As I am sure there will be a heavy response to an article written last week by Matt Richman called, "Israel's state in question", I felt the need to express my unwavering support and admiration for what he wrote.
I am a Palestinian, Muslim women, and because of that fact, when I discuss my strong support for the liberation of Palestine and my frustration with this the U.S.'s support of the Zionist, occupational regime in Israel, people simply say, 'well of course you feel that way, your biased'. But there are people like Matt and many others that find out the situation for themselves. In fact, I know of many people who have no cultural or religious attachments to Palestine or Israel who come to support the Palestinian people and fight to end the occupation. The reason they do, is because the facts don't lie. There is even an amazing organization called New Jersey Solidarity that's main purpose is to spread awareness about the situation in Palestine, and at least half of them are not Arab or Muslim.
It is time people stopped using the excuse that both the Israelis and the Palestinians are equally wrong in this conflict. We all hear over and over again how the people of Germany were brainwashed during WWII into allowing one of the worst tragedies in the history of the world to take place. You must ask yourself if you are willing to be brainwashed about what is happening now.
The undeniable facts are that the Palestinians have been living under the occupation of Israel for 50 years. Military occupation is illegal as dictated by the United Nations. Instead of holding Israel accountable for this crime, the U.S. supports Israel financially, militarily, and diplomatically. Israel alone receives 25% of the total U.S. foreign aid budget, and is the only country that is allowed to spend its military aid on its own army instead of spending it on U.S. weapons. If you don't like politics, you should at least care about where you tax money is going.
There is no way to end when writing about Palestine. I'll just say that Matt is simply a well-informed citizen who refuses to let the government think and speak for him, whether it's about Palestine or budget cuts. Thanks for taking the time to listen to my thoughts. Peace to all of you.
Linda Hamdan
