“Never again”: the promise of humanity after the Holocaust, betrayed again
The members of the CFCM express their deep state of affliction and heartbreak in the face of the unprecedented human tragedy that the Palestinians, and in particular the children and babies of Gaza, continue to suffer in full view of all.
This state of immense sadness is combined with a state of exasperation in the face of the incomprehensible passivity and total inaction of the so-called “Western” powers having registered the defense of Human Rights, Children’s Rights, and Humanitarian law in their constitutions and fundamental principles.
The cry “Never again” bequeathed to us by the witnesses of the Nazi extermination of the last century, should immunize us against criminal recidivism and genocidal temptations against humanity. This was unfortunately not the case in the recent past in Rwanda and Bosnia. Now, this is not the case in Gaza either, where the massacres and dehumanization affecting civilian populations make us fear the worst.
No perspective leading to peace seems to emerge. On the contrary, the Israeli army has announced that this murderous enterprise will last for months, while for the civilians there, a single day of experiencing blood, hunger, cold, and terror is equivalent to an eternity.
The terrible images of children torn apart, operated on without anesthesia, frightened and in a state of extreme shock is not a fiction nor an invention of the mind in the service of so-called propaganda. This is a reality observed and documented by humanitarian NGOs and United Nations personnel.
Thousands of innocent civilians were killed by the Israeli army’s bombings, the majority of them women and children, and probably thousands more still under the rubble. The total annihilation of the health system in Gaza and the inhumane blockade practiced by Israel against the civilian populations leave no chance of survival, particularly for the thousands of wounded and sick.
According to the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Health Law, the Commissioner General declared: “ We are reaching the point of no return, where blatant disregard for international humanitarian law marks our collective conscience “.
Because no one should tolerate such aggression against humanity, we must all mobilize together more than ever for an immediate ceasefire and in favor of peace.
Paris, December 16, 2023
The French Council of Muslim Worship
