By Imam Shamsi Ali
As the violent and inhumane treatment of the Palestinians by the occupying power (Israel) in Gaza and in many other areas in Palestine continues unfolding, our eyes can not be blinded to see that the damage and catastrophe this evil has brought are beyond our human comprehension to fully grasp.
Too many innocent civilian lives have been taken, mostly children and women. Basic infrastructure such as schools, homes, hospitals, and even houses of worship have been destroyed. And millions are now under the threat of collective death because of hunger and malnutrition due to the prevention by Israel of humanitarian assistance to reach those in dire need.
What saddens us more is the fact that the world looks so naive and unable to do anything to stop this madness. The United Nations, the world organization which was established to handle such crisis as this is incapable of doing anything effective to stop the mass killings, ethnic cleansing and genocide committed by the occupying power Israel.
In fact, powerful countries that often claim to be champions of human rights, freedom and human dignity are in fact complicit. The United States of America, United Kingdom, Germany and others are exposing their real face as the servants of that seemingly immune nation, Israel.
The United States of America deeply exposes itself as a powerful servant and defender who often bows down to the will of the Zionist state Israel. Even when some of the political elite in this country are courageous enough to oppose the inhumane treatment of Palestinians, this country still continues its support of genocidal acts of Israel in Gaza.
Let’s be clear. The Palestinian-Israeli issue is not a “conflict” as often portrayed by some. Conflicts are a clash between two parties: be they physical such as wars or or be they non physical such as disagreements on ideas or opinions on some issues. What has really happened between the Palestinians and the Israelis is “an occupation” of one party over another.
This is an issue of occupying and being occupied. Calling it a “conflict” is a wrong and misleading way to try to minimize the grave injustice. The solution to this ongoing “so called” conflict is crystal clear and actually simple: end the occupation and let the Palestinians have their own independent sovereign state. With this, what’s been propagated as the two state solution will come into reality.
In addition to Israel itself, despite its claim to be a mediator between the two parties (Palestine and Israel) the US has become a big hindrance or obstacle for the two state solution to be possible. With its veto right at the UN Security Council, the US has already blocked almost all resolutions to that direction. The most recent one is the proposed resolution to admit Palestine as a full UN member which has been blocked by the US through that special right.
All this shows the true face of the US when it comes to the Palestinian-Israeli issue. It’s all about supporting Israel blindly despite the fact that even its own people are rising to resist it. Rallies and demonstrations around the nation, more particularly the resistance movement in U.S. campuses by not only students, but also some faculty members.
What is more troubling and actually shameful is that in the name of claiming to be the champion of human rights and justice for all, America has taken part or led many wars around the world including in the Middle East (Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya, Syria, and others)
With all those beautiful cover and justifications used by US, it is to admit that all those wars produced nothing but evil and misery to human lives. Iraq and Libia both used to be prosperous nations. After those wars in the name of “freedom”, human rights and justice, the people have achieved nothing except painful suffering and misery in life.
The point that I would like to underline here is the clear evidence of the US double standard and hypocrisy when it comes to the so called human rights of freedom, dignity and justice. By repeatedly blocking the path tor the Palestinians to have their own independent and sovereign country, recognized by the international community through full membership at the UN, the so called champion of democracy, freedom and justice (America) has lost its credibility.
It’s just sad and shameful!
Manhattan, 16 May 2024
Penulis adalah Direktur Jamaica Muslim Center New York Amerika Serikat. Naskah ini dikirim via japri oleh penulis ke J5NEWSROOM.COM, Sabtu 18 Mei 2024.
