Israel must be brought to justice

Louisa Romanous

I cannot sit back while the vicious and destructive Israeli attacks on Lebanon are targeting innocent peoples' homes and basic infrastructure. As a mother, I cannot remain silent as observers say that the Geneva Convention — designed to protect civilians — has been ignored.

Despite knowing that many people were unable to leave, the Israelis still bombed villages to rubble, leaving the Red Cross to count the dead, mainly elderly, people. This pattern started in Marwaheen, Aitaroun, Qana, Qu'a and the latest is the massacre in Shiyyah in Beirut. But Israel is also bombing in the north, far from the border it is claiming to defend.

Indiscriminate bombing and collective punishment is no justification for defending a border. UN observers say that Israel has violated the border between itself and Lebanon many times.

The Israeli government has always dealt with conflict with extreme aggression, excessive violence and humiliation. Israel wants recognition, but does not want to recognise others' rights to self-determination. For more than 50 years, this has led to increasing bitterness and resentment across the Middle East.

The US-backed Israeli government fails to see that invasions, occupations and the violation of basic human rights will ensure that resistance movements continue to grow.

We can make a difference by alerting local, state and federal politicians, Coalition and Labor, about the scale of the humanitarian disaster in Lebanon and Palestine, and call on them to break their silence. But we must also pressure our unions to take a stand and demand [that] Israel be brought to justice for its war crimes.

[Louisa Romanous is a Lebanese activist. Abridged from a speech to the 6000-strong Sydney rally against the bombing on August 12.]

From GLW issue 680