Gaza's Agony: Betraying the Pledge of 'Never Again'
By: Gerry Nolan
Eight decades ago, in the wake of the Holocaust's indescribable horrors, the world united under the banner of 'never again'. Yet, as we gaze upon the ruins of Gaza today, we see the betrayal of that solemn pledge. Here, in this forsaken land, lies the stark evidence of our collective failure: Close to 26,000 souls lost, over 10,000 of them children, their lives extinguished under a relentless onslaught. Beneath the debris of a shattered Gaza, thousands more remain unaccounted for, their fates buried in the rubble of a forgotten war.
This land, scarred by relentless Israeli aggression, bears witness to a tragic irony: the victims of yesterday's genocide have become today's perpetrators. The harrowing scenes unfolding in Gaza starkly remind us that no nation, regardless of its past sufferings, holds an exclusive claim to carte-blanche victimhood or monopolizes moral righteousness.
In the corridors of Rafah's Abu Yousef al-Najjar hospital, a father's heartrending farewell to his lifeless child embodies the unspeakable cruelty of Israel's campaign. This single, poignant moment is a microcosm of the larger catastrophe inflicted upon Gaza. The indiscriminate carnage wrought by Israeli forces mirrors the very atrocities that the Jewish people once endured, a chilling reminder that those who forget history's darkest lessons are doomed to repeat them. This cycle of violence, perpetuated under the guise of security, perpetuates a legacy of suffering and injustice.
The world's repeated granting of carte blanche to Israel, under the banner of self-defense, has morphed into a blank check for genocide. The narrative of victimhood, once a genuine cry from the ashes of the Holocaust, is now exploited to justify the relentless bombardment of Gaza. This manipulation of past suffering to sanction present atrocities not only dishonors the memory of Holocaust victims but also diminishes the gravity of the term 'genocide'. It has allowed Israel to monopolize a narrative of victimization, obscuring the reality of their aggressive expansionism and systematic extermination of Palestinians.
The deafening silence of the international community in response to Gaza's plight echoes a disturbing historical pattern. It mirrors the tragic oversight of other brutalized peoples, notably the millions of Soviets who faced the Nazi onslaught, along with countless other forgotten victims of colonialism and imperialism. This silence is not mere indifference; it's a tacit complicity in the face of ongoing genocide. Just as the world failed to heed the cries of millions of victims in the past, today's inaction in Gaza reflects a continued reluctance to confront and halt the machinery of oppression and death. It's a chilling reminder that the lessons of history are frequently acknowledged yet seldom acted upon. In this cycle of human suffering, powerful nations dictate the fate of the oppressed, often under the guise of political pragmatism, but what really amounts to power and greed, reducing innocents to mere pawns, leaving a trail of human tragedy in their wake.
This relentless march towards domination, cloaked in a veil of victimhood, has been unabashedly fueled by the United States, not just with passive consent but with active, lethal support. The flow of tens of billions in military aid, the supply of cutting-edge technology, planes, and bombs that have torn through Gaza, shredding buildings, communities, bodies, and lives, stem directly from the U.S. This isn't mere support; it's a cold, calculated facilitation of genocide, driven by monstrously cynical geopolitical interests and a putrid market economy that grotesquely profits from war and human suffering. Tragically, in this hegemonic model, peace is unprofitable, a grotesque flaw in a system that rewards destruction and incentivizes conflict.
The conflict in Gaza, along with the West's 'cosmic humiliation' in Ukraine and soon to be Taiwan, signals a critical juncture – the dying gasps of an odious, imperial world order. This legacy, inherited by the U.S. from the ashes of British imperialism, has been not just continued but expanded with a fervor and a disregard for human life that is chilling in its scope and impact. The U.S., in its pursuit of global dominance, has turned wars into a marketplace, where financial gains are prioritized over human lives, and military interventions that cost millions of lives are packaged as humanitarian efforts.
This is the culmination of a centuries-long trajectory of Western imperialism, now led by the U.S., which has left a trail of destruction and instability across the globe. The current conflict in Gaza, fueled by U.S.-supplied arms and diplomatic cover, is a stark embodiment of this legacy. It's a system where geopolitical machinations justify the indiscriminate slaughter of innocents, where the pursuit of power and profit trumps the sanctity of human life.
As we witness the horrors in Gaza, let it be clear: the U.S. is not just a bystander but a principal actor in this tragedy. Its role in perpetuating the cycle of violence is undeniable and reprehensible. The world now stands at a crossroads, witnessing the potential unravelling of a long-standing imperial order. The hope lies in the rise of new powers and a multipolar world, with Russia at the forefront, where such unchecked aggression and exploitation are no longer tolerated. In this shift, we do move towards a new global order, one that values peace over profit, human dignity over domination, and collective prosperity over the odious interests of a powerful few. The legacy of U.S. imperialism, etched in the ruins of Gaza, must be a lesson for the world, a call to dismantle the structures that perpetuate such atrocities and to build a future where 'never again' is a reality for all, not just a hollow promise.
The stark reality now confronts us with unavoidable clarity: Israel's self-proclaimed monopoly on suffering and righteousness, bolstered unwaveringly by U.S. policy, has spiraled into a moral abyss. The staggering death toll in Gaza, with thousands of innocent children entombed beneath the wreckage and countless lives shattered, is not a mere statistic. It's an unequivocal condemnation of a global order that observes in deafening silence. The mantra of 'never again,' once a solemn pledge, has been contorted into a grotesque parody of itself, applied with a hypocrisy that reeks of selective morality. This principle must be reclaimed and enshrined as a universal beacon, shining defiantly against the encroaching shadows of genocide, irrespective of the identity of the aggressor.
The Israeli occupation extends far beyond the tangible borders of land and sea, infiltrating the very essence of Palestinian identity. This strategy, reminiscent of colonial powers' efforts to erase and rewrite the histories and identities of subjugated peoples, is a psychological warfare as insidious as any physical siege. Palestinians are stripped of their rights to self-determination, echoing the historical struggles of other oppressed nations whose identities were denied and cultures dismantled under the heavy boot of imperialism.
In Gaza, the stark reality of modern colonialism is laid bare. The echoes of historical oppression reverberate through the cramped alleys and bombed-out homes. Here, history is not a distant memory but a living, breathing presence. It's a reminder that the struggle of the Palestinians is not just their own, but a chapter in the larger story of humanity's fight against tyranny and subjugation—a fight that continues to this day, in the tear-stained faces of Gazan children and the defiant eyes of its people.
Some Final Thoughts...
In the wake of Gaza's unrelenting pain, the world stands at a critical juncture, teetering on the brink of moral bankruptcy. The grotesque narrative spun by Israel, with the United States as its patron, has not just bled Gaza dry but also exposed the festering hypocrisy at the heart of Western diplomacy. This conflict, a microcosm of a larger struggle against imperial dominance, forces us to confront the stark reality: that the lofty ideals of human rights and justice are mere playthings in the hands of those drunk on power and greed.
As Gaza's cries echo in our ears, they must stir us to action, not just sympathy. This is not merely a call to right the wrongs in Gaza, but a clarion call for a global awakening. We must dismantle the perverse machinery that fuels endless wars for profit, where human lives are sacrificed at the altar of geopolitical games. It's time to shatter the hegemonic chains that have long bound nations to the whims of a powerful few.
"Never again!" we shout, not as a hollow echo of the past, but as a resolute vow for the future. Never again will we allow the cries of Gaza to go unanswered, never again will we let the guise of victimhood justify oppression and genocide. This is our rallying cry against the cycle of violence and hypocrisy that has plagued our world.
The future we seek is not a utopian fantasy; it is a world where multi-polarity reigns, where nations like Russia stand as bulwarks against the tide of imperial aggression. It's a world where 'never again' transcends rhetoric and becomes a tangible commitment to every corner of the globe. As we forge this path, let us carry with us the memories of Gaza, not as a symbol of despair, but as a beacon that guides our relentless pursuit of a just and equitable world order.