The purpose of this article is not to demean any ethnic or religious groups, but simply to acknowledge bias towards the existence of war crimes committed in the Gaza strip that I believe is present within Westport’s community. I see an abandoning of empathy occurring, and I am concerned.
I can’t deny that I was deeply appalled by the Oct. 7 attacks on Israel, and like many others, I initially took an immediate and firm stance in solidarity with Israel. As an American of Jewish descent, there is a part of me that understands the anger felt towards Gaza, specifically the terrorist organization, Hamas, that has embedded itself in Palestine’s government and has explicitly called for the annihilation of Israel.
So I do certainly understand why Temple Israel, a local community-centered synagogue which offers numerous local events to members, as well as scripture studying courses and other activities, would encourage its members to donate to multiple charities meant to support and rebuild hospitals, housing, and other necessities damaged in the Oct. 7 attacks. I do not, however, understand why it feels the need to donate money to the Israeli Defense Force (IDF), who is currently in the midst of a war against the people of Gaza.
The IDF is hardly in need of more money. As of the 2016 Memorandum of Understanding agreement, the US already pays Israel $3.8 billion dollars annually, in addition to the billions more paid to the Israeli government by U.S. taxpayer dollars since the start of this war.
Furthermore, the actions the IDF have recently taken are abhorrent from a humanitarian perspective and not deserving of support. They have withheld necessary aid like flour, medicine, water and electricity from entering the Gaza strip, which is by no means a viable reaction to disband Hamas.
Also, in the past weeks, the IDF has thrown pamphlets down from planes over Gaza City, demanding its over one-million residents to evacuate south to the humanitarian zone in Al-Mawasi, and warning that remaining in Gaza City was “extremely dangerous.”
However, in demanding that citizens leave, they fail to recognize the effects that would come with evacuating such a large city. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), almost half of all functioning hospitals are located in Gaza City, including half of all intensive care unit beds for the entire Gaza Strip. This forced evacuation of such a large city that holds so much critical infrastructure, especially during wartime, could have absolutely detrimental consequences for women, children, and other innocent people.
I would like to believe that the Israeli flags hung around Westport are simply put out in solidarity with the families affected by Hamas on Oct. 7, and not in support of Israel’s actions in the Gaza strip. I am disturbed by any unconditional support of Israel, which is undeniably starving a civilian population, which the UN as of September has defined as a genocide and have separate ongoing investigations to further prove this. I hope that no Westporters will feel entitled to defend Israel’s actions while turning a blind eye to the humanitarian crisis of this active genocide.
If you can still turn a blind eye to the crimes being inflicted upon the Palestinian people, I ask you, will it ever be enough? I hope that going forward, Westport can be more sensitive and conscientious of global conflicts, especially if the topic is still unfolding and shrouded with events that may arouse personal biases.
