If Gaza Were In Maine...

Graphic created & shared by Will, Maine Coalition for Palestine (corrected Jan 23 to more accurately compare Gaza’s population with Maine’s)

While noting the incredible outpouring of support for Palestine globally I've heard several friends ask, How can people in the U.S. go about their business with genocide ongoing in Gaza?

Probably because it's far away and the mainstream news/analysis they rely on deliberately fails to bring the facts to their attention.

But what if it weren't far away?

If Gaza were in Maine, Israel would have eliminated more than half of our working journalists (200 as of May 2022 according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics).

If Gaza were in Maine, these hospitals would have been bombed beyond usefulness: Maine Medical Center (Portland), Northern Light Mercy Hospital (Portland), New England Rehabilitation Hospital (Portland), and Spring Harbor Hospital (Westbrook).

https://twitter.com/farrukh_shamsi/status/1748601140705407187

If Gaza were in Maine, the Portland campuses of these universities would already be bombed to rubble: University of Southern Maine, University of Maine School of Law, USM Muskie School of Public Service, and the University of New England College of Dental Medicine. Also UNE's Westbrook College of Health Professions.

https://twitter.com/leftiblog/status/1748013361588224500

Or suppose the routine testing of experimental weapons on the people of Gaza moved instead to NYC?

https://x.com/ColumbiaSJP/status/1748729253770698944?s=20

It may be hard for people in Maine to see the suffering of Gaza, but it shouldn't be hard for them to figure out who's paying for it via "military aid" to Israel, one of the wealthiest nations on the planet.

Perhaps best perceived as what $11 million a year isn't paying for in Maine: universal health care, free public education K-grad school, or bridge and road repairs.

Join us in Farmington next Saturday January 27 at 1:30pm to protest these bad spending priorities. We'll be at the intersection of Main Street and Broadway standing with UMaine Farmington students who helped create our event poster:

Co-sponsored by: Global Network Against Weapons & Nuclear Power in Space, Maine Natural Guard, PeaceWorks of Greater Brunswick, Communist Party of Maine, Maine Green Independent Party, Citizens Opposing Active Sonar Threats (COAST), Party for Socialism & Liberation Maine, Libertarian Party of Maine, People’s Party of Maine, Peace & Justice Center of Eastern Maine, Veterans for Peace - National, United National Antiwar Coalition (UNAC), and Maine Voices for Palestinian Rights (MVPR). 

Obama Wants To Give Israel $40 Billion In Military Aid But Does Your Senator Agree?

Photo source: Electronic Intifada "

Qalandiya checkpoint after two Palestinian siblings were slain by Israeli forces on 27 April. (

Shadi Hatem, APA images)"

Seventeen brave U.S. Senators did not sign the Graham/Coons letter supporting the gift of up to $40 Billion of military aid to Israel over the next ten years. Maine's Sen. Angus King did not sign while Sen. Susan Collins did. Collins has been in AIPAC's pocket for decades so no surprise that she singed. However, Independent King has taken some local heat for his support of Israel's war crimes in Gaza. Could this have influenced his decision? We can only hope.

Israel's apartheid wall has displaced thousands and limits the free movement of Palestinians.
Photo source: Luigi Farrauto, http://www.khtt.net/page/13391/en

Also, good for Sen. Bernie Sanders for not signing on to the Obama administration's latest craven pandering to an apartheid state that is among the wealthiest in the world and not in need of aid from U.S. taxpayers. Lately Sanders has been backing away from his former support for Israel right or wrong. This takes courage because the backlash from AIPAC and other angry Zionists will be fierce. 

Some of the senators on this list may have refused to sign out of simple fiscal conservatism.

Military aid to any country is corporate welfare for U.S. weapons manufacturers as it allows other countries to buy weapon systems at the U.S. taxpayers' expense. Countries like Israel and Saudi Arabia, with their stellar human rights records (sarcasm warning), are often the recipients of this largesse.

Perhaps you would consider sending a note of thanks to senators who did not sign on to this bad proposal. Because they will definitely be attacked by AIPAC for their stand. Here are the refuseniks to thank:

Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.)

Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.)

Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio)

Tom Carper (D-Del.)

Bob Corker (R-Tenn.)

Al Franken (D-Minn.)

Tim Kaine (D-Va.)

Angus King (I-Maine)

Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.)

Chris Murphy (D-Conn.)

Rand Paul (R-Ky.)

Jack Reed (D-R.I.)

Bernie Sanders (D-Vt.)

Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.)

Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.)

John Tester (D-Mont.)

Tom Udall (D-N.M.)

Each name has been linked to their contact page to send feedback. You may need to use a zip code to establish that you're a constituent. 

If you're a Mainer, or even if you're not, you can join me in letting Sen. Susan Collins know how you feel about her support of Israel's war crimes.

You can let your elected officials know how you feel about supporting the Israeli military with its regular extrajudicial killing of civilians, including a pregnant mother of two trying to cross into Jerusalem for medical care. If you're Christian, you can ask yourself: what would Jesus do?

Maureen Clare Murphy reporting April 27 in Electronic Intifada "Brother and sister slain at checkpoint were executed, Palestinians say":

Video from the scene shows Israeli forces turning away a Palestine Red Crescent medic and preventing a cameraman from filming. 

A brother of Maram and Ibrahim told Haaretz that he doesn’t believe his sister intended to carry out an attack, saying that she was on her way to a doctor’s appointment when she was shot dead.