Robert Reich said
The ultimate tragedy is not the
oppression and cruelty by the bad people but the silence over that by the good
people.”[1]
Although Reich was writing about the Civil Rights movement
in the U. S., I immediately thought of the people of Gaza
Is there any thinking person in America who has not heard of
Gaza and the cruelty our government supports there to the tune of $3.1 billion
a year? Then are we not the good people who are silent? Of course, that raises the question, if we
are really good people, how can we remain silent. My friend says, “Well, it just doesn’t affect
me. Why should I get involved?”
Why? Because we are involved. Our government and our tax monies
go to supporting the oppression and we will levy a price on anyone who
challenges our “right” to do so.
The headline reads:
CNN fires Marc Lamont Hill in wake
of Remarks Criticizing Israel and Calling for a “free Palestine.”[2]
As soon as Hill spoke to the UN supporting the International
Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian people, he was cast as antisemitic and
fired.
Cornel West, Harvard professor, philosopher, author, critic
and civil rights activist, writes:
No one gets closer to peace by
silencing voices critical of a lethal status quo. We need a candid debate about
the grim catastrophe unfolding in Israel.[3]
I have never had much respect for CNN and probable never
will as long as Wolfe Blitzer is their star, But I do have hopes in the
millions of Jews around the world who out of self-respect are not guided by
fear but speak out in expressing their time-honored faith in a vision of peace
and justice for all.
Thomas Are
December 12, 2018
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