This week, U.S. Rep. Rashida Tlaib, a Palestinian American, addressed the UMass community — a community facing violent repression by the UMass administration and local and state police to protect the university’s investments in weapons manufacturers that are violating international law.
Meanwhile, our government continues to provide weapons and diplomatic cover for Israel’s genocide, with only 19 senators voting to condition $20 billion weapons sales to Israel on international law — and President Biden himself lobbying against them and asserting that the U.S. will flout the rulings of the International Criminal Court.
I was filled with joy by the beautiful activist community — disproportionately people of color, immigrants, anti-Zionist Jews, queer and trans people — that came out to welcome Rep. Tlaib and applaud her powerful words,
I ended the night holding a dear friend’s hand as she frantically called her family in the Basta neighborhood of Beirut, bombarded by Israel with weapons we paid for and the blessing of leaders we elected. This is the daily reality for so many voicing dissent — and facing all the consequences that come with it.
The evening was a stark reminder that even in moments of triumph and solidarity, we cannot lose sight of what we are fighting for. Do not take the growing strength of our movement as permission to sit it out. Your voice is needed. Fight for the morality that is void from our government’s actions. Silence is an endorsement.
Repression will not stop at those of us who face the most urgent risks; our Valley “bubble” is not immune. We cannot fight this alone.
Leyla Moushabeck
Amherst