Letters: Election sends message about county’s values; US must demand ceasefire and more

Election sends message about county’s values

On behalf of Seven Mountains AFL-CIO, I want to congratulate endorsed candidates for office that were successful in their races, and thank all candidates for participating in the democratic process.

This was a historic race, and one which saw unprecedented mobilization by over 7,000 members of union households across Centre County. Whether in our local elections or our statewide elections, workers’ rights were on the ballot. Union members sent texts, made phone calls, and went door-to-door to get the word out to labor voters across the county about the critical stakes for working families, both union and non-union, on Election Day.

Labor voters and working families responded. Up and down the ballot, voters rejected extremist attacks on workers’ rights and democracy, and chose to vote for candidates who put working families first. The results are unambiguous, and this election should send a message about what Centre County’s values are, and what kind of communities Centre County voters want.

We look forward to working with community leaders and our elected officials to build a Centre County where working families come first.

US must demand ceasefire and more

In response to Israel’s ongoing genocide in Gaza, the United States must harshly condemn the apartheid state including the demand for an immediate ceasefire. The Biden administration has thus far chosen complicity in Israel’s utter moral failure as it has now slaughtered over 10,000 Palestinian civilians, including over 4,100 children. The definition of hell on Earth could be the mass murder of children; to say we need a ceasefire is the biggest understatement in history. Our leaders reject a ceasefire because they say it would embolden Hamas. But it is well documented that Israel helped to create Hamas in order to divide and conquer the Palestinians. Therefore, Hamas is actually a symptom of the real problem – that over the last 75 years, Israel has engaged in land theft, ethnic cleansing, massive oppression, a complete siege on Gaza, at least 28 violations of international law, and now genocide. The mainstream narrative suggesting this is a level playing field is absurd, disgusting, and a rewrite of historical fact. Statements such as “Israel has a right to defend itself” as it launches an offensive against women and children is Orwellian in the extreme. An immediate ceasefire is only the first step. All shipment of weapons that are being or could be used against the Palestinians must be immediately stopped or recalled. Finally, any future aid to Israel must be conditioned on compliance with international humanitarian law. Only the U.S. can stop this genocide. Do we have the moral will to do so?

Israel needs our support

It was Hamas that invaded Israel and brutally killed hundreds of people including babies.

It is Israel encouraging the Palestinians to leave northern Gaza. It is Hamas who are putting up barriers to them; while Egypt and Jordan refuse to accept the refugees. It may be because Egypt and Jordan suspect some Hamas terrorists will also try to enter as refugees.

It was an Hamas misguided missile that hit the hospital, not an Israeli one. This is in contrast to what was originally reported based on propaganda information.

Seven million illegal immigrants have come through our open borders. It is known that a number of terrorists have entered, including Islamic ones. Watching the Pro-Palestinians protests one wonders how many terrorists are participating. There is a confusion between being Pro-Palestinians and Hamas.

Iran is the known supporter for all terrorists groups including Hamas, Hezbolla and others. Any monies that go to Iran are used to support the terrorists.

Israel is our closest ally in the Middle East and needs our support.

Let us hope this is not a long war.

Article left out information

An article that appeared in the CDT, “Dual passport holders and the wounded start leaving Gaza,” was truthful ... and yet not truthful. While giving an accurate picture of what the Palestinians are suffering, the article also omitted several key details. In the article, Hamas is mentioned numerous times, but was never once called a terrorist organization, though it has been formally designated as such by the United States, the European Union, the United Kingdom and Canada.

Also, an “attack” of Oct. 7 is mentioned, but the article does not state who made this attack, leaving the reader with the possible impression that Israel carried out this attack, when indeed it was Hamas who carried out this vicious attack against Israel.

Thirdly, while the article stated that four hostages had been released by Hamas, it does not mention that these were four of the 240 kidnapped by Hamas, many of whom were children and elderly people. What about the other 236?

Fourth, the article does not mention that Hamas illegally crossed the border into Israel to carry out their attacks.

And finally, and most egregiously, the article, while rightly mentioning the suffering and devastation of the Palestinian people, completely ignores the fact that Hamas brutally murdered 1,300 Israelis on Oct. 7. Many were children, students and elderly people. War causes misery and suffering for everyone involved, but nations have the right to defend their borders. Like any other sovereign nation, Israel cannot ignore the slaughter of its own people.