Washington:- Marione Ingram, an 88-year-old Jewish German activist and Holocaust survivor, has raised concerns about the situation in Gaza, comparing her own childhood experiences during the Holocaust to those of children currently living in Gaza amidst Israeli military actions.
Speaking to Anadolu Agency outside the White House, where she has been demonstrating to advocate for a cease-fire in Gaza, Ingram declared her opposition to war, citing the lack of justification for such conflicts. Despite expressing sorrow over the deaths of 1,200 people in a Hamas-initiated attack in Israel last October, Ingram aligned with UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres’s viewpoint that this event was not isolated, highlighting the long-standing occupation faced by the Palestinian people.
Ingram shared her personal connection to the hardships faced by children in Gaza, drawing from her traumatic experiences as a child during the Holocaust. She criticized the U.S. support for Israeli actions under Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, particularly condemning the framing of these military actions as self-defense and criticizing the provision of financial and military aid by President Joe Biden to Israel.
Furthermore, Ingram suggested that Israel’s actions in Gaza, which she views as aggressive and unjust, could ultimately lead to decreased global sympathy for Israeli Jews, comparing the situation to historical efforts aimed at the eradication of Jews.
Focusing on the dire situation of Gaza’s children, Ingram shared her own distress over their suffering, emphasizing the need for a permanent cease-fire and urging Biden to cease all military aid to Israel. She called for an immediate end to the conflict, warning of the negative implications for the U.S.’s standing in the world.
Israel’s military campaign in Gaza, initiated in response to an attack by Hamas on October 7, which resulted in less than 1,200 Israeli casualties, has led to over 30,000 Palestinian deaths, with the majority of Gaza’s 2.3 million residents displaced, many facing starvation amid a worsening humanitarian crisis.–Web Desk