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and 421 cartoons later....This week I read an article in Al Jazeera describing the killing in one day of hundreds of Palestinian civilians. The same day I read a piece in CNN, “Israeli soldiers returning from war struggle with trauma and suicide”. The article tried to elicit sympathy for soldiers who were traumatised from bulldozing Palestinians. To Jews and Christians of faith: you can’t sit out a genocide By Eugene Doyle
According to the testimony of IDF bulldozer driver Guy Zaken on many occasions he and others had to “run over terrorists, dead and alive, in the hundreds.” “Everything squirts out,” he said. Seeing all that “meat and blood” had made eating meat difficult for him. We know that Hamas fighters do not gather “in the hundreds” so almost certainly what was being described were large-scale war crimes against civilians – but we are supposed to weep for the perpetrators. It also seemed to escape CNN’s attention that running over wounded combatants would also be a war crime. Palestinian Lives Matter. Zaken had rationalised his actions by describing most of his victims as terrorists. He is quoted by CNN as saying, “There is no such thing as citizens,” suggesting the ability of Hamas fighters to blend with civilians. Reading that I thought: we need to talk about the Christians and Jews throughout the West – and what on earth is going through their minds. I’m not talking about the millions of Jewish people who courageously fight every day to oppose the genocide in Gaza or the millions of Christians who stand alongside them. I refer to the vast bulk of those religious communities in the Western world who quietly sit out the horror being committed by Israel, hoping nobody will call them to account. Few would dare to call them out for fear of being labelled antisemitic or the like. J’accuse. Over a year ago I wrote: “When faced with incontrovertible evidence of indiscriminate slaughter, the premeditated destruction of all means of existence including shelter, water infrastructure, fuel and food, the Western World continues to send thoughts, prayers and bombs to Israel.” Look at what has happened since and how – with many noble exceptions – most of the priests, nuns, bishops and rabbis have kept their congregations passive and on the sidelines. As Paolo Freire said: “Washing one’s hands of the conflict between the powerful and the powerless means to side with the powerful, not to be neutral.” What do politicians, military people or senior administration figures in the West think they are doing when they work to support Israel through endeavours like Five Eyes? What on earth do such people think of the crystal clear words of that most famous Jew, the Palestinian Jesus Christ himself: “What you do to the least of my brethren, you do unto me.” Joe Biden is a Christian and a Zionist. Alongside him are 210 million Americans who profess to be Christians. Yet millions of them have no problem with 2000 lb bombs being dropped on defenceless civilians. Somewhere in their brains these proud Christians must have rationalised their defiance of Christ’s injunction and decided Jesus was a pussy. “He’s a nice guy but that’s not how the real world works.” Or do they in their twisted minds think “What would Jesus do? Yeah, he’d want us to support Israel to incinerate innocents lying in hospital beds in Gaza. Of course, he’d slaughter men, women and children trying to flee the missiles … yes, that’s what Jesus would do!” Jesus can reply in his own words to all those who did not stand up and oppose these crimes. ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brethren, you did it to me. Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.” The Western world is falling into the moral abyss and as a defence mechanism I see many people shift their opinions to align with our increasingly depraved leaders. It’s frightening calling out Pro-Israeli Zionists in these twilight days of free speech in the West. Even to say the self-evident – Israel is a racist, fascist, apartheid state committing genocide – is unacceptable. It may be a bridge too far to say a few million more religious Jews should get their arses off that fence and join the millions of courageous Jewish people who every day are fighting the genocide being committed in their name. Same for the Christians. And the Agnostics. The US and Israel may win the war; I hope not. They may ethnically cleanse the Palestinians from their own homeland. Or worse. I hope not. But if they do, I’d ask all those Jewish and Christians people of faith who supported this war of extermination – and I’d especially ask all those who took the coward’s option and simply remained silent – to recall Matthew 16:26: “For what will it profit a person if they gain the whole world and forfeit their soul?” https://johnmenadue.com/to-jews-and-christians-of-faith-you-cant-sit-out-a-genocide/
YOURDEMOCRACY.NET RECORDS HISTORY AS IT SHOULD BE — NOT AS THE WESTERN MEDIA WRONGLY REPORTS IT.
“It’s hard to do cartoons without shedding tears forever…” Gus Leonisky
CARTOON AT TOP IS THE SAME, 421 TOONS LATER (ABOUT 75 DAYS AGO), AND WILL BE THE SAME AGAIN ONE YEAR FROM NOW.....
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barred the UN relief....
The Israeli parliament has barred the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) from operating in Israel and dramatically curtailed its activities in occupied Gaza.
UNRWA provided education, health care, relief and social services, infrastructure and camp improvement, microfinance and emergency response to Palestinians.
The Israeli laws targeting UNRWA have set a dangerous precedent and violate international law, the agency's commissioner-general Philippe Lazzarini stated.
UN Secretary-General António Guterres has stressed that "there is no alternative to UNRWA."
Ireland, Norway, Slovenia and Spain condemned Israel's legislation in a joint statement on Monday. The UK, Germany and the EU leadership expressed "grave concerns". US State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said the US is "deeply" concerned. Turkiye stated that "Israel aims to destroy the two-state solution" by banning UNRWA.
The Gaza Strip has a population of approximately 2.1 million people, including 1.7 million Palestine Refugees. Gazans depend on educational, healthcare and other assistance provided by UNRWA during the war. Roughly 1.2 million Palestinians in Gaza depend on UNRWA's food aid.
Humanitarian aid comes to Gaza through crossings which are now under control of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF). Israel will no longer issue permits for UNRWA to enter the region. UNRWA is the main UN agency working in the strip.
According to the UN's October report, over 1.8 million people across Gaza are presently experiencing "high levels of acute food insecurity", including nearly 133,000 people facing "catastrophic food insecurity."
At least 1.9 million people across the Gaza Strip are internally displaced. Only 17 out of 35 medical facilities are partially functioning in Gaza, while others have been destroyed. The UNRWA ban will further exacerbate the Gaza humanitarian crisis, the UN warns.
https://sputnikglobe.com/20241029/how-israels-ban-of-unrwa-could-worsen-already-acute-humanitarian-crisis-in-gaza-1120718620.html
SEE ALSO: https://sputnikglobe.com/20241028/evidence-of-israels-use-of-white-phosphorus-sent-to-icc---palestinian-leaders-aide-1120697968.html
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YOURDEMOCRACY.NET RECORDS HISTORY AS IT SHOULD BE — NOT AS THE WESTERN MEDIA WRONGLY REPORTS IT.
“It’s hard to do cartoons without being angry…”
Gus Leonisky
bulldozer katz....
In a surprise announcement, Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu on Tuesday kicked his popular defence minister Yoav Gallant to the curb and replaced him with Israel Katz, the country's former foreign minister. Nicknamed a “bulldozer” in Israeli media, the 69-year-old is a close confidante more likely to be in tune with Netanyahu than his predecessor.
Israel's new Defence Minister Israel Katz, known for his abrasive style, is a long-time ally and loyalist of Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu.
In a dramatic announcement late on Tuesday, Netanyahu sacked defence minister Yoav Gallant over what he said was a breakdown in trust during the Gaza war against Hamas.
"Over the past few months that trust has eroded. In light of this, I decided today to end the term of the defence minister," Netanyahu said in a statement issued by his office.
The statement added that he had appointed Foreign Minister Israel Katz to take Gallant's place.
Katz, 69, labelled by Israeli media as a "bulldozer" for his direct and sometimes abrasive style, is considered both close and loyal to Netanyahu.
After his appointment, Katz vowed to defeat Israel's enemies and achieve the country's war goals.
"We will work together to lead the defence establishment to victory over our enemies and to achieve the goals of the war: the return of all hostages as the most important moral mission, the destruction of Hamas in Gaza, the defeat of Hezbollah in Lebanon, the containment of Iranian aggression, and the safe return of the residents of the north and south to their homes," he said in a statement.
A member of Netanyahu's ruling Likud party, in which he was previously president of the party's convention, Katz has held multiple cabinet roles going back to 2003.
Attacks on the UNAs foreign minister, Katz drew international attention for his pointed attacks on world leaders and international organisations that had expressed opposition to Israeli military actions, particularly in Gaza.
He spearheaded a diplomatic battle against the United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA, and last month Israel's parliament banned the agency from working in Israel and occupied east Jerusalem.
On Monday, Katz instructed his ministry to formally notify the United Nations that Israel was cancelling its agreements with UNRWA.
Last month Katz triggered outrage when he declared UN chief Antonio Guterres "persona non grata in Israel" and wrote in a post on X that he would ban him from entering the country.
https://www.france24.com/en/middle-east/20241105-bulldozer-israel-s-new-defence-minister-israel-katz-is-longtime-netanyahu-ally
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YOURDEMOCRACY.NET RECORDS HISTORY AS IT SHOULD BE — NOT AS THE WESTERN MEDIA WRONGLY REPORTS IT.
“It’s hard to do cartoons without being angry…”
Gus Leonisky