HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOM 0179.022 2002-2004
April 15, 2003
To the Hawaii County Council:
My name is Susan Van Dongen, and 1 reside in Naalehu. I have just recently returned from Palestine where
I worked with the Palestinian people in their efforts to nonviolently resist the aggressive Israeli occupation.
In the past three years early three thousand Palestinian deathsttens of thousands of injuries and hundreds of
Israeli deaths have occurred as a direct or indirect result of over 4 billion dollazs in US foreign aid to Israel
because this money supports the military. Now with the violence of the Israeli military directed also at
internationals, an American young woman, Rachel Corrie is dead, an American youth, Brian Avery, had
half of his face blown apart, and the latest, a young Brit named Tom Hundall, lies brain dead. All this with
our tax dollars in our name.
m4n
How, you say, does this relate to the current resolution proposed by CounciA Bob Jacobson? The same
government that is using our [ax dollars to assist the Israeli government in bringing repression, misery and
death to an occupied people, the Palestinians, and now to internationals, including American ci[izens~is the
very same that has brought us the bloody war in Iraq, no expense spared.
I know that Hawai i wants to he part of ajust and peaceful society, a country that adheres to [he rule of
international law under the U.N. Each city, county and state government has a duty to their country to help
steer [he direction that [heir national government follows, and for us fmm early his[ory~was set down as a
democratic government that would stand for human rights for all and answer to the needs of its own
populace.
The U.S. governement under Bush, Cheney and Rumslikd that is bloodily advancing the doctrine of
preemptive strike, a doctrine that former President Eisenhower denounced long ago, is the same government
that has placed thousands of Arab-Americans in secret detention without
due process'dispappearing""some, deporting some with only their personal belongings in hand, and
torturing others, is the same government whose predecessors interned nearly the entire population of
Japanese-Americans in World War II.
I would like aia~ to urge the County Council to remember [hat our entire country is awash in budge[ cuts (1
am enclosing clippings), education, social services, health care, many aspect5of the infrastructure blindly
struggle. The last budge[ cuts proposed (the first ever in the time of war) by Bush were to give the very rich
extra tax breaks of up to 90,000 dollars each and cut, mind you, cut benefits from our military veterans. 1
wonder if our men and boys in Iraq know about that one? >k#3tat
After 9-II the largest military budget in the history budget in the history of the U.S. was enacted. Last
October Congress approved a $355. I billion defense budget, boosting military spending even fitrther by 35
billion dollars. Now [he estimates for the war on Iraq (no[ even mentioning postwar occupation and repair
costs>,as Councilman Jacobson mentionsJwill add 60-200 billion on to ourt debt ceiling. And who knows
how much our future tazgets~under our rogue state preemptive doctrinetwill cost every man, woman and
child of us, not only in dollars butjt; burden us with the morally repugnant ethos---that might makes right,
that the environemen[aI treaties, the weapons of mass destmction treaties, including the ABM fi'om which
Bush personally took off the name of the U.S. last June, and the land mine treaty may all be cast arrogantly
cast aside by the U.S. as most of the rest of the world steps up to take on the cloak of responsibility for
caring for the world our creator has given us.
Again. I urge the County Council to approve the Council Jacobson's excellent resolution.
m6„
In peace, ¢ k~~
o1ma_
,
Susan Van Dongen QOM-"- - - ~ '
Naalehu, Hawaii ""~''v ^un~si
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