Chicago Tribune avoids giving Donald Trump “great credit” for enabling Israeli genocide in Gaza for 9 months

 

Chicago Tribune avoids giving Donald Trump “great credit” for enabling Israeli genocide in Gaza for 9 months

 

 The Chicago Tribune is correct to praise Donald Trump for brokering a ceasefire in Gaza (Editorial: A remarkable day for peace in the Middle East. Donald Trump deserves great credit.)

 

 However, good editorial journalism requires fair and thorough analysis and assessment. Alas, the Trib’s editorial is virtually devoid of that.

 

 Calling it “two years of fighting and killing” is a callous way of describing two years of genocide inflicted by Israel that has largely obliterated Gaza, killing likely over 100,000 Palestinians and putting the remaining 2,200,000 into starvation and degraded health. That will increase the Palestinian death toll for weeks, months, years to come. That is not “fighting and killing”. It’s genocide, largely recognized by the entire world outside of the Israel and US political leadership. By the way....the US electorate views it as genocide.   

 

An equally egregious Trib omission concerns the Editorial Board’s lavish praise of Trump’s conduct. The Trib likens Trump to the Long Ranger, riding out of the sunset to bring peace to the Palestinians.

 

If the Trib wants to praise Trump’s role in the ceasefire…fine. But why not include that for nearly 9 months Trump has been funding the genocide with billions in weapons, protecting it with vetoes of UN resolutions condemning the genocide, seeking African countries to take in the Palestinians from Gaza not killed by Trump’s bombs, and excited by the prospect of a Trump real estate project to rebuild Gaza for Greater Israel.

 

These are not inconvenient facts. They will forever be etched into the history of the worst humanitarian catastrophe the US has ever participated in during its 250 years.

 

The Chicago Tribune should have balanced its editorial solely praising peacemaker Trump, with condemnation of genocide Trump for enabling Israel’s genocide in Gaza for nine long months following his predecessor Biden enabling it during his last 15 months.

Walt Zlotow, West Suburban Peace Coalition, Glen Ellyn IL 

In its 250th year, America’s genocide support has destroyed its worldwide moral authority

 In its 250th year, America’s genocide support has destroyed its worldwide moral authority

US political leaders’ statements touting US as the beacon of democracy, humanitarianism, fair play, decency on the world stage ring hollow to anyone with an iota of moral clarity.

The day after the October 7, 2023 Hamas attack, Israel embarked on grotesque genocide of Gaza’s 2,300,000 Palestinians crammed into the world’s largest open air prison controlled by Israel. Two years on a ceasefire may finally occur, blocking Israel’s lust to kill or expel every remaining Palestinian to bring Gaza into Greater Israel.

The carnage is immense and horrifying. Over 100,000 Palestinians dead, the remaining 2,200,000 suffering starvation and degraded health. All schools and universities gone. All medical facilities gone. All life sustaining infrastructure gone. 

Israel could not have conducted their genocidal rampage without the complete support of the United States.

The Democratic Biden administration and the Republican Trump administration, in the only policy they agreed upon, gifted Israel with over $20 billion in weaponry to wipe Palestinians off the Gaza map. The US joined Israel in seeking African and Middle East countries to take in the Palestinians not killed. The US repeatedly voted against UN General Assembly resolutions condemning the genocide; even using their veto to prevent UN Security Council anti-genocide resolutions. The US remains one of only 35 UN members, out of 193, refusing to recognize a Palestinian state.

US media imposed a near complete blackout on the genocide. But enough truth of its horrors got through to turn the American electorate against it. Instead of heeding voters, the President and Congress heeded the Israel Lobby and kept on voting for more billions to obliterate Gaza.

If the shooting stops today, Palestinians will continue dying for days, weeks, months from malnutrition and disease.

It took just under 250 years for America to shatter every principle of freedom, democracy, self-determination it claims to honor. If the degraded American Experiment manages to survive another 250 years, even another thousand years, it likely cannot do more damage to its promise to humankind that it's done in this its 250th year.

Walt Zlotow, West Suburban Peace Coalition, Glen Ellyn IL 

After 2 years, Israel genocidal ethnic cleansing of Gaza has failed

After 2 years, Israel genocidal ethnic cleansing of Gaza has failed

 
Israel has a grisly method of negotiating peace and release of remaining Israeli hostages in Gaza. They’re continuing their genocidal ethnic cleansing of those pesky Palestinians who just won’t leave so Israel can annex Gaza to Greater Israel.
 
On Tuesday Israel bombed Gaza City, Khan Younis, even the Mawasi safe zone, killing at least 10. Hundreds of been slaughtered in the five days Israel has ignored President Trump’s demand to stop the genocide while peace talks continue in Egypt.
 
That should surprise no one interested in ending the genocide. Israel’s primary goal since the Hamas attack 2 years ago Tuesday was to exploit the attack to rid Gaza of all 2,300,000 Palestinians. While killing over 100,000, with the remaining 2,200,000 suffering starvation, degraded health, no habitable living conditions, Israel has failed to achieve its cherished goal: no Palestinians left in a Gaza annexed into Greater Israel.
 
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu needs to maintain the genocide for political and personal reasons. The political is the aforementioned completion of Greater Israel including not only Gaza but the West Bank. The personal reason is to delay indefinitely his possible date with prison on corruption crimes.

Dead last on Netanyahu’s grotesque agenda? Getting back the remaining 48 Israeli hostages. Had he cared a whit about the original 251, many of whom his delay killed, he wouldn’t have embarked on genocide.
 
None of this could have occurred without the $20 billion in genocide weapons gifted to Israel by presidents Biden and Trump, paid for by John Q. Taxpayer. US near total support of the genocide continues even tho an increasing majority of Americans call it genocide and demand we end enabling it.
 
The current talks in Egypt are doing nothing to achieve the only path to peace: Palestinian statehood, recognized by 158 of 193 UN countries but not the US. Trump’s 20 point peace plan is simply US imagined neocolonialism to keep Gaza totally controlled by outside forces. Palestinians are excluded, keeping Gaza stateless in perpetuity.
 
The peace plan may release the remaining 48 hostages and achieve ceasefire. But it will neither achieve a Palestinian state nor Netanyahu’s dream of a Palestinian free Gaza annexed to Israel. Both likely outcomes may doom the peace negotiations to failure.

Walt Zlotow, West Suburban Peace Coalition, Glen Ellyn IL 

Chicago Tribune’s support of Trump’s Gaza peace plan ignores major flaw…no call for a Palestinian state

 Chicago Tribune’s support of Trump’s Gaza peace plan ignores major flaw…no call for a Palestinian state

Everyone should join the Chicago Tribune’s hope for an end to the 2 year Israeli genocidal ethnic cleansing of 2,300,000 Palestinians in Gaza. In its editorial ‘Why we support Trump’s proposal for peace in Gaza between Israel and Hamas’, the Trib called Trump’s 20 point plan “substantive”, not “Trump’s prior musings about U.S. control of Gaza or fanciful talk of Trump-branded resorts”

The Trib’s substantive claim does not include creation of a Palestinian state, an entity recognized by 157 of the UN’s 193 countries (81%), but not the US. Israel’s 2 yearlong destruction of Gaza and gobbling up their West Bank land with hundreds of thousands of Israeli settlers, makes Palestinian statehood impossible.

Creation of a Palestinian state should be recognized by the US and made Point 1 of Trump’s 20 point plan. But one must scroll down to point 19 before gleaning even a hint of a Palestinian state far in the future:

19. While Gaza re-development advances and when the PA reform programme is faithfully carried out, the conditions may finally be in place for a credible pathway to Palestinian self-determination and statehood, which we recognise as the aspiration of the Palestinian people.

If there was any doubt this precludes a Palestinian state, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu affirmed after release of the plan that it did not call for a Palestinian state. To show his disdain for the plan, Netanyahu ignored Trump’s demand Friday to immediately cease bombing the now obliterated Gaza by killing 192 Palestinians over the 3 day weekend.

The US should cease being an outlier by becoming country 158 to recognize the state of Palestine. It should further cut off all military aid to Israel until it enters into serious negotiations with both Hamas and the Palestinian Authority (the rulers of Gaza and West Bank respectively) to create a Palestinian state that will live in peace with neighboring Israel. That is precisely what Trump's proposed International Stabilization Force (ISF) should be tasked with.

That, and not the Trump peace plan that likely precludes there ever being a Palestinian state, would truly be .substantive.

Walt Zlotow, West Suburban Peace Coalition, Glen Ellyn IL

Repeating or rhyming

 Trump's authoritarian disruption and takeover of American society is not a direct repeat of what Hitler did in 1933-35 Germany. But it's sure starting to rhyme.