Human rights must be honored in Gaza, just like they are needed in Fresno | Opinion

No kind person, no caring person, no credible person would support or endorse the death and destruction caused by Hamas on Oct. 7. Hamas brutally slaughtered about 1,600 Israelis that day and we should never forget this horrific act.

However, we should also never forget that Israel needs to be held accountable for committing the crime of apartheid against Palestinians.

Last year Amnesty International released a damning report that details “How Israel enforces a system of oppression and domination against Palestinian people wherever it has control over their rights … massive seizures of Palestinian land and property, unlawful killings, forcible transfer, drastic movement restrictions, and the denial of nationality and citizenship to Palestinians are all components of a system which amounts to apartheid under international law. This system is maintained by violations which Amnesty International found to constitute apartheid as a crime against humanity, as defined in the Rome Statute and Apartheid Convention.” The full report is here: https://www.amnesty.org/en/documents/mde15/5141/2022/en/.

And now, day after day, the Israeli government drops bomb after bomb on Palestinian neighborhoods in the Gaza strip, killing children and innocent victims. The reports vary, but it seems safe to assume that the Israeli air strikes have killed over 17,000. . Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu claims what Israel is doing is self-defense, yet it looks more like a slaughter.

Both things are true. Hamas brutalized and killed innocent Israelis on Oct. 7 and the Israeli government is brutalizing and killing innocent Palestinians every day. However, our nation, state and even local community continue to roundly condemn Palestinians, lumping them in with Hamas (Palestinians are not Hamas), while offering unwavering support for the Israeli government.

Congress and President Biden want an aid package for Israel. Palestinians aren’t even mentioned. According to the US Campaign for Palestinian Rights, California has given more than $600 million to the Israel military this year. Lastly, Mayor Jerry Dyer was quick to throw our city’s support behind Israel, even raising its flag at City Hall on Oct. 12. Finally, on Dec. 8, the Palestinian flag was raised at City Hall.

So, what’s going on here? As with most things, it comes down to race and power. “The Palestinians are treated as an inferior racial group and systemically deprived of their rights,” said Agnès Callamard, Amnesty International’s secretary general.

This issue is personal to me because I see so many parallels between what I’ve lived and experienced and the plight of the Palestinians. As a Chicana, I understand racism. I understand oppression. Our own police department has a terrible relationship with communities of color. Black and brown people don’t trust the police. Mayor Dyer, the former police chief, has an awful relationship with communities of color. We all know what happened on his watch as the chief.

He claims to want ONE FRESNO, but fails to convene a Human Rights Commission that would bring together more voices and diversity and put us in one group, instead of isolating us in several different silos. He claims to want the police department to be more accountable, particularly to communities of color, yet he and others refuse to accept several key recommendations from the Commission on Police Reform (which I served on) that would actually help improve the relationship between the community and the department.

Yes, this issue is personal to me, but it should be personal to all of us because it’s a human-rights issue, in Gaza and right here at home. The betterment of the world should be a collective struggle. If any neighborhood suffers, it impacts all of us.

I will not stop making noise. I pay taxes and I have a right to speak my mind. I believe in our democracy. I believe in our Constitution, and I believe we all must stand up for what’s right by standing up for Palestine and demanding a better Fresno for all of us.