In a Letter to the Editor in The Barre-Montepelier Times Argus, John Gainza responds to two contrasting Inside Sources op-eds on Gaza and Israel that were recently republished in the Times Argus, one of which was authored by IPS’s Phyllis Bennis.
In her op-ed, Bennis condemns all attacks on civilians and warns that “the violence in Gaza and Israel is bringing horrifying new levels of human suffering to Israelis and Palestinians.” Comparing and contrasting the two pieces in his letter, Gainza notes that Bennis explains how “providing historical reasons for this suffering does not in any way excuse the barbaric actions of Hamas but, rather, gives a fuller picture so we can see the tragedy more fully and seek ways to end the underlying injustices which perpetuate it.”
“The people of Israel and the people of Gaza and the West Bank have a right to live in peace and security,” Gainza argues. That can only come, he argues, from addressing underlying injustices and inequities that in turn fuel “the endlessly repeated injustice and violence they have been experiencing for the past several decades.”