{"id":8549,"date":"2024-02-27T22:29:23","date_gmt":"2024-02-28T03:29:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/gracecoloredglasses\/?p=8549"},"modified":"2024-02-28T05:57:01","modified_gmt":"2024-02-28T10:57:01","slug":"did-you-know-the-us-is-complicit-in-genocide-right-now","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/gracecoloredglasses\/2024\/02\/did-you-know-the-us-is-complicit-in-genocide-right-now\/","title":{"rendered":"Did you know the US is complicit in genocide RIGHT NOW?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>
Did you know the US is complicit in genocide RIGHT NOW?<\/p>\n
If not, don\u2019t feel bad. American mainstream media have not covered this news very well. It\u2019s entirely possible that many millions of Americans are unaware of this horrifying fact. But since it is being done with our tax dollars ($10 million<\/a> a day<\/em>), we ought to know about it \u2013 and if we disagree with this use of our hard-earned money, we ought to make some noise.<\/p>\n
As a public service, here is a crash course for you on this genocide. People of faith ought to be know if something like this is happening.<\/p>\n
You may be aware that Israel is fighting right now with the Palestinians of Gaza. Many news outlets call it an \u201cIsrael-Hamas war,\u201d but in reality, all the people of Gaza \u2013 not just members of Hamas \u2013 are involved. It\u2019s also not a proper \u201cwar\u201d: Israel has one of the most powerful militaries<\/a> in the world and is backed by the United States, while Gaza has only small groups of militants; its army vehicles are pickup trucks and motorcycles, its air force consists of a hang glider or two.<\/p>\n
Israel forces have killed 30,000 Palestinians<\/a>, the vast majority of which are women and children<\/a>. Thousands more are buried<\/a> under the rubble of 360,000 damaged and destroyed homes<\/a>. Almost the entire population of 2.3 million are starving<\/a>. Children<\/a> and infants<\/a> have already died of malnutrition.<\/p>\n
About 1,400 Israelis have been killed \u2013 240<\/a> were Israeli soldiers who died in battle. The rest<\/a> were killed on October 7th when Hamas fighters broke through the fence that surrounds Gaza and raided several military installations and kibbutzim. Many of the deaths that day were at the hands of fellow Israelis<\/a>.<\/p>\n
(The context behind Hamas\u2019 attack is critical to understanding the situation \u2013 read about it here<\/a><\/span> and here<\/a>.)<\/span><\/p>\n
Because of the incredibly high death toll in Gaza, along with Israel\u2019s cruel destruction of hospitals<\/a> and other critical infrastructure<\/a>, its refusal to allow the delivery of humanitarian aid<\/a>, and the genocidal statements<\/a> that Israeli leaders have been making, Israel was tried<\/a> recently in the International Court of Justice (ICJ).<\/p>\n
That is pretty huge news, but it wasn\u2019t carried widely<\/a> in mainstream media.<\/p>\n
Because genocide is something of an emergency, the ICJ gave a provisional ruling \u2013 which will be in place until a final ruling is made (which could take years). The ruling: Israel was found<\/a> by the highest court on the planet to be plausibly meeting the standards of committing genocide.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n
In simple English, the evidence presented was convincing enough to merit an exhaustive inquiry, and while the ICJ digs deeper into the case, Israel is on notice that its actions look enough like genocide that it needs to change tactics.<\/p>\n
The court took into consideration the context of the October 7th massacre and ruled that, horrific though that incident was, it did not justify Israel\u2019s enormous \u2013 and potentially genocidal \u2013 response that had killed, at that point, over 25,000 Gazans.<\/p>\n
Close to 5,000 more have been killed in the four weeks since the ICJ\u2019s ruling.<\/p>\n
This is important: the United States, hearing the court\u2019s decision, stood with Israel \u2013 the ostensibly genocidal country. What that means in practical terms is that while the US continues to supply Israel with weapons (which it is<\/a>) and money (which it is trying to do<\/a>), we are aiding and abetting genocide.<\/strong><\/p>\n
Do you find that disturbing? I hope we all find it deeply disturbing.<\/p>\n
How disturbing? Enough to do something about it?<\/p>\n
If you want to do something about it, I have some suggested actions below.<\/p>\n
If you are not willing to act against Israel\u2019s killing of tens of thousands of Palestinians, remember this truism:<\/p>\n