Also signing this letter: Liem Berman, Antonia Dufort, Shana Frank, Colby Harris, Lucy Johnston, Fhar Miess, Grace Powers, hannah sorila.
BRATTLEBORO-On the evening of Aug. 1, opponents of genocide and intentional starvation banged pots during Brattleboro's Gallery Walk. We did this to call attention to the deepening famine crisis in Gaza - part of Israel's U.S.-sponsored planned genocide in Gaza and its systemic apartheid in all of Palestine.
We took this action in response to a call by Palestinian journalist and filmmaker Bisan Owda in Gaza, who writes: "The sound of our empty stomachs and the voice of humanity must be louder than their brutality." In doing so, we are urging Vermonters to take action against this horror, which is playing out in real time on our video screens and social media feeds.
In case you've missed this, since May, 1,373 people have been killed by Israeli forces while they sought food at sites run not by humanitarian aid agencies like the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), which has a vast infrastructure throughout Gaza that has been blocked by Israel. Instead, distribution (and hunger) has been weaponized by the Israeli military and U.S. mercenaries.
As of July, more than 320,000 children are at risk of acute malnutrition - in other words, that's every child under 5. In June, 6,500 children were admitted for treatment for malnutrition.
July is tracking even higher, with 5,000 children admitted in just the first two weeks. Fewer than 15% of essential nutrition treatment services are currently functional.
If you are feeling horrified, hopeless, and powerless, you are not alone, but there are ways to take meaningful solidarity and action. Join us!
• Bang pots and pans every night starting at 7 p.m. If possible, post online using the hashtag #PotBangingForGaza and tag @pot_banging_for_gaza on Instagram.
• Contact your elected officials and demand an immediate arms embargo, permanent ceasefire, and unrestricted aid into Gaza, and thank U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders and U.S. Sen. Peter Welch for co-sponsoring measures to block weapons sales to Israel. Contact information can be found at sovt4palestine.org.
• Talk with your family, neighbors, and friends about Palestine. We can help one another expand our knowledge and awareness.
• Donate to organizations working on the ground like the Gaza Soup Kitchen. (While these donations are important, they mean very little without other forms of action to end this siege.)
• Follow the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement and use your purchasing power for good.
• Western media consistently fails in its coverage. Listen to Palestinians and support Palestinian journalists. Israel has murdered more than 200 journalists in Gaza. Why? Because the pen is mightier than the sword. Journalists in Gaza to follow include: Anas Jamal (@anasjamal44); Bisan Owda (@Wizard_Bisan1); Amer Sultan (@amer_elsultan), and Mohamed Al Masri (@mohamed.h.masri)
• News sources we recommend include Democracy Now!, Mondoweiss, Al Jazeera, Middle East Monitor, Truthout, and Middle East Eye.
• Other Palestinian voices are poet Mosab Abu Toha, human rights lawyer Huwaida Arraf, journalist and writer Mohammed el-Kurd, journalist Mariam Barghouti, Rutgers Prof. Noura Erakat, and Renad Attallah (11 years old and still in Gaza).
• Organizations to follow and support include: Institute for Middle East Understanding (IMEU) and the IMEU Policy Project, USCPR, Gaza Freedom Flotilla, Palestine Red Crescent Society, Jewish Voice for Peace, Doctors Against Genocide, Southern Vermont for Palestine, Gaza Soup Kitchen, United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) USA, Adalah, and We Are Not Numbers.
Kathryn Casa
Brattleboro
Also signing this letter: Liem Berman, Antonia Dufort, Shana Frank, Colby Harris, Lucy Johnston, Fhar Miess, Grace Powers, hannah sorila.
This letter to the editor was submitted to The Commons.
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