May 15 marked the 77th anniversary of the Nakba, the “catastrophe” in 1948 when more than 750,000 Palestinians (80% of the population) were forcibly dispossessed from their lands and homes in what is now Israel. Now the catastrophe is escalating with Israel’s unrelenting destruction and mass starvation campaign in Gaza and the surging settler and military violence and accelerating annexations in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.
A report by the UN Human Rights Office found that in the year following Oct. 7, 2023, an unprecedented 49 new Israeli outposts had been established in the West Bank while 10,000 new houses are planned in existing settlements and thousands of Palestinian homes have been demolished due to military operations or lack of building permits.
At the same time, hundreds of Palestinian properties have been demolished in East Jerusalem while plans are made to construct 20,000 new housing units for Israelis.
Thousands of settlers have joined the Israeli security forces operating in the West Bank, and in the climate of impunity the number of Palestinians killed or detained is growing rapidly. Al Jazeera has reported that since 1967, about one million Palestinians (one in five persons) have been detained in Israeli prisons, so every family suffers this unbearable trauma.
In Gaza, 53,253 Palestinians had been killed by Israel as of May 7 with U.S. complicity and full support as reported by the UN High Commissioner on Human Rights; 70% are women and children. Up to 180,000 more human beings might be added to the casualties due to some being buried under the rubble and others dying from disease or malnutrition according to the prestigious Lancet Medical Journal. The Middle East Monitor reports that more than 85,000 tons of U.S.-made bombs have been dropped on Gaza since October 2023.
The devastation continues, and Israel is intent on continuing it. The Associated Press news reported that “on May 4, the Israeli war cabinet unanimously approved the expansion of Israel’s war on Gaza, according to news reports quoting Israeli officials. The aim of the war expansion plan is, according to officials, to reoccupy Gaza and maintain control of it for an unspecified period of time.
“The approval came days after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated that the primary goal of the war was to ‘defeat Hamas,’ indicating that the release of Israeli captives was a secondary goal.”
Many Americans and others around the world are speaking out against this “catastrophe.” The majority of Americans oppose the genocide and U.S. military support for Israel, according to a recent Gallup poll.
Locally, residents continue to demonstrate and hold weekly vigils. Every Wednesday for more than a year, members of Raza Against War, Peace Fresno and other community groups have held a vigil to bring attention to the ongoing disaster at the Federal Building on Tulare Street in Fresno. U.S. Senator Alex Padilla (D) and Rep. Jim Costa (D–Fresno) have offices there.
Every Saturday since Oct. 7, 2023, there has been and continues to be a demonstration at Blackstone and Nees avenues in north Fresno in support of the Palestinian people.
Raza Against War member Stan Santos at a recent Wednesday vigil said that “one of the latest actions Israel has taken is when they bombed European Hospital, one of the few hospitals left in Gaza. Twenty-eight people were killed including a journalist who was targeted by the IDF (Israel Defense Forces) forces. The targeted attack was with a precision guided bomb made in the U.S.
“Now, famine is setting in. The children of Gaza are dying of starvation. Families are eating grass and animal food. So, again, they continue to bomb Gaza, and one of the most hideous things you could imagine is they’re actually starving them while holding out the offer of humanitarian supplies only if they leave Gaza.”
Kaleb Tafoya of Fresno says that “in this country, it doesn’t matter if there is a D or an R next to the names on your ballot, you will have politicians who don’t look out for your interests or what you care about.
“If you want to see an end to genocide and starvation in Palestine, they don’t listen to you. We’ve got to stop settler colonialism and speak out wherever it happens, especially when it’s done with U.S. tax dollars.
“I’ve seen photos of the victims of starvation who barely escaped annihilation in Auschwitz. These photos remind me of the children today in Gaza whose clothes don’t fit anymore. You see a child with a tank top and because the tank top doesn’t fit, you can see every rib on that child’s body.
“They are being starved. No food or aid is getting into Gaza.”
Chance, another regular participant in the vigil, said, “I believe that all war is unjust. Funding bombs to bomb civilians is probably the worst thing that’s ever been done.
“No civilian should face starvation and fear for their safety to see the next day, especially the children who have nothing to do with the world’s geopolitics. We’re enabling and funding every bit of it. I just want all of it to stop.
“I say to Senator Padilla and Congressman Costa, ‘you are cowards and corrupt criminals who should lose your jobs and go crawl in a hole in shame.’”
K.B., another vigiler, added, “I hope for a ceasefire, peace for Palestine and their land back. Palestine is stolen land, and what I hope for is more pressure on politicians and companies who ship weapons to Israel, more disruptions and more boycotts.
“It’s so disturbing that the American media is so biased, [like] calling journalists in Gaza members of Hamas when they’re civilians speaking their truth.”
Continued bipartisan support for the genocidal campaign in Gaza increases the suffering. During President Trump’s first few months in office, conditions have worsened. U.S.-made bombs are killing as many as 100 civilians a day. As of March 1, all humanitarian aid has been blocked by Israel.
CNN reports that one in five people in Gaza face starvation. The World Health Organization reports that at least 57 children have died from starvation, and 30,000 children are at immediate risk. Democrats in the House, such as Costa, refuse to call for an arms embargo—the only thing that can stop the mass murder.
Although some progressive leaders such as Senator Bernie Sanders (I–Vt.) and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D–N.Y.) are directly challenging many Trump actions, they are not speaking loudly about the genocide in Gaza. On their “fighting the oligarchy tour,” the genocide in Gaza could be emphasized.
During the presidential race, AOC claimed that Kamala Harris was “working tirelessly to secure a ceasefire in Gaza and bring the hostages home.” Actually, during the Biden-Harris administration, Israel dropped thousands of American bombs on children in tents, on refugees sheltering in schools, on patients seeking help in hospitals, on doctors and nurses, on journalists (217 killed to date) and on UN aid workers, all without President Joe Biden exerting any real pressure on Israel to stop.
All the senseless deaths, all the loss of American credibility, all the Biden voters who stayed home in protest on Nov. 5, 2024, could have been avoided. Every day for the last year of his administration, Biden could have secured a ceasefire by using America’s powerful leverage.
To date, even the most progressive Democrats have failed to call and organize for an immediate arms embargo on Israel. Sanders is facing criticism on social media after a “Free Palestine” flag unfurled by pro-Palestine activists was taken down at the April 14 “Fight the Oligarchy” rally in Nampa, Idaho, and the protesters were ejected from the venue.
The “catastrophe” continues unabated and the United States is responsible. Every American should search their soul and ask, “What am I doing to end this madness? What can be done to stop the endless killing?”
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