Books, food , medicines, not bombs - 6.13.2026

I applaud PBS NewsHour for showing the heartbreaking images of Palestinian children carrying their books to open-air schools amid the rubble of buildings that once were their classrooms. Even after unimaginable loss, these children continue to seek knowledge, hope, and a future.

The destruction of schools, hospitals, homes, and civilian infrastructure is a moral catastrophe. Children are the most precious gift from God, yet countless Palestinian children have been forced to study among ruins, endure hunger, displacement, and the constant fear of violence.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his far-right government bear significant responsibility for policies and military actions that have brought immense suffering to Gaza. Many people also believe that continued military, financial, and diplomatic support from the United States and European nations has made them complicit in these tragic events.

The horrors unfolding before the world's eyes should compel all of us to speak out. History teaches the danger of remaining silent when human beings are stripped of their dignity and basic rights. We must demand an immediate ceasefire, unrestricted humanitarian aid, the protection of civilians, and a just and lasting peace for Palestinians and Israelis alike.

Children need books, schools, safety, and hope—not war. Our collective silence is not an option.

Epstein's shadow lingers over Washington and the powerful - 6.13.2026

Maureen Dowd's column reminds us that the Jeffrey Epstein scandal continues to haunt American politics and public life. The real issue is larger than one man. It is about wealth, privilege, influence, and whether justice applies equally to everyone.

Americans deserve complete transparency. Any individual connected to Epstein's criminal network, regardless of political party, social status, or financial power, must be fully investigated. The public has lost confidence because too many questions remain unanswered and too many powerful people appear insulated from scrutiny.

Democracy depends on accountability. When the rich and influential seem to operate under a different set of rules, trust in government, law enforcement, and public institutions erodes. The victims deserve truth, justice, and closure. The American people deserve the same.

This should not be a partisan issue. Republicans, Democrats, and Independents should unite in demanding the full release of relevant records, vigorous investigations, and equal justice under the law. No one should be above the law, and no victim should be forgotten.

The LEFT is right, the RIGHT is wrong - 6.13.2026

If there is one issue that should unite Americans, it is the struggle of ordinary people to afford housing, food, health care, education, and a secure retirement. For too long, working families have watched costs soar while wealth becomes increasingly concentrated in the hands of a few.

The political left has long argued that government should protect workers, strengthen social programs, invest in affordable housing, ensure access to health care, and make the economy work for everyone—not just the wealthy and well-connected. These ideas are not radical; they are practical responses to the daily hardships facing millions of Americans.

Meanwhile, policies that prioritize tax breaks for the richest individuals and corporations while cutting programs that help ordinary citizens have widened inequality and deepened economic insecurity.

The real measure of a society is not how many billionaires it creates, but how it treats its most vulnerable people. An economy that leaves millions struggling while a few accumulate unimaginable wealth is neither sustainable nor just.

Affordability, fairness, and economic security are not partisan goals. They are American goals. The party that champions them most effectively will earn the support of voters looking for real solutions.

Mr. Musk, True wealth is lifting the poor - 6.12.2026

Elon Musk may soon become the world's first trillionaire as SpaceX goes public. If so, he will have a once-in-human-history opportunity to transform the lives of millions living in desperate poverty.

Mr. Musk has demonstrated extraordinary intelligence, vision, and determination. Yet the ultimate measure of a life is not the wealth accumulated but the suffering relieved. Between the bookends of birth and death, our common Creator judges us not by our bank accounts but by how we treat the least among us.

Jesus repeatedly taught that caring for the poor, the hungry, the sick, and the marginalized is among humanity's highest responsibilities. Wealth can build monuments to ego, or it can become a force for compassion and human dignity.

At a time when billions struggle for food, clean water, healthcare, education, and shelter, Mr. Musk has a unique opportunity to leave a legacy far greater than rockets, satellites, or financial records. He can help lift God's poorest children from despair to hope.

History remembers not only what we achieved, but whom we helped. That is the wealth that endures.

Demand immediate release of Dr. Hussam Abu - 6.12.2026

The reported appearance of detained Palestinian physician Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya in court showing signs of brutal torture should alarm every person who values human dignity and justice. Physicians dedicate their lives to healing the sick and caring for the vulnerable. No person—especially a doctor, humanitarian worker, or civilian—should ever be subjected to torture, abuse, or degrading treatment.

As Americans, we must ask why our tax dollars continue to support policies that many believe contribute to suffering, destruction, and violations of human rights in Gaza, the West Bank, and Lebanon. Our nation should stand firmly for the equal worth of every human being, regardless of nationality, religion, or ethnicity.

I urge Americans to contact the White House, their Senators, Representatives, and the Israeli Embassy and demand an independent investigation into the treatment of detainees, the immediate protection of all medical personnel, an immediate cease-fire in Gaza, support for efforts to maintain and strengthen the cease-fire in Lebanon, and a renewed commitment to peace, human rights, and the rule of law. Efforts by President Trump and others to prevent a wider regional war and preserve the Lebanon cease-fire should be strengthened and expanded.

The moral test of a society is how it treats the powerless. Justice requires accountability, compassion, and respect for the dignity of all people. Dr. Abu Safiya deserves due process, humane treatment, and, if no lawful basis exists for his detention, immediate release.

Israeli Embassy, Washington, D.C.: (202) 364-5500; consular@washington.mfa.gov.il.

White House Contact Form: White House Contact Page

U.S. Capitol Switchboard (Senate and House): (202) 224-3121. Ask to be connected to your Senators, Representative, Senate Majority Leader, Senate Minority Leader, Speaker of the House, or House Minority Leader.

Lords Debate on the King’s Speech on Defence and Foreign Affairs - 6.12.2026

 A unifying message given by my brother—Lord Singh of Wimbledon (a life peer in the UK House of Lords).

Lords Debate on the King’s Speech on Defence and Foreign Affairs

The folly of dividing the World up into Friends and Enemies

Lord Singh of Wimbledon

My Lords, I speak from a Sikh perspective on common concerns for peace and justice in our strife-torn world of today. The poet reminds us that rivers and mountains interpose to make one people implacable foes. It is not only geography that divides our one human family but human greed, prejudice and bigotry, including religious bigotry.

Seeing ourselves as superior and others as lesser beings has been a source of conflict throughout history. In 1937, in a speech justifying the proposed uprooting of Palestinians to create a Jewish state, Winston Churchill said:

“I do not admit … that a great wrong has been done to the Red Indians of America or the black people of Australia. I do not admit that a wrong has been done to these people by the fact that a stronger race, a higher-grade race, a more worldl- wise race … has come in and taken their place”.

Rivalry between the “higher-grade” races resulted in the horror of the First and Second World Wars, atrocities against the Jews and the incineration of hundreds of thousands in Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

The suffering and devastation of war shocked world leaders into a new realism and a common desire to work for a more peaceful world. Victor nations agreed that the only way forward to lasting peace would be a recognition of the equal rights of all members of our one human family—imperatives for peace and justice first put forward by the Sikh Gurus more than two centuries earlier.

Jesus Christ wisely warned that the sword should not be used automatically to resolve difference, but today politicians and retired generals constantly call on the need for bigger and better weapons to defend ourselves against those we call our enemies. We show righteous indignation when those who are not our friends abuse human rights, but we show less concern when a friendly country fires on innocent children and aid workers in Gaza, and at the threats by an eccentric friend and ally to obliterate all life in Iran. Powerful nations exploit smaller nations’ conflicts by selling arms to impoverished people in places such as the Middle East, or by direct involvement in conflict in Iraq, Syria and Afghanistan. India buys oil from Russia to help fund Russian aggression against Ukraine. Unbelievably, Russia sells arms to Pakistan for use against India.

In a speech in this House a year or so ago, the noble Lord, Lord Robertson, a former Defence Minister, made clear what politicians mean by defence. He spoke about countries such as China and Russia threatening the existing world order. He was right: they too are also trying to acquire crude political and economic power. However, the briefest glimpse at world history shows that the existing world order is built on racism, slavery and gross economic exploitation. Conflict is inevitable in a world built on such insecure foundations.

What do we need to do to make it a fairer world? Religious teachings were meant to provide the answer, but today rivalry between different religions and absurd claims of exclusive and favoured relationships with the one God of us all has made the distortion of true religion a major cause of conflict and suffering. Guru Nanak was a witness to such bigotry in India some 500 years ago. The Guru, like Jesus Christ in the parable of the good Samaritan, openly challenged this irreligious view of religion. He taught that the one God of us all is not the least bit interested in our different religious labels, but in what we do to create a fairer and more peaceful world.

At the same time, Guru Nanak recognised and highlighted the ethical commonalities between our different faiths. Our holy book contains writings of not only the Sikh gurus but parallel ethical perspectives from Hindu and Muslim saints. I believe that this approach of looking to the good in others and building on common values and interests is the only way to lasting peace and justice.

Today, we are in a smaller, interdependent world. Our destinies are inextricably entwined, and we face common environmental and other challenges. We have to realise now that there is no “us” and “them”; there is only “us”. We all have a common responsibility to change old-fashioned mindsets about exclusive and superior religions, and the belief that force is the only way to conflict resolution.

Amnesty International accuses Israel of horrific ethnic cleansing - 6.11.2026

Amnesty International’s accusation of horrific ethnic cleansing in the West Bank should alarm every person who values human rights and international law. Reports of forced displacement, expanding settlements, home demolitions, and violence against Palestinian communities raise profound moral and legal questions that cannot be ignored.

Many Americans, especially younger generations, are increasingly expressing anger and frustration over U.S. policy toward Israel and the ongoing suffering of Palestinians. Gen Z, in particular, is demanding accountability, transparency, and a foreign policy grounded in human rights rather than political expediency.

The perception that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu exerts excessive influence over U.S. policy is fueling public distrust and deepening divisions at home. America’s foreign policy should reflect American values and interests, not the agenda of any foreign leader.

The international community must insist on independent investigations, protection of civilians, unrestricted humanitarian access, and a genuine commitment to a just and lasting peace. Silence in the face of suffering only enables further injustice. History will judge not only those who commit abuses, but also those who look away.