My Letter to Secretary Tony Blinken

My letter to US Secretary of State Blinken (it’s easy to do online)

Antony J. Blinken, speaks during his confirmation hearing to be Secretary of State before the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee at the US Capitol in Washington, DC on January 19, 2021. (Photo by Alex Edelman / POOL / AFP) (Photo by ALEX EDELMAN/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)

Dear Secretary Blinken,

Predictably, everything remains the same.

The U.S. confirms that Israel has a “right to defend itself” while that country is engaged in a preemptive military campaign in Gaza. https://www.reuters.com/…/us-says-it-supports-israels…/ And then you predictably urge the parties to “avoid further escalation” while our country provides Israel the military arsenal to use against 2 million Palestinians locked in the Gaza Strip with nowhere to flee for safety.

Israelis living in towns near the border with Gaza are offered free vacations abroad to Cyprus, Greece or Bulgaria during this “difficult time” while airstrikes killed five Palestinian children in the Jabaliya refugee camp in Gaza. https://ussanews.com/…/israeli-airline-offers-free…/

I want you to see the grotesque imbalance of power. The U.S. is aiding and abetting this slaughter. Your predictable words are absurd and a callous disregard to the reality on the ground.

I urge you to (1) comply with the requirements of the Leahy Act which forbid the U.S. from giving military financial assistance to countries suspected of human rights abuses, (2) urge an independent investigation of the killing of the Palestinian-American journalist Shireen Abu Akleh, and (3) end your predictable one-sided statements attempting to cleanse Israel’s actions from international scrutiny and scorn.