I want to know how 9.3 million Israelis can push around the governments of 3 billion people in the western world? The three billion account for about a third of the world’s population. To watch the huge demonstrations, sometimes with hundreds of thousands of people, in cities such as London, Paris, and New York — Israel’s bullying is not completely successful.

Please note: I am Jewish.

To be fair,  it’s 7.1 million Jews, and 2.1 million Palestinian citizens of Israel who live in Israel.  

These numbers don’t include the West Bank Palestinians, or the 2.3 million being annihilated in Gaza right now.

But how can it be one country can push all the western nations to defend every murderous thing they do, and support a war on Gaza which now has killed nearly 10,000 Palestinians (in Gaza and the West Bank) and seriously injured another 21,000.  UNICEF reports that 420 Palestinian children are killed or injured every day in the last 21 days. Seventy percent of the Palestinians killed or injured are children and women.

Appalling: Canada says no to a ceasefire

Take Canada for example.  Mélanie Joly, Canada’s minister of foreign affairs, is calling for more humanitarian assistance for Gaza, while the bombs and missiles rain down on literally millions of Palestinians. Is it okay to murder Palestinians as long as some of them get some food and aid beforehand? What is the point of that?  Joly deliberately sidesteps the issue of a ceasefire because it is clear the Trudeau government will not support a ceasefire.  The Canadian government joins with big brothers the US and the UK to denounce the idea of a ceasefire because they think it compromises Israel’s “right to defend itself” against Hamas attacks. 

The suffering of the Palestinians knows no end

Kicked out of Palestine in 1948, 750,000 Palestinians were forced to flee their homes, their jobs and their country with little but the clothes on their backs. They lived in refugee camps in five countries. They were also crammed into refugee camps on the West Bank and in Gaza .  To this day, most are stateless and have no passports. Since 1967, Israel has denied them virtually all civil rights, plus the chance to build houses, the security of food, water, medicine, education.  Israel has controlled Palestinians’ travel, access to electricity and gas. 

There is no benign aspect to racism, colonialism, and imperialism.  This is what Israel has done just in the last three weeks:

• Destroyed 170,000 housing units  in Gaza .
• Displaced more than 1 million Palestinians in Gaza.
• Destroyed any commercial or business infrastructure in Gaza; ruined farms, animal husbandry, uprooted or killed olive trees, businesses and more.
• Bombed three hospitals in northern Gaza – not including Al Ahli hospital
• Forced hundreds of thousands of Palestinians to shelter in hospitals and in UN schools  
• And now Israel continues to deploy bombs and missiles—up to 6,000 a week— to cleanse Gaza of 2.3 million Palestinians.

Let me assure you: History did not begin on Oct. 7

History began in 1948, with Israel’s abject treatment and ethnic cleansing of Palestinians from their homes and land.

Sure, Hamas’ killing of 1400 Jews was a war crime, as was the kidnapping of 200 civilians. But now Israel has reduced Gaza to rubble. Thousands are dying or left dead under the collapse of thousands of buildings.  All are civilians, and half are children.

Isn’t that a war crime? I’d says so:  one of massive proportions.

Featured photo: A ‘Stand with Palestine’ rally for Gaza is held in Dublin, Ireland, on Oct. 11 [credit: Clodagh Kilcoyne/Reuters]