The UN may be gearing up to place sanctions on Israel, as the International Court of Justice (ICJ) has ruled that the occupation is illegal (let alone deadly) and that Israel must exit Palestine, including Israeli settlements. How will the U.S. react to that? Meanwhile, China has brought the various Palestinian factions to the bargaining table so they now stand united. Can the U.S. handle a free Palestine, free of Israeli and American interference? Or will we continue to support Israel’s caging of Palestinians behind checkpoints, in military prisons, and within closed borders as well as their daily massacres in Gaza?

As the Pope indicated during the Christmas blockade and bombings, Israel is the terrorist. And frankly, America is too for funding the illegal occupation and Gaza genocide. Our behavior towards Palestine is not what the Founding Fathers had in mind when they declared all are created equal. By supporting Israeli aggression, we are straying dangerously away from our founding principles and George Washington’s admonishment to avoid foreign entanglements.

Genevieve Harris-Fraser

Orange