23 January 2024
Dear President Biden:
I wish to start by acknowledging the work you have done on behalf of the American people. I am one of millions of Americans whose student loan debt may be forgiven in February, I appreciate your voice and advocacy in the fight to regain reproductive freedoms and choice for women, and I thank you for not making life harder on the federal level for my siblings in the LGBTQIA+ community. Lord knows we have enough trouble on these fronts from several rogue states and local municipalities.
The position and voice of the President of the United States traditionally has power and authority to effect change, which brings me to my true purpose: respectfully, Sir, you must demand a full-throated, permanent ceasefire for Gaza immediately and stop supplying Israel with money and weapons to slaughter a population of millions. Please do not dismiss or attempt to patronize and placate me by using the “Israel has a right to defend itself” line.
Since your 2020 presidential campaign, you have crafted the image of being a straight-shooter who tells it like it is. Now, I am doing the same for you. I do not know what intelligence you are privy to regarding this situation, I do not know exactly what your advisors are telling you, and frankly, I do not care. I understand the United States is historically, politcally, economically, and religiously tied to Israel. However, all these factors become null and void when the other nation goes rogue. Yes, Hamas was responsible for the 7 October attacks that killed 1,139 people and taking hostages. This was a tragic event that deserves condemnation. However, Israel has gone too far, and it is clear they are trying to punish and exterminate an entire people, not a specific group that attacked them one day after enduring at least 75 years of oppression.
Surely, I am not the first to inform you your actions, and the actions of close allies like the United Kingdom, are aiding war crimes as outlined in the Geneva Convention.
“For the purpose of this Statute, ‘war crimes’ means:
Grave breaches of the Geneva Conventions of 12 August 1949, namely, any of the following acts against persons or property protected under the provisions of the relevant Geneva Convention:
Wilful killing
Torture or inhuman treatment, including biological experiments;
Wilfully causing great suffering, or serious injury to body or health;
Extensive destruction and appropriation of property, not justified by military necessity and carried out unlawfully and wantonly;
Compelling a prisoner of war or other protected person to serve in the forces of a hostile Power;
Wilfully depriving a prisoner of war or other protected person of the rights of fair and regular trial;
Unlawful deportation or transfer or unlawful confinement;
Taking of hostages.
Other serious violations of the laws and customs applicable in international armed conflict, within the established framework of international law, namely, any of the following acts:
Intentionally directing attacks against the civilian population as such or against individual civilians not taking direct part in hostilities;
Intentionally directing attacks against civilian objects, that is, objects which are not military objectives;
Intentionally directing attacks against personnel, installations, material, units or vehicles involved in a humanitarian assistance or peacekeeping mission in accordance with the Charter of the United Nations, as long as they are entitled to the protection given to civilians or civilian objects under the international law of armed conflict;
Intentionally launching an attack in the knowledge that such attack will cause incidental loss of life or injury to civilians or damage to civilian objects or widespread, long-term and severe damage to the natural environment which would be clearly excessive in relation to the concrete and direct overall military advantage anticipated;
Attacking or bombarding, by whatever means, towns, villages, dwellings or buildings which are undefended and which are not military objectives;
Killing or wounding a combatant who, having laid down his arms or having no longer means of defence, has surrendered at discretion;
Making improper use of a flag of truce, of the flag or of the military insignia and uniform of the enemy or of the United Nations, as well as of the distinctive emblems of the Geneva Conventions, resulting in death or serious personal injury;
The transfer, directly or indirectly, by the Occupying Power of parts of its own civilian population into the territory it occupies, or the deportation or transfer of all or parts of the population of the occupied territory within or outside this territory;
Intentionally directing attacks against buildings dedicated to religion, education, art, science or charitable purposes, historic monuments, hospitals and places where the sick and wounded are collected, provided they are not military objectives;
Subjecting persons who are in the power of an adverse party to physical mutilation or to medical or scientific experiments of any kind which are neither justified by the medical, dental or hospital treatment of the person concerned nor carried out in his or her interest, and which cause death to or seriously endanger the health of such person or persons;
Killing or wounding treacherously individuals belonging to the hostile nation or army;
Declaring that no quarter will be given;
Destroying or seizing the enemy's property unless such destruction or seizure be imperatively demanded by the necessities of war;
Declaring abolished, suspended or inadmissible in a court of law the rights and actions of the nationals of the hostile party;
Compelling the nationals of the hostile party to take part in the operations of war directed against their own country, even if they were in the belligerent's service before the commencement of the war;
Pillaging a town or place, even when taken by assault;
Employing poison or poisoned weapons;
Employing asphyxiating, poisonous or other gases, and all analogous liquids, materials or devices;
Employing bullets which expand or flatten easily in the human body, such as bullets with a hard envelope which does not entirely cover the core or is pierced with incisions;
Employing weapons, projectiles and material and methods of warfare which are of a nature to cause superfluous injury or unnecessary suffering or which are inherently indiscriminate in violation of the international law of armed conflict, provided that such weapons, projectiles and material and methods of warfare are the subject of a comprehensive prohibition and are included in an annex to this Statute, by an amendment in accordance with the relevant provisions set forth in articles 121 and 123;
Committing outrages upon personal dignity, in particular humiliating and degrading treatment;
Committing rape, sexual slavery, enforced prostitution, forced pregnancy, as defined in article 7, paragraph 2 (f), enforced sterilization, or any other form of sexual violence also constituting a grave breach of the Geneva Conventions;
Utilizing the presence of a civilian or other protected person to render certain points, areas or military forces immune from military operations;
Intentionally directing attacks against buildings, material, medical units and transport, and personnel using the distinctive emblems of the Geneva Conventions in conformity with international law;
Intentionally using starvation of civilians as a method of warfare by depriving them of objects indispensable to their survival, including wilfully impeding relief supplies as provided for under the Geneva Conventions;
Conscripting or enlisting children under the age of fifteen years into the national armed forces or using them to participate actively in hostilities.”
With very few exceptions, most of these crimes have been committed, and there is documentation to back the claims. You know well the International Court of Justice is conducting a trial regarding Israel’s atrocities, which, incidentally, is not being widely broadcast in America. So much for a well-informed, educated citizenry, free speech, and free press. You and Congress have made the American people guilty by association by using our tax money to fund this genocide. We all have blood on our hands whether we agree with this or not. I refuse to simply wash my hands of Palestinian blood as Pilate washed his hands of Christ’s blood. How can you claim to stand for justice, peace, and other American “values and principles” when you are complicit in these crimes, too?
One of the biggest points that intially drew me to your campaign was the perception of your empathy and care. At the time, I remember breaking down after the election had officially been called for you because I realized how starved of empathy and kindness we had been in the five years leading up to your inauguration, particularly during the worst days of the COVID-19 pandemic. One hundred eight days since the genocide began in earnest, I am feeling hunger pains again. By your actions and inactions, you have lost major support from the people that helped win you the presidency. I know the stakes of the upcoming election. It is too late to try and establish a viable third party candidate, and voting Republican is not even a remote option. Because I have no alternative, I am forced to vote for a man who perpetrates genocide against innocent, indigenous people, comprised mostly of children. It truly is the American way.
Today, I read “20 Days in Mariupol” received an Academy Award nomination. This film documents some of the worst war crimes committed by the Russians in the assault on Ukraine. Initially, the United States was all for supporting Ukraine to make sure Russia was put on notice it would not be allowed to bully its way and blitzkrieg to ultimate power like someone else did in the late 1930s. It makes me pause to wonder what the difference is between the situation with Ukraine and the situation with Palestine. There is a State, through power, military force, and/or influence, attempting to usurp land from its rightful owners and claim it as their own. Both States have committed, and still are committing, unfathomable war crimes that are almost too horrible for the human mind to comprehend. Yet, the one in Europe receives the most help while the one in the Middle East is mostly marooned by the world and condenmed to die. Why are we not helping Palestine, too? Isn’t America supposed to back the underdog and stand up to rogue nations no matter who they are, or is it all political bluster and malarkey as I have suspected for quite some time?
I am struggling to understand how a Christian of Irish heritage can not only remain silent in this matter, but also actively defend and help the oppressor. You have to know how long and hard the Irish have struggled against British colonialism and brutality. You might also be aware the Irish are loudly, proudly supporting Palestine because they see their own story being played out again and refuse to allow more of this type of suffering. As for the religious facet of this, the leader of your Church, Pope Francis, has called for an end of these murders in his Christmas message. So, what is the problem?
I know the odds of my words reaching you are minimal, and I know it is even less likely you will read the entire letter. Sir, I am telling you these things because there is one tiny part of me that believes you might just care about the People and our voices. I am telling you these things because the people in Palestine are human beings before they are anything else, and they desperately need our help. Please, demand a ceasefire. Please, draw a red line for Israel and stop blindly supporting them. Please, help us free Palestine.
Sincerely,
Mary Smith
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