The Guardian’s Post

Arab voters remain uncommitted. They won't vote for Democrats or Republicans.** The ongoing Gaza war has left an indelible mark on the collective consciousness of the Arab community. The staggering loss of 37,000 innocent children, along with 110,000 more injured or trapped under rubble, has ignited a fervent demand for change. These voters are no longer willing to align themselves with political parties that fail to address the humanitarian crisis unfolding in Gaza. The haunting images of destroyed homes, shattered lives, and grieving families have galvanized Arab voters. They seek leaders who will not only acknowledge their pain but also take decisive action. The policy decisions made by both major parties during this crisis have been scrutinized relentlessly. The silence, the equivocation, and the lack of urgency have not gone unnoticed. In coffee shops, community centers, and living rooms across Michigan, conversations buzz with frustration and determination. Arab voters are mobilizing, organizing, and strategizing. They are no longer content with empty promises or political posturing. Their ballots will reflect their demand for justice, accountability, and compassion. As the election approaches, candidates must recognize that Arab voters are not a monolithic bloc. Their concerns extend beyond party lines. They want leaders who will prioritize peace, human rights, and the well-being of all children—regardless of ethnicity or nationality. The uncommitted stance of Arab voters is a resounding call for change, a plea for leaders who will rise above partisan politics and champion humanity. In the voting booths, the echoes of shattered buildings and grieving families will resonate. Arab voters will cast their ballots with the weight of those lost lives on their shoulders. Their message is clear: Actions speak louder than words. The next chapter in Michigan's political landscape will be written by those who heed this

2024-Aug-10 `More than 100 people killed and dozens wounded in an Israeli attack on a Gaza City school housing displaced Palestinians. International condemnation pours in while doctors struggle to cope as wounded people and bodies of the killed – many in pieces. UNRWA says the Israeli military has forced 60,000 to 70,000 people to evacuate from Khan Younis towards the already densely crowded al-Mawasi area. The US is to give Israel $3.5bn to spend on weapons and military equipment as fears grow that the war will expand into a regional conflict after the assassinations of a Hamas leader in Tehran and a Hezbollah commander in Beirut. At least 39,790 people killed and 92,002 wounded in Israel’s war on Gaza. An estimated 1,139 people were killed in Israel during the Hamas-led attacks on October 7, and more than 200 were taken captive.` URL https://lnkd.in/eWZk8Bn9

WHAT DO THE STATS TELL US ABOUT THE HAMAS / ISRAEL WAR?   According to the IDF, Israel has killed more than 12,000 Hamas terrorists and captured approximately 4,600 since Hamas attacked Israel on October 7th – a total of 16,600 terrorists killed or captured.   According to Hamas, approximately 30,000 Gazans have been killed since Israel began its defensive operations in Gaza.   So, the number of civilian deaths who were not terrorists is 30,000 minus 12,000, or about 18,000.   And the ratio of civilians killed to terrorists killed or captured is therefore 18,000 to 16,600, or a ratio of 1.1 civilian deaths for every Hamas terrorist killed or captured.   Since Hamas terrorists are intentionally operating in and under hospitals, schools, shopping malls and residential areas, is it not reasonable to conclude that it is Hamas that bears the primary responsibility for putting Palestinian civilians at risk?   In many ways, it is astounding that the civilian death toll in Gaza is not significantly higher.   Only one party in this war actually has a genocidal intent. (Hint: it’s Hamas) 

Gaza hostage and cease fire Agreement details: Starting tomorrow: 6 weeks of ceasefire Gradual IDF withdrawal from the Gaza Strip 600 humanitarian trucks will enter the Strip Hamas to release 33 Israeli hostages Israel will release 30 terrorists in exchange for each kidnapped civilian, Israel will release 50 terrorists for each kidnapped soldier Not as reported by media; as the total hostages held today are 89 not 33. What about the remaining hostages. Are they dead or alive ? Hamas is waving flags in Gaza today: yelling success! What is really going on?

Western media reports on the rescue of 4 Israeli hostages consistently fail to disclose that the USA is actively engaged in illegal war crimes against the Palestinian people – using its "aid" pier and "aid" trucks to hide IDF soldiers who immediately started slaughtering civilians. Follow the link in the following post for the grim details. These hostages (all apparently well looked after) could have been released through reasonable negotiation 8 months ago, or indeed never taken in the first place, if Israel didn't routinely (for decades) engage in taking thousands of Palestinians hostage (prisoners without charge or trial, often children for throwing stones), torturing or shooting them, stealing their land and denying them their basic human rights to be treated equally and have their own state on land that they and their ancestors have inhabited for thousands of years. Before this hostage rescue operation there were over 2 million people living without freedom in this area, including these 4 hostages who were alive & well (but excluding the many more in the West Bank subject to constant IDF tyranny). Now there are still over 2 million people living without freedom, plus another 200+ innocent civilians murdered (including children) — to add to the 40k+ slaughtered over the last 8 months. The only logical way you can support or even celebrate this operation is if you place no value on Palestinian lives. https://lnkd.in/gHan5UHu (davidthorp. net/australia/war )

Just consider this: Do you think that if Israel would have wanted to eliminate civilian population in Lebanon it would have gone so far and do so much in order to bomb so accurately only designated points, being so close to the airport? If a country wants to destroy another people, it will bomb them indiscriminately. If a country wants to destroy a specific group of terrorists, it will bomb them accurately. If Israel aims to destroy the entire Lebanese people, then why is it bombing so accurately only selected locations?

It has been one year now of senseless violence and destruction and little value for human life or international humanitarian law (IHL). Violence will not bring about peace, only justice will. There are children in Gaza who have been out of school living amidst rubble to the sound of drones for a year now. In Lebanon, over a quarter of the population (1.2 million) has been displaced overnight with displaced families sheltering in hundreds of schools, threatening an entire schoolyear. A generation of children is being raised to feel their human lives and rights are secondary and subservient to more important strategic interests in the Middle East. Let’s go back to basics: All human life is sacred, each and every human life no matter whose. And every violation of that right at such a scale is not collateral damage but a war crime. In Gaza, in Beirut, and anywhere in the world, we don’t accept this logic of violence to justify blatant violations of IHL. Enough normalization of violence. For a year now we have been only walking further and further away from “true peace,” which to quote MLK is “not merely the absence of tension” but “the presence of justice." #JusticeNow

Peace Please! Although it is maybe too late and surely should have been done much earlier, if Hamas would just unilaterally release all remaining 100 Israeli hostages as the ICJ and the UN requested, it would gain more credibility as a party who wants peace. This would force Israel in the position of a need to reassess its strategy because most of its arguments against Hamas would no longer be valid. This could be a starting point for a permanent truce. There is absolutely no future for any party based on the narrative of its radicals..... everyone who wants to claim territory exclusively for themselves will only find eternal war, violence and destruction, whereas the moderates hold the key to peace by non-violent interaction and dialog as equals. This is the only path to replace fear and hatred by trust and solidarity and to solve the conflict forever. Since Gaza has been carpet bombed, it is and will stay uninhabitable for at least a decade. Chances on a two-state solution have therefore become minimal. The only way out of the conflict is thus to learn to live together as equals and to share the country as one union. Practically, it means in my opinion to go back to the times of Canaan and establish (democratic) autonomous local communities and flexibly spread them over the entire territory of Canaan. These autonomous communities can coexist and come together in two confederations of communities (nations), an Israeli and a Palestinian one, both sharing the country as a union, this is a hybrid outcome with elements of both a two- and a one-state solution. There is space for all cultural identities this way without any minority versus majority issues. Currently, such scenario seems very far fetched, but, the Israelis and Palestinians belong to Canaan and nobody outside is waiting for an(other) exodus of any of the two. www.canaan.community & www.pax.ngo & www.convergence.ngo