Guest Articles and Letters
July 11, 2025
Dear Editors.
It is doubtful that this letter will be published by mainstream media. For the past 21 months, mainstream media has willfully refused to hold Israel accountable for the horrors it has inflicted upon the people of Gaza. Fundamental journalism has all but disappeared, replaced by selective reporting, willfully ignoring and excluding the savagery carried out by the IDF on a daily, hourly basis, savagery gleefully posted on social media and lauded by Israeli society. I hope that your publication exhibits the courage and journalistic integrity which cries out for the truth to be told.
According to the Watson School of International and Public Affairs, the United States has provided Israel with $17.9 billion for military weapons and defense systems since October 2023. These include Iron Dome and David’s Sling, two grotesquely named missile defense systems. The United States provides Israel with 2,000 lb. MK-84 bombs, known as “pancake bombs” because of their ability to flatten and eviscerate buildings, including hospitals and schools. The US also provides Israel with hellfire missiles (drones), fighter jets, ammunition, guided bombs, night vision goggles, small ammunitions, and many more killing devices.
These deadly devices are paid for by taxpayers. Most US taxpayers are unaware of how many deadly weapons their tax dollars pay for, or how many of their tax dollars directly support the war machine. According to the Institute for Policy Studies, in 2023, US individual taxpayers paid an average of $1748 towards Pentagon contractors, corporations like Lockheed Martin, Boeing and Raytheon. By comparison, in 2023 an average of $516 was paid towards humanitarian agencies, such as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) , which provides food to low-income families, in other words preventing children from going hungry.
In May of this year, Edouard Beigbeder, the UNICEF Regional Director for the Middle East and North Africa reported that over 50,000 children have been killed or injured in Gaza since October 2023. The World Health Organization and Doctors Without Borders routinely report having to treat children who have been shot in the chest or the skull by IDF combatants. The highest number of child amputees reside in Gaza. This month (July 2025) Israel Katz, Defense Minister of the State of Israel, announced plans for the construction of what he calls “a humanitarian city” built on the ruins of Rafah, in southern Gaza. This “city” will enclose approximately 600,000 Palestinians, who will not be permitted to leave. Plans are currently being laid for additional “humanitarian cities” .
The average US citizen is completely powerless to stop the US/Israeli terror machine, funded by their tax dollars, which is exactly what our government wants. They want our money to destroy lives, but they have zero interest in anything else regarding public opinion.
Like many US citizens, particularly among college-age citizens, I am outraged and appalled by this horrific situation. I feel powerless. However, I suggest three courses of action available to any individual who shares my disgust. In ascending order of extremes, they are:
· joining a local coalition advocating for the people of Palestine, and participate in protests and any volunteer work needed
· form a group of friends and colleagues dedicated to financially support UNRWA (United Nations Relief Workers Agency). UNRWA has by far been the most vigilant actor in Gaza, providing food, medical supplies, water, psychosocial support and much more since October 2023. As of today, 320 UNRWA team members have been killed by the IDF.
· Refuse to pay federal income taxes.
I have personally enacted each of these initiatives. I will not contribute one cent of my income to support the murder of innocent civilians and innocent children in Gaza.
Will Duchon
Stratford, CT
July 11, 2025
