Concerned Families of Westchester Newsletter
December 24, 2023
Hello All – Starvation, freezing temperatures, and disease confront the people of Gaza, almost two million of whom have been driven from their homes. Food, water, medicine, and fuel are very hard to find, as Israel prevents all but a trickle of aid trucks from entering Gaza from Egypt. This week the UN's World Food Program reported that one-quarter of Gaza's population – 576,000 people – were in imminent danger of starvation. The report stated that "there is a risk of famine occurring within the next six months if the current situation of intense conflict and restricted humanitarian access persists."
From earlier assessments, WFP food security experts had already established that Gazans have used up all their resources, livelihoods have collapsed, bakeries are destroyed, shops are empty, and families can't find food. People told WFP staff that they often go entire days without eating and that many adults go hungry so that children can eat. … An unprecedented 93% of the population in Gaza is facing crisis levels of hunger, with insufficient food and high levels of malnutrition. At least 1 in 4 households is facing "catastrophic conditions": experiencing an extreme lack of food and starvation and having resorted to selling off their possessions and other extreme measures to afford a simple meal.
Needless to say, the absence of clean water, sanitation facilities, and basic housing for tens of thousands displaced from the bombed-out homes makes inevitable the spread of contagious disease. A UN agency reports that, among Palestinian families taking shelter in UN facilities, more than 300,000 have an infectious disease. The World Health Organization (also a UN agency) reports:
Tragically, access to health services across Gaza has plummeted as the war continues to degrade the health system. With the health system on its knees, those facing the deadly combination of hunger and disease are left with few options. The people of Gaza, who have already suffered enough, now face death from starvation and diseases that could be easily treated with a functioning health system. This must stop. Food and other aid must flow in far greater amounts. WHO reiterates its call for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire.
This week Human Rights Watch released a report stating that Israel was deliberately using starvation as a weapon in its war on Gaza. "Israeli forces are deliberately blocking the delivery of water, food, and fuel, while willfully impeding humanitarian assistance, apparently razing agricultural areas, and depriving the civilian population of objects indispensable to their survival," the report said, quoting leading members of Israel's "war cabinet" who "have made public statements expressing their aim to deprive civilians in Gaza of food, water and fuel – statements reflecting a policy being carried out by Israeli forces." According to the founding statutes establishing the International Criminal Court, using food and starvation in this way is a war crime.
In light of the crimes being committed by Israel against Gaza's civilian population, it is beyond tragic that the US used its influence at the UN this week to water down a Security Council draft resolution attempting to establish a humanitarian ceasefire so the food, water, and medicine could be distributed in Gaza. But due to US objections, the ceasefire resolution was watered down to mean little. UN relief workers in Gaza say that the failure to get a ceasefire means that little aid can be distributed. Nor have President Biden's words about avoiding civilian casualties had any effect on Israel's war making, as the death toll in Gaza tops 20,000, with about 200 people killed each day.
Featured Essay/Videos – Gazans in the Crosshairs
(Video) Visual Evidence Shows Israel Dropped Bombs Where It Ordered Gaza Civilians to Go From The New York Times [December 22, 2023]
---- A Times investigation used aerial imagery and artificial intelligence to detect bomb craters that showed that one of Israel's biggest bombs was used routinely in south Gaza. [See the Report - 9 Minutes]
(Video) Starvation as a Weapon of War: Human Rights Watch Denounces Israel for Denying Gaza Access to Food
From Democracy Now! [December 19, 2023]
---- Israel is deliberately blocking the delivery of water, food and fuel in Gaza, prompting Human Rights Watch to accuse the occupation of utilizing starvation as a weapon of war. Human Rights Watch's Israel and Palestine director, Omar Shakir, says 97% of the groundwater in Gaza is unfit for human consumption after the destruction of pipelines and treatment sources, the rejection of humanitarian aid and the collapse of the medical system under incessant bombing, leading to mass dehydration and contagious disease. Shakir calls on the international community to condemn Israel's actions and to increase pressure on U.S. support in particular [See the Program]
Half of Palestinians in Gaza are now Starving; Depriving Civilians of Food is a War Crime
By Juan Cole, Informed Comment [December 10, 2023]
---- The United Nations warned on Saturday that half the population of Gaza is now starving. The World Food Programme (WFP) had reported at the end of November that in the north of Gaza, about half of the people were suffering "severe levels of hunger." Meanwhile, nearly everyone had inadequate levels of food consumption, i.e. they were getting less than the recommended calories per day. … The Rome Statute underpinning the International Criminal Court forbids starvation as a method of warfare: Article 8(2)(b)(xxv) of the 1998 ICC Statute provides that "[i]ntentionally using starvation of civilians as a method of warfare by depriving them of objects indispensable to their survival" is a war crime in international armed conflicts. [Read More] "The Christmas Story"
FB – The familiar Christmas story of Jesus born in Bethlehem (the West Bank) in a manger evokes comparisons with the plight of the 160 women who give birth each day in Gaza, under bombardment and with no medical facilities. Christians spoke out last week as the National Council of Churches, encompassing 38 Christian faith groups, joined with 60 other religious bodies to call for a ceasefire in Gaza. Quakers, Mennonites, and other historic peace religions have always spoken out against war, but an antiwar message from more mainstream religious bodies is desperately needed now. Below are an essay by, and an interview with, an extraordinary Palestinian Lutheran pastor from Bethlehem. Please read & share what he has to say about "the Christmas story."
(Video) Christmas Canceled in Bethlehem as Churches Mourn 20,000+ Palestinians Killed in Gaza
From Democracy Now! [December 22, 2023]
---- In "mourning and honor" of Palestinians killed in Gaza, the city of Bethlehem in the occupied West Bank, the birthplace of Jesus Christ, has announced the cancellation of traditional Christmas festivities. In Bethlehem, we're joined by the president of Dar al-Kalima University, Reverend Mitri Raheb. Reverend Raheb relates the story of Jesus, a refugee whose mother had no place to safely give birth, to the plight of displaced Gazans facing a dearth of medical care. "The Christmas story actually is a Palestinian story, par excellence," he tells us, yet "we don't hear the Christian community actually doing much about the atrocity happening in Gaza today." As the world turns its back on the ongoing genocide, Rehab says he fears this could be "the end of the Christian presence in Gaza." [See the Program]
Christmas: Then and Now
By Mitri Raheb, Mondoweiss [December 23, 2023]
---- I was born across the street from where Jesus was born on a street called, the Milk Grotto Street, in Bethlehem. My family has deep roots in the little town. We have been Christians for the last fifteen centuries, if not longer. My family name "Raheb" means "monk," connecting it to the ancient monasteries established in the wilderness around Bethlehem since the fourth century AD. My first name, "Mitri" refers to a Greek-Orthodox saint, St. Demetrious, a fourth-century martyr in the Roman empire. My earliest childhood memories go back to the year 1967, when Israel occupied our town. [Read More]
CFOW Nuts & Bolts
Please consider getting involved with Concerned Families of Westchester. Weather permitting we meet for a protest/rally each Saturday in Hastings, at 12 noon at the VFW Plaza (Warburton and Spring St.) A "Black Lives Matter/Say Their Names" vigil is held in Yonkers on the first Monday of the month (e.g. January 1) from 5:30 to 6:00 pm at the intersection of Warburton Ave. and Odell. Our newsletter is archived at https://cfow.blogspot.com/; and news of interest and coming events is posted on our CFOW Facebook page. Another Facebook page focuses on the climate crisis. If you would like to join one of our Zoom meetings, each Tuesday and Thursday at noon, please send a return email for the link. If you would like to support our work by making a contribution, please send your check to CFOW, PO Box 364, Hastings-on-Hudson, NY 10706. Thanks!
Rewards!
Musical funny man and astute political critic Roy Zimmerman is a CFOW favorite. His musical satire over the past decade+ has touched on many topics, but Donald Trump brings out something extra. His latest, just out this week, is "Lock Him Away." I think you will also like an early classic, "Vote Him Away." A sing-along for the whole family. Enjoy!
Best Wishes,
Frank Brodhead
For CFOW
CFOW Weekly Reader
The War on Gaza
(Video) "This Is a Colonial War": Historian Rashid Khalidi on Israel, Gaza & the Future of Palestine
From Democracy Now! [December 20, 2023]
---- Historian Rashid Khalidi discusses the pending United Nations Security Council vote on suspending fighting in Gaza to allow the entry of humanitarian aid, and the future of Palestine. The Biden administration reportedly delayed the U.N. vote and pushed other countries to water down the language. "The situation in Gaza is unspeakable," says Khalidi, the Edward Said professor of modern Arab studies at Columbia University. "We are talking about traumatic events that are going to scar generations to come." He also discusses how the Gaza war risks sparking a regional conflict, ways to pressure Israel, and how U.S. leaders are prompting anger from "whole generations" in the Arab world and beyond. [Read More] Also of interest by Rashid Khalidi is "Open letter to the Columbia administration," in which he replies to a new diktat by 18 Columbia University deans proscribing some pro-Palestinian speech. [Link].
What are the Motivations behind Israel's Genocide in Gaza, and what is the Way Forward?
By Yoav Litvin, Informed Comment [December 24, 2023]
---- For Zionists to break their addiction to aggression, they would need to go through a process of deprogramming and decolonisation. This would require them to embrace the truth about the history and nature of Zionism, commit to sincere accountability, recognise the humanity of Palestinians, and empathise with their suffering and plight. … Liberation, reconciliation and an end to Israel's genocidal violence can only be achieved within a steadfast and unwavering anti-Zionist framework that aligns with wider leftist, antiracist, anticolonial values. [Read More]
(Video) "The Hostages Weren't Our Top Priority": Israel's "Bombing Frenzy" Endangered Hostages Held in Gaza
From Democracy Now! [December 21, 2023]
---- A new investigation reveals Israel launched its military campaign of relentless airstrikes, which has killed nearly 1% of the population of Gaza, with little intelligence about where hostages taken by Hamas were being held. Jerusalem-based journalist Yuval Abraham reports the military decided hostages were "just not a priority," their safety "relegated in favor of carrying out this bombing campaign." The revelation comes as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu faces increasing pressure to secure the release of the hostages after Israeli forces shot dead three Israeli hostages who managed to escape captivity in northern Gaza. [See the Program].
Israel Killed Thousands of Children in Gaza. How Can So Many Israelis Remain Indifferent?
By Amira Hass, Haaretz [Israel] [December 18, 2023]
--- For decades we've been brought up believing that only military force can ensure the state's survival, while denying rights to the Palestinians. That's just one of many sad answers to the question. … What enables most of the Jews not to gasp in horror at the crowding of 1.8 million or 1.9 million people into about 120 square kilometers (46 square miles), a "safe area" that's constantly being bombed? What's preventing those Jewish Israelis from screaming when they hear about the thirst and hunger of 2.2 million Palestinian civilians and the diseases spreading due to the crowding, the water shortage and the out-of-action hospitals? What enables this erasure and the slaying of children with both our active and passive participation? Here are some answers: [Read More] Also of interest by Amira Hass is "Dozens of Israeli Citizens and Residents Left Gaza During the War, Under the Radar," Haaretz [Israel] [Deember 17, 2023] ["71 women, men and children have left the Strip in the past month for Israel. They told Haaretz about what they went through and their concerns for those left behind."] [Link]
The War at Home
From NYC to Palestine: Grassroots Movements Speak Out on Israel-Gaza War
By Rebecca Chowdhury, The Indypendent (NYC) [December 18, 2023]
---- On a cloudy day in the Bronx, a group of high-school students marched down Fordham Road chanting, "Congress, Congress, you can't hide! You're supporting genocide!" As they walked under the train station, commuters stopped in their tracks to watch approximately 70 high-school students who walked out of class donning keffiyehs and posters with Palestinian flags. Some onlookers in this working-class Black and brown community even joined the march while others chanted in solidarity. … Working-class New Yorkers who normally lead protests and organize around local New York City issues are now joining the movement to free Palestine. They are drawing connections between their struggles and forging solidarity with Palestinians that face bombardment in Gaza and settler violence in the Occupied Territories. [Read More] Also of interest – "How US residents are funding illegal settlements in the West Bank," by Jason Wilson, The Guardian [UK] [December 23, 2023] [Link]; "Who Is Funding Canary Mission? Inside the Doxxing Operation Targeting Anti-Zionist Students and Professors," by James Bamford, The Nation [December 22, 2023] [Link]; and "Some Facts for the Unconvinced: Why We Need a Gaza Ceasefire Now," by Phyllis Bennis, Foreign Policy in Focus [December 18, 2023] [Link].
War with China?
The US and China at Year's End: Still Treading on the Precipice
By Michael T. Klare, Tomdispatch [December 22, 2023]
---- This hasn't exactly been a year of good news when it comes to our war-torn, beleaguered planet, but on November 15th, U.S. President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping took one small step back from the precipice. Until they talked in a mansion near San Francisco, it seemed as if their countries were locked in a downward spiral of taunts and provocations that might, many experts feared, result in a full-blown crisis, even a war — even, god save us all, the world's first nuclear war. Thanks to that encounter, though, such dangers appear to have receded. Still, the looming question facing both countries is whether that retreat from disaster — what the Chinese are now calling the "San Francisco vision" — will last through 2024. [Read More]
The Climate Crisis
2023's extreme storms, heat and wildfires broke records – a scientist explains how global warming fuels climate disastersBy Shuang-Ye Wu, The Conversation [December 19, 2023]
---- Globally, 2023 was the warmest year on record, and it wreaked havoc around the world. El Niño played a role, but global warming is at the root of the world's increasing extreme weather. So, how exactly is global warming linked to fires, storms and other disasters? I am an atmospheric scientist who studies the changing climate. Here's what you need to know. … In sum, a warmer world is a more violent world, with the additional heat fueling increasingly more extreme weather events. [Read More]
2023 was the year governments looked at the climate crisis – and decided to persecute the activists
By Owen Jones, The Guardian [UK] [December 22, 2023]
---- This year has seen a global onslaught against people agitating for more action to mitigate the worst effects of the climate crisis. Courts can issue stern judgments, but so can history, and you have to wonder its future verdict on how the persecution and silencing of those raising the alarm only escalated when the scientific evidence had become so cast-iron, and when extreme weather events hammered home the imminent danger facing the human species. Here in Britain, a government which is reneging on its climate commitments – not least by expanding oil and gas licences – is simultaneously introducing repressive legislation to silence those holding them to account. [Read More]
The State of the Union
We're Beginning to Learn How the War on Terror Shaped a Generation
By Suzy Hansen, New York Times [December 21, 2023]
---- Many Americans, marooned in the condition of future thinking, fear what could come next in the Middle East. They fear that one day Israel, aided by the United States, will destroy Gaza entirely. They fear that the devastation will set off another horrifying cascade of crises, an unfathomable loss of life. And they know that someday Americans will question what madness overcame them in 2023, why they once again allowed the killing of so many people, and what happened to them long ago that made them this way. [Read More]
Pro-Israel Billionaires Are Spending Big to Oust Socialists From Office
By Liza Featherstone, Jacobin Magazine [December 2023]
---- Socialists in elected office are standing up for Palestinian rights and demanding a cease-fire in Gaza. A handful of billionaires, rejecting this progressive and popular agenda, are trying hard to take down these antiwar lawmakers. … Perhaps most worrisome is the animus against Representative Jamaal Bowman of New York. Bowman's seat may now be the most imperiled of any Squad member, as AIPAC has recruited Westchester County executive George Latimer to run against him, and Latimer may tap into considerable pro-war sentiment in the district. … The lawmakers presently targeted by AIPAC and the pro-Netanyahu billionaires are indispensable leaders on the Left, and it would be a travesty to lose any of them as political representatives. [Read More]
Our History
The Christmas Truce of 1914
---- On Christmas Day in 1914, after four months of horrible war, the remarkable "Christmas Truce" broke out along the lines of contact between British and German soldiers. As the story is told in folksinger John McCutcheon's song – "Christmas in the Trenches – soldiers from both armies met in No Man's Land, sang Christmas carols, shared smokes, and played games. And when the day ended, the soldiers returned to their respective trenches, and next day the war resumed. Millions would be killed in the next four years. The military leadership was horrified at this display of humanitarian fellowship and solidarity, and ensured that such a thing never happened again. For more of the story, and its relation to the War on Gaza, read "The Christmas Truce of 1914 and the Demand for a Cease-Fire in Gaza," by peace stalwart Phyllis Bennis. [Link]. 
