To the editor:
Seventy five years ago, on December 10, 1948, the United Nations unanimously passed the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. It was a statement of principles which, sadly, has been poorly upheld. The preamble states that “recognition of the inherent dignity and of the equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human family is the foundation of freedom, justice and peace in the world.”
What is happening in Gaza violates every aspect of that resolution. Forcing 2 million people to evacuate to the south, cramming them into a tiny area without water, electricity, food, shelter, or hospitals and then bombing the south, telling those same people they must leave again when there is nowhere to go is deliberate cruelty, definitely NOT protecting the inalienable rights of civilians. Neither is indiscriminate detention of young men or bombing infrastructure into oblivion.
A cease-fire is imperative. Violence breeds violence: Israel has surpassed the horror perpetuated by Hamas. The U.S. and our leaders, Biden, Stabenow, Peters, and Bergman must insist on and assist with Israel finding a nonviolent way to eliminate the threat of Hamas. It can be done! Where there is a will there is a way. We must demonstrate that will.
Jean Petersen Maple City
