By Marc Eliot Stein, World BEYOND War, April 30, 2025
A horrible truth seemed to hang over the emotional and painful conversation Mohammed Abunahel, Maria Santelli and I had in late April 2025. If we’re talking about a genocide that’s happening in real time right now, and we know it’s real and everybody (even the politicians who lie about it) knows it’s real, we’re already in hell.
We hear the agony in the voice of Gaza-born journalist and peace activist Mohammed Abunahel, who researches military bases for World BEYOND War while living in India and communicating with his besieged family, as he begins to list the cynical lies about Palestine and Israel that are constantly used to keep the world from seeing. One of the biggest lies is that other Arab countries in the region, or any other countries anywhere in the world, are doing anything to help the human beings suffering a sadistic occupation in helpless Gaza.
“It is starvation,” Mohammed says. “It is all by design. Let’s be clear: Israel is not doing this alone. United States and a lot of western governments are right there backing every step of the way. Billions in weapons, votes at the UN covering Israel’s crimes while talking about human rights with a straight face … they want Israel to finish the job. At the same time, Arab regimes, the ones that normalize with Israel including the Abraham accords. Where are they now? They are making speech. Holding meetings also.”
Maria Santelli, director emerita of the Center on Conscience and War and friend of World BEYOND War, expressed frustration at our shared failure as human rights activists to shut this down, to stop the genocide machine in any way we can. “What is so tragic is that there’s such a block even among progressive communities in the US,” Maria says. “There’s such a block about Israel … this has divided and continues to divide peace communities in the US. There’s an expression, right? Everything but Palestine, or all but Palestine. That nonviolence is the way except when it comes to Israel and Palestine.”
Each of us in this conversation seemed eager to vent our rage at the hypocritical communities closest to ourselves, and for me that means the global Jewish community which is now more endangered, I believe, than it was even during the Holocaust of World War Two. It’s impossible to avoid seeing what is in front of our eyes: under the fascist leadership of Netanyahu, Jews in Israel are performing a new rendition of the Warsaw Ghetto, and of Auschwitz – this time with the Jews as the Nazis. Because Mohammed and Maria and I are having a no-holds-barred real talk here, I don’t hold back from describing the worst of what I believe: since October 2023, the criminal “leadership” of Israel has been openly and blatantly imitating and emulating Nazi Germany (which was itself a product of war trauma). Israel’s emulation of Nazi war crimes isn’t an accident – to morph into Nazis is the Netanyahu government’s goal.
Mohammed and Maria and I cover a lot of territory in this conversation, and we all appreciate the chance to share our thoughts with the worldwide community of peace-loving people who do understand the horror of what we’re seeing and ache with all our hearts to find a way to do something beyond talking to help.
Please share your own thoughts, ideas or feedback by posting a comment.
Recommended in this episode: “The Hundred Years’ War on Palestine: A History of Settler Colonialism and Resistance, 1917-2017” by Rashid Khaladi.
The World BEYOND War Podcast page is here. All episodes are free and permanently available. Please subscribe and give us a good rating at any of the services below:
World BEYOND War Podcast on iTunes
World BEYOND War Podcast on Spotify
World BEYOND War Podcast RSS Feed
One Response
SHAME!!! to the entire Western so-called ‘civilized’ world…for not making it past big declarations of support but totally lacking in actions! I have NO sympathies for israel and may the same fate that befalls Palestinians befall them too. The deafening silence is unbelievable.