by Joe Kandra, Pat Daniel, Kathie MM
Tag: concentration camps
Liberate the camps! An open letter to the nation of Israel
Dear Citizens of Israel,
We did it for you during World War II. Now it’s your turn to help us.
The U.S. government-sponsored concentration camps on our southern border are racist, immoral and unconscionable. Over 50,000 refugees are being held indefinitely in unsanitary and overcrowded conditions—including infants and children, separated from their parents.
Trump continues to ignore criticism and refuses to take any action that would demonstrate even a shred of humanity toward those imprisoned. White supremacists cheer for an autocratic leader who keeps pushing to see how much he can get away with.
Does this seem familiar?
Israel, as one of the United States’ strongest allies, is in a position to influence and intervene. This madness must stop. The unthinkable cannot happen again. We need your help.
Liberate the camps! We did it for you; now you do it for us.
Respectfully,
Pat Daniel and Kathie Malley-Morrison
Outraged and ashamed citizens of the U.S.
Abuse of ethical standards? Experts in support of war
By guest contributor Michael D. Knox, Ph.D.
Since the end of World War II, the United States has bombed more than 25 countries. In these 68 years, no other nation has killed and injured more people living outside its borders. We have more nuclear weapons, more chemical weapons, and more soldiers than all other nations combined.
In 2014, the U.S. continues drone and missile attacks on residential neighborhoods in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iraq, Somalia, Libya, and Yemen. We use concentration camps, torture, assassination, threats of war, and spying on our own people.
The invasions, the killing of thousands of children, the suffering of the wounded, the torture, the environmental impact, and so on, occur only because of support provided by professionals, educators, and scientists whose ethical standards should preclude any involvement with war.
These specialized experts include university professors, scientists, healthcare providers, journalists, engineers, teachers, and the clergy. Modern U.S. wars could not be fought without the complicity of these respected groups. Such groups were also part of the German war machine.
If you are a member of a group with ethical standards, be aware of what contributions your colleagues may be making to the U.S. war efforts. Consider how ethical standards apply, hold violators accountable, and do what you can to get your profession out of the war business.
All Americans, regardless of occupation, should consider what they are doing to sustain war. Without citizen support there would be no U.S. warfare. Please consider what you might do to show your opposition to the bloodshed. Examples of what other Americans have done are recorded in the US Peace Registry.
Michael D. Knox, Ph.D., is distinguished professor emeritus at the University of South Florida, Tampa, and chair of the US Peace Memorial Foundation. He is also editor of the US Peace Registry. Dr. Knox’s work is now focused on recognizing Americans who have had the courage to publicly oppose one or more U.S. wars www.uspeacememorial.org/WorldPeace.htm.
Engaging in peace: A personal story (Part I)
By guest author, Dorothy Walsh, a lifelong peace activist
My journey in understanding the importance of peace and nonviolence for the world and for myself began in the aftermath of World War II as I learned about the horrors of the war and the Holocaust. 
This experience led to my personal commitment to never be supportive of violent resolution of conflicts.
Traveling and hitchhiking as a student in Europe after the war, I found myself asking every German I met if they had known about the concentration camps and what happened to the Jewish people. No one would answer me except an old woman in a hostel in West Berlin. She said, “We all knew.”
During the Vietnam War, I became active with local people by attending rallies and by housing some of the activists who were away from their homes. As a young mother, I had limited opportunity to demonstrate against the war, but for the first time I called myself a pacifist.
My commitment to the practice of nonviolence has been a lifelong challenge as I learned that it took more than participating in demonstrations to be a peacemaker.
My education, focusing on the roots and causes of violence, came from the “criminals” in the prison who were my teachers during the 20 years I spent as a member of a chaplaincy team and later as a program director for men incarcerated for domestic abuse.
I was able to learn and practice trust. Several times I saw the fruit of this value in helping to resolve a hostage situation and to settle serious conflicts.
During this time I created a home for people coming out of prison. We were only three people with families and children, but we managed to run the Home of Reconciliation for several years and provide support for men who had nothing and nowhere else to go.
Dot Walsh