America is dropping aid to Gaza by air? What?! 
Is it really possible that the most powerful country in the world could be unable to deliver aid to millions of Gazans starving to death other than by dropping aid from the sky? Is America so dwarfed by its Israeli ally that it cannot see its aid driven straight to Gazans in need, instead of using perhaps the most expensive food delivery system in the world? Maybe they could call Uber Eats or DHL to get it delivered? What a tragi-comedy.
America’s subservience to a belligerent Israeli ally today made me think back to 1983 when a single US soldier stood up to a column of Israel tanks in defence of America’s reputation and humanitarian values. When the American-made Israeli tanks did not heed warnings to halt at the perimeter drawn by the Multi-National Force in Lebanon, Marine Corps Captain Charles B. Johnson climbed atop an Israeli tank with his pistol drawn, telling the Israeli captain in no uncertain terms that he would be able to cross the line only “over my dead body.” The Israeli tanks turned back, and America’s power and moral compass were upheld through the actions of a single soldier.
Another US soldier sought to wake up America and its Israeli ally last week when he self-immolated in front of the Israeli Embassy in Washington, DC, to remind the world of America’s values and compassion, seeking to prevent the worst from happening to the devastated, and now starving, civilians of Gaza. Unlike during the Vietnam War, when news of Vietnamese monks self-immolating in Saigon made the headlines of every newspaper, the news of this soldier’s death and moral courage was little more than a footnote in the news. It was not the power of the gun but the power of love and commitment to humanity speaking, ignored. In 1983, even President Reagan praised the US soldier who had stopped the Israeli column of tanks. Today, the US administration bows to an Israeli ally hell-bent on death and destruction at a terrifying scale, ignoring the bravery and humanity of those who condemn America’s silence.
On one hand we have the commitment of a single American patriot ready to forfeit his life for the respect of the humanity of others, and on the other we have a deaf leadership that has seemingly forgotten the values that America was established upon. What we all need is an alarm clock of empathy to wake us up. Remember the American soldiers who entered Paris and Germany at the close of World War II with a smile, the power of hope and a stick of chewing gum? They offered their erstwhile adversaries the Marshall Plan to rebuild and asked them to join the community of caring nations. We all still remember how America gave the world hope with a wink and a smile.
America, you have deep roots ready to produce the ripest fruit of friendship, understanding and empathy for all peoples of the world. This is the America we want to see again, but today, it seems, something is not connecting. The soldier who self-immolated last week did so because he could not stand by as his country made him and his fellow Americans complicit in the killing and starving of millions of Gazans. He sought to pinch dead nerves that had become desensitised to such callousness and evil.
America, please wake up, you have so much going for you and so much potential to make the world more humane and understanding. You have the power to do what that Marine Corps Captain did all by himself, telling Israel “Over my dead body” and seeing their tanks turn back. He was ready to die for the sake of humanity also. These two brave US soldiers reminding America of its values deserve to be honoured and listened to by every American. They bear a bright torch that we cannot ignore. That is America.
- Hassan bin Youssef Yassin worked closely with Saudi Arabia’s petroleum ministers, Abdullah Tariki and Ahmed Zaki Yamani, from 1959 to 1967. He led the Saudi Information Office in Washington from 1972 to 1981 and served with the Arab League’s observer delegation to the UN from 1981 to 1983.
