It’s not surprising the current conflict between Israel and Palestinians – Gaza is ground zero of this conflict for now – is generating antisemitism and Islamophobia across the world, including here in the U.S. Both should be challenged.

We lost 60,000 plus Americans in Vietnam over nearly a 10 year period; in Gaza 10,000 plus have died in less than a month. The pause, announced yesterday, will give the people of Gaza a little breathing space, but not much. What they desire is a permanent ceasefire that holds and a Palestinian state that is viable.

Yesterday I wrote on fb that the “pause” was a fig leaf at best. I’m afraid I was right. Last night the Washington Post in a harrowing story reported that another hospital was bombed in Gaza. According to the Post, Israeli spokespeople claim that Hamas has a tunnel beneath it. Thus it’s fair game, notwithstanding unavoidable collateral damage. This horrific episode reminds me of the US general in Vietnam who said to justify the bombing of a village there, “We had to destroy the village in order to save it.”

The pause in fighting by the Israeli army in Gaza is a joke. Yesterday you barely had time to burp before the Israeli bombing resumed. Now we know that a pause is a different species than a ceasefire. It strikes me as a ruse.

What Hamas did on October 7 has no justification, including the taking of innocent hostages. In demanding their release though we should bear in mind that 14,500 Palestinians languish in Israeli prisons – some of whom have never been formally charged with any crime.