PETALUMA, CA (10-04) - An International Day of Action marking two years of unrelentless war and genocide in Gaza that has had the horrific effect of Israel being the "#1 cause of violent child death on Earth" was part of why anti-war and peace activists gathered in stopping the world today through direct action to recognize its responsibility to the people in Gaza.
Since the war's beginning an estimated 66,900 people have been killed and, according to an article published by Save The Children in September, of that number more than 20,000 were children. Additionally, another 42,000 children have sustained injuries, many of which are serious. Quoting the UN Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, the article estimated that another 21,000 children have been permanently disabled. And there are an innumerable number of children who remain buried under the rubble and presumed dead.
On average for the last two years, every forty minutes a Palestinian child is killed in Gaza. The protesters are conveying a message of solidarity that "Your rage is sacred. In our huddled masses, we will make our fury and power unavoidable. Be in community and let your rage be heard by the ruling class. We will not accept this as normal."
In the small Sonoma County town of Petaluma, best known for its poultry industry, a group of activists conducted their weekly informational protest as they have for decades, in saying: "We affirm that the United States, Canada, Europe, and Arab states bear full complicity in Zionism's crimes." Noting, too, US complicity in the genocide has cost taxpayers $17.9 billion in funding the Israeli military for 2024 alone. While gathered at a small pocket park on a busy boulevard, the activists held signs facing oncoming traffic and along the sidewalk while engaging in conversations with passersby as motorists sounded their horns in support of an end to the genocide in Gaza.
A visual they introduced to add impact to the situation in Gaza was a collection of empty pots and pans along with wooden spoons, symbolic of Israel's continuing rampant starvation of the population in the war-torn enclave.
On this International Day of Action activists globally continue in their demand for "an immediate end to Israel's ongoing siege on Gaza, in ending the deliberate starvation of civilians and the blocking of critical aid as the situation on the ground worsens everyday this global outrage is demanding freedom and justice for the Palestinian people." Some hope for an end to the war, however, is looming as Hamas considers the joint peace proposal introduced this week by the US and Israel. With its take-it-or-leave-it condition it remains to be seen if Hamas will accept it as presented or, most likely, engage in further negotiations that could result in a conclusion to the war or its continuation.
As a result of the unabated war, support for Israel has declined dramatically and in a survey of Americans that was conducted by the New York Times in September most respondents said that they no longer support the war. The change is so dramatic that the Times referred to it as a "seismic reversal" wherein many respondents also expressed their opinions that they were opposed to sending additional economic and military aid while six in ten agreed that "Israel should end its military campaign."
That distancing of support was recently exhibited in high profile at the UN when during the General Assembly delegates walked out to boycott Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin "Bibi" Netanyahu during his address leaving the room mostly empty. This, after 150 UN member nations have either voted for or affirmed their support for a Palestinian state. Netanyahu's speech along with his denial of Israel's illegal actions in Gaza went unheard by most of those who had earlier vacated the room.
While there is a glimmer of hope that the war can be ended soon, this being the Middle East, experience tells us that anything can happen as the two sides engage in negotiations.
Report and photos by Phil Pasquini
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