Open Letter to the Good Times Concerning Pro-Israeli Full Page Advertisement

Editor, Good Times,

A full page ad supporting the nation of Israel and its recent actions against the people of Lebanon in last week's Good Times has disturbed me to the point of response. Just because an organization has the money to purchase print space should not mean they get it, especially in an entertainment publication.

Israel is demolishing supply lines to the Lebanese people. Hospitals are on the verge of closing, people are lining up to buy gas which is now being rationed at 2.5 gallons. Grocery stores are running out of food. This is collective punishment being practiced by Israel, not war on Hezbollah; Hezbollah is today's excuse for invasion into a country that resists US influence in the Middle East.

For too long independent states in the Middle East have been under threat of invasion at the whim of the corporatocracy that deems the area a viable and necessary place to expand the free market. Today Israel has said it will continue its offensive to purge a four mile strip inside Lebanon of Hezbollah. This can only be seen as invasion and the further stretching of Israeli borders. The cease-fire resolution drafted by the United States is not calling for an Israeli withdrawl of forces.

It's time, as United States citizens, we start listening to what the rest of the world is saying about our actions, otherwise, our silence only propagates the US-led international war machine.

Amanda,
Santa Cruz Anti-Imperialist League