Some months ago, heart-sick and outraged, I wrote:
Israel, Israel
Israel, Israel,
struggling with god,
complicit U.S.A.
you will always bear
a festering wound
not even the Angel of Healing
with all the water of Bethesda
can ever clean and cure,
an open mouth
haunting you and the world
till the end of memory, crying
Gaza, Gaza, Gaza.
© Rafael Jesús González 2024
Yesterday, the war criminal, genocidal Prime Minister of Israel, so designated by the International Criminal Court, spoke to a joint-session of Congress. By last count, more than half of Democrats (1 Republican) from House and Senate were boycotting. Absent was the President of the Senate, Vice-President Kamala Harris. Outside, thousands, a great many Jewish, protested.
Netanyahu was there at the invitation of all four top congressional leaders, including Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y. As President Biden’s policy toward Israel has made clear, the United State of America is complicit in the genocide in Gaza, the illegal Israeli land-grab on the West Bank.
Vice President (and Presidential candidate) Kamala Harris met with Netanyahu shortly after he addressed Congress and pressed him about the ongoing genocide in Gaza (more than 39,000 innocents killed, many more starving.)
That Vice President Harris (whom we must elect president) did so is encouraging. Though we must recognize that holding Israel accountable will not be easy. The military-industrial complex has huge profits to make from the sale of arms to Israel. And the influence and power of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) over U.S. politics is tremendous and toxic. (It is said that Harris’ pre-Biden donations from the Israel lobby was $182,000; with Bidens, it is more than $5.3 million.) And AIPAC’s donation to members of congress and other political figures is incalculable. If that is not buying our government, what is?
AIPAC and the Anti-Defamation League (both Zionist) have dangerously conflated anti-Zionism with antisemitism which has infuriated Jews around the world (especially American Jews) who adhere to the ancient fundamental values of Judaism: compassion and justice (basis of the teachings of Yeshua of Nazareth, the most famous of Jews.)
The result of this dishonest propaganda puts in peril the fundamental rights of dissention and the freedom of speech (the very first amendment to the U.S. Constitution.) Throughout the nation, student protests (a great many organized by Jewish students) are being violently suppressed and college and university presidents fired for attempting to protect academic freedom and the freedom of speech. Reputations ruined.
Let us be very clear: anti-Zionism is not antisemitism (anti-Jewishness) — Israel is a state (established in the last century by a colonial power mainly for European settlers); it is not equivalent to being Jewish. Judaism goes back for millenniums; it does not depend upon Israel to continue on, and in fact, many Jews see it as a violation of and threat to their faith.
It is not easy for me to write this, but would be intolerable to maintain silence in the face of such unspeakable death, suffering, injustice. For the sake of humanity, this genocide must end — immediately for the Earth, for justice, for peace.
Netanyahu was there at the invitation of all four top congressional leaders, including Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y. As President Biden’s policy toward Israel has made clear, the United State of America is complicit in the genocide in Gaza, the illegal Israeli land-grab on the West Bank.
Vice President (and Presidential candidate) Kamala Harris met with Netanyahu shortly after he addressed Congress and pressed him about the ongoing genocide in Gaza (more than 39,000 innocents killed, many more starving.)
That Vice President Harris (whom we must elect president) did so is encouraging. Though we must recognize that holding Israel accountable will not be easy. The military-industrial complex has huge profits to make from the sale of arms to Israel. And the influence and power of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) over U.S. politics is tremendous and toxic. (It is said that Harris’ pre-Biden donations from the Israel lobby was $182,000; with Bidens, it is more than $5.3 million.) And AIPAC’s donation to members of congress and other political figures is incalculable. If that is not buying our government, what is?
AIPAC and the Anti-Defamation League (both Zionist) have dangerously conflated anti-Zionism with antisemitism which has infuriated Jews around the world (especially American Jews) who adhere to the ancient fundamental values of Judaism: compassion and justice (basis of the teachings of Yeshua of Nazareth, the most famous of Jews.)
The result of this dishonest propaganda puts in peril the fundamental rights of dissention and the freedom of speech (the very first amendment to the U.S. Constitution.) Throughout the nation, student protests (a great many organized by Jewish students) are being violently suppressed and college and university presidents fired for attempting to protect academic freedom and the freedom of speech. Reputations ruined.
Let us be very clear: anti-Zionism is not antisemitism (anti-Jewishness) — Israel is a state (established in the last century by a colonial power mainly for European settlers); it is not equivalent to being Jewish. Judaism goes back for millenniums; it does not depend upon Israel to continue on, and in fact, many Jews see it as a violation of and threat to their faith.
It is not easy for me to write this, but would be intolerable to maintain silence in the face of such unspeakable death, suffering, injustice. For the sake of humanity, this genocide must end — immediately for the Earth, for justice, for peace.
Rafael Jesús González
Berkeley, California, July 25, 2024
Berkeley, California, July 25, 2024
Hace algunos meses, con el corazón dolorido e indignado, escribí:
Israel, Israel
Israel, Israel,
luchando con dios,
cómplice EE.UU.
siempre llevarán
una llaga supurante
que ni siquiera el ángel del sanar
con toda el agua de Betesda
jamás podrá limpiar y curar,
una boca abierta
atormentándoles y al mundo
hasta el fin de la memoria, gritando
Gaza, Gaza, Gaza.
Israel, Israel,
luchando con dios,
cómplice EE.UU.
siempre llevarán
una llaga supurante
que ni siquiera el ángel del sanar
con toda el agua de Betesda
jamás podrá limpiar y curar,
una boca abierta
atormentándoles y al mundo
hasta el fin de la memoria, gritando
Gaza, Gaza, Gaza.
© Rafael Jesús González 2024
Ayer, el Primer Ministro genocida y criminal de guerra de Israel, designado tal por la Corte Penal Internacional, habló ante una sesión conjunta del Congreso. Según el último recuento, más de la mitad de los demócratas (1 republicano) de la Cámara y el Senado lo boicotearon. Ausente estuvo la Presidenta del Senado, la Vicepresidenta Kamala Harris. Afuera, miles de personas, muchos de ell@s judíos, protestaron.
Netanyahu estuvo allí por invitación de los cuatro principales líderes del Congreso, incluido el líder de la mayoría del Senado, Chuck Schumer, demócrata de Nueva York, y el líder demócrata de la Cámara de Representantes, Hakeem Jeffries, demócrata de Nueva York. Como ha dejado claro la política del presidente Biden hacia Israel, los Estados Unidos de América es cómplice del genocidio en Gaza, la apropiación ilegal de tierras por parte de Israel en Cisjordania.
La vicepresidenta (y candidata presidencial) Kamala Harris se reunió con Netanyahu poco después de que éste se dirigiera al Congreso y lo presionó sobre el genocidio en curso en Gaza (más de 39.000 inocentes asesinad@s y muchos más muriendo de hambre).
Que lal vicepresidenta Harris (a quien debemos elegir presidenta) lo haya hecho es alentador. Aunque debemos reconocer que no será fácil tener responsable a Israel. El complejo militar-industrial obtiene enormes beneficios de la venta de armas a Israel. Y la influencia y el poder del Comité de Asuntos Públicos Estadounidense-Israelí (AIPAC) sobre la política estadounidense es tremendo y tóxico. (Se dice que las donaciones a Harris del lobby de Israel antes de Biden fueron de 182.000 dólares; con los de Biden, son más de 5,3 millones de dólares). Y la donación del AIPAC a miembros del Congreso y otras figuras políticas es incalculable. Si eso no es comprar nuestro gobierno, ¿qué es?
AIPAC y la Liga Antidifamación (ambas sionistas) han combinado peligrosamente el antisionismo con el antisemitismo, lo que ha enfurecido a muchísimos judíos de todo el mundo (especialmente a los judíos estadounidenses) que se adhieren a los antiguos valores fundamentales del judaísmo: la compasión y la justicia (base de las enseñanzas de Yeshua de Nazaret, el más famoso de los judíos.)
El resultado de esta propaganda deshonesta pone en peligro los derechos fundamentales de disensión y la libertad de expresión (la primera enmienda a la Constitución de los Estados Unidos). En todo el país, las protestas estudiantiles (muchas de ellas organizadas por estudiantes judíos) están siendo reprimidas violentamente y presidentes de colegios y universidades despedidos por intentar proteger la libertad académica y la libertad de expresión. Reputaciones arruinadas.
Seamos muy claros: el antisionismo no es antisemitismo (antijudío): Israel es un Estado (establecido en el siglo pasado por una potencia colonial principalmente para los colonos europeos); no es equivalente a ser judío. El judaísmo se remonta a milenios atrás; no depende de Israel para continuar y, de hecho, muchos judíos lo ven como una violación y una amenaza a su fe.
No es fácil para mí escribir esto, pero sería intolerable guardar silencio ante la muerte, el sufrimiento y la injusticia tan indescriptibles. Por el bien de la humanidad, este genocidio debe terminar de inmediato, por la Tierra, por la justicia y por la paz.
Rafael Jesús González
Berkeley, Alta California, 25 julio 2024
Berkeley, Alta California, 25 julio 2024
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