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Aref
Assaf, Gaza is still occupied
Re;
Soliman: Arab-Americans overcome resistance to speak up
Thursday, April 3, 2008
, Bergen Record
Dear Editor:
“Israel imposed the blockade in June when
Hamas took control of Gaza. Israel considers Hamas a terrorist
group.”
I take issue with the
paper about the above statement which is presented as a
statement of fact without relevant context and without any
qualifications.
The statement gives
the false impression that somehow Israel is justified in
starving millions of people because in the view of Israel, Hamas
is a terrorist organization. If we were to use your maligned
moral yardstick, then we should bomb, blockade the city of
Paterson because in it lays murderers and thugs or maybe its
government are corrupt and killers! Can you see us ever engaging
in this collective punishment? The blockade intensified not
because of the crude rockets launched into Israel by Hamas but
rather because Israel and the US pursued a
murderous electoral engineering, a rather sinister and
counterproductive approach to the victory of Hamas in the
Palestinian elections.
Israel’s blockade of the Gaza Strip has been going on since 1967.
All border points, see ports, roadways; have always been
under the tight control of Israel which it uses to collectively
punish the entire Palestinian population. Life only worsened for
Palestinians when Israel removed its settlements and army from
inside the Gaza Strip to the borders. What we ended up with was
a much bigger prison without the necessary infrastructure to
cope with even sewer treatment let alone medical services.
Notwithstanding, we thank you for at least
uncovering a taboo most media outlets wish to remain so:
Millions of Palestinians are suffering because Israel considers
their leaders to be bad. Are American next to be boycotted and
banished by the world community? For we too have awful leaders
who are accused by many to have also caused the killing and
starvation of millions of Iraqis.
While many Palestinian
Americans want and are eager to donate to help their brethrens
in Palestine, most do not for one important reason: Our US
government, soon after the 911 attacks, has made it illegal and potentially criminally
prosecutable if Palestinians (and Muslims) were to give to a group that is now
or into the future found to be black listed by the US
government. Conversely, American Jews can give billions of
dollars tax free to Israel and some of that money goes directly
to building illegal settlements on confiscated Arab lands! Such
is a violation of US and international law.
I also wonder if our government is as demanding of other non
Palestinian charitable organizations. Suppose the Red Cross
provides food or shelter to a Palestinian child whose father
is/has been or is found later on to be a member of Hamas. Will
we close down the Red Cross? Will we charge the Red Cross and
its donors with aiding Hamas? Are we doing the same with those
who give to Jewish charities? Is this not hypocrisy?
Too often, the plight of the Palestine people is
marginalized and made an acceptable price to pay to ensure
Israel's security. But after 60 years of existence, Israel is
nether safe or accepted by the Palestinians if not the majority
of the world. Only when Israel and its supporters recognize
the humanity Palestinians and their rights to
be free from the yoke of military occupation, only then that we
may see genuine peace prevail.
Aref Assaf, PhD
American Arab Forum, a Paterson-based think
tank specializing
in Arab and Muslim affairs
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