israel

I Had a Dream: From Vietnam to Gaza

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

Click on the image for a video slideshow I created set to Samuel Barber's Adagio for Strings. And now a word from my conscience and a clarion call from my moral compass... My latest for CounterPunch. Here's how I kick off this 3000+-word essay. Israel has reached an unimaginable peak of evil. And indeed many … Continue reading I Had a Dream: From Vietnam to Gaza

Rhetorical Checkmate

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Source: Wikipedia LinkedIn is becoming like Facebook except I reserve non-business posts and comments for truly serious and literally existential issues like the ongoing Israeli genocide in Gaza. You can start with my comment followed by Johanna's indignant response, and my response to her response. Crickets after the latter. Like many, you'll notice she trots … Continue reading Rhetorical Checkmate

I Had a Dream: From Vietnam to Gaza

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

A boy carries a humanitarian aid package provided by the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees: UNRWA) in central Gaza City [Omar Al-Qattaa/AFP] “There is a price to pay for speaking the truth. There is a bigger price for living a lie.” – Cornel West I recently … Continue reading I Had a Dream: From Vietnam to Gaza

Bystanders No More.

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Helping people speak up about human rights in Palestine. Screenshot 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 … Continue reading Bystanders No More.

“I can’t stand the dehumanization. I can’t stand the oppression. I can’t stand the arrogance.”

Mark A. Ashwill Commentary , , , , , ,

Related to my last blog post, I took the liberty of copying/pasting this LinkedIn post. Peace, MAA Yehia Elkhouly This picture here is the reason why I have been losing sleep over the plight of Palestinians. I can’t stand the dehumanization. I can’t stand the oppression. I can’t stand the arrogance.Two stories in the same … Continue reading “I can’t stand the dehumanization. I can’t stand the oppression. I can’t stand the arrogance.”

I Stand With…

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the exploited, weak, oppressed, and victims of state-sponsored violence, including genocide, NOT the oppressors, exploiters, and murderers. It's really that simple. That black and white. There are no gray areas. There is no moral equivalence here. What Hamas did last October was barbaric but the 2.1 million people living in Gaza are not Hamas. The … Continue reading I Stand With…

Aaron Bushnell, Requiescat in Pace

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LinkedIn Screenshot Many of us like to ask ourselves, 'What would I do if I was alive during slavery? Or the Jim Crow South? Or apartheid? What would I do if my country was committing genocide?' The answer is, you're doing it. Right now. -Aaron Bushnell, on the morning of 25 February 2024 From the moment I learned of … Continue reading Aaron Bushnell, Requiescat in Pace

Guest Post: “Erasing Palestine” 

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This is a guest post by Mike Hastie, a veteran of the US war in Vietnam whose tagline is "I was born in America, but my heart is Vietnamese." Erasing Human Rights Erasing Human Beings Erasing Hospitals Erasing Medical Supplies Erasing Oxygen Erasing Doctors and Nurses Erasing Ambulances Erasing Food and Water Erasing Electricity Erasing … Continue reading Guest Post: “Erasing Palestine” 

International Education’s Deafening “Culture of Silence”

Mark A. Ashwill Articles, Commentary , , , ,

Below is the first part of my latest essay for University World News. The editor's title is International educators need to end their silence on Gaza. Follow this link to read it in its entirety. Jainendra Jeevan, The Kathmandu Post There is a price to pay for speaking the truth.  There is a bigger price … Continue reading International Education’s Deafening “Culture of Silence”