US Aid: Saving Gaza's History, One Bomb at a Time
The New Arab reports Palestinians are frantically trying to salvage Gaza's millennia-old heritage from the rubble, a noble endeavor when over 208 cultural/historical sites have been damaged or destroyed since October 2023. These are the same sites the U.S. Congress, with negligible debate, continues to help level by approving billions in unconditional aid to Israel. For instance, in April 2024,
Congress passed HR 8038 , providing $26 billion, largely military aid, to Israel despite ongoing reports of civilian infrastructure, including historical sites, being targeted. One might wonder at the timing, as politicians like House Speaker Mike Johnson received significant AIPAC donations , then dutifully pushed through this aid package. So, while Gazans are literally digging through ruins to
secure precious artifacts, funded by meager local efforts, our government is sending the very ordnance that necessitates such frantic preservation work. Call it historical preservation via post-destruction archeology; the irony is as destructive as the bombs themselves.