A public letter to Congressman Jared Golden" of Maine, USA who voted with 243 Legislators to sanction the ICC:
Your decision to vote in favor of sanctioning the International Criminal Court of Justice, (ICC) which had ordered Israel to take steps to prevent genocide in Gaza, was dismaying. This recent vote to sanction the ICC by Representatives of Congress erodes the ability of the high court to adhere to the principles of " International Humanitarian Law, whose purpose is the reduce suffering during war".
The legislators passed this so-called "illegitimate Court Counteraction act" by a vote of 243-140, mostly supported by 198 Republican legislators. The question is why you, "as our Representative, felt it necessary to join in support of a far-right regime in the Israeli Knesset, led by a man who is roundly d"isliked by most citizens of Israel.
The intent of the legislation was to sanction anyone who assists the ICC in its attempts"to prosecute a citizen of an allied country" (ie Israel). In this case, it involved posting arrest warrants for Benjamin Netanyahu and Yoav Gallant for their leadership in promoting genocide in Gaza.
Perhaps it would be to your benefit" to do some serious reading on the horrors taking place in Gaza, with 46,500 civilians having been killed, including 16,000 children, by Israel bombs, supplied by the U.S..
Several highly regarded Israeli historians have written about the plight of the Palestinians", which has now fallen upon extreme destitution, as most of their homes, hospitals and schools have been destroyed by a continual barrage of bombing. In addition, even many "temporary tents, inhabited by refugee families, have been bombed.
The Israeli military (IDF) is being urged on by the extremist leadership in the Knesset in a process of "ethnic cleansing". Israeli historians have taken note of this attempt to exterminate a population, "including such well-known historians as Avi Shlaim, an Oxford University scholar raised in Israel who served with the IDF; Shlomo Sand who teaches in Tel Aviv University and has written books including "The Invention of the Jewish People"; Ilan Pappe, an historian teaching at Reading University in the UK who has written "The Ethnic Cleansing of Palestine".
Rep Golden, it appears that you are making decisions based on a very limited understanding of the history of Palestine. Are you aware that 5-6 million acres were expropriated from 750,000 Palestinians in 1947, forcing them into homelessness, and into becoming refugees, many having no choice but to move to Gaza.
It is shameful that you take the part of a right -wing cabal, led by a man totally lacking in empathy, not only for the thousands of children being killed by the IDF bombing, but also, until recently, for his unwillingness to negotiate in good faith, for the release of Israeli "hostages.
(Note: You can view every article as one long page if you sign up as an Advocate Member, or higher).
