Miko Peled spoke on December 5, 2023 at the Bethlehem Library, Delmar, New York. His topics were the Gaza war, Israel, Palestine and Zionism.

A member of the DC Statehood Green Party, Peled is an outspoken advocate for Palestinian Rights and the author of The General's Son: Journey of an Israeli in Palestine.

On November 29, 1947 the United Nations adopted Resolution 181 that would divide Great Britain's former Palestinian mandate into Jewish and Arab states. In the intervening years, Israel has been engaged in a series of wars with adjacent Arab states and displaced Palestinians.

Israel is a nation grappling with deep internal divisions, and unfortunately, it is the Palestinian people who are paying the heavy price. Recently, a group of Israeli reservists known as “Brothers In Arms” made headlines by refusing to fulfill their reserve duty in protest of the newly passed “Judicial Reform.” Their stated concern was for the preservation of “Jewish democracy,” with an emphasis on creating a better future for their children within such a system.

• Both in Israel and the US, conversations about reparations and the Palestinian right of return are stifled by arguments explaining why injustice must go on and a yearning for the status quo.

The calls “Black Lives Matter” and “Free, Free Palestine,” serve to remind us that Palestine is not free and that if the lives of Black people mattered, there would be no need for the call. In both cases, people are in the grips of a cruel, racist system that refuses to let go. In both cases, people are being hunted down, caged, strangled, and shot to death, and the root cause of their suffering is rarely addressed.

The March of Return is a scream for life so that we may leave the walls of our prison. These are the words repeated by Ahmed Abu Artema in his many lectures and interviews. Abu Artema is the brain behind the most powerful expression of unarmed Palestinian resistance, The March of Return, which began on March 30, 2018, and has become a weekly occurrence in the Gaza Strip for close to a year.

"Why would we die here in silence? We want our message to reach the world. We want to say to the world ‘here there is a people. A people searching for a life of dignity, human rights and freedom.'"

In recent weeks, racism against Palestinian people and the expansion of apartheid-Jim Crow policies have escalated. The Israeli lobby and its supporters attacked freedom of speech in the United States, showing how far they will go to prevent the US public from being aware of their behavior.

If more people in the US become aware of the truth about Israel’s genocidal policies, the economic lifeline and political protection of the United States will disappear. Israel could be forced to make significant changes that recognize the human rights and self-determination of Palestinians.

The Hague, The Netherlands – Members of the Green Party of the United States traveled to the International Criminal Court (ICC) today to deliver a letter calling for a full investigation of Israel for war crimes it has committed against the Palestinians. 

In addition to being endorsed by the Green Party U.S., the letter was signed by over 1,000 organizations and individuals from the United States who want prosecutors at the ICC and the world to know that there is a political party and there are people in the U.S. who support holding nations accountable to international law. "The United States is complicit in Israel's crimes by providing financial support, selling weapons and providing political cover to Israel. Unlike the major political parties, the Green Party opposes these actions and has the courage to make this opposition official," said Dr. Margaret Flowers, Green Party U.S. co-chair.

As Israel celebrates seven decades and prides itself on being the only democracy in the Middle East, the reality in Gaza undercuts that self-image and instead testifies that Israel is a state that is both racist and violent.

GAZA — As the U.S., U.K. and France bomb Syria, claiming to support its people but in reality adding misery to a country that has had more than its fair share of violence, the humanitarian disaster in Gaza is almost completely ignored by the international community. This is because the perpetrator of this seven-decade-long disaster is Apartheid Israel.

Miko Peled is a human rights activist, writer and speaker born in Jerusalem. He is the author of "The General's Son, Journey of an Israeli in Palestine," and an upcoming book, "Injustice, The Story of the Holy Land Foundation Five."

Peled currently lives in Washington, DC and is a member of the DC Statehood Green Party.