An intense evening took place on May 31st in Novate Milanese in the premises of the Coop socio-cultural members centre. Sponsored by the associations visible on the poster, it was coordinated by Maria Antonietta Balzola, independent activist.
The room filled up quite quickly and the evening was opened by the speech of Dr. Raed Selmi. After having outlined the most salient episodes of the Palestinian drama, first and foremost the Nakba of 1948 and the occupation of the Palestinian territories in 1967 by Israel, he recalled the First Intifada which began in 1987 and ended with the Oslo Accords in 1993; the outbreak of the Second Intifada in 2000 after Ariel Sharon’s provocative walk on the Temple Mount; the victory of Hamas in the 2006 elections with subsequent isolation and blockade of Gaza in 2007, as well as control of any kind of essential incoming and outgoing goods by the Israeli authorities. Finally, he also recalled Israel’s military operations on Gaza in 2008-2009 (Cast Lead), 2012 (Pillar of Defense), 2014 (Protective Edge) and the Great March of Return between 2018 and 2019 in which the Palestinians from Gaza, every Friday after prayer, they headed towards the border with Southern Israel to ask for the unblocking of the Strip and the right to return to their lands of origin.
All this story to reconstruct the events that preceded and led, among other things, to the October 7 massacre in Southern Israel and to the current tragic situation. Raed also highlighted how all militant groups for the defense of Palestine have joined Hamas.
A film taken from the “Propaganda Live” program on La7 was then shown, where Francesca Mannocchi – journalist from La Stampa – interviews the “godmother of the colonists”, a lady of about eighty years old who, with a fervor worthy of a better cause, “raised”, “breeds” and guides the settlers who appropriate Palestinian land by force and arbitrariness.
Without commenting on the images seen and the words heard Susanna Sinigaglia, formerly belonging to the Jews Against Occupation Network (Eco) and now to Maiindifferenti – Jewish Voices for Peace, told how Maiindifferenti’s appeal was born shortly before Remembrance Day and has collected around 50 signatures from promoters from around the world Hebrew and was then published in many newspapers and online to appeal to anyone who shared its contents. Over 600 signatures were thus collected. Not many, you might think, but important personalities of the intellectual left such as Edith Bruck, Luciana Castellina, Carlo Ginzburg, Gad Lerner, Stefano Levi Della Torre, Roberto Saviano, Silvia Vegetti Finzi have joined. But above all, important are the names of unknown people, who found the courage to join an “unorthodox” appeal without fear of being labeled as “anti-Semitic”, or accused of “treason”, or as “self-hating Jews”. . And this could be a small but important step towards the fall of various taboos (to read the appeal, see the link https://www.mainindifferenti.it/#appello).
Guido Veronese, professor of psychology at Bicocca University, remained in Gaza to work at the Community Mental Health Program until almost October 7, 2023. He knows many Gazans and unfortunately, several have died in the carnage that gives no respite. His testimony was very important and of great depth. He explained how the “logic of elimination” dominated the management of Gaza by various Israeli governments. In addition to the continuous control and rationing of water, fuel and basic necessities, the entry of construction material was prevented and anything that was not arbitrarily considered necessary for survival. He then expressed in figures the recent conditions of the Gazan population with the destruction of hospitals, schools and civilian structures also in previous attacks. From this logic to the genocidal one, the step is short.
Numerous and varied questions and interventions from the audience followed. In particular, the dismay at Israel’s impunity emerged despite the increasingly popular demonstrations in Israel itself, and throughout the world, demanding the release of the hostages and a ceasefire; for the impotence of international institutions in enforcing the sentences of the ICC, for the complicity – even if undeclared – of the majority of Western and Arab states. As regards respect for international law and the courts of justice, it was observed that until now it had not been fully acknowledged – even by the varied world of the alternative left – of the fact that they are only valid one way. This is how the various Milosevics and Saddam Hussein, Omar al-Bashir (even though it seems he managed to escape and is no stranger to the current atrocities in Sudan), were judged and condemned, sanctions were decreed for Putin, but woe betide anyone to ventilate similar measures for the leaders who are “friends” of the United States and indeed, essentially, of NATO.
The psychotherapist intervened next Maria Curia, who lived for a year in Hebron with a health team. The city center is occupied by around 800 settlers who dictate the law and make life almost impossible for the few Palestinians remaining in the area. In this situation, especially young people, adolescents (men aged between 25 and 40 are no longer around because they have been killed or in prison), subjected to constant harassment and abuse, suffer from various types of trauma induced by anger and pain which they are unable to overcome. find a way to express. And this is the situation in which Maria Curia operated with the health team[1]. You added that the condition of young Palestinians is comparable to that of the immigrants who land on our coasts and whom you treat at the Niguarda hospital.
Finally he intervened Filippo Bianchetti, doctor from Varese and activist for Palestine since time immemorial. He should have talked about BDS (boycott, disinvestment, sanctions) but he preferred to express some considerations on what is happening: in his opinion, and thanks to the terrible sacrifice of the population, especially in Gaza, the world finally has its eyes on the Palestinian question. Maybe it could be the beginning of a turning point…
And on these ultimately heartening considerations, together with the satisfaction of the organizers for the success of the evening, the meeting on the ongoing tragic Middle Eastern events concluded.
[1] On Hebron (Al Khalil), see the link https://rivistaeclisse.com/2024/04/06/hebron-sta-discomparendo/
