A Wisconsin activist finds some irony in a Senator's call for a cease fire in Africa – and his silence on the ongoing conflict in Gaza. Steve Burns, Program Coordinator for the Wisconsin Network for Peace and Justice notes Wisconsin's Congressional delegation is still silent on Israeli attacks on Gaza. "I've been very surprised at all of our elected representatives, how silent they've been on this," says Burns. "Given the United States role in supporting the Israeli military, supplying weapons to bomb the people of Gaza, that they've had nothing to say, either pro or con."
Burns notes that Senator Russ Feingold recently (in November) called for a cease fire – in the civil war in Congo. But he says so far, neither Feingold nor any other member of the Wisconsin delegation has called for an end to the attacks on Gaza, which Burns believes will change nothing. "This (Israeli attack on Gaza) is not a solution to anything," Burns says. "The firing will stop, and Israel will be in exactly the same position that it was before it started. The only difference is that hundreds more people will be dead." Burns says "silence is complicity," and we have to assume that elected officials approve of Israeli actions in Gaza.