Nick Scibelli
More than four months into the war between Israel and Hamas that has since escalated into a regional conflict in the Middle East, unprecedented levels of destruction have been thrust upon the Gaza Strip and its inhabitants. Israel’s response to the Oct. 7 attacks has left more than 29,000 people in Gaza dead, with more than 11,000 of them children. A World Bank study found that 45% of Gaza’s residential buildings are destroyed or damaged beyond repair. More than 80% of its population is now displaced, settled primarily in the southern city of Rafah.
Now, the specter of a military operation into Rafah looms large as the 1.4 million Palestinians in Gaza living there (on Israel’s orders) wait to find out if they’ll be subjected to even greater destruction than what has become a daily reality of life. What’s happening in Gaza has become a full-fledged humanitarian crisis, and its continual funding from the U.S. appears to be one of the only things able to garner bipartisan support from the federal government — U.S. Rep. Seth Moulton of the North Shore included. This support does little to ensure actual security for Israelis and nothing to promote the sovereignty of Palestinians.
Congressman Moulton’s position on the conflict is a very balanced one on paper. He maintains Israel’s right to self-defense and condemns Hamas while supporting an independent Palestinian state. He has commented extensively on the need to prevent the radicalization of the next generation in Palestine. He even voted against the recent Emergency Supplemental Aid for Israel Act, partially citing its lack of humanitarian aid to Gaza. But he maintains that financial support for Israel to conduct its war in Gaza must continue, and by extension, the approximately 210 Palestinian deaths a day with it.
It’s naive at best, and disingenuous at worst, to pretend that Israel’s right-wing government is willing to ensure the safety of Palestinian civilians in Gaza. The official policy of this government has for decades been to explicitly prevent Palestinians from forming an independent state and to actively promote illegal Israeli settlement of the occupied West Bank. Prior to the Oct. 7 attacks, 2023 was already one of the deadliest years for Palestinians in recent history, driven largely by settler violence. Most importantly, Hamas, a terrorist organization that is serving as Israel’s justification for turning Gaza to ruins, has for years now been actively uplifted by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government in an attempt to sow acrimony between the political authorities in Gaza and the West Bank. The violence unfolding in Gaza as we speak is not some spontaneous flare up between two cantankerous neighbors — it’s the manifestation of years of malicious policy choices designed to foster extremism and prevent Palestinian sovereignty. The hands of Netanyahu’s extreme right-wing government are soaked in blood. As far back as 2016, Moulton has supported sending financial aid to his government.
There are two wars being waged in Gaza right now — the tangible, physical war in which Israel is systematically annihilating Gaza, and the war of public opinion in which Israel is badly losing. Every home leveled to the ground, every hospital shut down, and every child killed breeds the next generation of extremists. If Hamas was wiped off the face of the planet today, the next extremist group would be waiting in the wings to take over the reigns. New flavors of Hamas-esque extremism will keep rolling out as long as Israel perpetuates its occupation of the Palestinian territories.
Continuing the war serves only to fulfill the ambitions of those who want to see Palestine erased from the map; in practice, it hurts both Israeli civilians who want to live in peace and Palestinians who want freedom. Congressman Moulton needs to have a reckoning with the actual circumstances happening on the ground and how his policy choices influence the situation there. It’s politically savvy to say all the right things about the war in Gaza, but written wrist-slaps about Israel’s humanitarian failures in the war while continuing to support its funding lead only to more devastation. If Congressman Moulton wants to do his part to create lasting peace and security for both Palestinians and Israelis, he’ll begin by calling for the only sensible starting point to that end: a permanent cease-fire and the full release of all hostages.
Nick Scibelli is a politically active lifelong resident of Swampscott.
