Palestinian Lives Don’t Matter and Neither Does Yours

As the unabated slaughter continues in Gaza and the threat of regional war looms, the 79th Hiroshima Commemoration was held on Aug. 6 at Fresno State. The event was sponsored by the Human Rights Coalition of the Central Valley in conjunction with Veterans for Peace, Peace Fresno, the Community Alliance newspaper, Fresno Japanese American Citizens League (JACL) and several faith organizations. Speakers included Norman Otani, president of Hiroshima Chuka Kenjinkai; Dr. Saul Jiminez-Sandoval, president of Fresno State; the Honorable Dale Ikeda; and Rep. Jim Costa (D‒Fresno).

All the speakers spoke passionately and eloquently of the need to seek peaceful resolutions to conflict and to end all wars. Many who spoke called for the abolishment of nuclear weapons and of the immense risk of nuclear war. “Never again” was the theme of the program.

The Bulletin of Atomic Scientists released a statement on Jan. 23 that said the nuclear war Doomsday Clock was reset to 90 seconds to midnight, citing ongoing wars, nuclear proliferation, bio threats, the climate crisis and disruptive technologies.

At the commemoration, Costa said, “It’s ‘we the people’ that will ultimately determine better ways to achieve our goals for a more peaceful earth.” He cited current “clouds of conflict” that threaten all of us.

Following the event, asked about the threat of a regional war, Costa responded that he had called for a ceasefire with the hostages released. He said that he voted for humanitarian aid for Gaza and called Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s speech before Congress “unhelpful.” Costa added that he does not support an arms embargo and ending military aid to Israel. He claimed that Congress is “putting pressure” on the Netanyahu government.

Costa has failed to meet with local Palestinian American community members and other concerned constituents regarding the genocide in Gaza. “We’ve attempted to do that, and we still want to,” Costa said. “It became clear the first [attempted] meeting was going to be hijacked by others who have a different agenda.

“I want to have a conversation with those that have so many heartfelt concerns that I share, however, we have issues we have to deal with. They involve security here [and] for my staff.”

This reporter has attended many demonstrations and has never witnessed any violence whatsoever and mentioned that in response. Costa continued, “I was a classmate of [former Rep.] Gabby Gifford.” (Gifford was shot on Jan. 8, 2011. She was injured and severely disabled by an assailant at a campaign event in Arizona.)

“Threats to members of Congress have increased 400% over the last 18 months, two years, that’s a fact,” said Costa. Several activists who have attempted to schedule a meeting with Costa expressed outrage at his implication of threats of violence from constituents.

Does President Biden, Rep. Costa and most of Congress care about Palestinian lives? Do they care about inciting a regional war that could lead to nuclear conflict? Do they care about ending all life on earth? Do they care about your life? Recent Congressional action and unending support for Israel seem to indicate that they don’t.

As the U.S. Congress approves another $20 billion in arms shipments to Israel, the unbelievable carnage continues. Regional war or even nuclear war could break out. Tensions are rising every day throughout the region. One cannot blame the people and governments of the region for feeling outrage. Outrage directed at Israel and the United States.

All over the Middle East and North Africa, 360 million people are getting reports such as this:

“The bodies of Palestinians killed in the latest Israeli [air strike] massacre in Gaza were destroyed so far beyond recognition that doctors have only been able to give grieving families an anonymous bag of human remains to bury,” said Tareq S. Hajjaj on Aug. 11 on the Mondoweiss news service.

On Aug. 10, this Israeli strike on a Gaza school killed more than 100 people. Authorities in Gaza said Israeli bombs hit the school-turned-shelter as people were praying. To date, the Gaza Health Ministry reports more than 40,000 Palestinian deaths in Gaza and the Lancet Medical Journal recently predicted that there will be more than 180,000 deaths due to disease, lack of access to medical treatment, malnutrition and starvation.

The recent escalation of Israeli Defense Forces attacks on Hezbollah fighters and civilians in Lebanon near the border and assassinations by Israel of Hezbollah and Hamas leaders in Lebanon and Iran signal that the Israeli government is willing to start a regional war. A regional war in the Middle East, where Israel and Pakistan both possess nuclear armaments.

Al Jazeera News reports that “a top commander of the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah, Fuad Shukr, was killed in a neighborhood in Beirut on July 30. Israel says it carried out the ‘targeted strike’ in response to a rocket that killed 12 young people in the Israeli-controlled Golan Heights on July 30. They were members of the Druze community.

“Hezbollah denies they launched the rocket and are considered allies of the Druze. When Israeli government officials went to the funerals of the young victims of the explosion, the Druze villagers asked them to leave. Some experts and others say that it could have been an Iron Dome missile that failed or even a false flag operation.”

On July 31, Ismail Haniyeh, the political leader of Hamas, was assassinated along with his personal bodyguard in the Iranian capital of Tehran by an Israeli attack. Haniyeh was killed in his apartment either by a rocket attack or a pre-planted bomb. He was also the chief negotiator in the peace talks with Israel. This could end all chances for a ceasefire at this time.

It’s clear that as the genocide in Gaza continues, as Israeli escalation destabilizes governments and as Israel launches attacks with U.S. supplied armaments that could lead to wider war, everyone’s life is at risk. Our lives matter, Palestinian lives matter. We all need to take action to end the war on Gaza and all wars.