Concerned that we are heading into a major war and that the violence will metastasize, Rep. Jonathan Jackson (D-1st) Saturday, December 23rd, said, “We cannot bomb our way to peace…. We cannot get rid of the KKK here in the U.S. or Nazism which is a spirit. We have to pass laws and curtail them.” (Photo by Chinta Strausberg)
Saying we are on the precipice of a major war, Rep. Jonathan Jackson (D-1st) said figuring out how to break the cycle of violence in the Middle East does not mean bombing our way to peace.
Calling for a ceasefire in the Middle East, Rep. Jackson referred to the Houthi rebels in Yemen who have allegedly launched several attacks on vessels in the Red Sea which is the world’s busiest shipping route. Jackson said they have also launched drones and missiles targeting Israel. Jackson fears this war will soon escalate into a major war.
“If we don’t put our arms around this with all due speed, this violence will metastasize,” said Jackson during the Saturday, December 23rd Rainbow PUSH Coalition weekly broadcast. He reported how some ships have come under attack by drones.
The U.S. military confirmed that it shot down 14 drones in the Red Sea allegedly launched from Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen as attacks on commercial carriers continue from the Iranian-backed group. Rep. Jackson said it could cause the price of oil and other goods to rise as well because taking another route to avoid the attacks would take an additional three weeks increasing the cost of delivery.
Ticking off the names of Hamas, ICE’s, Rep. Jackson, asked, “Do you see a pattern of disenfranchised groups who are not becoming extremists? We need to understand the commonality of our future. We cannot bomb our way to peace.” Quoting his father, Rev. Jesse L. Jackson, Sr., he said, “You have to believe in peace. Blessed are the peacemakers, not the peacekeepers,” Jackson said. “Thank you for initiating peace.”
While the message out of the Middle East is war against Hamas, a militant Palestinian nationalist and Islamist movement aimed at securing an independent Islamic state in Palestine, Rep. Jackson said, “We cannot get rid of the Ku Klux Klan in the United States. We have to create laws and curtail them.
“We cannot get rid of Nazism. It’s a spirit. You have to create laws and curtail them,” Jackson said. “You will never be able to get rid of all your fears with other people, but somehow you have to turn your enemies into your friends. Somehow you have to believe in reconciliation. Somehow you have to be willing to bring God’s children together instead of bombs and missiles….”
Jackson said with all the news coming out of the Middle East, all you hear is the war on Hamas, but the words coming out all around the world is the war on Gaza. We’re talking about the war on Hamas that we don’t know who they are looking for, how many people, where are they….”
He called for the release of the hostages and warned, “We are on a precipice of a major war.”
In the interim, Egypt officials have revised their proposed peace plan to end the fighting in Gaza. It calls for an extended humanitarian cease-fire, according to a report by NPR.
The revised plan calls for creating a path to end the fighting between Hamas and the Israelis. It includes plans to get more aid into Gaza and exchange more Israeli hostages held captive in Gaza for Palestinian detainees in Israeli jails and ending Israel’s air-and-ground campaign in Gaza.
Egypt officials are hoping their revised cease-fire proposal would last 10 days and would completely end fighting by both sides. They also hope Hamas would release all civilians and Israel would release a mutually agreed upon number of Palestinian prisoners.
The proposal also calls for Israel to withdraw its forces from residential areas in Gaza and allow movement for citizens from south to north including vehicles and trucks. It would also allow humanitarian aid to enter with food, medical supplies, medicines, and fuel to all areas of Gaza.
