Permanent Cease-Fire Now

in Gaza and at Pohakuloa!

     This past week, the US vetoed a UN Security Council resolution to uphold international law that demanded an immediate humanitarian Ceasefire in war-torn Gaza and an immediate and unconditional release of all hostages. There were 13 countries in favor, 1 against (the US) and 1 abstention (the UK). Even more recently, on Tuesday, Dec. 12^th, the UN General Assembly voted overwhelmingly in favor of a humanitarian Ceasefire resolution in Gaza. There were 153 countries in favor, 23 countries abstaining, and 10 voted against, including the US and Israel.

Stop the Genocide of Palestinians!

     More than 1.9 million of the 2.3 million Palestinian people in Gaza have been displaced from their homes by Israel’s bombing and shelling with US weapons. That’s more than 85% of the Gaza population. More than 18,000 Palestinians in Gaza have been killed and more than 50,000 wounded and the numbers keep rising daily. Remember that Gaza is the size of the island of Lanai and a little more than half the size of the Military Pohakuloa Training Area (PTA) in the center of Hawaii Island.

     PTA should be called the Pohakuloa TOXIC Area. It is a 133,000-acre training ground for war that has been bombed and shelled for more than 75 years with a wide range of weapons and toxins including, Depleted Uranium (DU) radiation, lead, perchlorate, etc. Pohakuloa is zoned a “conservation district.” How is bombing compatible with a conservation district – conserving the land, historic sites, endangered species, etc.? PTA is a dry and windy area. The native species of the area, Sandalwood, Koa, Mamane trees, etc. have been obliterated. Invasive grasses and other species make the area prone to wildfires started by the bombing and shelling at PTA. Experts have said Pohakuloa should be ringed 360 degrees for a full year with proper air filter monitors to see what’s coming off the base in the wind, smoke, and fires. What is the risk to Hawaii’s water from the toxins used at Pohakuloa? Is Pohakuloa Hawaii Island’s Red Hill and a Lahaina firestorm in the making? Stop Bombing Pohakuloa! Clean Up the Military Mess, and Return the Land to the Hawaiian people.

The US Department of Defense has failed its sixth annual audit in a row, but taxpayer money will keep going down the military drain unless people stand up and speak up now. Total Cost of U.S. Wars Since 2001 — $9,022,893,197,996

That’s more than 9 TRILLION DOLLARS https://www.nationalpriorities.org/cost-of/war/

It’s long past time to shift priorities away from war and toward meeting human needs – feeding the hungry, housing the homeless, healthcare, protecting the environment, child care, senior care, etc.

1 . Mourn all victims of violence. 2. Reject violence & war as solutions. 3. Defend civil liberties.
       4. Oppose all discrimination: anti-Islamic, anti-Semitic, anti-Hawaiian, anti-Black, anti-Asian, anti-Russian, anti-LGBTQ, etc. 5. Seek peace through peaceful means and work for justice in Hawai`i and around the world.

Malu ‘Aina Center for Non-violent Education & Action

P.O. Box 489 Ola’a (Kurtistown), Hawai’i 96760

         Phone (808) 966-7622 Email ja@malu-aina.org to receive our posts.

For more information see https:malu-aina.org

Dec. 15, 2023, Hilo Peace Vigil leaflet – week 1159– Fridays 3:30-5 PM downtown Post Office

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