For the past four months, we’ve seen the state of Israel sustain a devastating blockade of aid, which has accelerated the death and devastation we’ve seen in Gaza. In response to sustained activism and outrage, there has been implemented a program that is woefully inadequate and has led to further preventable starvation and suffering. This new strategy forces people to cross miles of military lines to access aid at sites that are then controlled using live ammunition, where many have been killed by soldiers and contractors stationed at the sites.
This week, Donald Trump and the federal government launched a dangerous and anti-democratic occupation in the District of Columbia. On Monday, the President delivered a racist and inaccurate rant claiming the city was overrun with “crime” and needed to be “liberated.” This constitutes a direct assault on human dignity and the right to self-rule for the people of Washington, DC. The militarization of law enforcement is an attack on the democratic rights of the citizens of the District of Columbia, and it must end.