I was thirsty – and you poisoned me

Jesus’ message in the Parable of the Sheep and the Goats (Matthew 25:31-46) is not complicated. It contains no disclaimers, no asterisks, no exemptions: “Whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.”

Jesus was always concerned for the needy and willing to come to their aid. The parable of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:25–37) shows clearly that compassion should have no ethnic or religious boundaries. Throughout the Bible, we can see the importance God attaches to doing good to all who are in need (a few examples: Ex 22:22-27; Prov 19:17; 21:13; Mt 5:16,44-48; Mk 10:21; Lk 16:19-25; Rom 13:8-10; Jas 1:27; 2:14-26, Gal 6:10, Acts 2:44f).

So as people of faith, we should be eager to fill needs. Recipients should not be subject to a background check. Jesus did not screen the five thousand before he fed them.

These are the thirsty

An Oxfam report released last week, Water War Crimes, describes how Israel has been systematically weaponizing water against the people Gaza, especially during the last nine months – but also for years before that.

Since October, Israel has reduced water access in Gaza by 94 percent.

The report reveals that Israel has cut external water supplies, systematically destroyed water facilities, and deliberately obstructed aid to Gaza. The amount of water available to the people of Gaza (half of whom are children) is just over one gallon per day per person – less than one third of the recommended emergency minimum – and less than a single toilet flush. 

One gallon a day for drinking, washing, cooking, and all the rest of the water-related activities that we in the West take for granted. Seven gallons a week.

Oxfam discloses that Israeli military attacks have damaged or destroyed water and sanitation infrastructure sites at a rate of five sites every three days since the start of the war in October.

Israel has also destroyed 70% of all sewage pumps and all of the wastewater treatment plants, as well as the main water quality testing laboratories in Gaza. Israel has also restricted the entry of water testing equipment. 

The Oxfam report also highlights the impact of this extreme lack of clean water and sanitation on Palestinians’ health: more than a quarter (26%) of Gaza’s population have fallen severely ill from easily preventable diseases. 

That is to say, most of the water Gazans drink is contaminated. When they drink, they are poisoned. When they don’t drink, they die of dehydration.

Twice a week, the UN Human Rights Council releases reports on the humanitarian situation in Gaza. One recent report declared,

Displaced people continue to face harrowing conditions in Gaza; in one school hosting families in Deir al Balah, 14,000 people are sharing 25 toilets, one for every 560 people approximately, according to UNRWA.

But wait, there’s more

Now, in addition to all of the other water-borne illnesses (hepatitis A and cholera are already widespread), polio has become a huge threat. Polio, all but eradicated in the rest of the world, waits in the wings in Gaza due to the presence of hundreds of thousands of tons of trash, sewage running in the streets (in hot summer temperatures), and lack of vaccines for the past nine months.

Israel has blocked Gazan civil workers from removing trash to landfills – there isn’t enough fuel to run both ambulances and garbage trucks anyway – and severely limited the amount of medical supplies from entering Gaza, so hospitals can’t do much to help the sick.

This should not be surprising to those who recall that Gaza’s hospitals have for months been performing surgeries (including limb amputations on children) without anesthesia, and have at times run completely out of the most basic first aid supplies – in the middle of a war – while warehouses full of these items collect dust just outside the borders, stymied by Israel’s deliberately arbitrary inspection regime.

And so, as Gazans wait helplessly for a polio epidemic to break out, Israel is vaccinating its soldiers and cautioning them not to use the local water system in Gaza.

Israeli media reports that its army brings in large quantities of water from Israel on a regular basis, including “millions of bottles of water for drinking and bathing, and tons of ice, as well as field showers, soap and disinfectant wipes.” Apparently none of this bounty is shared with Gazans, and most likely the millions of empty water bottles are contributing to the garbage crisis.

Just in case bombs, snipers, attack helicopters and drones, and near-famine conditions are not enough for the people of Gaza to bear, they have been reduced to drinking water that may kill them.

Spelling it out

This is not “just” something that is happening to some people.

This is something that our tax dollars and our government are subsidizing. We are subsidizing.

Supporters of Israel are cheering on the extermination of an entire people group. Israel stands before the International Criminal Court plausibly guilty of genocide (and just in the past few days, illegal occupation and apartheid); Israeli leaders await arrest warrants from the International Criminal Court for the commission of war crimes and crimes against humanity. What’s more, Israel is now in the global “Hall of Shame” for its horrific treatment of Palestinian children.

The cognitive dissonance required, especially by a person of faith, to maintain support for Israel as it has now killed over 38,000 Palestinians – mostly women and children – is staggering.

We need to reflect on the facts that overshadow the quasi-religious ideology that calls us to embrace a genocidal, colonial nation-state.

If these truths make you want to do something, here’s a suggestion:

Contact the people in Washington DC who (allegedly) work for you and tell them,

“ENOUGH. CEASEFIRE NOW. NO MORE WEAPONS TO ISRAEL. STOP THE GENOCIDE. NOW – OR YOU’RE FIRED.”

Reach your Representative here, and your Senator here. Email President Biden here.

(Below this short video, find further reading.)