnesses have much more than “plausible” grounds to go on – pictures and videos of unimaginable violence, the dehumanized rhetoric from top Israeli officials, and the ugliness of IDF soldiers gleefully filming themselves as they bulldoze homes and murder civilians.

This deliberate obliteration is not a “hostage rescue.” It is an illegal, immoral, and utterly reprehensible campaign of revenge. It must END NOW.

Right now, across the country, emergency actions are being organized to demand an end to the Siege on Rafah. Please join us in the streets to make your voice heard. FIND LOCAL, BAY AREA, EVENTS HERE and NATIONAL ACTIONS HERE.

CEASEFIRE NOW!

December 8, 2023

The U.S. veto of the UN Security Council Resolution calling for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza gives a green light for Israel to continue escalating a murderous military campaign that has reached genocidal proportions in Gaza.

This is wrong and the U.S. now stands visibly isolated on the world stage. And our government’s stubborn refusal to help put the brakes on what UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres termed a “humanitarian catastrophe” in Gaza is not just wrong, it is immoral.

It not only makes us complicit with every atrocity committed by the IDF, it unnecessarily puts us on a collision course with history and people around the world who should be our friends and allies.

For decades the U.S. has used its Security Council veto power to protect Israel from the consequences of its own excesses – like the invasion of Lebanon in the 1980’s, the use of prohibited weapons, decades of settlement on illegally occupied lands – the list is long. Israel has become accustomed to virtually unconditional U.S. backing, but this week’s veto is perhaps the most bitter one yet.

Over 17,000 people have been killed in weeks of brutal and indiscriminate strikes on Gaza in what Israel justifies as retaliation for the brutal October 7th attacks by Hamas. All life is sacred, but the world is not buying Israel’s story. Not when nearly half those killed in its military campaign are children, not when most of Gaza’s homes are already destroyed, not when more than a million internally displaced people fleeing the conflict go hungry, thirsty, unsheltered.

And the gruesome October 7th assault did not suddenly make the deeply corrupt, authoritarian ultra-nationalist Benjamin Netanyahu a wise leader who the U.S. should support even as he bombs and brutalizes the people of Gaza whose grandparents first fled there 1948 and who, since 1967, have lived under military occupation and domination by Israel.

The shock of what happened on October 7th is undisputed, the lessons are not. The U.S. is not obliged to follow Benjamin Netanyahu on an impossible campaign to “exterminate” his enemies. Joining the world in calling for a genuine and prolonged ceasefire is in the long-term best interests of the American people and of everyone involved. Violence begets more violence. New leaders who understand that are desperately needed.

In a statement explaining why he invoked the rarely used Article 99 of the UN Charter that empowers the Secretary-General “to bring to the attention of the Security Council any matter which, in his opinion, may threaten the maintenance of international peace and security,” Guterres lamented the “appalling human suffering, physical destruction and collective trauma across Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territory.” He said, “Hospitals have turned into battlegrounds [and that] without shelter or the essentials to survive, I expect public order to completely break down soon.”

The temporary ceasefire between Israel and Hamas that was abandoned on December 1st should resume. The exchange of captives should resume. The constant deadly bombardment of Gaza must stop; truce and ceasefire must be revived.

Don’t let up the pressure on our leaders. Please tell the White House: Permanent Ceasefire NOW. Call and express your disappointment on today’s ceasefire VETO. America can do better.

Call the White House Today 202-456-1111

Is Peace Still Possible? Yes, but we must change the course we are on.

Last October 7th, Hamas operatives surprised Israeli border defenders who, despite vastly superior military capacities, were caught off guard and unable to contain a ghastly and vindictive wave of mass murder, kidnappings, and other gruesome atrocities. These heinous acts produced a wave of revulsion that swept the world. And that wave was accompanied by the sickening realization that the “total war” plan immediately declared by discredited Israeli strongman – Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was guaranteed to bring more – vastly and disproportionately more – suffering to the millions of children, elders, and non-combatants locked in, unable to escape the densely populated confines of the Gaza Strip.

Global Exchange joined millions around the world who have urged restraint. We organized appeals to President Biden and our U.S. Representatives, pleading with them to use wisdom with their immense power and influence to stay the hand of Israeli vengeance and to keep the road of reconciliation open.

But despite broad public support for an urgent ceasefire to spare the lives of innocent civilians and hostages, President Biden instead boosted U.S. naval air support in the region, embraced Netanyahu, and gave the Israeli government a green light to escalate their attack. Biden’s mild requests to “minimize civilian casualties” were not enough to avoid the perception of American complicity with the war crimes implicit in the siege: starvation, bombing of civilians, and invasion of Gaza…a territory just smaller than Las Vegas, Nevada, but far more densely packed, with three times its population.

Another wave of revulsion and protest is now sweeping the world – provoked, this time, by the Israeli government’s disproportionate and sickening response and the U.S. failure to restrain its close ally.

I write on Day of the Dead, knowing this article will be published sometime later this month. I pray that by then, the killing will have stopped, that the deadly fire will have ceased, that mass starvation is averted, that hostages are safe at home, and that saner voices have prevailed. That is a lot to hope for, and I also fear that by the time you are reading this, conditions could be far worse – if the politics of vengeance, dehumanization, and unchecked retribution are allowed to prevail.

Around 2000 years ago when troops moved in to arrest Jesus of Nazareth in Jerusalem, his disciple Peter (the guy who later founded Christianity) drew his sword and sliced off the ear of one of their assailants. “Put your sword back in its place,” Jesus said to him, “for all who draw the sword will die by the sword.” Over the millennia, we’ve boiled that down to: “Live by the sword, and you’ll die by it too.” The core truth of that saying could not be more relevant today.

When violence appears to be the only option and the emotional logic of “protection” or “resistance” leads us to plan and carry out inhumane, soul-distorting actions we must pause, reconsider, and seek higher wisdom.

We live in a time when fires are breaking out planet-wide – literally from the equator to the polar circles. Our survival requires concerted global action. We cannot afford to double down on ancient hatreds or the unresolved post-colonial disputes of the 1900s. Yet that is exactly what is happening in the Middle East, in Ukraine, and elsewhere.

But peace isn’t easy. It is more than just the mere absence of deadly conflict. Even if things “calm down,” real peace and reconciliation must be based on justice and a fundamental recasting of the assumptions and interests underlying the conflict.

But for right now, we need to build a coalition for peace among the majority of people across the political spectrum who believe that killing is wrong, that the killing of innocents is worse, and that justice is never served by more indiscriminate killing.

It is easy to feel disempowered in the face of seemingly implacable hatreds and events that seem to be spinning out of control. But, knowing that we are by no means alone in our revulsion to brutality helps. And it gives us a place to start conversations with our neighbors, friends, and our political representatives that go beyond the biased narratives of mainstream media and the shouting matches that dominate on social media.

To bring you a fresh and in-depth perspective from the conflict zone, Global Exchange is working closely with our longtime partner, Ernesto Ledesma of Rompeviento.TV who has started reporting from the occupied West Bank. This reporting is costly and risky, but we do it in the spirit of reaching out and building “people-to-people ties” and human solidarity even in the most dangerous and stressful times.

One observation Ernesto shared in his first days of reporting from the West Bank is that when he asked Palestinians – intellectuals, construction workers, doctors, aid workers and others across the West Bank the question, “Can anyone lead the way to stop this war?”. To my surprise, they all had the same answer: “Joe Biden”.

As American President, Biden could be a force for peace. No one has more power to halt the Israeli onslaught in Gaza, to feed those who are starving, to treat those who are wounded, and to free those who are held hostage. He has the most power to compel the Israelis to halt the ongoing settlement and annexation of Palestinian lands that Israeli anti-peace extremists have cynically used for generations to sabotage Camp David, Oslo, and every other effort for peace.

But Biden’s positions and actions to date confirm that he has chosen war; and worse, has not even publically insisted that Israel – the largest recipient of American military aid in the region – adhere to the rules of war.

The American people, and his Democratic base of voters, are historically supportive of Israel but polls show sharply rising concerns about escalation and overwhelming support for an immediate CEASEFIRE.

President Biden must wake up to this new reality and show true leadership for peace. The course he has set for our country is morally, politically and strategically unsustainable. We must change it, now!

Israel’s collective punishment of the 2.3 million people of Gaza – half of whom are children – who are unable to escape the violence and who are starving as supplies of food and water run out must stop now.

Global Exchange joined millions around the world to urge restraint. You, our members, signed thousands of appeals to President Biden and our U.S. Representatives, pleading with them to use wisdom with their immense power and influence to stay the hand of Israeli vengeance and to keep the road of reconciliation open.

They did not listen but we must insist: All life is sacred and civilians deserve protection. To get to peace we eventually have to end Israeli occupation, reverse their settlement policies and establish security for everyone, but at this critical moment we call for: Immediate ceasefire! Arms Embargo Now!

Learn more and take action here.

In the wake of the horrific Hamas murders and kidnappings on October 7th, the state of Israel launched attacks causing ghastly suffering for the people of Gaza. This is an intentional violation of international law that clearly prohibits collective retribution of this kind.. A spokesperson for the Israeli military nevertheless declared “the emphasis [of our Gaza campaign] is on damage rather than on precision.”

To date, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) have engaged in an intense and indiscriminate bombing campaign that has killed over 17,000 inhabitants of Gaza, nearly half of whom are children. Nearly half of the housing units in Gaza have been destroyed. Hospitals, mosques, churches, bakeries, apartment complexes – buildings full of people – have been reduced to rubble. The suffering is immense and ongoing.

Tell Congress Pass the Ceasefire Now Resolution TODAY

The Biden Administration has offered virtually unconditional support for Israel’s military operations, despite occasional ineffective declarations about humanitarian aid and the need to minimize civilian casualties. Congress – both Republicans and Democrats – have largely gone along, backing proposed increases in financial and material support for Israel despite IDF actions that violate international human rights standards against collective punishment.

There cannot be double standards for international law or human rights. We cannot allow atrocity to justify atrocity. We condemn the brutal and inhumane attacks by Hamas, just as we condemn the collective punishment inflicted upon the people of Gaza. We mourn for all the victims, insist that all hostages be released, and insist on the principle that ALL human lives have value.

Around the world the call for an immediate ceasefire is gaining momentum. From London to Los Angeles, Sydney Australia, Kuala Lumpur, Indonesia – Yemen, Syria, Iran, Egypt, Jordan, millions of people have taken to the streets to call for an immediate end to the violence, and to address the longstanding demands of the Palestinian people for national liberation and end to the occupation.

The Biden Administration, and our Congress must not give Israel a blank check to conduct violence against the people of Gaza and the occupied West Bank.

We are asking members of Congress to sign the Bush and Tlaib Ceasefire Now Resolution –calling for an immediate ceasefire and resumption of life saving humanitarian aid to Gaza.

Will you please send a message to your member of Congress asking them to co-sponsor this bill?

The spiraling escalation of inhumane violence in Gaza over the last week is heartbreaking and unacceptable. Further bloodshed and the suffering of innocents cannot and will not resolve anything.

Today’s attack on the Anglican hospital that killed more than 500 people is just the next exhibit of untold horrors that awaits us on a path of total rage and revenge unleashed.

That is why we are calling on President Biden to use his trip to Jordan and Israel to insist on an immediate cease fire and the swift delivery of humanitarian aid to Gaza before more lives are lost. Please help us send this message:

Dear President Biden,

As the largest provider of military aid to Israel the United States must use all its influence to call for restraint: An immediate ceasefire that allows for urgent humanitarian relief for Gaza as well as the safety and immediate release of hostages.

Wise leadership can turn this moment of extreme peril into an opportunity for peace.

Please President Biden, take the risks of true leadership for peace. Speak up for all the children of the region and their dreams to one day live in peace and freedom from fear.

It is not too late.

We condemn in the strongest possible terms the shooting, killing and wounding of protesters in Gaza, and we urge you to contact Congress to do the same.

Yesterday, marked the bloodiest day of the Great March of Return demonstrations Palestinians have been organizing since March 30th (Land Day). More than 60, including children, were killed and over 2,700 wounded including children, woman, journalists and paramedics – many are in critical condition.

Palestinians came out to protest the Trump Administration’s decision to open an American Embassy in Jerusalem. Another decision by the Trump Administration that undermines Palestine rights and puts the U.S. at odds with our allies in Europe and others around the world who seek a peaceful solution to the Israeli/Palestinian conflict.

The Trump administration’s decision to abandon any vestige of American restraint in supporting Israeli aggression demonstrates — once again — why we must unite to restore the honor and decency of our country.

We must stand in solidarity with Palestinians on Nakba Day to condemn the ongoing murder of unarmed Palestinian protesters by Israeli forces, to reject the move of the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem and U.S.-Israeli collusion against oppressed peoples globally, and to celebrate 70 years of unrelenting Palestinian resistance and resilience to Israeli colonial occupation.

Contact Congress today and urge them to condemn the Israeli government’s action. And if you live here in the Bay Area, join us today, Tuesday, May 15th at 4pm for a protest at the Israel Consulate in San Francisco. (456 Montgomery St, San Francisco, CA).

We mourn for the people of Gaza. The Trump regime and the Israeli occupation must end.

Last Friday, over 30,000 Palestinians peacefully approached the border area of the Gaza strip, as part of the Great March Return, to bring attention to their unfilled right of return to their families homes and to highlight the ongoing plight of living under Israeli occupation. Israeli military forces responded with lethal force, deploying troops, drones, tanks, and snipers who fired on the crowds using bullets (live fire), rubber-coated steel pellets, and tear gas. By the end of the day, fifteen Palestinians had been killed and over 1,000 wounded.

Today, just one week later, the Israeli military killed another five Palestinians and wounded over 250. The toll is shocking, but premeditated. Israel had announced in advance that the protest would be met with military force.

March 30th marked the start of a of a six-week mobilization leading up to the 70th anniversary of the day (Nakba) in 1948 when the expulsion of 700,000 Palestinians began following the declaration of the State of Israel. It is now the most deadly day in Gaza since heavy Israeli airstrikes ended in 2014.

Refugees comprise nearly 90 percent of Gaza’s 1.9 million population. They live under a crippling decades-long economic blockade enforced by Israel and Egypt that has created conditions of permanent crisis. Poverty stands at 65 percent. Unemployment hovers around 45 percent.

Public health conditions in Gaza have deteriorated. An estimated 96 percent of the ground-water supply is undrinkable. Making matters worse, the Trump administration cut more than half of funding to the United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees — funds that have long provided life saving nutritional and medical support.

Palestinians have the right to protest these conditions peacefully yet, on Friday, were shot down as they did so. The murderously disproportionate violence meted out against demonstrating Palestinians is the latest in a long series of deadly responses to popular protests.

We condemn the unjustified use of force by the Israeli military. Lethal force must never be used against peaceful protesters! We echo calls from the European Union and the majority of the members of the United Nation Security Council for an independent and transparent investigation into the use of live ammunition.

Israeli defense minister, Avigdor Lieberman, has refused to allow an investigation. He has the support of the Trump Administration who blocked the U.N. resolution.

PLEASE TAKE ACTION!

Ask the eleven Democratic members of Congress who just returned from Israel to:

1.) Publicly condemn the attacks by Israeli Defense Forces against unarmed protesters in Gaza, and 2.) Join international calls for a full investigation of the tragic events.

Follow our Facebook page for updates on solidarity actions planned in the lead up to the May 15th the 70th anniversary of the Nakba.

Photo: www.peace-not-war. org

This summer, we will feature the words from enthusiastic winners of What About Peace? contest and we’ll share their thoughts behind the incredible art they presented and what this big win means to them. These anecdotes not only showcases their art pieces but also encourages fellow students to come up with great entries for the new school session. The following is the third installment of our What About Peace? winner story series.

The world seems to be a messy place these days. It is indeed in a state of turmoil. Many U.S. observers look at the world- downing of Malaysia airliner being a target of ongoing Russia-Ukraine war, deadly violence in Gaza, deteriorating civil war in Syria-and see a planet unraveling. The tumult is scary and to see thousands of innocent lives confronted with bloodshed is indeed heartbreaking.

While friends and family gather around the streets, hold candle light vigils calling for peace, one of our winners of the ‘What About Peace’? contest also extends his ‘Peace Anthem’. His message has a different style altogether but it completely resonates with the present situation.

Photo: culturesofresistance.org

16 year old Mac R Whaley from Minnesota, USA writes:

Without world peace the world is falling to pieces
Without our beliefs, man, nobody preaches
Without a cease fire, the fame never ceases
Without the death of war, the death number increases
Why’s the world gotta be like this?

Through his beautifully crafted poem with rap lyrics, Mac questions the present state of affairs and encourages all to take action.

Mac R Whaley was the winner in the written category of our ‘What About Peace’ contest. He is no ordinary writer but is a rapper in the making. He writes verses to instrumentals and pens down his experiences in life. He says his strength lies in hip hop music which is definitely evident from his poem. What needs an applaud here is that he is only 16 and is coming up with his mixtape titled ‘A Record of Therapy’ next month.

Congratulations on your great win! Tell us your first reactions when you got to know that you have secured the first prize.
I was told through my friend Brennan. He texted me after I was getting fitted for a tux saying “You won 300 dollars”. I was incredibly confused and he told me it was through the WAP contest. I thought it was really cool.

The Peace Anthem written by you has a very different style to it. It all rhymes in a rapper style which is quite interesting. What made you write a peace message in this style?
I like to create my own music whenever I have time to. I was sitting in study hall one day and I decided that I would write for the Peace contest. I already had experience writing verses, so I thought I would do it in that structure.

If you were to define Peace in one line without using rhyming words-How would you do it?
I define peace as the period of time where two opposing parties no longer struggle against each other. Peace is a state of being, where struggles have been overcome, and agreements have been reached.

What is your preferred writing style and on what issues you enjoy writing about the most?
I write verses to instrumentals, which usually call for 16 bars. I just write to whatever the beat calls for. If it’s 20, I write 20 bars. 12, I write 12. But normally, instrumentals are 16. I write whatever I feel, or whatever is going on in my life. I cannot write about experiences I haven’t gone through, and I encourage other writers/rappers/poets to avoid doing so. In August, I will be releasing a mixtape titled “A Record of Therapy”, which will include songs about tough times of depression, anger, and, most of all, loneliness. In the past, I have written on drug use, suicide, love, heartbreak, and stories.

What do you think makes a good poem?
Although I am unfamiliar in the art of poetry, I enjoy hip-hop music. I critique verses, songs, and even full albums based on 4 components- lyrics, flow, delivery and production.

What do you like to do when you are not writing?
My two favorite things outside of writing are sports and hip-hop. The two intertwine together. Much like sports, hip-hop has a sense of competition and debate that I find in no other genre of music today. Some of my favorite albums are The Eminem Show by Eminem, Illmatic by Nas, My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy by KanYe West and Together/Apart by Grieves. In order to improve myself as a lyricist and technical rapper, I have to study those who succeeded as such. My influences are Nas, Grieves, Tech N9ne, Eminem, and Slug of Atmosphere.

As I finished interviewing Mac, my belief in music and its power to bring peace only grew stronger. No matter what language we speak, what color we are, the form of our politics or the expression of our love, music proves: We are the same.

We wish Mac R Whaley success in his life and may we all take a step forward to pray for peace and make this world a peaceful and beautiful place for all…

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What About Peace? is a Global Exchange international arts contest for youth ages 14–20 to express ideas and thoughts about peace by responding to the question, “What About Peace?” through artistic expression.

This post was written by social media intern Sakshi Pathania.