HOW MANY MORE MUST DIE?

Over 600 people protested against Israel's bombing of Lebanon yesterday in the streets of Tel Aviv. As one Jewish anti-war protestor said, "That's exactly how it happened after Ariel Sharon's invasion of Lebanon. On the first day of the war we were a hundred, after a week we were a thousand, after three weeks we were 10 thousands and after two months, following the Sabra and Shatila massacre, we were 400 thousand."

Together with Gush Shalom, members of all the consistent Israeli peace organizations took part, including Yesh Gvul, Anarchists Against Walls, Ta'ayush, Women's Coalition for Peace, Courage to Refuse, Hadash, Balad, The Committee Against House Demolitions and The Center for Alternative Information. They shouted in unison: "Return to the Negotiation Table!", "All the Ministers are War Criminals!", "We shall Neither Kill Nor Die for the Settlements!" and more.

This story about growing protests in Israel will not make it into the media in the U.S. Instead the American people will continue to be told that "100%" of Israeli people support the war.

Back here in the USA several thousand "Christian fundamentalists" conveniently planned to descend on Washington DC today to lobby Congress to support Israel. David Brog, former chief of staff for Republican Sen. Arlen Specter, has gone to work for the Rev. John C. Hagee, organizer of the "lobby crusade." Brog, who is Jewish, says he works for the Rev. Hagee's evangelical enterprise because "we're bringing into a pro-Israel camp millions of Christians who love Israel and giving them a political voice. Israel's enemies are our enemies, and this group instinctively understands that."

Christian fundamentalists want to see the "rapture" happen, the sooner the better. They believe that when the "end times" come that Jesus will return and they will go to heaven. The rest of us "sinners" will be left behind here on Earth to fry in eternal damnation. And so it goes in Washington these days. Our foreign policy is now being directed by the right-wing fanatics and the Bush administration is quite happy to have their active support to expand this madness into a wider war. The weapons corporations and oil corporations are cheering the whole show on.

In the meantime growing numbers of innocent people in Lebanon are dieing as they are hit by Israel's high-tech weapons, most of which came from the U.S. military-industrial complex. The collective punishment of civilians, as is now underway in Gaza and Lebanon, violates international law. But the fascists now running this country, and Israel, don't give a damn about that.

Most American peace activists are afraid to speak out against Israel for fear they will be called anti-Semitic. But they must speak out, especially in support of Jewish activists who are now in the streets protesting the enlarging circle of violence. This is the moment where we find out who are the real peaceniks of courage.