Editor’s Note: On March 1 La Jicarita published an Action Alert announcing that Taoseños for Peaceful and Livable Futures would be doing a table at Cid’s in solidarity with the ANSWER Coalition Global Day of Action Hands Off Rafah. Everyone who stopped by was urged to contact the New Mexico Congressional delegation to call for a cease fire and end military aid to Israel. William Turner once again posted a comment in in La Jicarita in support of Israel’s assault on Gaza.
This is Taoseños for Peaceful and Livable Futures member Suzie Schwartz’s response (photos can’t be posted in the comment section so I’m providing them here).
“Who will be on the right side of history?
La Jicarita 
Please don’t just grimace and look away. It’s heartbreaking but we can all do something – write a letter to the editor, call our representatives in Congress and Senate and the President, speak out in public. Silence is complicity.
Greetings:
I believe that the final chapter on anti-semitism will not be written with the defeat of Hamas and those who wish harm upon the Jewish people. Throughout the past 4000 years, the Jewish people have faced persecution. This conflict rooted in the iron age is not welcome in today’s world as we strive for peace everywhere. Aren’t we all sick and tired with the bad news that we are fed daily? It appears that Hamas has consistently opposed treaties between Israel and Arab countries through their disruptive and violent actions. The pain and suffering caused by Hamas to the Palestinians and the hostages is heartbreaking, especially for the innocent children. Gaza has transformed into an uninhabitable and unrecognizable place since my visit to Gaza in 1967. Hamas is likened to a cancer, spreading death wherever it goes. It is crucial to eradicate this threat to create a better world. It is concerning that La Jicarita seems to have become a platform for Hamas and their anti-semitic rhetoric. Freedom of expression should not be used to incite violence.
OK, Bill, once again you’ve abrogated the La Jicarita policy against name calling and ad hominem attacks, in this case, “La Jicarita seems to have become a platform for Hamas and their antisemitic rhetoric.” But let me correct you on your antisemitism charge. As a Jew, I must be a self-hating one rather than antisemitic. This is the last time I’m going to approve your comments in La Jicarita, but I thought we could part ways with a little lesson on Zionism, as you’re always trying to give me one on the history of Judaism.
1. Your 4000 years of Jewish persecution should be qualified as Ashkenazi persecution. According to Avi Sclaim, British-Israeli historian of Iraqi descent, his Jewish community in Iraq lived neighbor to neighbor with the Arab community until the Zionist settlement of Palestine. Listen to his February 16 interview with Nathan Robinson on the Current Affairs podcast.
2. Read Amos Oz’s memoir, A Tale of Love and Darkness, on how the Jews and Arabs lived in harmony in Palestine before the Zionists forced the Arabs out.
3. Read Israeli historian Ilan Pape’s book, Ethnic Cleansing of Palestine, on the damage Zionist settler colonialism has done to both Palestine and the Israeli state. He also addresses the inability of Israelis to see themselves as anything but victims, which then turns them into the oppressors.
4. Read Miko Peled’s books, The Story of the Holy Land Foundation Fire and The General’s Son: Journey of an Israeli in Palestine, about how Jews became Zionists with nationalistic, militaristic, and racist indoctrination by the state. Peled is living proof that someone so indoctrinated can find the truth if he looks for it.
I see no comments from Suzie. Was her response the photos only?
Yes. Responding to William Turner is a waste of time. We agreed it was important to post the photos instead.