Thank you, students, for the courage of your convictions in opposing the current horrors in Gaza.

It should be clear to us all that the brutal killing of 1,200 Israelis organized by Hamas on Oct. 7 should not be responded to with the killing of 34,000-plus Palestinians (about 40% children), plus the destruction of schools, hospitals, and most of Gaza’s infrastructure, and the denial of humanitarian food and medical aid by the Israeli government and military. The Israeli government could have searched for the actual killers within Hamas and brought them to justice. It did not.

Students protesting these tragedies should not be arrested, suspended, or harassed. They should be congratulated for their courageous moral stand against this continuing tragedy, something most elected officials are not willing to do. They should be hailed for urging our government to stop sending weapons to Israel. They should be lauded for demanding that their own schools not be complicit in these tragic murders.

It’s time to bring morality back into our government and society. We all should speak out against all these horrors and demand our own government oppose them as well.

Larry Dansinger

Bangor