International Women's Dedication

Please join me in honoring the women in Gaza who are struggling to support their families despite overwhelming loss.

We can do more for them than build a temporary pier to deliver food to the mouths of starving children after five months of struggling to stay alive. We can demand a permanent cease-fire, in their name.

It was a rousing, yet disappointing State of the Union for the mothers of Gaza

Everything about President Biden's reference to the genocide in Gaza was spoken from the Israeli perspective:

Twelve hundred innocent people, women and girls, men and boys slaughtered, after enduring sexual violence. The deadliest day for the Jewish people since the Holocaust. And 250 hostages taken.

No one can argue that Hamas is responsible for unspeakable violence against these Israeli and American citizens. But we all know it cannot be justification for what has followed.

Biden's speechwriters lost an opportunity for a brilliant segueway to how Israel is now engaged in the greatest genocide since the Holocaust. Six weeks of ceasefire is not enough. It must be permanent. Instead, he punted:

The United States has been leading international efforts to get more humanitarian assistance into Gaza. Tonight, I’m directing the U.S. military to lead an emergency mission to establish a temporary pier in the Mediterranean on the coast of Gaza that can receive large shipments carrying food, water, medicine, and temporary shelters.

A pier?

Don't get me wrong. The mothers of Gaza need humanitarian assistance.

And they should have it. The problem is that not everyone agrees that a pier is the right solution. The United Nations' Senior Humanitarian and Reconstruction Coordinator, Sigrid Kaag has reported that their focus has been on "diversifying the supply routes via land" noting that these are "faster, cheaper, and more sustainable."

So, it makes one wonder about the cost and effort behind that maritime solution. In the meantime, children are starting to die from starvation, there are not enough medical supplies for proper labor and delivery or feminine hygiene. The mothers of Gaza are suffer catastrophic loses anyway that you look at it.

And what happens after six weeks of ceasefire?

Continue to demand a permanent ceasefire!

There are many ways you can support a permanent ceasefire:

Participate in an action (aka protest) in your local area (or travel to one).
Engage in a call-in or letter-writing campaign.
Provide media support.
Provide strategic support.
Donate to such an organization or a humanitarian aid organization that is providing boots-on-the ground support.