‘The United States bears a unique responsibility to exhaust every diplomatic tool at our disposal to prevent mass atrocities and save lives. With thousands of lives lost and millions more at stake, we need a ceasefire now.’
The world is reeling from events in the Middle East. As this is being written, the violence against Gaza and the West Bank continues to escalate, and the threat of an expanding war looms on the horizon.
The 75 years of violence against and forced removal of the Palestinian people, coupled with occupation, imprisonment and denial of their civil and human rights, has produced a predictable result, and the Israeli government’s obscenely violent response — especially the massive bombardment of civilians in Gaza — has brought humanity to the brink of genocide and perhaps world war. Israel has been enabled by U.S. arms and our tax dollars, and the protection of the U.S. military.
In the U.S., Europe, the Middle East and elsewhere, millions of people have come into the streets to demand a ceasefire, an end to Israeli apartheid, and ultimately a political settlement that yields justice, freedom and self-determination for the Palestinian people. The response from government and other institutions, especially in the U.S. and Israel, has been an authoritarian crackdown on those who speak against the war. This has fallen on protesters, students, journalists, authors, artists, workers, unions, professionals and even corporate CEOs, and has taken various forms, including violence and threats of violence, arrests, denying people jobs, and forcing people out of their jobs. Free speech and the right to protest, already at risk, are now under further threat.
Over 300 protesters were arrested for voicing their demand for a ceasefire in a large protest in Washington, DC. Jewish Voices for Peace, one of the groups leading that protest, said on their website: “Many of us are mourning our Israeli and Palestinian friends and loved ones. We are in pain and grief, trying to process a week of horrific violence that has left so many that we know injured, traumatized, kidnapped, or killed. But we refuse to let our grief be weaponized to justify the murder of more Palestinians. As American Jews, we demand a ceasefire now. No genocide in our name. The time is now to mobilize to prevent this genocide from going forward. We demand that President Biden use his leverage to implement a ceasefire and use any possible tool to force Israel to halt its war on Palestinians in Gaza.”
Over 400 congressional staffers signed an open letter to Congress asking for a ceasefire. “We are Jewish and Muslim staffers and allied staff across the Hill. Each day, we come to the United States Capitol to serve the American public. Our families, histories, and faith traditions are deeply rooted in Jerusalem, Israel, and Palestine. As the children of survivors of slavery, the Holocaust, colonialism, war, and oppression, we feel compelled to raise our voices in this moment. Today, we write to implore our bosses, Members of the United States Congress, to join calls for an immediate ceasefire. . . . Millions of lives hang in the balance, including the 2.3 million civilians — half of whom are children — in Gaza, civilians in Israel, and Jews and Muslims around the world. This is especially urgent with antisemitism, anti-Muslim, and anti-Palestinian sentiment on the rise nationwide, which instigated the brutal murder of a six-year-old Palestinian-American child, Wadea Al-Fayoume. . . .”
While we mourn the loss of innocent Israeli civilians, nothing justifies the Israeli government’s massive, indiscriminate attacks on Palestinian civilians. The Gaza Health Ministry said Oct. 27 that 7,326 Palestinians have been killed so far in Israel’s bombardment of Gaza — including some 3,000 children. Seventy percent of the dead are women and children. More than 18,000 have been wounded. Some 1,600 people are missing and presumed dead. Forty percent of the homes in Gaza have been destroyed, and 1.4 million people have been displaced. Gaza’s health system has collapsed. Israel is allowing only a trickle of humanitarian aid to come into Gaza, and is otherwise denying food, water, fuel, electricity and medical supplies to Gazans. Families are drinking water contaminated with salt and sewage. Doctors fear widespread death from dehydration, especially among the children, and the spread of disease. Mothers cry out for clean water for their children. Denying basic necessities to civilians in this fashion is a war crime, as is the indiscriminate bombing of defenseless civilians.
On the West Bank, meanwhile, escalating attacks by the Israeli military and armed settlers have killed more than 100 Palestinians, wounded at least 1,650, and forced at least 500 people from their homes. Hundreds of Palestinians have been detained.
Congresswoman Cori Bush introduced a Ceasefire Now Resolution in the U.S. House Oct. 16 urging the Biden Administration to call for an “immediate de-escalation and ceasefire in Israel and occupied Palestine,” and to send humanitarian aid and assistance to Gaza, to save lives. Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib and 16 other House members cosponsored the resolution.
When introducing the resolution, Congresswoman Bush said, “I am grieving for every Palestinian, Israeli, and American life lost to this violence, and my heart breaks for all those who will be forever traumatized because of it. War and retaliatory violence doesn’t achieve accountability or justice; it only leads to more death and human suffering . . . the United States bears a unique responsibility to exhaust every diplomatic tool at our disposal to prevent mass atrocities and save lives. We can’t bomb our way to peace, equality, and freedom. With thousands of lives lost and millions more at stake, we need a ceasefire now.”
“We need legislation that saves as many lives as possible, no matter one’s faith or ethnicity,” said Congresswoman Tlaib, the sole Palestinian American in Congress today. “I am proud to join my colleagues and a coalition of human rights advocates in calling for de-escalation, ceasefire, and a strong humanitarian response that prevents more devastating civilian casualties across the region.” She added: “I truly believe this in my heart — Americans want a ceasefire.” A recent Data for Progress poll found that 66% of voters who responded favor a ceasefire.
So far, the White House continues to say it is “too early” to call for a ceasefire. “I am ashamed people are saying not yet for a ceasefire,” said Congresswoman Tlaib. “How many more have to die? People are dying — and we are giving money to allow it to keep happening . . . Palestinian children should be alive.”
Indeed, Biden — who said on Oct. 25 that the deaths of Palestinian civilians is “the price of waging war” — has used the recent events to try and rush through Congress $106 billion in new military spending for ongoing or anticipated wars in Ukraine, Asia and the Middle East. This package has World War III written all over it. Meanwhile, millions of Americans are homeless, nearly half of our population lives in practical poverty, and Flint, Michigan still does not have clean water. The war package has to be stopped and the money diverted to the needs of Americans and to humanitarian aid for Gaza.
On Oct. 25, Pennsylvania Congresswoman Summer Lee said in a statement that, “Post 9/11, our federal government’s decision to fund endless wars cost 4.5 million lives, including over 7,000 U.S. service members, and displaced tens of millions in a time of deep pain after 3,000 beloved American lives were brutally stolen by al-Qaeda on September 11th. These endless wars cost U.S. taxpayers $8 trillion,” she continued, enough to end worldwide hunger with “$135 billion to spare — enough to provide universal pre-K, provide universal family and medical leave, and eradicate student debt in the United States — had Washington made better decisions.”
While millions are standing up against the war across the world, millions more need to come out. The American people in particular have a crucial role to play in bringing peace by demanding a ceasefire and by stopping the flow of money and weapons to Israel.
