Ukrainians Aren’t The Only People Suffering

As Russia continues its brutal and completely illegal and immoral invasion of Ukraine, this writer has seen many interesting news headlines. They include the following themes:

• Russia is committing war crimes.
• Russia is attacking civilians, and the world is shocked.
• The Ukrainian people are bravely defending their nation from this attack.
• Companies are quickly withdrawing from Russia.
• The United States and other nations are hitting Russia with extreme sanctions.

All of these are true; there is nothing to argue about for any of them. But reading them raises questions in this writer’s mind:

• Why do these same news outlets not condemn Israeli war crimes against the Palestinians?
• Why do the constant attacks of Palestinian citizens by Israel not shock the world?
• Why do these news pundits not praise the bravery of the Palestinian people, who resist the occupation of their nation by one of the most powerful nations on the planet, supported by the most powerful, using cobbled-together weapons and rocks?
• Why is the departure of Ben and Jerry’s Ice Cream from the occupied territories met with criticism, rather than praise?
• And lastly, why don’t the nations of the world sanction Israel?

There are, sadly, many reasons for this, and none of them are legitimate or involve justice, international law, or human rights.

Many news organizations are owned and operated by Zionists; just last month, when Amnesty International documented the fact that Israel is an apartheid regime, the mighty New York Times (NYT) decided not to report it. The Amnesty International report followed by a year parallel reports from B’Tselem and Human Rights Watch, both of which the NYT did report. But the Amnesty International report was somehow leaked to Israeli authorities in advance of its release, and that racist government worked hard to prevent its release. It couldn’t accomplish that but apparently was able to prevent its reporting in the NYT.

The shocking invasion of Ukraine by Russia, while not unexpected, is not a decades-long event. Perhaps the (Zionist) powers that determine what is ‘news’ simply think that ongoing war crimes and crimes against humanity just aren’t as interesting as new ones. So as innocent Palestinian men, women, and children are slaughtered by Israel, it’s nothing new; it happens on a daily basis, so why bother to report it?

No one doubts that there are many examples of bravery being demonstrated by Ukrainian soldiers and civilians. But why is there no public recognition of the extreme courage demonstrated daily by Palestinians? It is because, unlike the Ukrainians, they are Muslim? Does the western press see only virtue and worthiness in White, Christian Europeans, and not in Arab Muslims?

There are many people suffering from brutal oppression in various parts of the world. How often are there news reports about the unspeakable suffering of the Rohingya people in Myanmar? Oh, right; they are mostly Muslims. How about the Uyghurs, brutally oppressed in China? No, they don’t make the news, but again, they are mostly Muslims. And of course, Palestine is also a mostly-Muslim nation.

The aforementioned New York Times a few days ago had an article entitled ‘As Shell Falls, Family’s Dash to Safety Ends’, reporting the tragic story of a family killed in Ukraine. But what about the countless families killed in Gaza by Israeli bombs, bombs dropped on residences, hospitals, schools, and United Nations refugee centers, all war crimes? Why are these victims not worth the news media’s time?

Other than Putin and his lackeys, there are probably few people on the entire planet that don’t want to see the invasion of Ukraine come to an end. But where are these people when Palestine is being bombed? Where are they when Palestinians are bravely resisting the U.S.-financed slaughter?

It seems that a small, elite group of people decide what it is the masses will consume in the way of news and that carefully-selected news always supports those in power. If the Palestinians are ignored, it is partly because they are Muslim, but also because Israel is a powerful country, and the elites want it to stay that way. In the halls of the U.S. Congress, far too many elected officials have had their seats in Congress purchased for them by the very generous donations of pro-Israel lobbies. These people in power want to stay in power, and irritating Israel by identifying its many violations of international law and crimes against humanity would cost them campaign contributions. And what are human rights violations when financial donations to political campaigns are at stake? No, Congress members won’t do anything to jeopardize that funding.

This writer endorses all efforts to assist the people of Ukraine, but he wants to see equal efforts to help liberate the Palestinians from the apartheid oppression under which they have suffered for decades. He wants the same level of effort shown on behalf of the Uyghur people in China, the Rohingya people in Myanmar, and suffering people around the world.

As we contact elected officials, donate to organizations assisting the Ukrainians, and volunteer in a myriad of ways to assist them, let’s also spend time and money in helping the suffering people who the world neglects. Doing so is our moral responsibility. History will not treat kindly those who ignored such unspeakable suffering.