Letter to my MP about Gaza
A letter I just wrote to my MP on http://www.writetothem.com/


I am writing to you because I am so horrified at the attacks on Gaza by the Israeli Government. Over 460 Palestinians have been killed, and thousands injured many of them children. With last night's ground offensive and ongoing invasion this figure will only grow.

I am also writing to you as a Jew with family in Israel. I have been brought up with the knowledge of the Holocaust. I think Israel has as much right to exist as any other state. However what Israel is doing by attacking Gaza in this way is against both Jewish and international law. It is endangering both Palestinians but also Israeli and Jewish lives by claiming to be acting for us, it makes us targets.

In 2003 I went to see for myself what was happening in Palestine by visiting the West Bank and Gaza. I was shocked at what I witnessed and stayed for 4 months, most of this time in Gaza, to be a human rights observer and activist. I made many friends while I was there, who I am still in contact with, in addition to my Israeli family and friends. This means I receive a lot of information about what is happening in the region.

The Israeli army says it is just attacking Government buildings but these seem to include schools, medical facilities, pharmacies, money changing booths, mosques and other targets where innocent civilians are being killed. Also because Gaza Strip is so densely populated, bombing any building is going to destroy homes nearby.

People have been killed by missile strikes when they are just out in the open in ordinary civilian areas.

The medical facilities in Gaza are horrendously overstretched with doctors working 24 hours trying to cope with the thousands of casualties.

Israel claims it was responding to Hamas breaking its ceasefire, yet during the whole 6 month ceasefire Israel continued to blockade Gaza severely limiting the delivery food, medicine and other materials necessary for life in Gaza. Unemployment in Gaza is huge. Because of the blockade preventing export of crops and goods manufactured in Gaza there is a severe shortage of money. With the blockade hindering imports there has been massive inflation. Ordinary Gazan families are struggling to just feed themselves and are having to survive on bread. Given this blockade I find it incredibly hypocritical of Israel to declare that it was Hamas that broke the ceasefire.

Please do all that you can to pressure Israel to stop its assault on the people of Gaza. Please contact PM Gordon Brown to tell him your constituents want him to ensure the UN security council condemns and stops Israel's attack on civilian areas. I shall be distributing information in my neighbourhood and the whole of [my MP's constituency] about what is going on and will also be wishing to inform them what our MP is doing.

Yours sincerely,