“Life and death for people in Gaza is the same…”
Those are the words of Fr. Manuel Musallam, a parish priest in Gaza, in an interview with Caritas Internationalis following the destruction of a Caritas health clinic by an Israeli F-16 fighter jet. According to a Caritas release, which also appeals for funds to replenish medical and other supplies, the clinic in the Al Maghazi district of Central Gaza was completely destroyed in the bombing along with a number of buildings. No one was injured as all the families had already fled the area. But the situation remains dire, according to Fr. Musallam:
“There is extreme fear everywhere here. The bombs the Israelis are dropping are literally cutting through people and through homes. Night and day the sound of children crying is everywhere. The people here don’t sleep. They have lost everything.
“70,000 people are living in schools and they are very cold. The ones who haven’t gone to schools are living in their bathrooms or stairwells because they are afraid of being injured by shattering glass from bombs. There is no water here. We are almost out of diesel for our generator that we have allowed people to come and cook from. When the diesel runs out we will have nothing.
“The Israeli aggression has made these people live like animals and our school is the zoo.
“There are dead bodies lying on the streets. The clinics are carrying out operations on the floor. Women have no place to give birth. One pregnant woman was shot on her way to a clinic to give birth. They tried to save the baby but it too was dead.
“Life and death for people in Gaza is the same.”
Meanwhile, the fighting continues, Israel concedes it will likely not defeat Hamas, and Osama bin Laden (Bush is gone and he’s still here–nice job, W.) is calling for a holy war against Israel. And all eyes are turning to the confirmation hearings and Inauguration preparations.
(H/T: Catholic World News)
“Bush is gone and he’s still here–nice job, W.”
Why was a gratuitous partisan swipe at the soon-to-be former President needed in an otherwise necessary reminder of the suffering of the citizens of Gaza? Comments like that really needlessly tarnish the credibility of the Commonweal brand and don’t add any value., IMHO.
MAT,
Perhaps because it’s partly because (January 4) “the United States has blocked approval of a UN Security Council statement calling for an immediate cease-fire between Israel and Gaza’s Hamas rulers, diplomats said.” The United States seems to have no problem with the assault on Gaza going on as long as the Israelis want to continue it. Or perhaps it’s because Bush insisted the Palestinians must “democratize,” so they democratically elected Hamas. Or perhaps it’s because Bush got us into a totally unnecessary war in Iraq that became the focus of Middle Eastern policy, strengthened Iran, which in turn supported Hamas.
It is not necessarily partisan to take swipes at George Bush at this point. Both Democrats and Republicans have good cause to judge his foreign and domestic policies as failures.
David: Sure, reasoned criticism is not necessarily partisan – either now or previously, regardless of the wholly unrelated criticisms Republicans may or may not have of President Bush. It is the gratuitous and totally irreverent nature of your criticism which makes it partisan. I don’t want to argue with you over this, but clearly your personal hatred of President Bush is so consuming I think you honestly believe the fact that the President did NOT commit a war crime and violate international law by killing or capturing Mr. bin Laden – who happens to be a very popular Sunni Muslim who is a vociferous proponent of a Palestinian state – is (a) somehow relevant to the sufferings of Palestinians in Gaza and (2) actually exacerbates the crisis in the Holy Land. But for someone like myself, who admittedly is a movement conservative but who does not participate in partisan politics by not voting, stuff like this is a real turn-off to reading this blog. If your criticism was any of the things you enumerated, regardless if I agree with them or not, I would never have made my original comment. But a swipe about Mr. bin Laden? If that is not just partisan and ad hominem hatred, I don’t know what is. I mean, you are arguing that President Bush SHOULD commit a war crime for goodness sakes just to be able to attack him at any chance you can. And why no swipe at President Clinton? He is guilty of the same “failure”.
MAT: Are you getting your Davids mixed up? Regardless, I think I agree with David N. that it’s not necessarily “partisan” to note that Bush hasn’t delivered on his promise to bring bin Laden to justice.
Oops. I did mix-up my Davids. Apologies to both!
Mollie: Yes, in the proper context, I agree that it is not inherently partisan. But you cannot honestly tell me that is was even remotely relevant to this post. And in a post talking about the sufferings of Palestinian civilians and implicitly critiquing Israel for war crimes – which may be a very valid criticism – doesn’t it seem odd to then attack President Bush for NOT committing a war crime?
MAT, no need to apologize, at least to me, as I’m happy to be associated with The Other David’s comments. As others noted, I don’t think it is partisan (and I did not intend it as such) to critique Bush. His approval rating is at historic lows, and when 80 percent or so of the country disapprove of Bush, it’s hard to think of a shot at him as partisan.
Moreover, the remark about Bush (and Israel’s military campai gn and the confirmation hearings) wasn’t necessarily meant as a detailed argument of his failed Mideast policy, but rather an indicator of how useless all this Gazasuffering has been, and how it is slipping into the maw of the news cycle.
There was of course, as David N. indicated, anger (mine, though I hope not hatred) that Osama bin Laden is at liberty and able to bloviate more than seven years after 9/11. That he can use the sufferings of the Gazans to promote himself, and that Bush used Sept. 11 to launch a war on Iraq and not on Al Qaeda, and that he leaves office with justice for the 9/11 attacks unfinished, yes, makes me angry. While I believe those assertions to be true, they are, in the end, my opinions. I share them just as you share yours.
I doubt a criticism of Bush by me (or others) will tarnish the magazine’s brand! In any event, I am an highly unpaid blogger here, and my opinions are my own, as are those of others who might be more supportive of Bush of the GOP or movement conservatism. This is a blog, an effort at digital conversation, in which opinions are put out there to be debated. Your HO is allowed every bit as my HO, and I think that reinforces what Commonweal is about, if anything.
This op-ed piece of yesterday is a must read for all of us. Poignant stuff to say the least. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/14/opinion/14goldberg-1.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1&em
The situated is complicated. All in all it shows the tremendous failure of religions to bring peace. To the collective shame it is just the opposite. This war is raging for 50 years. Nobody should give a penny to any religion until they can learn to bring peace.
Why is it so difficult to speak the truth. which is—-
The War Party in the USA and in Israel are slaughtering the children of Gaza while the governments and the CNN and BBC and the RCC are silent.
Here is the correct headline.
350 Children Die in Gaza—Israel Claims Self-Defense.
Is this not a tragedy and a comedy at the same time, and the main actors are not the F-16s but the media and the churches.
Bill, this is a tangential point, but I think that it is not the first time that you suggest withholding financial contributions. But when I go to Mass, hear the readings, and listen to a homily that opens new perspectives about the readings, then I am happily part of the celebration, feel in communion with my church, and I want to participate and give some money to the collection. By refusing to give money or by restraining myself (because of various reservations I might otherwise have), I would put myself outside the group and break the mood. That’s not such an easy decision…
Claire,
I should clarify. I do contribute to my parish church. There is a legitimate expense to keep the building open to house the clergy. Though I would like a more detailed account of the clergy’s use of time. Also, the parishioners perform many good deeds and there are the lectors, servors, ushers, Eucharistic ministers, grief groups, clothing drives etc. Further, throughout the country and the world, despite the arrogance of too many clergy, much good is done.
So you are correct and I like the way you phrase it. We have to be discreet in the way we give.
“The War Party in the USA…”
Are you referring to an organized political party?
Didn’t the citizens of Gaza vote in Hamas as their rulers? Those who so voted are responsible for the devastation; the blood is on their hands.
Didn’t the citizens of Gaza vote in Hamas as their rulers? Those who so voted are responsible for the devastation; the blood is on their hands.
Bob,
While Hamas is a terrorist organization (at least from the American and Israeli point of view, and mine, too — although it is much more than that), and they were voted in democratically, that doesn’t mean that anything and everything the Israelis do is justified!