There was a wedding in the church and those attending the vigil did not want to intrude on the happy couple.
While I normally don't speak at the gatherings, I availed of the opportunity on this occasion to praise both Drogheda United Football Club and its co-chair person, Joanna Byrne, for welcoming the Palestinian refugees to Weavers Park where they watched the Drogs battle it out with Walsall.
I met up with some of those who had attended the game yesterday in a local park where there was a refugees' picnic. They all expressed their support for Drogheda United. There was a mixture of food on offer at the picnic. The Palestinians are particularly observant of Halal whereas the Nigerians joined us in horsing down the chicken.
My wife had brought a lot of crisps and fizzy over as well as food, all of which vanished in super quick time as the child refugees raided it much to the laughter of everyone. It is mood lifting to see these kids behave as normal children, laughing, playing, eating crisps and drinking fizzy free from US supplied bombs hurtling towards their schools, hospitals, homes and playgrounds, launched from Israeli planes. The Palestinian parents cooked Halal burgers over disposable barbeque trays and it was hard not to think that this type of cooking with much more rudimentary equipment and less nourishing food must be the daily existence that is endured in Gaza during the Israeli genocide. We watched them eat for pleasure rather than mere survival.
As Israeli atrocity continues it brought home yet again the importance of weekly vigils and solidarity sessions like picnics. While it is challenging to select particular Israeli atrocities for specific mention - there are so many of them - two recent acts, one a statement inciting violence, the other a despicable act of violence merit coverage.
My wife had brought a lot of crisps and fizzy over as well as food, all of which vanished in super quick time as the child refugees raided it much to the laughter of everyone. It is mood lifting to see these kids behave as normal children, laughing, playing, eating crisps and drinking fizzy free from US supplied bombs hurtling towards their schools, hospitals, homes and playgrounds, launched from Israeli planes. The Palestinian parents cooked Halal burgers over disposable barbeque trays and it was hard not to think that this type of cooking with much more rudimentary equipment and less nourishing food must be the daily existence that is endured in Gaza during the Israeli genocide. We watched them eat for pleasure rather than mere survival.
As Israeli atrocity continues it brought home yet again the importance of weekly vigils and solidarity sessions like picnics. While it is challenging to select particular Israeli atrocities for specific mention - there are so many of them - two recent acts, one a statement inciting violence, the other a despicable act of violence merit coverage.
There has been much made by Israel of the sexual violence inflicted by a number of Hamas fighters during the organisation's October 7th counter terrorism operation. A UN report stated that there were:
"reasonable grounds to believe" that militants from Gaza did perpetrate sexual violence during their attack on Israel that day, including rape or gang rape in at least three locations.
Sexual violence which is 'unfortunately far too common in conflict' is a horrendous crime which was used against a Palestinian prisoner in July at the Sde Teiman military base. A released prison video of the incident has been described by US state Department official Matthew Miller as horrific. When Israeli military police entered the camp there were violent scenes which:
rocked Israel and once again opened up deep societal wounds and schisms over the rule of law, judicial authority and the justice system . . . Dozens of right-wing and ultranationalist protesters, including MKs and even government ministers, first broke into Sde Teiman after the arrests and then broke into Beit Lid, where they were being held, in an effort to halt the legal proceedings against them.
When asked in the Knesset if rape was legitimate Hanoch Milwidsky of Likud responded that "everything is legitimate to do! Everything!”
The second noteworthy item is the genocidal sentiment expressed by Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich that:
Nobody will let us cause two million civilians to die of hunger, even though it might be justified and moral, until our hostages are returned.
The response of a Palestinian-American fellow at the Atlantic Council, Ahmed Fouad Alkhatib, was blunt:
This is what fascism and the desire for mass extermination and displacement look like . . . . These criminals want to eliminate all Palestinians in Gaza, not just Hamas.
Jehad Abusalim, executive director of the Institute for Palestine Studies, very pointedly commented:
This vile rhetoric is just the tip of the iceberg . . . Smotrich is a minister in a government that Western leaders claim shares their values.
Todays West Street vigil in solidarity with the besieged citizens of Gaza will be more than that. It will be a statement of disapproval of those Western governments who continue to align with the Nazi types in Israel responsible for such abominable discourse and destruction.
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