US funds make Israel’s bombardment of Gaza possible. When will they be halted? | Joshua Leifer

US public opinion seems to be swinging in support of Palestinian rights, but it must go further to begin real change

The headlines speak mainly of clashes", conflict", and casualties on both sides". The politicians recite bromides about Israel's right to defend itself"- a right that Palestinians seemingly do not have. The US government calls for all parties to deescalate", with no acknowledgment that it is US funds - $3.8bn a year - that, in part, make Israel's bombardment of Gaza possible. This is the familiar American routine when Israel goes to war.

Yet before Israeli airstrikes and Hamas rockets came to dominate the news, what happened over the last week in Jerusalem was perhaps the most substantial Palestinian mass uprising in the city since 2017 - when Palestinian demonstrations led Israeli police to abandon their attempt to install metal detectors at the entrance to the Al Aqsa Mosque in occupied East Jerusalem. Then, as now, it was an uprising centered in Jerusalem but about much more. And though US public attention has been diverted, the Jerusalem uprising is still ongoing. That is important not to forget.