My Story by Kevin Mcsherry
My name is Kevin, I am mostly retired. I was born, grew up and trained as a teacher in London and moved with our then young family to the western edge of the Dales in the mid-seventies. I have worked at all stages of the education service from primary to degree level and in the youth service. I stopped teaching at the turn of the century and joined my sons' furniture design business and still work with them when called upon to do so. I was brought up in a catholic family and have been motivated by catholic social teaching and a Christian ethic which demands and directs that we share with and support the marginalised and those in conflict and work to bring about societal changes that engender equity, understanding and conflict resolution.
Israel has been in existential crisis ever since it declared itself a state in the middle of the last century and the spurious justification for its colonisation of Palestine based on a historic entitlement has always troubled me. However, I only became aware of the extent of its incursion into Palestine and the isolated, fragile and fractured reality of West Bank early in this century when I met people who had worked as international observers or who had worked with Palestinian families to help them with their olive harvest. It was then that the disparity between the broadcast narrative and reality became sharply apparent.
I am appalled by the terrible incongruity between the narrative of justifiable defence and the horrific acts of repressive occupation which Israel is perpetrating. The disparity of an armed force which claims the moral high ground and a defence objective but acts with impunity to repress, routinely imprison without trial and torture is intolerable. The ironically mis-named Israeli Defence Force acts entirely on behalf of an already armed and aggressively expansionist population. The sophism of claiming to be innocently defensive whilst brutally destroying the homes and occupying the land of a whole population and culture is deeply offensive. Forcing the innocent to live lives of squaller in overcrowded and under resourced refugee camps in Lebanon and Gaza and to drive millions to asylum and itinerance is unquestionably wrong morally and strategically, it will inevitably lead to resentment and increased conflict. The narrative that this is a just war that can be won is an absolute nonsense and every bomb that is dropped, every life that is destroyed and every injustice that is perpetrated increases the probability that the region will exist in increasing violence.
The fact that this violent repression can only be sustained because of the overwhelming superiority of arms and the financial and military support provided by the USA, Germany and the UK is beyond my comprehension. The injustice and the falsehood of the narrative is manifest with even minimal research effort. With all the resources of the state at their disposal successive governments must be aware of its brutality, menace, and impending failure. I can see no moral or strategic advantage in supporting such a dangerous and corrupt enterprise.
In the mid nineteen eighties my mum joined me at a protest outside the US embassy. She had been a nurse in London during the war and experienced bombing, V1 and V2 rocket attacks and was outraged that the US had had the audacity to launch an attack on Libya from bases in the UK. My Nan, who also lived in London through both world wars talked of the loss and their futility. I hear their stories now and compare them to the intolerable suffering of the Palestinian people and I weep. At the very least the people of London had the hope of defending themselves and defeating their oppressors. The Palestinian people suffer with no hope of support or retribution and without the ability to defend themselves. We are their hope, you and I who press their case, call out the injustice, shout our support and call for an end to their pain.