My letter to David Cameron. / Silence is not an option!

Dear David Cameron,

I am writing to you to find out what the UK government is doing about the situation in Gaza, and most importantly, what you are doing about Israel.

I was not only saddened today when I heard what the new Foreign secretary said, I was disgusted. He is clearly in the wrong job and needs to be replaced, as this is obviously too much for him. Saying the UN's vote for an investigation on Israel's war crimes is 'fundamentally unbalanced', and saying it would 'complicate the process by introducing unnecessary new mechanisms'. How dare this country tell someone else not to fight for and seek justice; especially when this country is partly to blame for this mess, due to its once former empire!

As we get ready to remember the 100th anniversary of the Great War, let us not forget the 'Balfour declaration' (letter), and why it is written. We didn't have the right to give away someone else's land, especially in the name of religion; as there are lots of Jewish people who don't support Israel because according to the Torah they were forbidden by God to have a homeland. They will get their homeland when their Messiah returns and gives it to them.

This government complains about Muslim extremists and says the Muslim community needs to do more to tackle the problem, then you have your foreign secretary make statements that clearly shows favouritism towards Israel, and makes people believe that you support Israel's aggression and mass murder. This type of thing will undo all the good and hard work of the Muslim community, trying to prevent extremism in the UK. Your very actions are helping the extremists radicalise more of the Muslim youth, which no one wants.

By showing any type of bias and favouritism towards Israel, you are saying you approve of their actions. To me and many other people, you are saying you support what Israel is doing, which includes the theft of Palestinian land and homes, the 'collective punishment' and their mass murder, to name just a few of the crimes that Israel is committing against the Palestinian people.

You come across as total hypocrites, especially when you compare your response to Russia and the current situation regarding the plane that was shot down. Especially when some people remember the time when the USA shot down an Iranian civilian airliner, over Iranian airspace, resulting in killing all 290 on board, including 66 children, and then refused to apologise for it. Did the UK call for all sorts of sanctions against the USA then?

I can fully understand that the UK is in a difficult position, especially when everyone considers Hamas a terrorist organisation, but they were democratically elected by the people of Gaza. When Israel says they are the smallest and only democracy in the Middle East, they are wrong (and lying, yet again), because that title would go to Gaza. You cannot assassinate democratically elected people, just because you don't like them or their beliefs, especially if you are calling yourself a fair democracy. Israel has to communicate and talk to Hamas, as Gaza elected them, this is something the UK government should know, due to its own problems in Northern Ireland and the IRA. Change can only happen through dialogue.

Some MP's have been repeating the Israeli lies, saying they are only defending themselves and, Israel has the right to defend itself! We the public (well a lot of us), are not stupid, we are aware of the propaganda and lies and we refuse to listen to them, as we can see what they are. What Israel is doing can not be called 'defending itself'! The Iron dome is defending Israel; in reality Israel is 'attacking' Gaza because it is Gaza who is trying to defend itself against Israel. Gaza has had to put up with Israeli air strikes since April, the IDF also killed two Palestinian teenagers who were just walking in the street, this was captured on video, then the three Israeli teenagers were killed, but Israel lied about that and claimed they had been kidnapped when they knew the boys had been killed, but that didn't stop Israel from lying to the world, and in response to the three Israeli teenagers who Israel said had been kidnapped, they used this as an excuse to arrest hundreds of Palestinians, beat them up and torture them, smash up people homes, pretending to look for three kidnapped Israeli's, they rearrested prisoners who had been released, they killed several more Palestinians, and this was before Gaza started firing any rockets into Israel. Then a young Palestinian boy got kidnapped beaten and burnt to death, by Jewish extremists; so just how is Israel defending itself?

The other part to this story is; Israel claimed they had two suspects wanted in connection with the three Israeli teenagers, and due to their policy of 'collective punishment', they blow up the homes of the families of the two suspects, even though they hadn't been charged or convicted on any crime. What type of justice is 'collective punishment'? Also, the three Israeli teenagers who were sadly murdered, were killed in the Israeli controlled part of Palestine/Israel, so it was down to Israel to make sure the area was safe, it wasn't even the responsibility of the Palestinian authority. There are far too many unanswered questions about those murders, most people would ask, why an earth would they be hitchhiking, but it is common in that part of Israel, and the boys would of known the rules, they would never of risked getting into a car with non Jewish people.

Under international law Gaza is still occupied by Israel, even though in 2005 they moved 8,000 settlers out, and moved 14,000 more settlers into the West Bank. Israel still controls Gaza's borders (along with Egypt). Israel also controls Gaza's coast, airspace, water supply (which is unfit for human consumption), they control Gaza's electricity supply (which it regularly cuts off), and they control Gaza's imports, exports and even their food calorie intake. Israel charges tax on anything that it does let into Gaza, and they don't allow all the aid to get in, this is inhumane, and it is unacceptable.

It is very wrong of this government to show any sort of support towards Israel and its actions. Israel has broken 77 UN resolutions, and sadly this country still shows support towards Israel. Saddam Hussein broke just 2 UN resolutions and this country went to war and has helped in destroying Iraq.

Did you see the protests in London and all over the UK and not forgetting the world. People have had enough of Israel's aggression and abuse of power. These demonstrations have so far been peaceful (thankfully), but this anger people have will soon turn to rage and even hate, and this government supporting Israel will only add more fuel to the fire, and it won't be long before the peaceful protests start turning into riots. We the people have had enough of witnessing these barbaric crimes. When you have the foreign secretary telling the Palestinian people not to seek justice, it makes the public angry. Any form of injustice, abuse of power or corruption, or even war crimes, must be investigated and justice must happen. This country should be doing all it can to support justice.

Every life is important and precious, no matter what your religion. Not one innocent life should be taken or harmed, and to describe someone as 'collateral damage' is beyond offensive, it is an obscene thing to say. Israel pays students to spread their propaganda online and attack anyone trying to raise awareness of these crimes, but who do the Palestinians have helping them? Who is there for the people of Gaza, it clearly isn't this government by your actions so far. All those innocent victims who have been murdered by Israel, they have lost their voices, and all the victims who are currently suffering, their voices are not being heard even though they are crying out for help, and some are screaming out for our help! We, the people, have a moral duty to give them a voice, to show them they matter and their lives are important. We will get judged on what is happening out there because we are witnesses to these barbaric crimes; remaining silent is not an option!

You cannot say Israel is not targeting innocent civilians, because they obviously are, why else would they murder 4 young boys playing football on a beach? Why would they blow up a block of flats killing dozens of people, when they were only after one person? Why would they bomb a café, killing people who were watching the world cup? Why would they bomb hospitals and ambulances? Why did they drop gas bombs on these civilians? Why did they use white phosphorus gas on them, which is illegal under international law if it is used on civilians. I could go on and on and on, but in the end, it is obvious why they are doing all the above, because they want to kill as many people as they possibly can; because this is 'collective punishment', and these people are being punished because they are resisting and standing up to Israel! Collective punishment is sick and disgusting.

I, as a British citizen (subject), want to know, what this government is doing about this continuing abuse of power being committed by Israel. Please don't say you are 'strongly' talking to them, because that clearly isn't working. This country needs you to publicly say that Israel's actions are unjust, wrong and this country does not support it in any way what so ever! You also need to show that you mean this by showing some sort of support towards the Palestinian people who are suffering from these crimes; like encouraging them to seek justice and (or) helping them become an independent state. This country needs to clean up its own mess, as this has been going on since the end of the second world war, and it is wrong and needs to be stopped! It goes against everything that is British and everything that Great Britain stands for. 

Thank you for taking the time to read my letter.

Yours sincerely,

LISA LEE DARK.

A moral duty and a voice!

There are so many truly horrible images coming out of Gaza, but every now and then, there are these simple little images that affect you the most. For me, this is one of them. This image made me cry. What has this beautiful innocent little boy done to deserve to be killed? Why does Israel see him as a threat, is Israel now safer because he is dead? Who did he hurt? Why is Israel saying it is defending itself from him, what possible damage could he have done. Look at him with his little Mickey Mouse t-shirt on, the way his legs are, this could be a baby from any part of the world, any western country. His precious innocent little life has been taken. He wasn't given a chance, his voice has been taken away from him!

This is how we help. It feels wrong to put pictures of dead children or other victims, it feels like you are being disrespectful; but sadly we have to use these images to show the world the injustice, to hopefully bring them justice! We may not of known them when they were alive, but we experience and mourn them through their death.

Their voices have been taken away and we have a moral duty to help them get justice and show them and the rest of the world, they do matter, their life was important, they are human and they are loved! Sadly the only way we are able to help them, is by sharing their death! And by giving them our voices! Israel may have silenced them, but they can't silence us, and we must shout for them, protest in any way we can, try to show the world what is going on, and even make our governments do something, to show they represent us. Never be quiet while this is going on, and never be put off by any bullying or aggression you come across. Stand up for the innocent victims and give them the voice they need, and deserve!

Collective punishment gone mad!

This little Palestinian boy from Gaza, just lost his father. He doesn't care about politics, land or religion; he doesn't understand greed, corruption or murder. He just wants his daddy back!

So far, the deaths is Gaza are 176. On Tuesday there were 24 deaths. Wednesday there were 37 deaths. Thursday there were 24 deaths. Friday there were 27 deaths. Saturday there were 52 deaths, and so far on Sunday, there have been 12 deaths in Gaza. This is collective punishment gone mad, it must stop, it has to stop! This treatment of people is inhumane! Here is a link to see all the names and ages of the dead.  http://imemc.org/article/68429

When will the suffering end?

I write this post for Mohammed Abu Khdeir! He was the teenager who was kidnapped, beaten and burnt to death in Israel; a revenge attack for the killing of the three Israeli boys. My heart breaks when I think how much Mohammed must of suffered. I saw the pictures of his dead body, and they were shocking! How can someone do this to another person. He must of been so terrified, and he would of died in agony. He was beaten, covered in petrol, he even had petrol poured down his throat, then he was set alight! There are no words to describe this act! Just look how small he was, he was tiny!

People need to come together to give a bigger voice to the peace makers, it seems that it is always the extremists who are getting heard, we need to stop this and let the people of peace be heard. All these brutal acts, are not in the name of God! No religion is behind them! The hero's are not the fighters, the real hero's are the peacemakers, and the people who work hard to get peace, and the people who help others in need. Everyone who thinks there is glory in war and fighting, you are wrong! Very wrong. Wars only bring death, destruction, misery and more suffering, it is not the way to peace. The same can be said about revenge; in the end, it just becomes an endless cycle of killing and destruction. The way to peace is through, coming together and forgiveness!

I pray for Mohammed, may that beautiful boy rest in peace, away from all the crap of constant fighting. Quite often the problem with politics, is the politicians! R.I.P Mohammed Abu Khdeir!

Every life is precious! I pray for an end to the killings!
 

Eyal, Gilad and Naftali

Growing up I always supported Israel, believing in them, and believing that all Muslims were crazy. Then I spent time getting to understand Islam, and I spent time getting to know some Muslims, and I discovered that they were nice, kind, generous people.

Then Israel went into Gaza and I saw all the terrible pictures of the innocent children getting hurt, and that made me become angry and very critical of Israel and Jewish people. Even though I always kept telling myself that there is good and bad, and right and wrong on both sides; I only seemed to focus on the negative side of Israel. Which was wrong of me, and for that I apologise. I had stopped listening to the people of Israel. I just saw things as black and white, even though I know from my own life, things never are black or white.

In my defense, I did try to speak to Jewish people but I found them unwilling to chat, they'd just say what they wanted to say and that's it, I found them closed off and I believe that can be part of the problem; although to be fair and in their defense, I am sure they have most likely been criticized and attacked by so many people, they just put walls up to keep you out.

I did have one Israeli man who chatted with me and befriend me, but he had very strong opinions to which I found shocking, even a bit upsetting. His name was Moti and although he could be a pain, he was very knowledgeable and when he wasn't insulting me for taking an interest in Islam, he was a very nice person who I grew to like! I enjoyed our discussions, he really pushed and tested me on my own knowledge about things. In the end I had to block Moti, because I was going through a stressful time and I found him too hard to deal with; plus I was only listening to one side of the Israel/Palestine argument/discussion; which was very wrong of me! I have even recently found myself missing Moti and his comments. Even though his beliefs were strong and sometimes shocking to me, he was willing to be open and talk about things.

The main thing that has opened my eyes and ears is the terrible event with the kidnapping and murder of the three young Israeli Jewish boys. Eyal Yifrah, Naftali Frankel and Gilad Shaer were three beautiful young men/boys! Who had their whole lives ahead of them; what happened to them was shameful, disgusting and wrong!

When I first heard that they'd been kidnapped I didn't pay too much attention. I believed that Israel was this strong country with a huge invincible army, so I believed these boys will be found in no time. Then when I heard that the boys had been killed, my heart sank. I realised that Israel and the Jewish people were just as vulnerable as the rest of us.

I found myself wanting to send my condolences and offer my prayers for the boys, their family and friends, and the people of Israel; so I went to the groups of people I'd been listening to and I was completely shocked and saddened by what I was reading and seeing. All these people were saying such vile, nasty, horrible things; I then found myself defending the boys and Israel and Jewish people! I realised that these people who I'd been listening to, weren't kind, caring peaceful people, they were anti-peace, anti-Israel and anti-Jewish. Then it hit me; I remembered Moti and his Pro-Israel strong views, maybe his views weren't as strong as I thought? The people I was listening to weren't just Pro-Palestine, they were the opposite end of Moti and their views were just as strong as Moti', but they weren't just Pro-Palestine, they were antisemitic   and I felt ashamed of myself. I had been listening and repeating some of their hate. How could I say I wanted peace, when I was becoming a hypocrite.

When ever I saw a dead or hurt Palestinian, I would get upset thinking this is wrong, this is so cruel and sometimes, this is such a waste of a beautiful life; and when I saw the three Israeli boys, I felt the same feelings, thinking this is so very wrong and so sad. Eyal, Gilad and Naftali were human beings, they were their mothers babies, they were cherished and loved by people. Their deaths were just as sad and shocking as the Palestinians deaths; all life is precious!

From all the hate I was reading, I started seeing things from the point of view of Israeli's. How do you think it looks to them if you show no compassion for one of their losses? They think you are uncaring, brutal, non peaceful and full of hate. If you want Israeli Jewish people to listen to you, then you have to show them that you are kind, caring, generous, peace loving/wanting; and prove that you don't take pleasure in hurting other people, and you don't want to harm all of them!

Hate is a seed that we plant, in ourselves and others; it has the ability to grow and spread but only if it is being watered. We must treat hate like a weed and pull it out by the root, before it spreads through us like a cancer.

When it came to light that the three Israeli boys had been killed, what we should of done was come together and show compassion, respect and love. Do not make the mistake of thinking Israel and the Israeli people are all bad; there is right and wrong, good and bad on both sides, no one is completely innocent or completely guilty. For peace to come, there must be forgiveness, if you want peace, you have to see the good in others and the wrong in yourselves.

The tragedy of life is not death, but what we let die inside of us while we are alive, don't let the hate consume you because it will kill you from the inside! In every shadow there is light. In every tear there is a smile; in every hurting heart, there is hope. In death, there is still life, for a person is only really dead if they are forgotten.

I offer my condolences to the family and friends of Eyal, Gilad and Naftali, and to Israel and all the Jewish people who mourn their loss.  R.I.P  Eyal Yifrah, Naftali Frankel and Gilad Shaer.