This Town Meeting Day, demand Apartheid Free
“We’re killing [Palestinians] like we haven’t since 1967”, proclaimed General Bluth, the Israel Defense Forces Central Command chief. The Israeli newspaper Haaretz reported the story: “the General expressed pride in the fact that he relaxed the rules of engagement for firing at Palestinians” in the West Bank. This mirrors Israel’s end to a 60 year moratorium on the death penalty–but it is expected to apply only to Palestinians, who can already be held indefinitely in administrative jails without trial. The UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination urged Israel to repeal the law, while Israeli politicians have worn noose pins to show support. Dr. Salman Khan, a Columbia University doctor, visited Gaza recently and noted Israel’s ongoing blockade of essential medications is leading to antibiotic resistant bacteria and countless preventable deaths. Rather than addressing this situation, Netanyahu has confirmed the Israeli government arms and funds militias within Gaza, adding: “What’s wrong with that?”
Were any of this happening in New Hampshire or another state, a vast majority would be outraged and condemning it however possible. As New Hampshire residents, we directly benefit from permissiveness toward Israel. The stock price of Elbit, an Israeli weapons developer with an active factory in New Hampshire, increased 400% since October 7th, 2023. This is not to mention the skyrocketing valuations for the massive American conglomerates that exchange surveillance technology and automated military equipment with Israel. How many of our institutions and retirement plans surged in part due to the ongoing massacres, war, and displacement carried out by Israel? Not to mention, our taxpayer dollars fund Israel, which has received more US aid than any other country. This May 12th, let’s go to Hanover Town Meeting Day and let the town, the state, the country, and the world know that we do not want this. We do not want to build our economy on human rights violations, discriminatory laws, indefinite detention, displacement, and the obliteration of international law in the name of ‘national security’. At a minimum, we demand an Apartheid Free Community to push for an end to this ongoing catastrophe (nakba).