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The October 19, 2024 endorsement of the
Harris/Walz Democratic ticket for the Presidency and Vice Presidency by
over fifty Lebanese Americans (perhaps some reluctantly) reads as if the
Biden Bombs for Israel are not daily destroying more of Lebanon and its
civilians with an emerging genocidal pattern as seen in Gaza over the
past year. Israel’s terrorism against innocent civilians, health
facilities, cafes, residential areas, schools, agricultural terrains,
transportation routes, and even banks, are receiving so far the full,
cruel support of the Biden/Harris Administration. So where is the
storied Lebanese tradition of tough negotiation or bargaining?
The statement failed to condition this support on the White House’s
making immediate enforceable demands on Israel to stop this mass
annihilation, including women, children, the elderly, and hospital
patients, immediately. There is no indication of any reciprocity, simply
a plea without any display of political power on behalf of the Lebanese
American community. After all, there are over a million Lebanese
American voters that the Democratic Party should be keeping in mind.
The letter should have given Bibi-Biden a sense of urgency by informing
him that over 80,000 Americans reside in Lebanon and that there are two
major educational institutions there – the American University of Beirut
(AUB) and the Lebanese American University (LAU) with extensions in the
Bekaa Valley, along with other American business, cultural and
charitable enterprises. Any day now, Netanyahu’s murderous bombing raids
against a totally defenseless country will claim the lives of Americans
there. (Israel has already bombed the ancestral village of one of the
signers of the letter.) The Washington Post reports
that Israel has already bombed several Christian villages. What is Joe
Biden going to do? The Lebanese American community should let Biden know
he and Democratic candidates will pay a political price should he not
put a stop to this indiscriminate air and ground attack on its ally and
the additional violence against the United Nations peacekeepers in the
south.
The letter has long-term proposals for peace and a rebuilding of
Lebanon’s economy and governing institutions which are well taken. But
as Martin Luther King Jr. once exclaimed: “THE URGENCY OF NOW” is on the
table. History reminds us that Hezbollah was created in response to the
Israeli invasion of Lebanon in 1982, dominating and abusing the
unprotected Shiite Lebanese in the south. The Israeli practice of
collective punishment and limitless civilian destruction over the years
is now underway again in this small country. (The Washington Post reports 1.2 million Lebanese have been displaced in just one week).
The letter does not do justice to this slaughter that is going on right
now with full Biden/Harris backing. It should have a follow-up addendum
immediately for an emergency demand that Biden pressure Netanyahu to cease attacking an American ally. With consequences if denied. Now!
Don’t you think the bombarded Lebanese people expect at least that much from the signatories?
Postscript: One of the signers is Ralph Nader of New York City. The gentleman is no relation. There should be no confusion of names here. |