The United States has protected Israel at the UN Security Council, which has given Israel a green light for its murderous operations. US officials are always quick to point out that Israel has a right to defend itself. But what Israel is doing to Gaza and its women and children is not defense; it’s revenge. President Biden has made clear his lack of patience with Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu; yet the weapons flow and the diplomatic protection continues. Biden’s handling of this issue has been a disgrace—not unique for a US president. And his Republican challenger would not have done any better; Trump’s cozy relationship with Netanyahu, his moving of the US embassy, and his dreadful regional diplomacy (the Abraham Accords) tell us everything we need to know.
Now the United States is conducting airdrops of food. Airdrops are inefficient, insufficient, and expensive. And the fact that the White House has aided and abetted the murder of thousands of children and now is airdropping food is a joke.
The Palestine-Israel conflict might feature Jews and Muslim Arabs, but the conflict is not in any way about these religions. The conflict is modern, dating back to 1967, and is secular in nature.
Before I wrote my book “It’s Not about Religion,” I published this essay in 2010 which aims to explain how and why this conflict is not one of religion. I feel it’s still—fourteen years later—a strong piece of work; I think it still stands up. (Same for the book it inspired.)
https://www.counterpunch.org/2010/08/26/it-s-not-about-religion/