The following is a transcript of a statement given by healthcare worker Isabelle Bernardi on behalf of the American Party of Labor in Portland, OR, on Sep. 24, 2024. –Ed.

Isabelle Bernardi | Red Phoenix correspondent | Oregon–

The horrific attacks on Lebanon should be at the front of everyone’s mind. Israel’s attacks on Lebanon have killed thousands. They’ve turned everyday items into instruments of terror, bombing people in their homes and at their jobs. No one in Lebanon is safe from Israel. No one in Palestine is safe from Israel. Israel is an existential threat to every man, woman, and child in the region as it pursues nothing but genocidal terror and destruction.

Lebanese healthcare workers are reporting that right now is one of the greatest crises the country’s healthcare system has ever faced. Ophthalmologists are reporting they have never had to remove so many patients’ eyes after the pager attacks of last week. There are reports that before the pagers exploded, a notification was sent on all of them so people would be holding their devices close to their faces. This has resulted in hundreds of people becoming permanently blinded. Most of these patients are young workers who will never be able to see again because Israel sent shrapnel through their eyes.

The brave, determined healthcare workers of Lebanon are working around the clock to save their people and address countless injuries and fatalities. But they are drowning. They are suffering. Because Israel’s attacks will not stop. Lebanese eye doctor Elias Jaradeh said, “No matter what they taught you in medical school about distancing yourself, I think in a situation like this, it is very hard when you see the sheer numbers of wounded. This is linked to a war on Lebanon and humanity.”

And he is exactly right. Israel is waging a war on all of humanity. Their occupation and genocide is a threat to all the peoples of the world. They are gaining lessons from their systematic genocide of Palestinians to use in their war on the Lebanese. Israel and their US backers are teaching the occupiers and imperialists of the world how to conduct war more lethally. Israel’s military and police meet with the occupiers and fascists of India, the Philippines, China, and the US to share ideas on how to colonize better.

They work together to sharpen the tools of war. They organize and collaborate and oppress all of us under the capitalist imperialist order. Their wars destroy our healthcare systems and the very planet we live on.

This is why we have to organize. We have to unite. We have to sharpen our tools of war against the oppressors. If we want to show support for Lebanon, for the Lebanese healthcare workers, for the Lebanese being made refugees in their own country, for the Palestinians, for Gaza’s doctors, and for all the oppressed and working peoples, we have to fight the warmongers in our city, in our state, in our country, who are propping up Israel and giving them their weapons. It is our task to fight for an arms embargo on Israel, to fight to halt production and shipment of military technology and equipment, and to shut down the entire US war machine for good. This is how we stand in solidarity with Lebanon. This is how we stand in solidarity with Palestine. When we use our collective power, our collective labor power, we can stop the entire war machine. So let’s organize together and get it done. There is no time to waste.

Categories: International, Israel, Lebanon