So, what do we do? Well, the first thing that we must do is to get our spirits and souls intact, so we don’t give up, we don’t cave in, we don’t sell out. We don’t rationalize our accommodation to an unjust status quo. We don’t become well-adjusted to injustice and well-adapted to indifference; rather, we think, act, feel radically against the grain, even when it looks as if we have the chance of a snowball in hell. We are with Harriet Tubman. We do it because we love. We do it because we have a calling. We do it because we think it’s right and moral. And then we have an analysis of the imperial, and the capitalist, and the white supremacist, and the xenophobic forces that have so deeply shaped the history and destiny of the species. Mighty, but they are not almighty. There’s always, as William James might say, something more, that tremendous muchness that has to do with our ability to still try to tell the truth, still try to seek justice for the least of these. And we must still try to organize, even though it looks as if we have little success at the moment.
Cornel West: We Must Keep Our Souls Intact as We Organize Under Trump Again by George Yancy, TRUTHOUT, December 1, 2024
Yesterday I wrote about the recently published report from Amnesty International documenting Israel’s Genocide Against Palestinians in Gaza.
Agnès Callamard, the Secretary General of Amnesty International, wrote about that report.
The actions of Hamas and other armed groups on October 7 were heinous atrocities that have no justification under any circumstances. My organization, Amnesty International, has denounced those crimes and continues to call for the unconditional release of all civilian hostages. Israelis, like Palestinians, have the right to live in safety.
But the assertion that Israel’s war in Gaza aims solely to dismantle Hamas, and not physically destroy Palestinians as a national and ethnic group, even in part, simply does not stand up to scrutiny. Amnesty International just published conclusive evidence that Israel has committed genocide against Palestinians in Gaza and continues to do so.
Genocide is a crime. It is not a political, personal, or public opinion, nor a judgment about Israel’s actions. It is a crime, defined under international law by the Genocide Convention.
The World Has Legal and Moral Duty to Stop Genocide in Gaza | Opinion by Agnès Callamard, Newsweek, 12/12/024
The finding that Israel has perpetrated genocide is a conclusion based on painstaking research and rigorous legal analysis. Our research shows that Israel has carried out acts prohibited under the Genocide Convention against Palestinians in Gaza, including killings, causing serious bodily or mental harm, and deliberately inflicting conditions of life calculated to bring about their physical destruction.
The Israel Defense Forces has wrought destruction on Gaza at a speed and on a scale unseen in any other conflict this century. It has leveled entire cities and pulverized vital infrastructure, agricultural land, and cultural and religious sites. The direct killing of more than 42,000 Palestinians in a year—not including the toll of starvation and disease—is a tragedy of utterly staggering proportion. However, what makes this a genocide under international law is the intent behind Israel’s actions.
The evidence presented in our report clearly shows that the deliberate goal of Israel’s military campaign is the destruction of the Palestinians in Gaza.
From the outset of this war, public statements by high-level Israeli officials have dehumanized Palestinians and called for genocidal acts, contributing to an overall pattern of conduct that reveals Israel’s true intentions.
However uncomfortable our findings may be, inaction in the face of such cruelty is indefensible. The evidence we have published means there is no room to hide; Israel’s allies must stop pretending that international crimes have not been committed.
It’s time to stand up for humanity and against inhumanity. States must challenge Israel and push for an immediate ceasefire. They must finally address Israel’s longstanding policies and practices of apartheid and unlawful occupation, which have continued with impunity for decades, laying the ground for the genocide we witness today.
The World Has Legal and Moral Duty to Stop Genocide in Gaza | Opinion by Agnès Callamard, Newsweek, 12/12/024
“I can think of no greater failure of solidarity and no greater expression of privilege than prioritizing the preservation of our own rights and comforts over the protection of others from starvation and death.” Harold Page-Jamison
Fully updated toolkit one year into resisting genocide
It has been over 400 days since Israel began its ongoing genocide against the Palestinian people, committed with U.S. weapons, paid with U.S. tax dollars, and backed by our U.S. government. As we rise up, Israel is unleashing a total rampage of death and destruction, mass murdering families in Gaza and Lebanon and expanding into the wider region. #StopArmingIsrael now and free Palestine
Stop Gaza Genocide Action Toolkit, US Campaign for Palestinian Rights
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Photo credit: Jeff Kisling. Action photos are from Madison, Wisconsin, including the photo used by CODE PINK. And my monthly meeting, Bear Creek Friends, Iowa Yearly Meeting (Conservative)
unflinching 