Israel's US Backed Genocidal Slaughter of Palestinians is Pure Madness

(Notes on Israel & Veganism, Part 2, Click here for Part 1)

Documentary film producer Jess Search reportedly lived her life on her own terms, and with a strong sense of purpose. She called herself a “Lucky Fucker” after being diagnosed with cancer, and dying only a few months later at the age of 54. Her words and inspiring work resonated with me, because I am one of the luckiest f*ckers on the planet too. I have never gone to bed hungry, and even though I grew up in a dysfunctional family, I always knew that love was present, and that I was safe. I have never let my schooling interfere with my education, and I have had more opportunities than most. I have also been lucky to wear many hats, with teaching being my favorite. I once asked my students, most of whom lived in tough neighborhoods, to write a poem about their most treasured moments with someone they love. Without missing a beat, a young girl excitedly wrote about how her Mom would make a game out of dropping to the floor whenever gunshots were heard. GUNSHOTS! I was speechless. I was reminded recently of that amazing young girl, when I heard Palestinian activist Refaat Alareer share the story of how his child had once asked him, “Can Israel destroy our building if the power is out?” I can’t imagine the trauma of going to sleep on an empty stomach (being likely malnourished), and wondering if my home will be blown up, or my family will be killed before I wake. These kids and their families are tougher and more resilient than I will ever be, and how so many of them maintain a sense of humor is beyond my comprehension. If you believe like I do, that all children are our children, then what are we doing? I am also a lucky f*cker because I have traveled more than just about anyone I know, and I have met beautiful and inspiring people everywhere. I feel like I have earned the right to call myself a global citizen, who could just as easily be a black man in South Africa, an older Asian woman in China, or a young boy in Palestine. Which is why, like millions of others, I am sickened and repulsed by the decades long genocidal slaughter of Palestinians by both Israel and the United States.

“The U.S. and its Western allies are as morally bankrupt and as complicit in genocide as those who witnessed the Nazi Holocaust of the Jews and did nothing.” – Pulitzer Prize winning author Chris Hedges

I stand with our Palestinian brothers and sisters, and I hope that you will too. I chuckled when I heard that the war criminal, Benjamin Netanyahu, declared war. I guess the joke’s on us, as the US backed Israeli military has been engaged in a war on Palestinians for over 75 years. Do you know that Israeli soldiers laugh, and refer to their indiscriminate killing of Palestinians as “mowing the lawn”? True story. Since 2000, the Israeli government has murdered 2,287 Palestinian children, and as of this writing, over 2,000 more Palestinian kids have been killed in the last two weeks alone. As Howard Zinn said, “wars are always wars against children”. Again, if all children are our children, what are we doing? What do we stand for? Who are you? Can you imagine if the children killed were rich, white, and American? Forget about it. Since 2008 (and prior to the most recent round of Israeli massacres), 6,407 Palestinians have been killed as a result of US backed Israeli attacks, and occupation violence (308 Israelis). Despite the ongoing slaughter, and condemnation by the UN (and countless human rights organizations), the US continues to send nearly $4 billion a year to Israel in military “aid” (the United States has sent over $150 billion to Israel over the last 20 years, and Biden promised another $14 billion just a few days ago).
Click here for a video of a beautiful British Palestinian child who fears for her life.
Click here to learn more about Israel’s War on Kids.

“In a few days, Israelis went through what Palestinians have experienced as a matter of routine for decades, and are still experiencing,” including “military incursions, death, cruelty, slain children, bodies piled up in the road, siege, fear, anxiety over loved ones, captivity… and searing humiliation.”
– Amira Hass (veteran Israeli correspondent who has reported for decades from the Occupied Territories)
Click here for a superb piece from journalist Aaron Mate on the roots of Israel’s ethnic cleansing.
Click here for Holocaust and Genocide professor Raz Segal’s piece, A Textbook Case of Genocide.

Author and Professor Norman Finkelstein is the son of Holocaust survivors, and is one of the most trusted experts on the Israeli–Palestinian conflict and the politics of the Holocaust. He had this to say regarding Israel’s brutal assaults on Gaza:

“If you claim that Israel has the right to self defense, I would ask, Do the Palestinians have the right to free themselves from the largest concentration camp ever?
Do concentration camp guards have the right to self defense?
This is a rhetorical question. The answer is obviously not.
The occupants or inmates of a concentration camp have the right to break free.

The only morally sane question presented by the situation in Gaza is, Does Israel have the right in the name of “self-defense” to poison one million children? It is a sad commentary that this simple question has not just been sidestepped, but is not even visible in the current debate.

The notion that Israel has the right to forcibly encage one million children in an unlivable space is an absurdity, and the lawyers debating whether or not Israel used “excessive” force to prevent Gazans from escaping their ghetto are floundering in the midst of technicalities. “Innocent human beings, most of them young,” Sara Roy of Harvard University’s Center for Middle Eastern Studies has observed, “are slowly being poisoned by the water they drink, and likely by the soil in which they plant.”
Click here to learn more from Jamie Stern Weiner, and Norman Finkelstein.
Click here to learn more from Katie Halper, and Norman Finkelstein.

War Criminals: Shame on Joe Biden and Antony Blinken for declaring that the United States stands with Israel

Weapon manufacturers, war profiteers, and billionaires are giddy as the US warmongering president, Joe Biden, recently announced that he is sending $14 billion more in US weapons and “aid” to Israel, for use in the continued genocidal massacre of Palestinians. Wow. And for good measure, Lying Joe, is also sending another $60 billion to Ukraine for the US proxy war with Russia (which the US is largely responsible for too, due to its decades long provocation of Russia). The US could easily end both conflicts with calls for peace and negotiations, but as we have learned from countless years of ongoing illegal US led wars, the wealthiest Americans (billionaires & powerful corporations) can’t profit from peace, and as a result, it is never discussed. The US War Machine and the wealthiest few will once again get their way (without US taxpayer consent of course), and make billions of dollars in profits from our next “never-ending” war (as the US slaughter of millions of innocent people worldwide continues).

The unconscionability of team Biden is staggering, as he had the audacity to make these announcements while 1 in 5 US households are food insecure, 90 million Americans are underinsured or have no health insurance, nearly 40% of Americans are just one emergency away from financial ruin, over 550,000 Americans lost their homes due to medical debts, LGBTQ kids are under attack, US suicide rates are at all time highs across many demographics, and well, you get the idea.

What can you say? The two war criminals, Biden and Netanyahu, recently hugged each other while thousands of innocent people were being killed in real time, and the world continued to hold its breath. The United States is the biggest agent of terror in the world, and is responsible for millions of innocent people being slaughtered in the last 20 years alone.
Click here to learn more about how Joe Biden’s Mideast policy imploded.
Click here to learn more about the 20th anniversary of the illegal US invasion of Iraq.

I continue to be floored by the arrogance and criminality of the Biden Administration. White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre called progressive congress members who are championing a ceasefire in the Middle East, “disgraceful” and “repugnant.” Does she know that over 1,000, of the 1 million Palestinian children who live in Gaza have been killed in the 11 days of airstrikes prior to her news conference (1/3 of Gaza’s fatalities)? Shame on her for selling her soul, and being as detestable as her partners in crime. Will most Americans ever care? I doubt it.
Click here to learn more from Mondoweiss.

I am ashamed of the United States of America. Every US President since the death of Franklin D. Roosevelt (1945), has committed war crimes, and not a single one has been held accountable. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced the other day that the US will “defend” Israel for “as long as America exists”. In other words, the United States will continue to unconditionally support Israel’s ongoing war crimes, and genocidal massacre of Palestinians. Antony Blinken and Joe Biden are both war criminals, and they are fawning over another war criminal, Benjamin Netanyahu, under the guise of representing Americans. None of these low-lifes represent me. Antony Blinken and Joe Biden’s loyalties are to weapon manufacturers, billionaires, and wealthy corporate donors, not to the general population. If they were to ever truly care about issues of justice and equality, they would never be “selected”. Once again, the mass murdering US War Machine wins. Yesterday it was Vietnam and Iraq, today it’s Russia and Palestine, and next up will be China (not to mention countless other victims). When will the madness end?
Click here to learn more from Noam Chomsky.

“Israel, Biden and the west who support Israel in doing these crimes against civilians are criminals. We will have our dignity and freedom and end this criminal occupation. One day we will hold those criminals accountable.” – Raji Sourani, Human Rights Lawyer in Gaza

Professor and attorney, Marjorie Cohn, has explained that Joe Biden and Antony Blinken are aiding and abetting Israeli genocide. According to Ms. Cohn, “Netanyahu, Gallant and other Israeli leaders should be charged with genocide in national courts and the ICC. Biden, Blinken, Austin and other U.S. leaders should be charged with complicity in genocide. More than 800+ scholars and practitioners of international law, including me, have signed a public statement warning of potential genocide in Gaza. Referring to the “complete siege” of Gaza, the statement notes, “This terminology itself indicates an intensification of an already illegal, potentially genocidal siege to an outright destructive assault.”
Click here for Marjorie Cohn’s piece, “Israeli and US Leaders must be held Accountable for the Genocide of Palestinians.”
Click here for the public statement warning of potential genocide in Gaza.

“Israel’s problem is not with Hamas. Israel’s problem is with Palestinian existence itself, this is clear.” – Ahmed Abu Artema

Just how unconscionable is the Biden Administration and the US corporate media? The United States was the only country to veto a UN Security Council resolution that would have called for “humanitarian pauses”, so that lifesaving food, medicine, water and fuel could be delivered to millions of people in Gaza, including over 1 million children.
Here is a headline from one of the leading cheerleaders for war, CNN (along with FOX, MSNBC, CBS, ABC, NBC, etc.):
“US vetoes Security Council call for ‘humanitarian pause’ in Israel-Hamas war”
Israel-Hamas war? Really? Again, over one million Palestinian children live in Gaza for f*ck sake! Israeli attacks have little to nothing to do with Hamas, and everything to do with the ongoing Israeli slaughter of Palestinian children and their families.
We are witnessing and supporting genocide, and the US corporate media is 100% complicit (again, the US corporate media has been a part of the US War Machine for decades).
Click here to learn more from the United Nations.
Click here to learn more from Chris Hedges.

“Complete siege” is a euphemism for ethnic cleansing. It “explicitly indexes a plan to bring the siege to its final destination of systematic destruction of Palestinians and Palestinian society in Gaza,” Raz Segal, Jewish Currents

Lying Joe (President Joe Biden, the warmonger), recently lied once again and told the nation that he had seen images of decapitated infants when he had not (in an attempt to further demonize Hamas and justify Israel’s ongoing massacre of Palestinians). According to FAIR.org, “the White House was forced to issue an embarrassing “clarification.” Corporate media’s cheerleading for war segments and its ongoing lies constitute war crimes as well, and yes there is precedent (as per the Holocaust Encyclopedia, “Nazi propagandist and newspaper owner Julius Streicher was hanged on October 16, 1946 for his influential role in inciting hatred and violence. The International Military Tribunal at Nuremberg indicted Streicher on count four, crimes against humanity. Streicher was found guilty and sentenced to death”).
Click here to learn more about the legal precedent for charging media outlets with war crimes.
Click here to learn more about how the US corporate media is a part of the US War Machine.
Click here to learn more from Fairness & Accuracy in Reporting about how Israel’s lunacy is also reflected in its relentless attacks on journalism.

Rather than defusing tensions and working towards peace, US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin is sending troops to the Eastern Mediterranean, including U.S. Navy aircraft carriers, and military resources, to showcase “ironclad support” for Israel.
For those who may not know, Lloyd Austin was working for military weapon manufacturer United Technologies, which later became Raytheon (another weapon builder), before he was named US Secretary of Defense. Lloyd Austin should be under investigation, rather than arming apartheid. And defense? Don’t you love that word? The US Department of Defense is anything but defensive. The US War Machine has nearly 800 military bases worldwide, and it has killed millions of innocent people.
Click here to learn more about Lloyd Austin’s connections to weapon manufacturers.

As per Pulitzer Prize winning author Chris Hedges, “Israel has unleashed its Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse – Death, Famine, War and Conquest. It has given Gazans two choices. Leave Gaza or die. Palestinians will be killed not only from the bombs and shells, and eventually, with the ground invasion, bullets and tank shells, but from hunger and epidemics such as cholera. Without water, fuel and medicine and with the breakdown of sanitation, diseases will spread swiftly. The U.N. states that hospitals in Gaza “are on the brink of collapse…Thousands of patients will die once fuel runs out for hospital generators. Israel will not halt its genocidal campaign in Gaza against the Palestinians until there is a U.S. arms embargo on Israel. Our weapons systems, munitions and attack aircraft sustain the slaughter. We must terminate the $3.8 billion in military aid that the U.S. gives to Israel each year. We must support the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement and demand suspension of all free trade and other agreements between the U.S. and Israel. Only when these props are knocked out from under Israel will the Israeli leadership be forced, as was the apartheid regime in South Africa, to integrate Palestinians into one state with equal rights. As long as these props remain, the Palestinians are doomed…Expose Israeli lies and you are attacked by Israel and its supporters as an anti-Semite and apologist for terrorists. You are banished from mainstream media. You are denied forums to speak about the issue and, as has happened to me, disinvited from university events. It is an old game, one I have played as a reporter many, many times. I bear the scars of the lies spewed out by Israel and its lobby. Meanwhile, Israel continues its butchery, endorsed and even lauded by Western political leaders, including Joe Biden, who accompany the torrent of lies from Israel like a Wagnerian chorus.”
Click here for another superb piece from Chris Hedges, titled, Israel’s Culture of Deceit.
*Please don’t conflate Judaism with Israel. Israel is a lunatic state that has been engaged in the genocidal slaughter of Palestinians for many decades. Judaism is a religion.

“It is not a war between Israel and a foreign state. At minimum, Israel can be called an occupying power. But Israel is no longer an occupying power. Israel is dealing with a civil revolt of a slave population.” – Author & Professor Norman Finkelstein

Israel is Anything but a Vegan Friendly Country (despite what you might hear in the media)

Israel is a Jewish Supremacist state that has been engaged in the ongoing genocidal slaughter of Palestinians for years. In part one, I shared how per capita, Israel slaughters the highest number of chickens in the world (thank you Faunalytics!). I concluded that Israel cannot be considered vegan friendly for the following reasons: 1. It is not just Israeli leaders who are genocidal maniacs, but likely a significant percentage of the population too (73% of the Israelis, aged 18-24, identify as being right-wing). 2. If being a vegan means being as compassionate and non-violent as possible to all beings, including humans, then how can Israel possibly be considered vegan friendly? 3. Again, per capita, Israel slaughters more chickens than any other country in the world (Israel also kills .0521 cows, and .0493 sheep per person each year as well).
Click here for Part 1, Israel is a Violent Apartheid State, but does it also Embrace Veganism?

Did you know that Israel’s Defense Minister Yoav Gallant called Palestinians “human animals” and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu used the term “human beasts” to describe people living in Gaza? This is Nazi-speak. According to a recent piece from Chris Hedges, “Israeli Knesset member Tally Gotliv suggested dropping “doomsday weapons” on Gaza, widely seen as a call for a nuclear strike. Israeli President Isaac Herzog on Friday dismissed calls to protect Palestinian civilians. “It is an entire nation out there that is responsible…this rhetoric about civilians not aware, not involved, it’s absolutely not true,” Herzog said. “They could’ve risen up, they could’ve fought against that evil regime that took over Gaza in a coup d’etat.” He added, “We will break their backbone.”

Of course there are wonderful and inspiring people everywhere, including Israel, but how can the majority of its population ignore the oppression of Palestinians? I am an animal rights person so I don’t know what to make of the efforts by Israeli leaders to compare Palestinians to animals. A vegan’s first reaction might be to take it as a compliment because animals are awesome. But of course that is not their intention, as their singular purpose is to degrade, dehumanize, and humiliate Palestinians. Benjamin Netanyahu is not just a war criminal, he is a mass murdering genocidal monster. Let’s not forget too that during the Holocaust, Nazis referred to Jews as rats. According to David Livingstone Smith, Hutus involved in the Rwanda genocide called Tutsis cockroaches, and slave owners throughout history considered slaves to be subhuman animals. Mr. Smith argues that it’s important to define and describe dehumanization, because that is what opens the door for cruelty and genocide.
Click here to learn more from David Livingston Smith.
Click here for David Livingstone Smith’s book, Less than Human, Why We Demean, Enslave, and Exterminate Others.

Leila Dehghan and her colleagues are inspiring vegan activists who have been deeply heartbroken by the distressing ethnic cleansing taking place in Palestine. However, they have been encouraged by independent statements in support of Palestinian liberation made by a small but growing number of vegan social media educators, and organizers. I am grateful to Leila and her team for their great work, and for reaching out to share their message. 🙂

As per Leila, “We have been disheartened by the prevailing silence within the vegan community, which has made us feel isolated. To foster connections, we’ve crafted the solidarity statement below to emphasize how solidarity with Palestine is aligned with core vegan values of compassion, justice, and liberation for all beings. This statement aims to center and amplify the Palestinian call for greater sharing and support. This statement will be shared with all vegan and plant-based organizations, businesses, groups, and as many vegan individuals as possible, giving every vegan an opportunity to lend their voice.”

This statement and its signatories will be publicly released on November 1, World Vegan Day

To include your signature, kindly complete this form by October 30: Click here for the form.
Thank you Leila!

What Can We Do to Stop the Genocide and Hold the War Criminals Accountable?

Be what they do not want:
Be thoughtful.
Be skilled at loving.
Be of good heart.
Be of the world tribe.
– Alice Walker

Please join us on November 4th for the FREE PALESTINE national march on Washington!
Click here to learn more.

I have lost quite a few friends, one girlfriend, a dentist, and probably a few job offers over the years due to my activism, which includes the steadfast support of Palestinian Rights. We are all flawed, but just like with other social and political justice movements (anti-war, human/animal rights, environmental justice, etc.), most people don’t want to hear the truth, or look in the mirror. Hopefully, the young activists, like those profiled in the Intercept article below, feel a great sense of satisfaction and pride for being on the right side of history. They provide hope for us all.
Click here to learn how an NYU student had a job offer rescinded for her support of Palestinian Rights.
Click here to learn more about other issues surrounding NYU.

“Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.” – Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Many historians agree that John Brown’s raid on Harpers Ferry was the spark that led to the “beginning of the end” of African-American slavery. I can’t help but draw parallels to the ability of Hamas to somehow punch Israel in the face with zero resources (in response to Israel’s decades long oppression of Palestinians, and to whatever degree Israel may have allowed it to happen). It is debatable whether John Brown was a hero (he killed civilians), but without John Brown and his brave partners, would the institution of slavery have ended? And could the recent events in Israel be a wake up call as well, regarding Israel’s (US backed) ongoing genocidal slaughter of Palestinians? Only time will tell, but let’s hope so.
Click here to learn more about John Brown’s raid on Harpers Ferry from Zinn Education Project.
Click here for an excellent interview with Norman Finkelstein and Chris Hedges (20:10 – John Brown).

I was proud to join our Palestinian brothers and sisters in solidarity twice in the same week (Times Square, NY). New York Governor Kathy Hochul’s condemnation of Palestinian supporters (she called us “abhorrent, and morally repugnant”), and NY congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio Cortez’s characterization of pro-Palestine activists as “anti-Semitic”, were both calls to action. The ignorant, immoral, and offensive statements by both Hochul and Cortez, tells you all you need to know about their integrity, and the current state of American politics. The soullessness of US politicians is breathtaking, as they attempt to win favor with the wealthiest and most powerful financial donor$. As per Norman Finkelstein (whose parents were Holocaust survivors), “When I see the AOCs, the Ilhan Omars, the Bernie Sanders, when they “condemn” the revolt of the inmates in the concentration camp. “Israel has the right to defend itself when the inmates breach the walls of the camp.” I spit on them. They nauseate me….But unfortunately, you can count on the fingers of one hand – and even less than the fingers in one hand – the number of people who showed any heart, any soul, any compassion for the God-forsaken people of Gaza.”

Here are a few organizations that are doing wonderful work:
CODEPINK
Jewish Voice for Peace
Answer Coalition
People’s Forum
Palestine Solidarity Campaign
Bronx Anti War Coalition
Massachusetts Peace Action

If Americans genuinely care about justice, equality, and world peace, then Dr. Cornel West will be our best option in the 2024 US presidential election. Here is Team West’s response to Joe Biden’s latest warmongering speech:
“President Biden’s Oval Office address on the crisis in Israel and Palestine was essentially a declaration of war — when the world needs peace more than ever. We don’t need billions of dollars for the war machine. We need policies to lift up poor and working class people struggling to survive our oppressive system. We need healthcare, housing and education for all. We need climate justice. We need peace here at home and around the world. Support leadership that prioritizes truth, justice and love across the globe. Solidarity for all people, Team Cornel West 2024”
Click here to learn more about Team Cornel West 2024.

“I must confess that over the last few years I have been gravely disappointed with the white moderate. I have almost reached the regrettable conclusion that the Negro’s great stumbling block in the stride toward freedom is not the White Citizens Councillor or the Ku Klux Klanner but the white moderate who is more devoted to order than to justice; who prefers a negative peace which is the absence of tension to a positive peace which is the presence of justice; who constantly says, “I agree with you in the goal you seek, but I can’t agree with your methods of direct action”; who paternalistically feels that he can set the timetable for another man’s freedom; who lives by the myth of time; and who constantly advises the Negro to wait until a “more convenient season.”
— Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Letter from Birmingham Jail, 1964

Kurt Vonnegut once referred to himself as “a man without a country”. Today, I feel like that man too. According to Noam Chomsky, Israel doesn’t do anything without the approval of the United States. Israel and the US are both responsible for the dehumanization, and decades long genocidal massacre of Palestinians. As mentioned above, the US War Machine has also killed millions of other innocent people in the last 20 years too (and countless more going further back), but guess what, most Americans don’t care. Americans would much prefer to talk about sports, celebrity gossip, animal harming food, and their latest purchase, rather than learn the truth, or challenge power. And now the war criminals, Biden, Blinken, and Netanyahu, are patting themselves on the back and admiring their carnage, while the always complicit US corporate media applauds. And worst of all, not one of these heartless wretches will be held accountable. Keep sleepwalking America. I have never been more ashamed.

“The world is a dangerous place, not because of those who do evil, but because of those who look on and do nothing.”
– Albert Einstein

I am not an expert, but I have been following this story pretty closely for the last 15-20 years. I can no longer see any difference between the Nazis and the Israeli government.

The bottom line? It is laughable to think of Israel as a compassionate, non-violent, vegan friendly country. And of course, the same can be said of the United States. The US backed Israeli military bombed yet another HOSPITAL in Gaza City last week, massacring hundreds of people. Estimates range between 500-1000 dead, including scores of children.
The United States of War has too much blood on its hands to ever wash off.
Joe Biden = War Criminal
Benjamin Netanyahu = War Criminal
Antony Blinken = War Criminal
Lloyd Austin = War Criminal
US Corporate Media (consistent liars, and cheerleaders for war) = War Criminals
How do we get most Americans to care?

Free Palestine!

Until next time…