Having heard, perhaps erroneously, of a plan to hold a pro-Palestinian event in Arcata on October 7, I am writing to urge the organizers not to do so unless they intend the event to be an expression of sorrow for all the lives destroyed by intolerance in the region through the decades. Anything else would be a grave disservice to the Palestinian people.

Many of us agree that Palestinians of all kinds and Arabs more generally have been and continue to be the targets of racial-ethnic bias by European, U.S., and Israeli power-mongers and bigots. We also see the moral failures of our own government. However, those who designate themselves pro-Palestinian lose the moral high ground and trample on the bedrock idea of reverence of life when they limit those they grieve for to one “side.”

Do not confuse Hamas with the Palestinian people. That’s what the anti-Arab bigots do. Do not cold-heartedly deny the suffering of those killed or taken hostage on that day last year. That stance is no different from the worst pro-Netanyahu thugs. Please be a beacon of honorable action based on a reverence for all lives and, in that way, attract other good-hearted people to your cause.

Rev. Molly Cate
Unity of the Redwoods