The gruesome news from war in the Middle East has sparked a protest that reminds me of the antiwar movement during the tragic and unjust U.S. war on Vietnam. First, the horrific Hamas attack on Israel last fall. It was inexcusable, but not without context. Israel has been oppressing Palestinians for decades, treating them as inferior people and illegally taking their land.

 

In revenge for that Hamas attack, Israel has violated international law with its genocidal war on Gaza,  killing more than 35,000 Palestinians to date. Israel has also murdered 79 journalists, 224 humanitarian aid workers, plus 179 United Nations workers. And in the United States, college students across the country are showing they have more moral courage than Congress by peacefully protestimg mass killing of Palestinians. So what do we do? We call the cops to arrest protesters for what should be a free speech  right. And the students are right: Opposing Israel's genocide is not antisemitic. It's righteous, it's justified.

 

Meanwhile, President Biden has been timidly critical of Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu. But Biden hasn't condemned the genocide, and Congress just appropriated billions of dollars for Netanyahu to continue his atrocities. We are complicit in the bloodletting. We are guilty of war crimes, because we are paying for them with our tax dollars.