The BDN Opinion part operates independently and doesn’t set information insurance policies or contribute to reporting or enhancing articles elsewhere within the newspaper or on bangordailynews.com
Abigail Fuller is chair of Maine Voices for Palestinian Rights and a member of the Maine Coalition for Palestine. She teaches sociology on the College of Southern Maine.
On the day that Sen. Collins and Sen. King voted for a invoice giving $14 billion extra to Israel’s army, I opened my Twitter account to a photograph of three lifeless Palestinian kids, killed by Israel. There it was: the tax {dollars} that I pay to our authorities might be despatched by my congressional delegation to Israel, used to purchase U.S.-made weapons, killing kids.
What if that cash stayed right here in Maine? Every year, the U.S. provides $3.8 billion to Israel. Maine’s share — practically $11.7 million — may present 1,387 households with housing subsidies; present free or low-cost childcare to 4,060 kids; rent 127 elementary college lecturers; or present 33,224 households with photo voltaic electrical energy produced for a yr, in line with the US Marketing campaign for Palestinian Rights.
As an alternative, our tax {dollars} purchase weapons which have killed greater than 30,000 folks to date in Gaza: For instance, Israeli pilots fly F-35 warplanes made by Lockheed Martin in Fort Price, Texas, powered by engines manufactured in North Berwick, Maine by Pratt & Whitney, that drop MK-80 bombs made by Basic Dynamics in Garland, Texas, and outfitted with steerage programs produced in a Boeing manufacturing unit in St. Louis.
Those self same tax {dollars} line the pockets of the highest executives of those protection contractors: James Taiclet of Lockheed Martin, who made $18.1 million in 2022; David Calhoun of Boeing, $21.1 million; Gregory Hayes of Raytheon, $21.8 million; Phebe Novakovic of Basic Dynamics, $23.5 million; and Kathy Warden of Northrop Grumman, $19.9 million, in line with Forbes.
If we do ship army support to different nations, we now have a duty to make sure it’s not used to violate human rights. Congress handed the Leahy Legislation to forestall this. But whereas safety forces in different nations are vetted earlier than receiving army support, for Israel the cash is usually supplied first. Main worldwide human rights organizations ( Amnesty Worldwide, Human Rights Watch) have concluded, based mostly on cautious investigations, that the Israeli army commits human rights violations. Extremely, even the State Division acknowledges this.
However Israel has by no means been present in violation of the Leahy Legislation. Any allegations of human rights violations are stymied within the State Division, the place it’s taboo to counsel chopping off support to Israel, in line with Josh Paul, who lately give up a State Division place overseeing arms gross sales in protest over U.S. support to Israel.
In a very chilling story, the nongovernmental group Protection for Youngsters Worldwide Palestine knowledgeable the State Division of the alleged rape of a 13-year-old boy in an Israeli jail. Based on Vox, Paul mentioned this was “introduced into the Leahy discussion board, was reviewed, was regarded as probably credible, and was referred to the federal government of Israel.” The next day, Israel declared DCI a terrorist group, raided its places of work, and destroyed its computer systems, Vox reported.
Apparently, Israel does what it needs, with no penalties. Yr after yr, U.S. officers categorical concern in regards to the actions of the Israeli army and promise that incidents just like the capturing of Palestinian-American journalist Shireen Abu Akleh are “being investigated.” But the U.S. authorities has by no means reduce off support to Israel, and, in December, President Joe Biden has mentioned that he has no plans to take action.
Is that this holding Israel to the next customary than different nations? What about Hamas’s assault on Oct. 7? Or the Chinese language persecution of the Uyghurs? My tax {dollars} don’t go to Hamas or to China: they go to Israel. I consider Israel is committing genocide in Gaza. (For those who object to that label, then name it one thing else: it nonetheless means one out of each 100 Gazans has died, greater than 40 % of them kids). If I don’t converse out towards this, then I’m complicit.
