Vineyarders rally for ceasefire

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To the Editor:

On March 2, members of CeasefireMV traveled to Falmouth to participate in a demonstration on the Falmouth Green organized by the Falmouth Ceasefire group. CeasefireMV, Falmouth Ceasefire, and other Cape and Island peace groups called for an immediate, permanent ceasefire and provision of adequate food, water, medical, shelter, and other humanitarian aid to Gaza.

The Falmouth event was also a memorial to the extraordinary courage, selflessness, and moral commitment of the U.S. airman Aaron Bushnell, who sacrificed himself to shock the world into facing the plight of Palestinians in their homeland, Palestine.

All advocates for Palestinians’ political and human rights agree that there is a pressing need

for Americans, including residents of Martha’s Vineyard, to understand the historical background to the conflict in Palestine so that they can better contextualize what happened on Oct. 7,

and assess decisions made by the Biden Administration in response.

Fortunately, some excellent documentaries with fascinating vintage footage and informative interviews can be viewed for free online.

  • “Promises and Betrayals: Britain and the Struggle for the Holy Land” (tinyurl.com/4pe7fzhc). 

An outstanding historical overview.

Shows how Palestinians experienced the developing conflict with both the Zionists and British authorities in Mandatory Palestine as they worked within their communities to realize their national aspirations and modernize their country.

Israeli filmmaker Shimon Dotan explores the history of Zionist settlements in the West Bank since 1967, and through surprisingly candid interviews, provides insights into the settlers’ view of their role in the ultimate achievement of Eretz Israel, “from the Nile to the Euphrates.” It’s a winner of the Special Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival for Best World Documentary. Dotan, a former Israeli Navy SEAL diver, has won many other awards for his films.

  • “Professor Avi Shlaim Says ‘Anti-Semitism Was an European, Not Arab, Problem'”

(tinyurl.com/3c2jd2ps). 

Many Americans assume that there is an “age-old conflict” between Jews and Muslims. In this short interview, the eminent Arab Israeli historian Avi Shlaim of Oxford University explains why this is a serious misconception.

The dire situation in Gaza is now the subject of a lawsuit at the International Court of Justice.

American citizens may well find their government, and themselves, ruled to be complicit — or worse than merely “complicit” — in genocide, and so judged by the rest of the world. This can impact them in a number of ways in the future. How various state and nonstate actors will act on such a ruling is unknown.

Katherine Scott
Tisbury