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Letter to the Editor: Why is the City of Richmond Still not calling for a ceasefire in Gaza?
11-22-2023
I am asking the Mayor, Council and the City of Richmond to demand the Canadian government to call for a ceasefire in Gaza.
This week, Burnaby Councillor Daniel Tetrault brought forward a motion to ask the Canadian government to call for a ceasefire in Gaza and to increase the flow of humanitarian aid. The motion passed unanimously. If Burnaby can pass such a motion, every other city in Canada must do the same.
I am asking people, organizations and elected officials to call for a ceasefire in preventing thousands of more needless deaths of innocent victims.
Why isn’t the City of Richmond at the forefront of condemning the humanitarian crisis in Gaza where over 10,000 casualties have occurred including the slaughter of over 4,000 children. How can this be labeled as self defense? Entire generations of Palestinians have been exterminated in this conflict. A long time ago, the lessons taught by the Holocaust were “never again,” but now the aggressors are the Jews themselves who were welcomed by Palestinians in their time of need. This time it is Israel and not Hitler who are committing the same atrocities against the Palestinians again and again that they experienced.
Many Jewish organizations are condemning Israel’s attacks on Gaza while our city stands with Israel. Is the City unaware of protests in the hundreds of thousands across the globe asking for Israel to stop massacring thousands of innocent victims? Not only is the City of Richmond not stepping up, they have stated their support for Israel by lighting up the ‘Together’ statue at the Minoru Centre for Active Living in Israel’s blue and white colors. On one hand, the city promotes the houses of worship along the highway to heaven and the harmony it creates and on the other hand, they are stating their support for Israel and therefore the killing of innocent victims. Unbelievable!
Are the Palestinians not deserving of our empathy? What more must Palestinians do to prove themselves in their most crucial hour of need? How many more must die on both sides of the conflict? Is Muslim blood cheap and Israeli blood worthy of billions of dollars in military aid?
We will be watching for a response from the City of Richmond and we will remember.
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