Suffering of Palestinians finally recognized
Over 200 years ago, Patrick Henry’s declaration “Give me liberty or give me death” was an inspiration to Americans revolting against the arbitrary rule of King George. Today, that concept “liberty or death” fires the spirit of many Palestinians, to whom it seems that life under the Israeli yoke is hardly worth living.
Arguably, Palestinians have much more to lament than the just grievances of American revolutionaries. Americans suffered many demeaning intrusions and indignities under the Crown, but not the frequent demolition of their homes, thousands of arrests and innumerable Redcoat shootings of unarmed demonstrators.
As much of the world sees it, Palestinians have been downtrodden and driven to despair by decades of ethnic cleansing and apartheid. Until now, Palestinian suffering has been virtually unseen by most Americans; Israel has been our sacred cow, immune to any criticism. But perhaps that has begun to change in the wake of the bloody events on the Gaza border.
Some Americans still feel that to be pro-Israel, you must endorse all the policies of that country’s extremist rightwing regime. I think that view is terribly mistaken. If you really care about Israel, you need to do all you can to keep that wonderful country from slipping further into the dark abyss of arrogant militarism and neo-racist contempt for the value of Palestinian lives. IRWIN SHISHKO,