OnIslam & News Agencies
Sunday, 24 August 2014 00:00
Signatories to the letter have condemned the "racist dehumanization of Palestinians in Israeli society, which has reached fever pitch".
NEW YORK – Hundreds of Holocaust survivors and descendants of survivors have signed a letter, published as an advertisement in Saturday's New York Times, condemning "the genocide” of Palestinians in Gaza and calling for a complete boycott of Israel.
"As Jewish survivors and descendants of survivors and victims of the Nazi genocide we unequivocally condemn the massacre of Palestinians in Gaza and the ongoing occupation and colonization of historic Palestine," the statement cited by the BBC says.
"We further condemn the United States for providing Israel with the funding to carry out the attack, and Western states more generally for using their diplomatic muscle to protect Israel from condemnation.
They have also condemned the "racist dehumanization of Palestinians in Israeli society, which has reached fever pitch".The 327 signatories expressed alarm at the "colonization of historic Palestine".
The letter was drafted in response to an advertisement written by Nobel prize-winning author Elie Wiesel and published in many newspapers which accused Hamas of "child sacrifice" and behaving like Nazis.
"…we are disgusted and outraged by Elie Wiesel’s abuse of our history in these pages to justify the unjustifiable: Israel’s wholesale effort to destroy Gaza and the murder of more than 2,000 Palestinians, including many hundreds of children,” the letter reads.
“Nothing can justify bombing UN shelters, homes, hospitals and universities. Nothing can justify depriving people of electricity and water," it adds.
The letter also blames the United States of aiding Israel in its war on Gaza, and the West in general of protecting Israel from condemnation.
"Genocide begins with the silence of the world," the letter reads.
Boycott
The letter, released by the International Jewish Anti-Zionist Network, calls for the blockade of Gaza to be lifted.
Moreover, it calls for an economic, cultural and academic boycott of Israel.
"We must raise our collective voices and use our collective power to bring about an end to all forms of racism, including the ongoing genocide of Palestinian people,” it reads.
“We call for an immediate end to the siege against and blockade of Gaza. We call for the full economic, cultural and academic boycott of Israel. “Never again” must mean NEVER AGAIN FOR ANYONE!"”
Israel has been launching relentless airstrikes against Gaza since July 8 where more than 2000 have been killed and thousands injured.
Health officials in Gaza said more than 1900 Palestinians, most of them civilians, have been killed and nearly 10,000 injured since Israel launched its war on the besieged strip.
According to UN Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), about 80% of deaths in Gaza are civilians, including dozens of children and women.
The large scale of mass destruction in Gaza has left about 5,510 homes completely destroyed and about 31,000 partially damaged, forcing tens of thousands to flee their homes that were caught up in the Israeli air strikes.
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