I was taken aback by the letters defending Israel's illegal occupation of Gaza and the West Bank, which has been characterized as a form of apartheid by no less than Nelson Mandela and Desmond Tutu. "Lest we forget" means pay attention in the present, right now. As has been said, Israelis claim they are defending themselves in the sense that any military occupier has to defend itself against the population it is crushing. But defending yourself when you're militarily occupying someone else's land is not defense. Gaza, population 1.8 million, in an area 1/15th the size of HRM, is world's largest prison, completely fenced in, with all aspects of life controlled by Israel since 2005 (when it withdrew its outposts there). Probably the best comparison is with the Warsaw Ghetto, created by the Nazis in Nov 1940 and demolished in 1943, also completely walled in, imprisoning 400,000 Jews, who also mounted some futile uprisings against their oppressors. Should we be offended by the resistance of the inmates of the Ghetto? The Gaza Ghetto is now in its 14th year, but is estimated to become completely unlivable by 2021. The Warsaw Ghetto Jews were sent to Treblinka to be exterminated: secrecy and active ignoring allowed that to happen. What will happen with the Gaza Ghetto Palestinians? If we as Canadians deny ourselves the right to open our eyes and pay attention what is happening there and to speak up about it, then we are enabling that ongoing catastrophe.
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