Why Palestine matters to the Ozarks

The news out of Gaza has been devastating, far more devastating than could be imagined for many, even those of us who have been following news from Palestine for years. More than 30,000 have been killed in Gaza, with over 69,000 injured, and thousands missing. The damage faced from the bombardment is almost unimaginable, with destruction worse than any bombing campaign in the 21st century. The only parallels are those of the campaigns in World War 2, Korea, and Vietnam. I believe grave matters like these matter to everyone, but what does this mean for the Ozarks? Why should someone in Springfield care about Palestine? What is our place in this?

The Biden Administration and the United States are not passively letting a genocide happen, they are aiding and abetting Israel in its genocide in Gaza. American tax dollars are being used to buy and sell weapons in an ongoing ethnic cleansing, while sending aid, both military, and civil, to a country that actively segregates, discriminates against, displaces, and kills Palestinians within Israel, the West Bank, and Gaza. The Biden administration has now dodged Congressional oversight twice to sell $253.5 million in arms to Israel to replenish what they have used to attack Gaza.

Missouri sends more than $51 million in military funding to Israel in a year, with more than $2.8 million sent from Springfield alone. Nationally, we spend around $3.3 billion yearly on mostly military aid to Israel. Missouri politicians, since the '90s, have taken in $1.7 million in pro-Israel lobby money, with past Senators Blunt and McCaskill leading the bipartisan pack with $408,778 and $418,731 respectively. It is hard to comprehend what money like this could look like for the state of Missouri, and the Ozarks and Springfield specifically. In communities ravaged by the loss of good-paying jobs, the gutting of our healthcare systems and public institutions, and communities riddled with a deep housing crisis and an ever consistent drug crisis, what would this kind of money look like centered on the needs of people at home?

I believe we should dis-invest in war, militarization, and killing, and bring that money home, putting it towards our own communities. We are told by politicians that there isn't money for everything we need, and this is a stark reminder that there is a vast amount of money available to build a society where everyone can live with dignity. I believe that we should be using our taxes to build up communities, not destroy them. I am part of over 10 generations in the Ozarks, and my family has seen the breakdown in the quality of living here in our collective lifetimes. Seeing money flow out of our communities to a criminal war, while being told we don't have money for our own well-being, is insulting to the whole community in the Ozarks. We should all be calling for a ceasefire and for peace and freedom for Palestinians. And lastly, our freedom and dignity at home is tied to the freedom and dignity of all people, at home, or abroad.

Jon Vincent is a Missouri State University graduate and Ozarks native who now works with refugee teens and young adults at a resettlement agency.