Letters to the Editor: The road to peace will begin when Israel ends its occupation
The world is watching an ongoing genocide in real time. Israel is wiping out cities, schools and universities along with the historical culture of the Gaza people, as it did in the Palestinian villages in 1948. Eliminating Hamas is justification to the West for his barbaric war.
Starvation as a weapon of war is just a continuation of Netanyahu's war of expulsion and annexing the territories. The U.S. — especially the past and current presidents — has enabled this spoiled child to do as he pleases.
The solution for peace for Israel and the Palestinians has always and will always be for an end to the occupation and freedom for the Palestinians who have endured occupation for 60 years. Is it not enough that Israel has affected the mental and physical future of a generation of children and caused the loss of future doctors, academics and other professionals?
George J. Mouro, Rancho Mirage
...
To the editor: The Times continues to show the tragic pictures of the children starving in Gaza. My heart goes out to them. My question to The Times is this: Why aren't you showing the body of a dead Jew who was slaughtered on Oct. 7, 2023, next to the picture of a starving child of Gaza?
It is time for the Arab world to send in an Islamic multi-country army to destroy Hamas. Then the Arabic countries could use their oil wealth to feed the children, allow Israel to withdraw from Gaza and build a peaceful country where there will be no more starving children.
Mark Walker, Yorba Linda
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Hill
8 minutes ago
- The Hill
After uproar, documentary on Hamas 2023 attack will screen at Toronto Film Festival
NEW YORK (AP) — The Toronto International Film Festival will screen a documentary on the 2023 Hamas attack, after all, following an uproar over the film's disinvitation from the upcoming festival. Earlier this week, TIFF withdrew its invitation to the film 'The Road Between Us: The Ultimate Rescue.' The festival said the decision was based in part on legal clearance for footage used in the documentary. Deadline, which first reported the news, said a sticking point was the identification and legal clearance of Hamas militants' own livestreaming of the attack. On Thursday evening, TIFF chief executive Cameron Bailey and 'The Road Between Us' filmmaker Barry Avrich issued a joint statement announcing the film's selection. 'Both TIFF and the filmmakers have heard the pain and frustration expressed by the public and we want to address this together,' said Bailey and Avrich. 'We have worked together to find a resolution to satisfy important safety, legal, and programming concerns.' 'In this case, TIFF's communication around its requirements did not clearly articulate the concerns and roadblocks that arose and for that, we are sorry,' they continued. The film chronicles the story of retired Israeli Gen. Noam Tibon, whose efforts to save his family and others during the Oct. 7, 2023 attack was profiled in a '60 Minutes' segment. After being informed that the film wouldn't screen at the festival, the 'Road Between Us' filmmakers issued a statement claiming TIFF 'censored its own programming by refusing the film.' Bailey disputed that allegation, and pleaded that the situation demanded sensitivity. 'The events of October 7, 2023, and the ongoing suffering in Gaza weigh heavily on us, underscoring the urgent need for compassion amid rising antisemitism and Islamophobia,' Bailey said on Wednesday.
Newsweek
39 minutes ago
- Newsweek
Zohran Mamdani Booed and Heckled at New York City Restaurant
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. Zohran Mamdani, New York state assemblyman and New York City mayoral candidate, was heckled, booed and subjected to xenophobic insults while campaigning in Staten Island this week. Why It Matters Mamdani, 33, became the Democratic mayoral nominee after defeating former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo in the June 24 Democratic primary. Results finalized by the New York City Board of Elections showed Mamdani easily clearing the 50 percent threshold, resulting in both Cuomo and New York City Mayor Eric Adams running as independents in opposition of his candidacy. All three have gone after one another while the perennial Republican candidate, 71-year-old Curtis Sliwa, is once again aiming for a major upset for the GOP. Former federal prosecutor Jim Walden is also vying for a long-shot victory as an independent. New York City Democratic mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani leaves a news conference outside the Jacob K. Javits federal building on August 7 in Manhattan. New York City Democratic mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani leaves a news conference outside the Jacob K. Javits federal building on August 7 in Manhattan. Yuki Iwamura/AP What To Know "You are not welcome in this f****** island," Scott LoBaido, local artist-activist, shouted at Mamdani while he was visiting Istanbul Bay Mediterranean Restaurant on Wednesday, according to video footage posted to X, formerly Twitter. LoBaido, 60, also called Mamdani, a self-described democratic socialist, a "communist," and later added, "You f****** Jew-hating piece of s***." Mamdani has been sharply critical of the Israeli government's military actions in the Gaza Strip, which have killed more than 60,000 Palestinians since the Israel-Hamas war started following Hamas' October 7, 2023, terrorist attack in Israel. The Democratic mayoral candidate has called for Israel to end its "occupation" of Gaza and described the country as an apartheid state. He has also voiced support for the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement, which seeks to economically isolate Israel. Mamdani has been accused of antisemitism by Zionist groups and his political opponents, a charge he vehemently denies while noting that criticism of the Israeli government does not equate to prejudice against Jewish people. LoBaido was among several GOP protesters who pelted Mamdani, who immigrated to the United States with his family when he was 7 years old, with racist and xenophobic attacks while he was in Republican stronghold Staten Island, New York City's GOP outlier among its five boroughs. "Go back to where you came from. We don't want you on Staten Island," a protester wearing a "Trump girl" T-shirt and holding an American flag shouted at Mamdani as he left the restaurant, according to Fox News. LoBaido, meanwhile, told local media that he was arrested after shouting at the mayoral candidate and issued summonses for disorderly conduct, sound violation and foul language. "I decided to throw him a Staten Island-style surprise welcome party," the activist told SILive. "One of my three arrest summonses was use of foul language. I will plead guilty as f****** charged on that one." LoBaido touted his actions in an Instagram post after footage of him yelling at Mamdani started circulating online. "You ever throw a surprise party? You know how hard it is to keep it quiet so the participant who it's for doesn't find out?" LoBaido said in his video post. "Well, folks, put another notch on my belt: surprise party king ... because it was perfect yesterday." "Everybody that was involved, all the other guests that came were quiet until we got there. And he showed up and he was trying to come through the side door, not even in the front door, and we came running at him," he added. "Surprise, mother******!" LoBaido went on to say that Mamdani got "slammed right into the side door," though that detail has not been confirmed. "We went storming in the front, there was 30, 40 of us, whatever. There was about 10 of his f****** people there. And we—God, that guy knew who we were," he added, continuing that he pointed his finger in Mamdani's face "to honor my good friend, Tom Homan." LoBaido was likely referencing a viral moment from earlier this year in which Mamdani confronted Homan, President Donald Trump's border czar, and berated him over the Trump administration's detention of Columbia University graduate student Mahmoud Khalil. "Tommy, I made that guy look like a little f****** crying schoolgirl, all due respect to schoolgirls," LoBaido said in his Instagram post. "Anyway, it's good to know that he's seen my face now and he knows Uncle Scotty and my crew of patriots that are going to be following" Mamdani "around my city, our city, until November." What People Are Saying Mamdani responded to the protesters, saying in part: "I will not let it dissuade me from continuing to come to Staten Island, from continuing to speak to New Yorkers, no matter where they live, no matter what politics they have. Because I know that just as there are Republicans who feel that way, there are others who are sincere in their questions." Shahana Masum, a Mamdani supporter, told Fox News the Democratic mayoral nominee represents "me and my community," adding: "You didn't go back to your country, and I came here with dignity and with my visa, so don't tell me to leave." What Happens Next Mamdani continues holding a strong lead over his opponents, with a Siena University poll this week showing his support as equivalent to that of his three strongest adversaries combined. New York City's general mayoral election is scheduled for November 4.
2 hours ago
Sexual violence in conflicts worldwide increased by 25% last year, UN says
UNITED NATIONS -- Sexual violence in conflicts worldwide increased by 25% last year, with the highest number of cases in the Central African Republic, Congo, Haiti, Somalia and South Sudan, according to a U.N. report released Thursday. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres' annual report said more than 4,600 people survived sexual violence in 2024, with armed groups carrying out the majority of the abuse but some by government forces. He stressed that the U.N.-verified figures don't reflect the global scale and prevalence of these crimes. The report's blacklist names 63 government and non-government parties in a dozen countries suspected of committing or being responsible for rape and other forms of sexual violence in conflict, including Hamas militants, whose attack in Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, sparked the war in Gaza. Over 70% of those listed have appeared on the report's blacklist annex for five years or more without creating steps to prevent the violence, the U.N. chief said. For the first time, the report includes two parties that have been notified the U.N. has 'credible information' that could put them on next year's blacklist if they don't take preventive actions: Israel's military and security forces over allegations of sexual abuse of Palestinians primarily in prisons and detention, and Russian forces and affiliated armed groups against Ukrainian prisoners of war. Israeli U.N. Ambassador Danny Danon, who circulated a letter Tuesday from Guterres about the country's forces being put on notice, said the allegations 'are steeped in biased publications.' 'The U.N. must focus on the shocking war crimes and sexual violence of Hamas and the release of all hostages,' he said. Russia's U.N. mission said it had no comment on the secretary-general's warning. The 34-page report said 'conflict-related sexual violence' refers to rape, sexual slavery, forced prostitution, forced pregnancy, forced abortion, forced sterilization, forced marriage and other forms of sexual violence. The majority of victims are women and girls. 'In 2024, proliferating and escalating conflicts were marked by widespread conflict-related sexual violence, amid record levels of displacement and increased militarization,' Guterres said. 'Sexual violence continued to be used as a tactic of war, torture, terrorism and political repression, while multiple and overlapping political, security and humanitarian crises deepened.' The U.N. says women and girls were attacked in their homes, on roads and while trying to earn a living, with victims ranging in age from 1 to 75. Reports of summary executions of victims after rape persisted in Congo and Myanmar, it said. In an increasing number of places, the report said armed groups 'used sexual violence as a tactic to gain and consolidate control over territory and lucrative natural resources.' Women and girls perceived to be associated with rival armed groups were targeted with sexual violence in the Central African Republic, Congo and Haiti, it said. In detention facilities, the report said sexual violence was perpetrated 'including as a form of torture,' reportedly in Israel and the Palestinian territories, Libya, Myanmar, Sudan, Syria, Ukraine and Yemen. 'Most of the reported incidents against men and boys occurred in detention, consistent with previous years, and included rape, threats of rape and the electrocution and beating of genitals,' the report said. The U.N. peacekeeping mission in the Central African Republic documented cases of rape, gang rape, forced marriage and sexual slavery affecting 215 women, 191 girls and seven men. In mineral-rich eastern Congo, the peacekeeping mission documented nearly 800 cases last year, including rape, gang rape, sexual slavery and forced marriage, 'often accompanied by extreme physical violence,' the report said. The number of cases involving the M23 rebel group, now controlling the main city Goma, rose from 43 in 2022 to 152 in 2024, it said. In Sudan, where civil war is raging, the report said that groups providing services to victims of sexual violence recorded 221 rape cases against 147 girls and 74 boys since the beginning of 2024, 'with 16% of survivors under five years of age, including four one-year-olds.'
