Outrageous Bombs, Mahdawi, and Harvard

Congresswomen Pramila Jayapal (D-WA-7) and Rashida Tlaib (D-MI-12) have combined forces on 8 resolutions (HR 68,69,70,71,83,84,85,86) to attempt to, but block the sale of U.S. offensive military weapons to Israel. The resolutions cover everything from Caterpillar bulldozers to Hellfire missiles, artillery shells, and extremely heavy bombs totaling over $12 billion. Resolution 83 seeks to block the sale of 2,000-lb. bombs. A single 2,000 lb. bomb has a huge blast radius capable of killing or severely wounding people up to 1,000 feet from the impact site. Satellite imagery indicates over 500 impact craters from 2,000-lb. bombs in Gaza. It is known that these massive bombs are largely responsible for the soaring death toll. What I found astonishing was that Res. 83 was trying to block not 1, not 10, not 100 of these incredibly lethal bombs, but 35,529 of them! Let that sink in a moment. Congress knows full well how destructive these 2,000-lb. bombs are. They are so lethal their use has been ruled out by most militaries in the world. Nevertheless, Israel has dropped thousands of them on innocent Palestinian civilians in Gaza, causing massive death and destruction since October 2023, and now the U.S. is scheduled to provide Israel with 35,529 of them! You would think that this would be so morally indefensible, so outrageous, that a resolution to block the sale of these monstrous bombs would have hundreds of co-sponsors, that congressional representatives would be lining up to halt this madness. Tragically, not so. As of this writing, there are a scant 18, less than 3% of Congress. No doubt those who approve these sales will foolishly justify it as supporting the Jewish people, or helping our ally Israel “defend itself,” or fighting the “war on terror.” In reality, they will be flagrantly violating American and international law. They will be authorizing war crimes. They will be complicit in genocide. Call Congress (202-224-3121). Urge your representative to co-sponsor these resolutions. Save lives. Block the weapons. Uphold national and international law. Do not be complicit in genocide.

Mohsen Mahdawi, Palestinian green card-holder and Columbia University student, has been abducted by ICE agents. He has not been charged with any crime. He is now a political prisoner behind bars in an ICE detention center. His name was on a list compiled by right-wing, pro-Israel groups, who are aggressively targeting ANYONE who opposes genocide, who speaks up for Palestinian rights and freedom. Several members of the Columbia community who know Mohsen personally and have worked with him have commented on Mohsen’s reputation as a peacemaker. He was interviewed on “60 Minutes” making crystal clear that the fight against antisemitism and the fight for Palestinian liberation “go hand in hand,” and he is passionately involved in both struggles. Why? Because “injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere,” a famous quote from Dr. King. Mohsen’s commitment to fighting injustice and building peace runs deep. As a Columbia student, he sought out Israeli Jews at Columbia who would be willing to work with him to find common ground. One Jewish activist he worked with said that Mohsen was “one of the most profound people he’s ever known,” and that Mohsen was doing the work of empathy and listening, and working across vast divides to de-escalate hostility and try to bring people together. He is an avid meditator, a practitioner of Buddhism, and an outspoken advocate of nonviolence. To smear this highly-principled peacemaker as a “terrorist sympathizer” is detestable nonsense. If a peacemaker like Mahdawi, a model of civility, can be targeted by belligerent Zionists, and imprisoned by federal authorities without due process, it shows that to those executing this McCarthyite repression, there is no acceptable advocacy for Palestine. All pro-Palestine speech and action will be punished, and it has nothing to do with combating antisemitism.

Universities are being extorted by the authoritarian Trump regime, threatening to withhold millions in federal research grants unless they bend to their will. Attacking academic freedom and the independence of universities is straight out of the fascist playbook. Universities that have capitulated have agreed to turn over to MAGA government monitors decisions about what to teach and who to hire and fire. These government minders will enforce strict thought control, not all thoughts, mind you, but thought related to Israel and Palestine. Palestinian student visas have been revoked, Near East Study departments have been gutted, faculty who have been public in their support of Palestinian rights and opposition to genocide have been suspended, barred from campus, or dismissed. The overarching rationale for this repression is combating “antisemitism” and deporting international students falsely accused of being “Hamas-supporters.” In other words, universities are bending the knee to the far-right Zionist agenda to shut down criticism of Israel and advocacy for Palestinian humanity and liberation. There was a ray of light this week when Harvard University decided to stand firm against this governmental blackmail campaign. Harvard refused to abdicate its mission. They stand to lose over $2 billion in federal grants, which will set back life-saving medical research. But Harvard is the country’s oldest and wealthiest university (a $50 billion endowment), and can afford to pay the price of integrity. Hopefully, other targeted universities, though with smaller endowments and less maneuvering room, will band together and fight back against the government’s attempt to subjugate the nation’s institutions of higher learning. Those who do will preserve the critical values of academic freedom and maintain their independence. They will also do something rarer - cultivate open space for honest inquiry of the “signs of the times,” and kindle flickering hopes for a just and lasting peace in Palestine/Israel.