The Gaza Massacre

Everything is supposed to be very quiet after a massacre, and it always is, except for the birds. . . . And what do the birds say? All there is to say about a massacre, things like "Poo-tee-weet?" -- Kurt Vonnegut

The Gaza Strip is essentially an open-air prison. Twenty-five miles long and seven miles wide, with 1.5 million inhabitants, it is among the most densely-populated areas of the world. Over half of the population is under the age of sixteen. Gaza is also -- as one aid worker put it -- a room full of children.

The Israeli Defense Force pounded Gaza with bombs, rockets, and artillery shells for twenty-two straight days. The result was approximately 1300 dead, half of the dead civilians, and over 400 of those children. It is impossible that the Israeli leaders did not anticipate this result. They must have known that they would be slaughtering children by the score. They didn't care.

"Sad," you say, "but what has this to do with me?" Among the planes that were bombing these children were American-supplied F-16s. The helicopters that were attacking these children were American-supplied Apache helicopters. The bombs and rockets that were blowing these children to shreds were American made and supplied. The Israeli army that invaded Gaza, that prevented ambulances from reaching distressed infants lying for days alongside the dead bodies of their mothers -- that army is bankrolled by America.

During this "war" (better to call it what it was, a massacre), the United States Senate and House of Representatives offered resolutions in support of the Israelis. These resolutions passed unanimously. Your elected representatives rose as one to applaud this pitiless slaughter of innocents. They did so in your name.

History is full of horrible ironies. Here is one: the children and grandchildren of those Israelis who were the victims of genocide at the hands of the Nazis are themselves practicing genocide against the Palestinians. And our government aids and abets this awful crime.