Having grown up in Scituate, Massachusetts, a town with almost 50% residents of Irish descent, I was surrounded by reminders of the struggles our Irish ancestors faced in the United States.

Framed "No Irish Need Apply" signs hung in family friends' homes, serving as poignant reminders of the discrimination Irish immigrants overcame since the 19th century. Now, as an Irish-American Muslim deeply committed to justice, I find myself profoundly troubled by the Biden administration's complicity in Israel's genocide and forced starvation of Palestinians in Gaza.

President Joe Biden, who proudly touts his Irish heritage, leads an administration that enables Israel's murderous actions in Gaza through political support and active arms sales. This echoes the suffering our Irish ancestors faced during the English occupation of Ireland and the subsequent Irish Famine, marked by military invasion, occupation, and forced starvation.

If America cherishes its cultural ties to Ireland, then we cannot turn a blind eye to the suffering of the Palestinian people.

At present, the Gaza Health Ministry reports that 27 people, predominantly children, have succumbed to malnutrition or dehydration in the past few weeks.

In February, the United Nations reported over a quarter of Gaza's 2.3 million residents were believed to be confronting catastrophic levels of deprivation and starvation. The organization warned that without prompt intervention, the likelihood of widespread famine was deemed "almost inevitable."

The haunting memory of Ireland's Great Famine, where a catastrophic blight led to mass starvation and death while food was exported from Ireland to Britain, resonates deeply with Irish Americans. This historical trauma, a result of British colonial policies, led to the liquidation of over a million Irish men, women, and children and forced millions more to emigrate, including Biden's and my ancestors who sought refuge in America.

Today, as we witness the atrocities unfolding in Palestine, we are reminded of our shared history of oppression and occupation. The Palestinian people endure similar tactics of forced starvation and deprivation as a means of control.........

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