On Friday Sept. 27, 2024, the residents of Asheville, North Carolina, awoke to the devastation of a once-in-a-thousand-year storm. We awoke to houses destroyed, massive downed trees blocking roads, and debris everywhere. We texted our loved ones to make sure they were OK and anxiously waited for responses. After the initial shock, it soon sunk in that we would not return to our normal lives for a long time.
The two of us have spent the past year protesting the Israeli military’s assault on Gaza, which is funded by the United States government. The day after the storm, as we surveyed the destruction all around us wrought by Hurricane Helene, we thought of the people of Gaza, whom the Israeli government has relentlessly bombed for the past year, destroying their homes, schools, markets, hospitals, places of worship, as well as crucial components of their water and food systems.
We have always…