by Che Bou-Matar
Speech was given to the Grand Valley Interfaith Network, December 10th, at the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of the Grand Valley
I am happy to see many familiar faces of friends and I want to thank Wendy for personally inviting me. I am pleased to see the proceeds are going for the children in Palestine. Helping the victims, especially children is one of the most pressing needs and responsibilities of our times. I have so much to say in a short amount of time, may God enlighten our hearts.
I want to bring awareness of the absolute horror, pain and suffering to the people of Gaza that has occurred for more than a year, 430 days. It goes back much further. To understand how you are at this present moment you have to study and understand the sequence of historical events and moments that have led to it. Before I proceed, I want to make it clear the difference between the great religion of Judaism and the Zionist movement. This doesn’t make me anti-Semitic to be against Zionism, my ancestors from my father’s side are Semitic from Lebanon and my mom is American so I am in a position to discuss both sides. Given the time constraint I am going to give you key historical dates and events and I’ll encourage anyone to read both points of views and decide for yourself, the Palestinian and the Israeli perspective.
The first Zionist Congress in Switzerland was in 1897. You have to go back 100 years, to the colonial rule of the British Mandate of Palestine, which required the Balfour Declaration to be put into effect to create, “national home for the Jewish people.” Before the British mandate the Jewish people made up 6% of the population in Palestine. In 1948, over 76 years ago the British Mandate established the State of Israel, during this time is called the Nakba, the great catastrophe 15,000 were killed and 700,000 native Palestinians were expelled from their land that is 80% of the native people at the time. The Nakba was a land grab of 78% of historic Palestine. Approximately 25% of the people expelled sought refuge in Gaza. In response to this humanitarian disaster UNWRA (UN Relief and Works Agency) was formed in 1949 to provide relief to the Palestinian refugees. Recently in October 2024 the Israeli parliament passed a bill designating UNRWA as a terrorist group.
Gaza has been under complete blockage, under siege from Israel and Egypt since 2007 when the people of Gaza elected Hamas as an elected government. That is 17 years; Gaza has become an open air prison.
What has happened in the past year is worse and more devastating than 1948 during the Nakba, the great catastrophe. Gaza has been systematically leveled and destroyed, you have a population of 2.2 million people; which could easily be reduced to 2 million people. According to The Lancet estimates, the figures are 3 to 15 times more than 55,758 deaths reported, 17,712 are children, which would mean 167,274-836,370). Imagine 2 million people in a large concentration camp being displaced from one area to another. No food, no water, no hygiene, no medical treatment because all the hospitals are targeted. People are being stalked and attacked by drones. According to the UN, 70% of the casualties are women and children. All this is happening for the free world to witness while remaining powerless to do anything about it. Why powerless. The reason is because this nation, the United States of America has vetoed the UN 10 times, most recently congress vetoed a bill to halt the supply of weapons of mass destruction. We have a responsibility to what is happening because our tax payers money is being used for weapons of mass destruction by the elected people who govern us, supported by both ruling political parties, Democrat and Republican.
I have witnessed enough children without heads or brains due to explosions, or crushed or buried by rubble than I can bear to stomach, I see my own children’s faces in these children. Now the war and destruction has expanded to Lebanon with a fragile ceasefire looming, following the same blueprint as Gaza breaking all the rules of warfare with little concern for innocent civilians.
What has happened and is happening is that as we watch humanity being dehumanized we are losing our humanity as a world because we have allowed injustice to prevail. Right now injustice, oppression and tyranny are having their moment. In time the balance will be restored and justice will prevail, when justice prevails we will have peace.
In the chapter Al-Hajj,
22:40 [They are] those who have been evicted from their homes without right – only because they say, “Our Lord is Allāh.” And were it not that Allāh checks the people, some by means of others, there would have been demolished monasteries, churches, synagogues, and mosques in which the name of Allāh is much mentioned [i.e., praised]. And Allāh will surely support those who support Him [i.e., His cause]. Indeed, Allāh is Powerful and Exalted in Might.
22:41 [And they are] those who, if We give them authority in the land, establish prayer and give zakāh and enjoin what is right and forbid what is wrong. And to Allāh belongs the outcome of [all] matters.
Thanksgiving is a celebration when the native people of the land helped the settlers, survive and settle in the land. History shows what a great price the natives paid.
I see too many parallels with this nation’s history and the Native Americans. Now I see the direct role and partnership in destroying the Palestinian people and the Lebanese people. Native people seeking freedom are paying the price of death while being labeled as terrorists while the oppressor justifies their actions in the name of security.
This is the price the Native Americans paid and the people of Gaza are paying.
The Revolutionist 