I am devastated by the killings in Palestine. War will never be in the interest of the poor and working class. I do not condone any attacks on non-combatants, and I mourn all the lives lost.
But the war over Palestine did not begin this week. It has been engulfing the region for 75 years.
For 75 years, the Palestinian people have been expelled from their land and driven from their villages. Their homes have been destroyed. Palestinians have not been able to return to their homes, and “settlements” take over more and more of their land, in violation of international human rights law.
This is what is called settler colonialism. It is a system of justification, rationalization, demonization, and dehumanization to fuel the theft of land and subjugation of a people.
The state of Israel did not invent settler colonialism. They are following a blueprint with the support of those who invented it and perfected it–the United Kingdom and then the United States.
In the first 6 days of bombing alone, the Israeli government stated they dropped more than 6,000 bombs on Gaza, a city of 2 million people, about half of whom are children. That is more than the U.S. dropped on Afghanistan in a year. Israeli forces have killed more than 1,000 Palestinian children in Gaza since October 7th, and yesterday, they bombed a hospital.
Over one million people had been displaced already. The equivalent of the population of Allegheny County has been displaced by relentless bombing in the past 10 days.
I have said all along that we must work toward housing for all, and I meant all. From Pittsburgh to Palestine and Israel, all people deserve housing, clean air and water, the ability to make ends meet, life, and a government that works toward the health and safety of all.
My campaign is about building a better world. I do not believe our world is better off without the people of Palestine. Collective punishment of an entire people is never justified.
No people will ever find lasting safety through the subjugation of another. Safety will only come through solidarity with each other.
There must be an immediate ceasefire, and an end to the escalating genocide against the people of Palestine.