Here are two ways to make peace happen in Gaza. To expect major results we need big changes.Boycott Israel: In July 2005 a huge coalition of Palestinian groups published their plan, Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions--or BDS for short. Naomi Klein, in The Nation, explains the campaign and how it works in the article "Israel: Boycott, Divest, Sanction." Boycotts can be controversial, so she also lays out objections to the BDS campaign and addresses them one by one. It is long past time, she says, to apply the same pressures to Israel that brought about justice in South Africa. Her article [linked above] is well worth a look.
Stop U.S. Aid: President George W. Bush's administration alone provided over $21 billion dollars in U.S. security aid, including $19 billion in direct military aid as freebies.
"Israel's intervention in the Gaza Strip has been fueled largely by U.S. supplied weapons paid for with U.S. tax dollars," says the New America Foundation. That much assistance should purchase considerable influence to dissuade Israel from its pattern of claiming self-defense while perpetrating human rights abuses.
Make no mistake about it-Israel's war and siege on the Gaza Strip would not be possible without the jets, helicopters, ships, missiles, and fuel provided by the United States. Pro-Gaza forces in the U.S. must ramp up political pressure to bring justice onto the bargaining table.
This war is stop-able. The future will be changed for the better. The plan is in place. We just need to get to work.
