Yemen 12-14-2017

14, December 2017                               Yemen

               The news from war-torn Yemen gets grimmer by the day. 

The US- UK-France coalition supporting the Saudi-led bombing campaign has devastated Yemen’s health, water and sanitation systems and has sparked a massive cholera epidemic. The Saudi-imposed naval blockade assisted by the US Navy has prevented critical food, water, medicine and aid from reaching civilians. The United Nations has warned that over 8 million people are “a step away from famine.” It is tragic that not a single US lawmaker has expressed concern for the war crimes being committed.

Aid agencies still don’t have full access to port Hudaydah, which is the main access port for the most densely populated part of Yemen.

The food is coming by land or from distant ports which is driving up food prices out of reach for most Yeminis.

The situation is extremely dire. The number of people on the brink of famine has reached more than 8 million. Children are starving to death across the country even in the coalition-controlled territory. 27 million people are being strangulated by the coalition enforced blockade.

The disease is rampant. Almost one million have succumbed to cholera and diphtheria.

It is outrageous that our tax dollars are being used to conduct this immoral war. The US is fully complicit in serious war crimes being committed. I urge concerned readers to contact their representatives and President Trump to call for an immediate halt to military aid to Saudi Arabia and demand lifting the naval blockade.

Jerusalem 12-11-2017

11, December 2017                                Jerusalem

Mr. Trump’s impetuous declaration recognizing Jerusalem as Israel’s capital is a monumental mistake. He falsely claimed that this would advance the peace process ignoring universal opposition to such a move and the ongoing violence.

This has little to do with the peace process but has everything to do with fulfilling a campaign promise to his ardent supporters. Furthermore, he has exposed all Americans to extreme danger especially those on overseas assignments. 

Using the same twisted logic, perhaps Trump should cede Crimea and Ukraine to the Russian Federation recognizing the “realties of conquest.”

The declaration comes at a time when Palestinians in East Jerusalem remain under brutal Israeli occupation against rampant home demolitions, arbitrary arrests and detentions, and revocation of residency rights. Meanwhile illegal settlements continue to gobble up more and more Palestinian land. The announcement also comes after more than two decades of failed so-called peace talks and 22 years of unconditional US congressional support for the recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital. Glaringly omitted from Trump’s proclamation were the legitimate Palestinians’ claims to Jerusalem.