"I learned about the Holocaust even in rural Oklahoma. I read the Diary of Anne Frank when I was 10 years old. My mom watched Holocaust documentaries with me. We talked about it in high school -- to always, always, always look around and make sure we weren't BEING Nazis in some way...." Pamela Olson, author of Fast Times in Palestine

 

Pamela Olson  https://pamolson.org/

https://www.facebook.com/pamolson4/posts/pfbid02B46Qg3dgY9LaoGTjqRnfC9HDtioQYTizhiXqdEqXtuhEc8fmyH4tqo2qHYSuTg6al

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Pamela Olson

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A sponsored post on my feed asked people to share their experience of learning about the Holocaust as kids, and if they feared they might have to hide from Nazis one day.

 

I commented:

 

I learned about the Holocaust even in rural Oklahoma. I read the Diary of Anne Frank when I was 10 years old. My mom watched Holocaust documentaries with me. We talked about it in high school -- to always, always, always look around and make sure we weren't BEING Nazis in some way.

 

I felt like the US was being Nazi-like when we sanctioned Iraq and starved all those children. I felt like the US was being Nazi-like when we invaded Iraq and murdered hundreds of thousands based on a lie. (I would later learn that was just the tip of the iceberg.) So I went to the Middle East to meet Arabs and Muslims for myself -- to see if they were really the demons our news media made them out to be.

 

I traveled solo from Cairo to Istanbul in 2003, when I was 23 years old. It took about three months, and it was one of the most magical stretches of my life. "Beautiful and friendly" doesn't begin to describe it.

 

I did skip Iraq (too dangerous), and I planned to skip Israel / Palestine. But in the Sinai, I met an Israeli man who invited me to Israel, and in Jordan I met a British guy who invited me to visit the West Bank. I took it as a sign.

 

And I'm so glad I did. I was totally enchanted by the Holy Land and ended up living there for two years. I wrote a book about it that anyone can read for free here:

 

Get a Free PDF of the book here

(Also available as Kindle, Audible, paperback)

Dear America- American leadership has been opting to waste billions and now trillions of our tax money on war, all for what?

Palestinian Christians celebrating Holy Saturday in Gaza City Holy Family Catholic Church April 4, 2026 

4/5/2026 Easter day letter I just sent to my elected leaders 

Dear America,

Money can be used for good, or for evil.

American leadership has been opting to waste billions and now trillions of our tax money on war, all for what? 

No one wins modern war.  Stealing life or land or resources from others is WRONG, and always will be. 

War is a win for all the worst in this world: A win for cruelty & violence. A win for death & destruction. A win for thievery & lies. A win for toxic thought & dangerous propaganda. A win for greed & corruption. A win for racist hate & revenge.  A win for planting & perpetuating terrorism. A win for pollution & escalating poverty.

FYI WAR is evil.

Stealing American workers' Social Security in order to fund nefarious projects is also evil and wrong. For decades workers have been overworked & underpaid, all so that greedy CEOs can jet set to parties and bribe our elected officials.  Many workers count on Social Security and Medicare for when they are no longer able to work.  Our country's highest priority should be to make sure that the stolen social security funds are returned.

We should be investing in infrastructure and people needs here AND globally- not war, and certainly not Israel.  Israel, armed with American money and weaponry, has been attacking its neighbors for decades, demolishing homes, destroying commerce and jobs, and creating a massive refugee crisis- in addition to many murders.  Israeli torture, both physical and psychological, is widespread, and so are Israeli lies and propaganda.

Yes Virginia, Israel has a right to exist- Israel also has a right to change its name to Mecca or Magical Land of Pink Unicorns if that is what all its citizens (including refugees in forced exile) prefer... However, Israel has no right to steal land and resources from Palestine, Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Egypt, Iraq, Iran... etc... and America.

Sincerely,

Anne Selden Annab

NOTES https://anniesnewletters.blogspot.com/search/label/Notes

A strategy ‘to make life intolerable’: Israeli settlers are driving Christians out of West Bank. The Taybeh community has survived crusaders and the Ottoman and British empires, but the latest attacks leave its future in question

"We may speak thousands of languages, but we all call this planet home. No matter where we come from, protecting our Earth is a shared responsibility. We need more ambitious #ClimateAction — for our planet and the generations to come."

Over 100 US legal experts condemn strikes on Iran as possible ‘war crimes’ : United States-based scholars sign open letter raising concerns about conduct, rhetoric during US-Israeli war on Iran.

Death, displacement and military duties: children plunged into crisis by Middle East war. The US-Israeli war will have a lifelong impact on millions of children across the Middle East

What Would Jesus Say to a Zionist Christian? ... (umkahlil wrote this in 2009, and it is just as applicable today.)

Palestinian Thoub - Rome Thoubs Exhibition 2026 The cross-point of Palestinian identities

This Week in Palestine- Digital Horizons: Entrepreneurship and Economic Resilience

1935, Tiberias, Palestine 🇵🇸 Fishermen fixing their nets.

"In order for me to write poetry that isn't political I must listen to the birds and in order to hear the birds the warplanes must be silent" Marwan Makhoul

This year marks 50 years of honoring Land Day — a commemoration of the Palestinian ongoing struggle against the Israeli government's theft of Palestinian land. "With immense grief and rage at the horrors the Israeli military is committing in Gaza and the occupied West Bank right now, we recognize Palestinians’ deep roots in their land as we support the struggle for Palestinian freedom. We honor the steadfastness and resilience of those who have resisted land theft by the Israeli government, military, and Israeli settlers." Jewish Voice for Peace

"This moment in Jerusalem feels heavy in a way that is hard to fully grasp. The Old City stands closed under the Israeli occupation, its narrow streets unusually silent, and for the first time in modern history, both Al Aqsa Mosque and the Church of the Holy Sepulchre have been shut for such a prolonged period. Places that have always been alive with prayer, footsteps, and quiet devotion now feel distant, almost unreachable. For many, it is not just about restricted access, but about a deeper sense of separation from something sacred and rooted in identity. And still, people hold on, to faith, to memory, to the belief that these doors will open again, and that the life and spirit of Jerusalem will return to what it has always been." Palestinian Artist Sliman Mansour

Pope Leo XIV: Planes should bring peace, not war and destruction ...Pope Leo XIV thanks the Italian national airline ITA Airways for carrying the Pope on his Apostolic Journeys, and laments the use of aircraft as carriers of death and destruction in theaters of war.

"On the International Day for the Right to Truth about Human Rights Abuses, we honour victims and human rights defenders who break the silence and uncover the facts." Volker Türk, United Nations Human Rights

"The parallels between the Germany of the 1930s and the United States of America today are frightening." A Holocaust teacher’s warning: Will ‘good Americans’ speak up this time? | PennLive letters

Trump’s Iran ‘talks’: a war, a pause – and a distraction... The US president claims progress in talks with Iran, but uncertainty persists. Meanwhile, Israel advances West Bank annexation under cover of a crisis

Trump’s sanctions against a UN human rights expert show free speech is dying: Francesca Albanese recommended ICC arrests and investigations over Gaza. Who will be the administration’s next target?

"One Gulf diplomat, who has direct knowledge of the talks and is furious with Witkoff and Kushner’s behaviour, described the pair as “Israeli assets that had conspired to force the US president into entering a war from which he is now desperate to get himself out of”."

Israeli settlers carry out series of West Bank attacks as security forces stand by

Witnesses describe coordinated raids in which homes and vehicles were set on fire and several Palestinians injured

"An entire Economist article on famine in Gaza doesn’t say the word “Israel” once. Not even when describing damage to farmland and water facilities or severely restricted aid deliveries. Saying *who* is destroying the farmland and restricting aid seems like basic info to include." Assal Rad

"Church leaders argue that invoking Christian identity while directing military actions that have killed thousands amounted to a political use of the faith, reducing Christianity to a public‑relations tool rather than a moral framework. It is this stark contrast between rhetoric and lived reality that fueled widespread anger among Christian leaders in Jerusalem and beyond."

“It’s time for the force of the law to prevail over the law of the force. It’s time for diplomacy to prevail over war.” Antonio Guterres, Secretary General of The United Nations

A UN expert claimed Israel was systematically torturing Palestinians on a scale "that suggests collective vengeance and destructive intent", in a report released to media on Friday.

Israel has crushed Unrwa in Gaza – and the rest of the world has done nothing " I bow out of my role for the organisation at a perilous time for the international law. There are consequences not just for Palestinians, but the wider Middle East" -Philippe Lazzarini

On top of all that, official Washington is disregarding decency, a minimal need for a sustainable society, and playing footsy with the truth. An example of action devoid of decency is having fun promoting the war on social media. The White House, Pentagon and U.S. Central Command posted videos mixing actual war scenes with clips from violent video games such as “Call of Duty” and “Grand Theft Auto,” and blues artist John Lee Hooker’s song “Boom Boom” (opening lyric: “Boom, boom, boom, boom. I’m gonna shoot you right down.”)" - John Baer in The Patriot News

In 1945, 50 nations came together in San Francisco to create a new organization for peace, prosperity & human rights- the United Nations

Israel’s settlement expansion drives mass displacement in West Bank [Palestine] – United Nations report 17 March 2026

Israel is using the ongoing war to intensify multi-layered violations against Palestinians during Ramadan and Easter. Al-Aqsa stands empty. The Holy Sepulchre is sealed for the first time in history. Demolitions, settler attacks, and movement restrictions are surging.

Joe Kent, Trump's counterterrorism chief, resigns, blaming members of the media, as well as high-ranking Israeli officials and lobbyists, for prompting Trump to abandon his America First agenda.

Trump’s Iran war has cost Americans at least $11bn already. And that’s just the start- That $11.3bn doesn’t include any estimate of repairing facilities or replacing losses.- Arwa Mahdawi

Dear America- Centuries before America's Declaration of Independence in 1776 (and our subsequent Bill of Rights)- in 1095 the First Crusade was proclaimed by Pope Urban II— with a call to arms for Christians to reconquer Jerusalem from the Muslims.

Please stop funding and fueling Israel's wars and the ongoing destruction of historic Palestine, Lebanon, and Syria... and Iran.

War and terrorism are for tyrants, not for freedom or justice. Bully tactics teach all the wrong lessons.

Billionaires want Ballrooms. The rest of us want clean water; safe neighborhoods; good schools, libraries, & museums; National Parks; playgrounds; PBS; good job opportunities for ourselves and our children; affordable heath-care; AND PEACE.

Funding and arming terrorism and violence is evil and wrong: America should not be funding, arming, defending, or trusting today's Israel in any way, shape or form.

A barbaric new era has already begun as Americans are duped into being wage slaves for billionaires who have no respect for basic human rights and the rule of fair and just laws.

Golden Rule Thinking IS GOOD

Our land and resources are being gobbled up for AI data centers for what purpose? Is it for the greater good of tax paying citizens- or is it to feed the greed of corporations and companies that already use our data to charge us as much as they can at every turn.

Real freedom, justice, and democracy are being embezzled by corporate greed and political corruption to empower Israel and war.

"ISRAEL SAYS" is not God talking.

Israel has a right to exist, but Israel has no right to starve and displace the men, women and children of historic Palestine.

The vast majority of Americans are not wealthy & the taxes that We The People pay are being diverted into funding religious bigotry and terror via Israel's cruel war on the native non-Jewish men, women, and children of historic Palestine. HAMAS cruelty and stupidity echoes Zionist cruelty and stupidity and on and on it goes. Neither approach will build peace or security.

The weapons industry and a global war machine- AND INJUSTICE- burgeon with American tax payer funds.

Violence is a problem- not the answer.

"The United Nations is the only place on Earth where all the world's nations come together to discuss common problems and find shared solutions that benefit all of humanity. This intergovernmental organization born out of the ashes of the Second World War remains indispensable to the pursuit of world peace, justice, equality and sustainable development" https://www.un.org/en/

The right of refugees to return to homes and lands they were expelled from is an individual right and cannot be unilaterally abrogated by third parties.  https://imeu.org/resources/resources/fact-sheet-palestinian-refugees-the-right-of-return-under-international-law/441

"Whereas recognition of the inherent dignity and of the equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human family is the foundation of freedom, justice and peace in the world..."   https://www.un.org/en/about-us/universal-declaration-of-human-rights

DEAR AMERICA

Joe Kent, Trump's counterterrorism chief, resigns, blaming members of the media, as well as high-ranking Israeli officials and lobbyists, for prompting Trump to abandon his America First agenda.

Joe Kent

 

@joekent16jan19

 

After much reflection, I have decided to resign from my position as Director of the National Counterterrorism Center, effective today. 

 

I cannot in good conscience support the ongoing war in Iran. Iran posed no imminent threat to our nation, and it is clear that we started this war due to pressure from Israel and its powerful American lobby. 

 

It has been an honor serving under @POTUS and @DNIGabbard and leading the professionals at NCTC. 

 

 May God bless America.

 https://x.com/joekent16jan19/status/2033897242986209689/photo/1

Spain’s MEP Irene Montero: “No woman has ever been freed by American bombs or illegal aggression. Not in Syria. Not in Iraq. Not in Lebanon. Not in Afghanistan. And it will not happen in Iran either. They hide behind women’s rights to justify their colonial wars.”

sarah

@sahouraxo

Spain’s MEP Irene Montero: 

 “No woman has ever been freed by American bombs or illegal aggression. 

Not in Syria. Not in Iraq. Not in Lebanon. Not in Afghanistan. 

And it will not happen in Iran either. 

They hide behind women’s rights to justify their colonial wars.”

 https://x.com/sahouraxo/status/2029536655334310360

[AS ALWAYS PLEASE GO TO THE LINK TO READ GOOD ARTICLES (or quotes) IN FULL: HELP SHAPE ALGORITHMS (and conversations) THAT EMPOWER DECENCY, DIGNITY, JUSTICE & PEACE... and hopefully Palestine, or at least fair and just laws and policies]

"His [Trump's] escalation against Iran comes as he faces mounting domestic pressure, for attacking the civil rights of US citizens in Minneapolis, amid renewed scrutiny surrounding the Epstein files, and just days after the US supreme court struck down the legal justification for his global tariff policy." Christopher S Chivvis

‘If Trump cares little for strategy, this does not make strategy irrelevant.’ Photograph: Fatima Shbair/AP

Trump wants to distract Americans from scandals at home with a diversionary war

Christopher S Chivvis

Iran strikes are attempt to hijack the global narrative and drown out Epstein and tariffs with the thunder of cruise missiles

 

Sat 28 Feb 2026 15.00 EST

In 2003, the United States invaded Iraq without deciding whether it should. The George W Bush administration failed to ask whether the costs, risks and likely consequences of regime change justified the gamble. The result was tragedy – for Iraq, for the Middle East and for America.

Donald Trump’s attack on Iran now follows the same pattern – but with an even narrower logic of performative power. In the run-up to Iraq, Washington devoted enormous energy to planning the invasion. Almost no attention was given to the more important question: was war necessary, and could it realistically produce a stable political outcome?

Now history is repeating itself. Having torn up the Iran nuclear deal and escalated pressure, the president has now initiated a military campaign explicitly aimed at regime collapse. Yet there has been no serious public reckoning with the risks, much less the plausibility of the political end state he claims to seek. By weaponising the military for the sake of the attention economy, Washington has traded grand strategy for the immediate gratification of the news cycle.

This is because the outcome of the war is less important to Trump than violent conflict with America’s enemy and the performative use of US power.

Trump’s foreign policy is not guided by a coherent theory of order, deterrence or alliance management. It is driven instead by the demonstration of dominance, the creation of spectacle and the command of the news cycle. Military force, in this framework, is not a tool subordinated to strategy. It is the strategy.

His escalation against Iran comes as he faces mounting domestic... READ MORE https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2026/feb/28/diversionary-war-trump-wants-to-distract-americans-from-scandals-at-home?CMP=share_btn_url 

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US politics: After years spent documenting state terror, I know it when I see it. And I see it now in the US and Israel. It’s chilling to watch as Trump and Netanyahu adopt the methods of regimes their countries once condemned

 Janine di Giovanni is a war correspondent and the executive director of The Reckoning Project, a war crimes unit in Ukraine, Sudan and Gaza

"The true irony is, state terror does not make a state safer. When democratic states adopt the methods of tyrannies, they become weaker. Their global credibility frays. They sacrifice the legitimacy they once held that distinguishes them from the regimes they claim to oppose." 

'WE CAN'T TRUST YOU' witness protest sign as Officers arrest an anti-ICE protester in Minneapolis Minnesota, 30 January 2026. Photograph: Craig Lassig/UPI/Shutterstock

In Syria, where I worked during the years of Bashar al-Assad’s terror, people were often taken away to torture cells before dawn by masked men. The timing was deliberate. It disoriented them at their most vulnerable, ensuring the torture to come would be even more agonising. The testimonies I recorded from survivors almost always contained the same phrase: “The morning they came for me.” One young woman, shattered by rape and violence, later told me that her life had split in two – before and after the masked men came for her.

In Iraq, those who spoke against Saddam Hussein – even abroad, even casually – were punished in cruel ways by a vengeful leader determined to crush any hint of dissent.

In Egypt in 2016, Giulio Regeni, a 28-year-old Italian academic researching labour unions, was abducted, beaten and tortured to death, it is thought, by president Abdel Fatah al-Sisi’s security services. His own mother had difficulty recognising his mutilated body.

During the second Chechen war, I met the journalist Anna Politkovskaya in Chechnya. She repeatedly attacked Vladimir Putin’s policies, documenting human rights abuses during Russia’s military campaigns. To punish her, a bullet was put in her brain on Putin’s birthday – a warning to other truth-seekers. Stay silent or die.

In the West Bank and Gaza, Israeli soldiers, masked and unmasked, kill, torture and imprison Palestinian doctors, journalists, teachers, activists and scholars not for what they have done – but because of who they are.

After decades of documenting state terror, I know how it starts. Governments begin to use words like security, order, deterrence. Every excuse for Benjamin Netanyahu’s conduct in Gaza is framed as “security”. ICE agents are trained in a language of order in which violence becomes procedure.

What happens when democratic states adopt the methods of the regimes they once condemned? Terror is not only masked men and arbitrary detention. It also operates through fear. Policies are designed to make people more compliant, more submissive. As the historian Timothy Snyder warned in his 2017 book, On Tyranny, this is how societies slide into danger: people obey in advance.

In Donald Trump’s US, I have watched CEOs, academics, journalists and government officials allow fear to override decency and moral authority. I have seen this pattern before. It begins with... READ MORE  https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2026/feb/08/state-terror-us-israel-donald-trump-benjamin-netanyahu

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