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The Times Argus, January 16, 2003

No good deed goes unpunished

By James Brooks

Making sure that no good deed goes unpunished, Bob Piccard of Moretown wrote to disparage Mark Hage’s excellent letter (“Civilians are Being Killed in Palestine,” Dec. 31), describing a few of the tragedies that occur daily in occupied Palestine.

Mr. Piccard writes, “it is difficult to understand Mr. Hage’s outrage at the deaths of Palestinian civilians.” If we do not feel outrage at the deaths of innocent civilians, what are we? The kind of people would pour billions of dollars a year into the illegal military and civilian occupation of a nearly defenseless country?

Americans are fond of saying that you can’t tell who started what in the Middle East, but it only reveals our ignorance of the region’s history. Occupation is an act of war. Israel has occupied all that’s left of Palestine since 1967. No country can justify 35 years of war against their neighbor. And no country can justify backing such brutality, not even the United States. The entire world opposes Israel’s occupation of Palestine. Yet it continues, for one simple reason: We support it.

The wholesale devastation wrought by Israeli forces in occupied Palestine during the past year has brought the region to the brink of collapse. Basic civil infrastructure throughout the territories has been systematically destroyed or stolen by Israeli troops. Malnutrition is rampant, schools are a shambles, and transportation is almost non-existent, due to Israeli rules. UN and other aid agencies warn of a humanitarian catastrophe in Palestine if the situation does not change very soon. But it continues. Another ten Palestinians were slaughtered yesterday.

Mr. Hage is to be commended for writing to us of the many neglected tragedies of Palestine. This in no way slights the equally vicious deaths of Israeli innocents. Our hearts ache for all of the victims of this needless conflict. But we disgrace their memory if we pretend that we cannot make it stop.

James Brooks
Worcester, VT