They Are Not Numbers in Gaza

Women Against Military Madness Newsletter, Vol. 41 No. 6, Winter II 2023

On December 11, we received a heart wrenching message from Alice Rothchildwith news about young writers who were part of We Are Not Numbers. She wrote, “We have lost four writers and one was pulled from the rubble alive…here are tributes to those tragically killed in this outrageous and devastating war on the people of Gaza.” [https://wearenotnumbers.org/?s=tributes]

These talented, promising young people, killed in Israeli airstrikes, were part of We Are Not Numbers, a youth-led project through which experienced writers mentored young writers in Gaza. They wanted to convey who they are beyond politics and statistics: “the daily personal struggles and triumphs, the tears and the laughter, and the aspirations that are so universal that if it weren’t for the context, they would immediately resonate with virtually everyone.”

As always, we as U.S. citizens, must ask first what is the role of the U.S.? The answer is that, along with political support, the U.S. has been providing the bombs, bullets, and fighter jets to Israel.*The abhorrent killing of these youth – and all the other people in Gaza – are why we need to do what we can to force our government to end hostilities and free Palestine.

Paypal/Card         Other Options
Support Independent Media

Yousef Maher Dawas Killed on October 14, 2023, along with several family members, by an Israel-fired missile strike on his family’s home in the northern Gaza strip town of Beit Lahia.

Killed on October 20, 2023, with 19 family members, by an Israeli-fired missile strike on his family’s home in the town of Deir Al Balha in the central Gaza Strip.

Killed, with relatives, in an Israeli air strike on October 23. The status of her two young children is unknown.

Killed with his father and brothers shortly before the ceasefire [pause] began on November 25.

See more about these young writers, their lives, and their work at wearenotnumbers.org.

We also acknowledge with sorrow, the hateful attacks on three college students of Palestinian descent: Tahseen Amed, Kinnan Abdel Hamid, and Hisham Awartani (now paralyzed from the waist down) who were shot while walking down a residential street in Burlington, Vermont. Awartani, whose parents and home is in Ramallah, was visiting his grandmother over Thanksgiving, his parents believing he would be safer than in the West Bank where so many Palestinian youth have been shot.

*Hammer, Mathias. “What to Know About U.S. Military Support for Israel’s Gaza Offensive,” TIME. http://tinyurl.com/2p9dvbrw. November 3, 2023.

Yaaron, Oden and Samuels, Ben. “Revealed: The Munitions U.S. Supplied Israel for Gaza War,” Haaretz. Nov. 16, 2023. tinyurl.com/2azapvsd

WAMM joins Veterans for Peace Chapter 27 at the door of U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar’s Minneapolis office.

A check representation of the amount of money given to Sen. Klobuchar by AIPAC (The American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) is America’s pro-Israel lobby.)

Demanding an end to the genocide in Gaza, Minnesotans confront the levers of power in their state: congressional offices, the governor’s residence, and Master of War weapons manufacturer, Lockheed Martin.

At the peace bridge between Minneapolis and St. Paul over the Mississippi River.

Activists protest at Forward Edge ASIC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Lockheed Martin, at its new location November 20 in St. Paul. Lockheed Martin is the largest weapons manufacturer in the U.S. Photo: Kim DeFranco

Protester calls out Lockheed Martin for its weapons that can kill the children. Photo: TIME Magazine

Feeling betrayed, Betty McCollum’s constituents post the congresswoman’s own words on a window in her office on October 25. She voted for H.R. 771, which gave the green light to Israel to attack Gaza.

Activists bring their demand to Minnesota Governor Walz’s temporary residence Eastcliffe in Minneapolis.. They want the state to divest from its Israeli holdings as Gaza is bombed.
Photo: Kim DeFranco