Israel

A coalition of Massachusetts activists is calling on delegates to the Democratic National Convention to press the Harris/Walz campaign to call for a ceasefire in Gaza and halt arms shipments to Israel.

Back in February, before college campuses erupted in protests, National Urban League President Mark Morial warned that the historical civil rights alliance between Blacks and Jews is being tested by the ongoing Israeli military action in Gaza.

Student protests over deadly Israeli military strikes in Gaza have roiled college campuses across America, resulting in fierce debates over free speech, the right to assemble and the responsibility of college administrators to ensure the safety of all its students, faculty, staff and the surrounding community.

What happened to Israel on Oct. 7 was an unspeakable tragedy, and there is no justification for it. What happened in Gaza since then is also unacceptable. The loss of civilian lives is inexcusable and not justified, as either a resistance to oppression, as Hamas claims, or the right of self-defense, as the Israel Defense Forces contends.

As New Mission High School senior Kameela Blackmon and other students exited the school’s Hyde Park building Dec. 2 to demonstrate for a ceasefire in Gaza, the school’s principal, William Thomas, issued a stern warning.

The Harvard faculty, staff and board of trustees should be applauded for standing in support of President Gay. Let’s hope Harvard’s first Black president can continue to receive the support she deserves for her illustrious career and lifetime commitment to higher education. 

Fatema Ahmed wanted desperately to talk to Sen. Elizabeth Warren about Israel’s war in Gaza. On Nov. 6, while Warren was speaking in Boston’s City Hall at a news conference on student debt, Ahmed, the executive director of the Muslim Justice League, waited patiently until the conference ended, then pressed forward as Warren left the stage.

Over the past month, the people of Gaza have been subjected to a rain of Israeli missiles, white phosphorous munitions, tank shells and other weapons. This on top of Israel’s closure of all borders with the territory designed to cut off all water, food and electricity to Gazans, half of whom are children.

Two weeks after the Hamas attack in Israel, the shattered sense of safety felt by Jews around the world hasn’t gone away. It’s the same ever-present insecurity felt by many people of color in the United States — including Jews of color.

Protestors in downtown Boston came together last week to speak out against an Anti-Defamation League program that holds law enforcement seminars in Israel, alleging that the group is promoting militarization and racist training for police departments.

After a summer marked by land expropriation in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood of Jerusalem, the bombardment of Gaza, shootings and detention of Palestinian children and growing international outrage at the occupation of Palestinian land, a group of local Palestinian activists is calling on the Massachusetts congressional delegation to take a hard stand against Israel.

As of May 18, 212 Palestinians have been killed by Israel’s latest air raids. More than 58 of those killed were children. This blood is on American hands. The US finances the Israeli military with a colossal $3.8 billion annually — and that’s just direct funding.