Dr. Ateka Gunja for Mayor of East Brunswick: End the Slaughter in Palestine!
Dr. Ateka Gunja is a resident of East Brunswick, NJ and a cardiologist by profession. She has taken her vocation as a physician and cardiologist serious as she has participated in relief missions to natural disasters and wars:
“As a physician, I have done medical mission trips around the world, including in Bangladesh, Pakistan, Jordan, Haiti, and the Bahamas, helping take care of victims of war and natural disasters. “
Ateka further states: “Helping others in war-torn and natural disaster zones, you get deep empathy for what refugees and survivors are going through. It makes you want to do everything in your power to prevent human-made destruction, poverty, climate change etc. Activism and humanitarian work definitely go hand-in-hand.”
Her experiences on the front lines of war and disaster have motivated Dr. Gunja to take a great interest in the massive medical disaster imposed by Israel and USA on the Palestinians in Gaza – the genocide of the Palestinian people almost a year in the making.
She was so motivated that she along with other residents of East Brunswick communicated to the Mayor and Council in East Brunswick – calling for the council and mayor to support the demands for an immediate and permanent cease fire so that the slaughter of Palestinians can end immediately. She thought in so doing that naturally the town leadership would be interested in giving the issue a fair hearing and likely support the call. However after attending meeting after meeting, it became clear that the East Brunswick local government generally is supportive of Israel’s actions and did not believe that the genocidal actions supported by the US government are worthy of local governmental attention.
So frustrated did Dr. Gunja become with the apparent lack of concern for the plight of the Palestinian victims of genocide that in the last weeks before petitions were due to file to run for office, Dr. Gunja filed a successful petition placing her on the ballot as a challenger for the position of Mayor.
Responding to questions from a local news outlet, Dr. Gunja described her position on the East Brunswick refusal to take up the issue of Palestinians being slaughtered:
“I think one of the most important and defining issues of our time is the Israel-Palestine conflict. The United States is directly complicit by providing weapons, funding, and political backing to Israel, which has been committing illegal occupation, apartheid, ethnic cleansing, and genocide of Palestine for over 80 years. We all want to see an end to the slaughter of innocent men, women, and children, and to achieve peaceful co-existence. We want our hard-earned tax dollars to be used to improve our country and our livelihoods, not to fund endless wars or war crimes. The billions we provide to Israel can be better used towards funding universal healthcare, affordable housing, improved infrastructure, relieving college debt, and so much more. Ending the genocide vis a vis an arms embargo and an immediate permanent ceasefire are both moral and political imperatives.
While this issue is a foreign policy matter, our voices locally and at every level of government matter. We have to come together as a community and apply pressure to bring out change. This can take many forms including protesting, boycotting, signing petitions, lobbying, and perhaps the most important way is with our vote. A vote for me is a vote for a ceasefire and an end to the genocide. While we individually may not hold the power to stop these injustices, I do believe collectively we hold a lot of power. In a democracy, we are in control of the direction our country takes. As Mayor of East Brunswick, I would introduce a ceasefire resolution to let our higher officials know that our township stands united against these atrocities. I would also make sure our township is not invested in weapons manufacturers and other companies complicit in the genocide, and that we divest from Israel until it complies with international and humanitarian laws.”
Dr. Gunja offers the following comments on her candidacy:
“As a physician and mother, the most important qualities I embody are kindness and compassion. I feel blessed to be in a position where I can help others on a daily basis. As a Mayor, I will work tirelessly to listen to, respect, and value all members of our community, and to put aside my own personal beliefs to best serve the greater community. East Brunswick is a town that is always changing but stays true to its roots. I am excited to be part of the growth and future of our town. It would be an honor of a lifetime to serve my community as a Mayor. “
To connect with Dr. Ateka Gunja to help her efforts in anyway, please connect through her campaign Instagram account: https://www.instagram.com/atekagunja4mayor/
This editor of FightBackBEtter.com totally supports Dr. Gunja’s candidacy and wishes her success. Her proactive drive and creativity in leveraging her campaign to end the suffering needs to be supported with volunteers – hopefully that can help build the kind of support to actually win the contest. Even if unsuccessful Dr. Gunja’s strategy shows that she will do everything at her disposal to end the horrid suffering of the Palestinian people. She is setting a fine example – and we all must ask ourselves – what things are we doing to end the genocide and is it enough!
