We must not just watch, yet again, as Israel’s massive military destroys Gaza

“I balk at calling Israel’s extrajudicial assassination of an Islamic Jihad leader and his family an ‘escalation of violence’ — given Israel’s daily torture and torment of Palestinians in Gaza. The illegal blockade of Gaza by Israel imprisons every aspect of life for Palestinians in Gaza, and the inhumane restrictions on food, electricity and healthcare are all forms of violence, carried out daily for the past 11 years by Israel. And yet, this assassination is a reckless breach of international law and a flagrant political ploy by Prime Minister Netanyahu, amidst uncertainty in the future of the Israeli government.

“In the U.S., we must not just watch, yet again, as Israel’s massive military dominates and destroys Palestinian lives and livelihoods in Gaza. We must build on the recent commitments by Democratic presidential hopefuls to condition the over $3 billion a year the U.S. provides to Israel’s military. If the threats of annexation by Israeli leaders could spark bold commitments to condition U.S. funding to Israel, certainly extrajudicial killings and flagrant attacks on civilians ought to as well.”

Jewish Voice for Peace is a national, grassroots organization inspired by Jewish tradition to work for a just and lasting peace according to principles of human rights, equality, and international law for all the people of Israel and Palestine. JVP has over 500,000 online supporters, over 70 chapters, a youth wing, a Rabbinic Council, an Artist Council, an Academic Advisory Council, and an Advisory Board made up of leading U.S. intellectuals and artists.