We rejoice at the release of four hostages taken by Hamas and pray for the safe return of the rest. We cannot but recoil from the violence of the Hamas attacks on Oct. 7. But, as Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP), and even the families of some who lost loved ones have said, our grief should not translate into the collective punishment of Gaza. JVP urges everyone to “Tell Congress to stop fueling violence. The U.S. must work to immediately de-escalate to prevent the further loss of life, and not fuel and exacerbate the violence by sending more weapons.”
The Israeli historian, Ilan Pappé observed in a recent talk that what is missing from public commentary is historical context. He points to the mosaic of cultures that had co-existed in Palestine before the Western powers decided to back the creation of Israel at the expense of the Indigenous inhabitants of Palestine. For many, the Nakba that saw millions of Palestinians expelled from their ancestral lands, continues to this day, as the descendants of those originally displaced cannot return to their villages. The goal, Pappé explained, has been to take over as much of Palestine as possible with as few Palestinians as possible remaining on that land.
Pappé recalled Palestine’s multi-ethnic past when “every Palestinian village had a stream of fresh water running through it.” No more. Today, Gazans are struggling to survive as Israel cuts off water, electricity and fuel.
“We are fighting human animals, and we are acting accordingly,” said Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant. As Professor Cynthia Franklin, the founder of the University of Hawaii Students and Faculty for Justice in Palestine, points out, “the refusal of Palestinian humanity is what the settler-colonial project requires.”
We, in Hawaii, need to make clear that while we are horrified by Hamas’ attacks on Israeli civilians, the scale of Israel’s retribution is completely antithetical to our values.
The belief that Hawaii and Israel share similar values and concerns was apparently what inspired then-Gov. David Ige to sign a partnership agreement a year ago with the consul general of Israel in Los Angeles, Hillel Newman. Let’s test that belief and ask just what values they meant.
Did they include celebrating ethnic and religious diversity? Democratizing and correcting inequities of concentrated and exclusive control of land and water resources? Making amends for the tragedies of historic settler colonialism? If so, Israel has a far greater distance to travel than Hawaii in order to demonstrate any credible level of commitment.
Given Hawaii’s struggles over water, how can we stay silent about the weaponizing of water by our “partner”? Water has constantly been expropriated by Israel and is now being withheld from Gaza as an instrument of collective punishment.
We should remind our elected leaders of our nation’s obligation, as the long-time primary backer of Israel, to push Israel in a direction that reflects the values we share for the sake of both Israelis and Palestinians.
We must say to our “partner” that Israel’s “right to avenge itself” does not free it from the obligation to respect the humanity of Palestinians. In an open letter, 750 artists and writers from the European Union, UK and North America have said as much.
In the words of Angela Davis, “We cannot be silent now even as we mourn the lost lives, Palestinians and Israelis alike. We cannot assent to the use of simplistic, racist and demonizing characterizations of the Palestinians … as justification for the unleashing of violent military force on the people who live in Gaza.” Children make up about half the population of Gaza. They bear no responsibility for the crimes of Hamas.
Let’s urge our congressional delegation to support the call for a ceasefire and the sending of humanitarian aid to Gaza. How can we not, if we believe in aloha?
