Bystanders No More.

Mark A. Ashwill Articles, Commentary, , , , , ,

Helping people speak up about human rights in Palestine.

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Once there is seeing, there must be acting. Otherwise, what’s the use of seeing? -Thích Nhất Hạnh (1926-2022)

To be a Jew means always being with the oppressed, never with the oppressors. -Marek Edelman (1919/1922-2009) – last surviving leader, Warsaw ghetto uprising

I love this website and initiative. It starts with a simple question: Do you believe in basic human rights for all people? The logical answer should be YES but for many, it is a resounding NO based on their words and actions. It reminds me of a recent blog post I wrote about one of the ubiquitous I Stand with Israel displays. Those people would logically check NO in response to this question about basic human rights. There is no wiggle room or gray area.

Here are two articles I wrote in the past year about “taking sides” and bystanders in my profession, who are legion, sadly.

International educators need to end their silence on Gaza (13.1.24)

Let’s ditch the binaries and join the ‘all of humanity’ club (19.10.23)

While the focus of Bystanders No More. website is on Palestine, its intent and appeal are universal.

Peace, MAA

7 thoughts on “Bystanders No More.”

  5. From Marc Cohen on LinkedIn:

    Marc Cohen • I’m Jewish and I support a #FreePalestine. 🇵🇸 ex-Bell Labs, ex-Google – My mission is to make computing and data science more inclusive. I blog at mco.dev. Boycott Isreael: bdsmovement.net.I’m Jewish and I support a #FreePalestine.

    I’m sure many Israelis and their supporters are jubilant today over the seeming success of their terrorist attack on Lebanon. But what they probably aren’t thinking about is the whole world sees what you are doing. Despite Israel’s attempts to suppress the truth by killing as many journalists as possible, this past year has undoubtedly been the most recorded genocide in history.

    While you’re celebrating, know that the world will never forget what you have done. Israel’s utter depravity throughput this past year (and many years before) will be spoken about, written about, and taught to children around the world, for generations to come, just as the Holocaust was a part of both my religious and secular childhood education. The whole world is witness to your racism, your brutality, and your callous disregard for the sanctity of human life.

    To Israelis and their sycophants: you will lose. Because hate, and discrimination, and murder will never triumph in the end.

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  7. “I changed my mind about Palestine because of three people. The first is an impressive rabbi who told me – as somebody who loves Israel – how horrified she was about what was happening in Israel and about the apartheid that she witnessed in the treatment of Palestinians. The second was a Palestinian professional whom I got to know in London who told me about his family in the West Bank, and how the land belonging to his family for generations had been stolen from them. And the third thing that really, really reached my heart was reading a novel called “Mornings in Jenin”. So now it’s rather obvious to me that we cannot justify the absolute disregard for the lives of thousands of innocent Palestinian civilians, women, children and men. I don’t understand why so little value is placed on the life of a Palestinian, compared, say to the lives of each individual English, German or American person. I just identify with fellow human beings who are being submitted to suffering, which major western powers seem to think is quite acceptable. And that’s why I think what Bystanders No More is doing is so important. Please speak up for what you know to be true”.
    Mark Goyder – Founder, Tomorrow’s Company
    Source— Bystanders No More

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