Don't let Gaza starve!While millions are working to end Netanyahu's attack, we can each do our bit to save SOME Palestinians from malnutrition, or worse, now that they're eating one meal every 3 days (if they're lucky)
The LORD takes his place in court; he rises to judge the people.The LORD enters into judgment against the elders and leaders of his people: “It is you who have ruined my vineyard; the plunder from the poor is in your houses.What do you mean by crushing my people and grinding the faces of the poor?” declares the Lord, the LORD Almighty.—Isaiah 4:13-15 Some years ago, when News from Underground was just a list-serve, I did my best to help a Palestinian nurse named Amal Arafa, who worked with a medical team that sought to save lives after Israel’s bombs and rockets shattered homes and entire neighborhoods. I urged my readers then to donate funds for her and her associates, and some came through. Things were bad enough back then, as Amal showed me with photos she had taken of the wreckage that “our free press” was not showing the rest of us, as had been the media’s SOP for decades. (The bombing of Lebanon in 1982 was the last time the US media focused on such atrocities.) But now things are even worse—much worse, as Netanyahu is openly intent on erasing Gaza, he and his satellites unapologetically treating the Palestinians there just as the Germans did the Jews trapped in the Warsaw Ghetto. (Some readers will surely feel stung by that analogy, but that’s the way it goes when the truth hurts.) So spectacular are Israel’s crimes in Gaza, so brazen Netanyahu and his junta, and so sadistic the aggressors (remember, all of them were jabbed, on Bibi’s orders) that the ongoing horror has been reported widely and explicitly, stoking a mass reaction that includes innumerable Jews in the US and Europe. Meanwhile, Ha’aretz reports that 70% of the Israeli people want Netanyahu OUT, with many faulting him for his injection drive, his suspicious handling of “October 7,” and now his atrocious war. Now that Trump is clearly fed up with Israel’s grandiose and crooked leader, there’s plenty more to say about the issue overall (and I’ll be doing so in a future post). Right now, however, people are starving, struggling to get by in verminous tents pieced together from the rubble left by IDF attacks. Amal and her family (three children) are therefore at major risk as well, since Amal’s back was broken when a nearby building was smashed by bombs. Her friend Amira, a fellow nurse, just sent me the following update: Broken back..lying on bed for a month due to an injury she sustained..the bombing surrounds us..every hour we wait to die..and now we eat a meal every two or three days..the medicine is expensive..and food is expensive..and here There is something that perhaps no one knows about...the commission is harsh, harsh and expensive...it may reach 30 or 32 percent...which is harsh because there are no banks here. I asked Amira to explain that “commission”: Because there are no banks, we get the money we have through a banking application and buy money from thieves and monopolistic traders with a commission that has reached 32% today...It is very difficult. When we get the $100 in our hands, about $35 of it goes, or maybe more. Perhaps soon this commission will be reduced by half. We buy one kilogram of flour for more than $15...and this may not be enough for one person per day...because we don’t have anything to eat. I’m talking to you and in three days I only ate one meal. With Amal unable to walk, her friend and fellow nurse Amira is trying to help, as she and her own child are trapped in the same cramped “dwelling” with Amal, whose three children (one of them born two months ago) are staying elsewhere. “Yes,” Amira writes. “we live among the rubble. The rubble surrounds us from a distance of 3 km on all sides. It is full of rodents and insects.” Amal dictated the following plea: We live in a tent that is not suitable for the harsh winter weather. The tent is exposed to the elements, and we lack the necessary materials to insulate it or protect it from rain. As a result, my children and I are constantly cold and wet. We are in desperate need of: * Food and water: We need a consistent supply of basic food items and clean drinking water. * Winter clothing: Warm coats, pants, hats, gloves, and boots for all three children. * Shelter: Materials to repair and insulate our tent, such as tarps, blankets, and rope. * Financial assistance: Any financial contribution would help us cover our basic needs and provide a more stable future for our family. You may donate through any of these links: https://givegetfunds.com/campaign/165/save-a-family-of-flee-gaza https://gogetfunding.com/support-my-cause-and-the-cause-of-my-family © 2025 Mark Crispin Miller |