Renee Parsons
It does not take a rocket scientist to figure out that US-Israel’s conflicts are widespread and continuous throughout the Middle East as they have now initiated an unprovoked attack against Iran.
The reality of Israel’s antagonism can be found in its Greater Israel Plan which covets fragmenting Iran into multiple subdivisions as well as destruction of those Middle East states and neighbors which were once constituted as the Holy Lands: Lebanon, Syria, Palestine and including significant parts of Jordan, Iraq, Saudi Arabia and Egypt.
Israel’s war in Lebanon and the West Bank is assuming the similarities of Gaza’s genocide with the displacement of thousands of civilian casualties including targeted journalists, paramedics and ambulances, destroyed infrastructure as well as special focus on destroying evidence of the Christian Palestinians in Gaza, the West Bank and now Lebanon.
Israel’s modern history in the ME is one of consistent brutal, violent attacks on the Christian, Palestinian and Moslem populations especially when Easter and Ramadan were approaching. The Zionists have no hesitation to inflict destruction, vandalism and harassment of Christian religious sites, schools, statues and generally disrespectful behavior.
Tucker Carlson recently held a conversation with Anglican Archbishop of Jerusalem Hosem Nauem regarding the challenges that Christians face everyday in Israel with repeated examples of intolerance and bias especially noting an increase in Israeli ‘settlers’ attacks on Christian Palestinians in the West Bank.
They spoke of how the Israeli Police denied access to the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem, head of the Catholic Church in the Holy Land, Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa and other Christians from entering the Church of the Holy Spulchre in Jerusalem to celebrate Palm Sunday mass.
The Church is regarded as one of the oldest in the world and the holiest site in Christianity as the location of the crucifixion of Jesus Christ, his death and resurrection and the object of annual holiday observances.
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There was once reason for Americans to initially be optimistic about Donald Trump’s election in 2024 with a willingness to confront issues rarely enunciated by a President-elect. It was Trump’s America First position of no new interventionist wars as well as his promise to end the Ukraine war on ‘day one” which provided his election day victory.
While Trump’s Inaugural Speech articulated that his “proudest legacy will be that of a peacemaker and a unifier” and that “we will measure our success by the wars we never get into,” the President also promised to “stop all government censorship and bring back free speech to America” as well as “restoring justice under the rule of law.”
However none of those pronouncements found direct expression to satisfy Trump’s campaign rhetoric. That earlier post-election optimism has been dashed as Trump has been revealed to be an eighty year old suffering from cognitive decline locked in an unsavory political alliance with Israel’s most famous war criminal.
There is a historic irony in today’s conflict with Iran being threatened by Israel mimicking its early opposition to US demands in 1958-1963 regarding inspections as Dimona became Israel’s source for weapons grade material. In contrast to Israel, Iran has not proven to be in pursuit of a nuclear arsenal.
It is not without some anxiety that Americans today have recognized a shadow government that has been allowed to dictate US foreign policy as Trump’s lock-step with Israel has been belatedly revealed.
With his re election in 2024, it was only a matter of time before Trump united publicly with Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu, a ‘war criminal’ designated by the ICC for starvation, attacks against a civilian population and murder, persecution and other inhumane acts on the Palestinians. None of that has appeared to be a detriment to Trump’s close relationship with Netanyahu.
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The first indication of Trump’s less than peaceful tendencies was his persistent provision of American funds and weapons to Ukraine as well as a steady stream of unconstitutional bombings on eight countries with no known explanation in clear disregard for the US Constitution as well as a violation of his most important campaign promise.
Contrary to the American public’s expectation, that unholy alliance was led by the IDF with acquiescence of the US, also provided US weapons to Israeli for its genocide of over 70,000 Gaza Palestinians as well as an unprovoked, unconstitutional attack against Iran in June, 2025 known as the Twelve Day War.
That war was followed on February 28th as Trump again followed Netanyahu’s lead to initiate a second unprovoked, unconstitutional attack claiming that Iran was imminently about to produce nuclear weapons.
That should have been a wake up call but neither Trump nor Netanyahu, both vulnerable to hubris and narcissistic impulses, have yet to learn a life teaching without repeating its malicious lesson of karmic capitulation.
While the Mossad predicted that the second attack on Iran would be of short duration, neither Netanyahu nor Trump were concerned that any unprovoked war of aggression is specifically defined in the Nuremberg Trial as a war crime.
Notwithstanding the promise of short duration, the war with Iran is now in its 38th day with little sign of an imminent conclusion as the war has now spread into the West Bank and Israel’s long standing conflict to destroy Lebanon.
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Again, let by the IDF with the acquiescence of the US, exhibiting no special sensitivity to historic, religious sites that have been destroyed in Gaza by Israel during its genocide, included not limited to the Great Omari Mosque and a compound of the Church of Saint Porphyrius – the oldest mosque and oldest church in Gaza as well as other historical sites such as the Ibn Uthman Mosque, the Pasha Palace, the As-Saqqa Palace, the Al-Qissariya Market, and the Hamam al-Sammara. The ancient port of Anthedon was completely destroyed. Museums including the Al Qarara Cultural Museum, the Akkad Museum, and the Rafah Museum were looted, damaged, or destroyed.
As Israel took advantage of a ceasefire initiating an attack on southern Lebanon, multiple areas of profound ancient historic, heritage and religious significance were subject to violent attacks and destruction including areas where Jesus Christ performed his ministry, walked with the Apostles, preached and performed miracles, was crucified, died and resurrected.
Israel forces destroyed the mausoleum of Simon Peter, an apostle of Christ, in the village of Shama in southern Lebanon estimated to be 1,925–1,995 years old.
Despite a ceasefire in Lebanon which was immediately violated by the Zionists, numerous Christian towns, churches and historic landmarks were destroyed by Israel in southern Lebanon having created a humanitarian crisis including but are not limited to Muhaibib: Entirely demolished by IDF explosives, erasing centuries of history Wikipedia. Nabatieh: The 200-year-old souks (marketplaces) were almost completely destroyed in October 2024, leaving the town “unrecognisable” The New Arab. Baalbek: UNESCO World Heritage site; October 2024 strikes damaged the ancient Roman Temple of Bacchus and nearby Ayyubid shrine The New Arab. Dardghaya: Saint George’s Church destroyed in October 2024, killing two rescue workers The New Arab. Mhaybib: Prophet Benjamin shrine and multiple mosques destroyed The New Arab. Tebnine Castle: Significant damage to outer walls; originally built by the Crusaders in 1104 The New Arab. Tyre: Phoenician and Roman ruins, including Al-Bass and Al-Mina archaeological sites, struck multiple times The New Arab. Yaroun: Catholic convent of the Salvatorian Sisters demolished in May 2026 after Israeli forces entered the site, claiming it was not externally identifiable as religious Al-Monitor+1.
In response to the obscenity of the Trump-Israeli war, the U.S. State Department recently approved a $ 9 billion arms sale to Israel, the UAE, Kuwait, and Qatar for Advanced Precision Kill Weapon Systems bypassing standard Congressional review. The sale was approved by Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
Renee Parsons has been an elected public official in Colorado, an environmental lobbyist with Friends of the Earth and a staff member in the US House of Representative in Washington, DC. Before its demise, she was also a member of the ACLU’s Florida State Board of Directors and President of the ACLU Treasure Coast Chapter.