Yahoo! News reports that Pulitzer-prize winning author Alice Walker, who wrote “The Color Purple,” is traveling to Gaza with a group of female activists to deliver aid and meet with non-governmental organizations and residents. The trip was organized by U.S. anti-war group Code Pink.
The group’s goal is to highlight the devastation of the Israeli offensive on Gaza’s residents. Walker called for “Americans who give so much military aid to Israel to understand how their money was being used.”

“It’s very important that they understand what is happening, and that we hold our own administration accountable,” she said.
“I feel that what is happening in the Middle East is very important because the situation is so volatile,” said Walker, speaking by telephone Saturday from the Rafah border crossing as her group waited to travel into Gaza. “I love people, and I love children and I feel that the Palestinian child is just as precious as the African-American child, as the Jewish child.”

The situation is volatile, that’s for sure. I’m in Israel almost every summer, and every time there’s some sort of violent incident–this year it’s been bulldozer attacks in crowded places. I seldom comment on stories like this one because commentary on Israel from either side is rarely met with supportive and understanding discussion. However, I think the implication of this story and Walker’s comments are that Israelis are using American aid to target Palestinian women children, which is simply untrue.

In many cases Hamas intentionally positions their operatives in civilian-heavy areas to force the Israeli military into an impossible choice: keep allowing terrorists to send rockets and bombs into their country to kill civilians and cause devastation; or take them out, knowing that because of Hamas strategy, devastation will likely be a byproduct, and civilians will likely get hurt or killed. If Israel does nothing, the world may not condemn them, but Israeli civilians remain targets. But if Israel does do something to protect its citizens, the world cries human rights violations. And either way, children and civilians will suffer.
What would you do, if your home was under attack?