A Plea for a Ceasefire Between Israel and Hamas
and a Principled Peaceful Resolution Demanded
by the International Community
Ross C. “Rocky” Anderson
Genocides and other mass human rights atrocities have been ignored far too often, especially by the U.S. when it could have made all the difference. A chilling account of the genocides that could have been stopped, but were not, by the U.S.–when both Democrats and Republicans were in power–is provided in Samantha Power’s outstanding book, “A Problem From Hell” – America and the Age of Genocide.”
When I raised my voice around the nation in protest of the tragic, Iraq War–which was started on a pack of lies (not unlike the Mexican-American War and the Vietnam War)–and the related human and civil rights abuses, including torture and illegal surveillance, some people criticized me because, in their view, it wasn’t within a mayor’s purview to address such issues. My response: It’s the duty of us all to stand up against wrongdoing, particularly genocides, regardless of our position or status.
In 2007, I decided not to run for a third term as Salt Lake City Mayor because of my desire to create a grassroots organization, High Road for Human Rights, to organize people to push elected officials and other policy makers to effectively address human rights abuses, including climate-related human rights violations. (My speech addressing my plan and its rationale is here.) I devoted four years to educating and organizing people regarding the genocide in Darfur, human trafficking (labor and sex trafficking), torture, and the climate crisis. Those issues were a large part of my platform as I sought to raise awareness around the nation during my campaign as the Justice Party presidential nominee.
During my present mayoral campaign, I have joined with representatives of Salt Lake City’s Armenian community to speak out and endeavored to raise public awareness about the horrific treatment of Armenian people by Azerbaijan in the Republic of Artsakh, as I have joined with the Armenian community in the past to raise awareness of the genocide against Armenians by Turks in 1915. (All the while, some Utah politicians and religious leaders were being exploited by Azerbaijan as propaganda tools for its genocidal regime.) When asked by the Armenian community to speak out for an end to the human rights crisis in Artsakh, Mayor Mendenhall, through her Chief of Staff, said basically that she wouldn’t speak up because it wasn’t her job. No Utah politicians other than me joined in the call for an end to the on-going tragedy inflicted by Azerbaijan on Armenian people in Artsakh.
I have been horrified by the treatment of Palestinian people by the Israel government over the past decades. Jimmy Carter noted the obvious when he stated that the treatment of the Palestinian people by Israel has been an apartheid system, disregarding basic human and civil rights of Palestinian men, women, and children.
I’ve also been appalled at the absence of effective statesmanship by the U.S., which could have done so much more to achieve a peaceful resolution over the years. No doubt, elected officials have been incredibly one-sided about the tragic situation because of the enormous clout of AIPAC and other lobbies that have pushed for more blind support of Israel, without also demanding a major improvement in the treatment of millions of Palestinian people.
In preparation for, and during, a trip to Israel, Jordan, and Egypt many years ago, I read widely about and discovered the manner in which Palestinian lands were stolen from the Palestinian people, which included heinous ethnic cleansing and mass murder. The phrase “Never Forget” seems to be applied in an unconscionable one-sided manner.
To provide a safe haven for Jewish people following the Holocaust was well-intentioned. However, the way it was done was a recipe for horrific disaster, completely in disregard of the rights and interests of the Palestinian people. The U.S. support for a Jewish homeland was particularly hypocritical after our government turned back ships full of Jews seeking refuge during the Holocaust.
Our nation’s news media downplayed the mass killing of Jews, as reflected in the outstanding books Laurel Leff, Buried by the Times and David S. Wyman, A Race Against Death – Peter Bergson, America, and the Holocaust. Hypocrisy and tragedy have been at the center of U.S. foreign policy since the beginning of the Holocaust.
The recent massacres of men, women, and children by Hamas, and their kidnapping of Jewish residents, set in motion the present war, as Hamas clearly knew would happen. They knew what Israel would do, but sacrificed many thousands of Palestinians to the foreseeable current mass killings to pursue their strategy of continuing to attack Israel, regardless of the costs to the Palestinian people.
Israel’s approach toward millions of Palestinian people has been barbaric and, as always, far out of proportion to the attacks by Hamas. Israel cares nothing about the condemnations by the U.S. and the international community, in large part because it knows the U.S. will always be a slavish supporter, no matter what atrocities are committed by Israel.
We should all join together in a non-partisan fashion in calling for a ceasefire on all sides, with a verifiable means of ensuring that Hamas will not exploit a ceasefire so it can engage in more atrocities of its own. The only chance for an end to the butchery and outrages committed by Hamas and the state of Israel is for the international community to make it clear that more of these war crimes and crimes against humanity will not be tolerated–and that there will be personal accountability for those who continue with the mass killings and genocidal ethnic cleansing.
For many years, I have advocated for a two-state solution and still believe it is the only means of achieving peace between Israel and Palestinians. Let us stop blindly taking sides, disregarding the atrocities committed by Hamas and Israel, and join in demanding an end to the mutual terror and mass killings, which will continue with increasing tragedy without a unified international community unencumbered by the powerful lobbies that have simply made the situation far worse over the years. As part of any peaceful resolution, there must be a two-state solution, with security guarantees provided by the U.N. and a unified international community. Let us all raise our voices for an immediate ceasefire and for an international demand for a solution that will finally achieve peaceful co-existence.
When I raised my voice around the nation in protest of the tragic, Iraq War–which was started on a pack of lies (not unlike the Mexican-American War and the Vietnam War)–and the related human and civil rights abuses, including torture and illegal surveillance, some people criticized me because, in their view, it wasn’t within a mayor’s purview to address such issues. My response: It’s the duty of us all to stand up against wrongdoing, particularly genocides, regardless of our position or status.
In 2007, I decided not to run for a third term as Salt Lake City Mayor because of my desire to create a grassroots organization, High Road for Human Rights, to organize people to push elected officials and other policy makers to effectively address human rights abuses, including climate-related human rights violations. (My speech addressing my plan and its rationale is here.) I devoted four years to educating and organizing people regarding the genocide in Darfur, human trafficking (labor and sex trafficking), torture, and the climate crisis. Those issues were a large part of my platform as I sought to raise awareness around the nation during my campaign as the Justice Party presidential nominee.
During my present mayoral campaign, I have joined with representatives of Salt Lake City’s Armenian community to speak out and endeavored to raise public awareness about the horrific treatment of Armenian people by Azerbaijan in the Republic of Artsakh, as I have joined with the Armenian community in the past to raise awareness of the genocide against Armenians by Turks in 1915. (All the while, some Utah politicians and religious leaders were being exploited by Azerbaijan as propaganda tools for its genocidal regime.) When asked by the Armenian community to speak out for an end to the human rights crisis in Artsakh, Mayor Mendenhall, through her Chief of Staff, said basically that she wouldn’t speak up because it wasn’t her job. No Utah politicians other than me joined in the call for an end to the on-going tragedy inflicted by Azerbaijan on Armenian people in Artsakh.
I have been horrified by the treatment of Palestinian people by the Israel government over the past decades. Jimmy Carter noted the obvious when he stated that the treatment of the Palestinian people by Israel has been an apartheid system, disregarding basic human and civil rights of Palestinian men, women, and children.
I’ve also been appalled at the absence of effective statesmanship by the U.S., which could have done so much more to achieve a peaceful resolution over the years. No doubt, elected officials have been incredibly one-sided about the tragic situation because of the enormous clout of AIPAC and other lobbies that have pushed for more blind support of Israel, without also demanding a major improvement in the treatment of millions of Palestinian people.
In preparation for, and during, a trip to Israel, Jordan, and Egypt many years ago, I read widely about and discovered the manner in which Palestinian lands were stolen from the Palestinian people, which included heinous ethnic cleansing and mass murder. The phrase “Never Forget” seems to be applied in an unconscionable one-sided manner.
To provide a safe haven for Jewish people following the Holocaust was well-intentioned. However, the way it was done was a recipe for horrific disaster, completely in disregard of the rights and interests of the Palestinian people. The U.S. support for a Jewish homeland was particularly hypocritical after our government turned back ships full of Jews seeking refuge during the Holocaust.
Our nation’s news media downplayed the mass killing of Jews, as reflected in the outstanding books Laurel Leff, Buried by the Times and David S. Wyman, A Race Against Death – Peter Bergson, America, and the Holocaust. Hypocrisy and tragedy have been at the center of U.S. foreign policy since the beginning of the Holocaust.
The recent massacres of men, women, and children by Hamas, and their kidnapping of Jewish residents, set in motion the present war, as Hamas clearly knew would happen. They knew what Israel would do, but sacrificed many thousands of Palestinians to the foreseeable current mass killings to pursue their strategy of continuing to attack Israel, regardless of the costs to the Palestinian people.
Israel’s approach toward millions of Palestinian people has been barbaric and, as always, far out of proportion to the attacks by Hamas. Israel cares nothing about the condemnations by the U.S. and the international community, in large part because it knows the U.S. will always be a slavish supporter, no matter what atrocities are committed by Israel.
We should all join together in a non-partisan fashion in calling for a ceasefire on all sides, with a verifiable means of ensuring that Hamas will not exploit a ceasefire so it can engage in more atrocities of its own. The only chance for an end to the butchery and outrages committed by Hamas and the state of Israel is for the international community to make it clear that more of these war crimes and crimes against humanity will not be tolerated–and that there will be personal accountability for those who continue with the mass killings and genocidal ethnic cleansing.
For many years, I have advocated for a two-state solution and still believe it is the only means of achieving peace between Israel and Palestinians. Let us stop blindly taking sides, disregarding the atrocities committed by Hamas and Israel, and join in demanding an end to the mutual terror and mass killings, which will continue with increasing tragedy without a unified international community unencumbered by the powerful lobbies that have simply made the situation far worse over the years. As part of any peaceful resolution, there must be a two-state solution, with security guarantees provided by the U.N. and a unified international community. Let us all raise our voices for an immediate ceasefire and for an international demand for a solution that will finally achieve peaceful co-existence.
