1. United States
2. Letter

From within the confines of my humble home, I write this plea, a heartfelt decree borne out of terror, horror, pain, and an overwhelming sense of urgency. The media, the Internet, broadcasts engulf us all in a sea of gut-wrenching images and news from a world away - but a world connected to ours, nonetheless. Injustice, violence, cruelty, bloodshed; words that have unfortunately become synonymous with the ongoing strife between Israel and Palestine. But are we not more than impassive spectators? As citizens of a nation that stands as a beacon of freedom, justice, and dignity, it is incumbent upon us to act, to implore, and to question the U.S. funding of Israel, specifically its implications for the innocent civilians of Palestine. The images of demolished homes, of children wailing beside lifeless bodies, of abject horror replacing the innocence in their eyes, and aerial strikes painting a macabre canvas of death, these are not mere collateral damages but a testament to the flagrant violation of humanity. They bleed in our hands, for the arms that Israel bears, the arms wreaking havoc and loss on them, come from our land, our resources. This is not a plea merely against a policy or against a political happenstance; this is a plea against a moral breakdown, a collapse of an ethical stature our great nation holds, a plea for humanity itself. The time has arrived for a ceasefire, not merely on the battlefield, but also in the chambers of strategies and policy-making, in the recesses of conscience, and in the sanctums of morality and justice we so uphold. It is only a ceasefire that can pave the way for negotiations, for conversations, for the deployment of aid, and crucially for the healing of wounds old and fresh. It is a ceasefire that can prevent today's children, the innocent victims caught amidst this turmoil, from becoming tomorrow's fighters. We demand an end to this display of our nation's power that has too long masqueraded as diplomacy. We demand an end to bloodshed and a stand against atrocities committed against the Palestinians. We demand justice. Not tomorrow, not the next week or the year after, but now; because for every tick of the clock, humanity bleeds and innocence is lost.