Pope Francis boiled it down simply to “this is cruelty, this is not war.”

The Israeli Foreign Ministry responded quickly saying “the Pope’s remarks are particularly disappointing as they are disconnected from the true and factual context of Israel’s fight against jihadist terrorism,” adding “a multi-front war that was forced upon it starting Oct 7th. The blame should be directed solely at the terrorists, not at the democracy defending itself against them.”

Hello! Such statements are wildly false. Despite the denial of all reporters access to Gaza and the killing of over 160 Palestinian journalists, the barbarism can not, and has not been hidden. Too many smartphone videos! Millions of world citizens have viewed these horrific acts for over a year now. Humanitarians and historians worldwide have mutually condemned Israel’s hateful genocide.

All the human rights organizations, including Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, have stated that the slaughter and denial of life’s essentials is a clear violation of the rules of war established after the Nuremberg Trials and the Geneva Convention. Hitler’s unbridled racism and reign of terror is back… this time for the world to see live (unless you get your news from corporate television). Big media, whether it’s conservative or liberal fails to report the truth about Palestine, including the unfettered supply of bombs and weaponry needed for ruthless destruction and unrelenting genocide.

Perhaps history will some day judge these actions as an uncivilized low point… the last vestiges of cruel colonialism where annihilation was the goal and suffering was ignored.

The Pope and others that stand against apartheid, including ‘Jewish Voice for Peace’ and ‘Not in My Name’ and other sane organizations like the Veterans For Peace and their members who signed below will be respected for their morality and courage, as they should be.

Bill Potvin of Willimantic writes on behalf of the following U.S. military veterans: Bill Demaris of Windham; Win Heimer, Tom Connolly and Joe Braiewa of West Hartford; Stephen Fournier and Dave Ionno of Hartford; Jim Brasile of Newington; Guy R. Blais of Windsor; Gregory Laxer of Danielson; Fred Louis of New Britain; Jim Pandaru of West Haven, and Michael Murphy of Willington.