To the editor:
As members of Lynn’s Jewish community, we are appalled by the attack on Faustina Cuevas reported in Friday’s Item. There is absolutely nothing wrong with speaking out for Palestinian human rights, and this despicable attempt to intimidate people into silence must be rejected. We see no contradiction between our heartbreak at the horrific terror attack by Hamas and opposition to Israel’s devastating assault on the people of Gaza.
The Item’s decision to elevate this manufactured controversy to its front page is questionable. The pretext for the complaints about the social-media posts is a reach: it is standard practice to include a job title in a personal LinkedIn profile, and doing so does not indicate the employer’s endorsement of an individual’s posts.
Attention should be focused instead on the plight of the people of Gaza, who are facing illegal collective punishment that a United Nations Special Rapporteur recently characterized as creating “grave danger of mass ethnic cleansing.” Devastating airstrikes by the Israeli military have already killed thousands of civilians and displaced more than 1 million people. Hunger is rampant, disease is spreading, and hospitals are shutting down thanks to the Israeli government’s intentional, openly announced cutoff of food, water, and fuel.
In the face of such human suffering, a ceasefire is urgently needed as a first step to ending the occupation and blockade that have crushed Palestinians for generations. It is particularly important for people in the United States to speak up, since the oppressive Israeli policies at the root of the crisis – termed apartheid by groups from Amnesty International to Israeli human rights organization B’Tselem – are enabled by our own country’s military, economic, and diplomatic support.
This is a moment for elected officials and community leaders to take a stand for human rights, not to lash out at people for sounding the alarm about an ongoing humanitarian catastrophe. We hope Congressman Seth Moulton, Sen. Elizabeth Warren, and Sen. Edward Markey will call for a ceasefire now and demonstrate more courage and thoughtfulness than Councilor Richard Colucci, Councilor Richard Starbard, and the others who attempted to silence Faustina.
Sincerely,
Isaac Simon Hodes
Rabbi Rebecca Zimmerman Hornstein
Suzanne Simon Hodes
Jonathon Feinberg
Jackie Berman
David Gass
Marjie Crosby
Hazel Kiefer
