Por Kevin Martin
 |
| Photo by Andy Feliciotti |
Last week, I was pleased to once again participate in a meeting with one of my U.S. Senators, Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), a consistent leader for peace, justice, and human rights in Congress, and especially for ending U.S. support for Israel’s genocide, apartheid, and ethnic cleansing against the people of Palestine.
The subject of the meeting was his bill, with a vote expected early next week, Senate Resolution 852, to hold Israel accountable for its horrific actions against U.S. citizens killed or detained by Israel. The goal of the resolution is very simple: within thirty days of passage, to require a State Department report on Israel’s alleged killings of nine U.S. citizens, and more broadly, on the commission of “gross violations of internationally recognized human rights by Israel.” The resolution cites U.S. law, section 502(B)(c) of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961.
The resolution reads, in part “…since January 2022, at least nine United States citizens have been killed by violent Israeli settlers or Israeli security forces in the West Bank, including Omar Assad, Shireen Abu Akleh, Tawfic Abdel Jabbar, Mohammad Khdour, Ayşenur Ezgi Eygi, Amer Rabee, Sayfollah Kamel Musallet, Khamis Ayyad, and Nasrallah Abu Siyam” and “…the killings of these Americans in the West Bank have been met by a lack of accountability from the Netanyahu government and an inability to secure justice by the United States Government.”
Asking the Department of State to produce such a report sounds like the absolute minimum we, as taxpayers, deserve from our government, and certainly the families of those killed by Israel, likely with U.S.-provided weapons, deserve that and much more. The resolution is supported by 84% of voters, on a bipartisan basis, in a just-released poll, and has 24 Senate cosponsors. And as the resolution states, and many supporters note, protecting U.S. citizens abroad is constantly touted as the top priority for U.S. foreign policy, even by the current rogue Trump regime that regularly flouts domestic and international law, with the most egregious example being the illegal U.S.-Israeli war of aggression against Iran.
Peace advocates regularly support much stronger legislation, and will do so repeatedly, until peace, justice, and human rights are the real foundations of U.S. foreign policy, and not just paid cynical lip service. Soon there will likely be a Joint Resolution of Disapproval (JRD) in Congress to stop the proposed shipment of 40,000 one ton bombs to Israel. The Biden Administration, as bad as it was in its support for Israel during the razing of Gaza, had put this sale on hold, but Trump is now moving it forward. But the relatively modest Van Hollen resolution would be an important step toward ending Israel’s impunity, and if we can’t get justice for American citizens killed by Israel, then Congress is completely derelict in doing its job.
Peace Action and our colleagues have already generated over 57,000 letters to the Senate in favor of Senator Van Hollen’s resolution, and many groups are pushing to get that figure close to 100,000, if not more.
With the mess in Congress (not to mention the Administration and Supreme Court), there is no guarantee this resolution will pass, or even get a vote, though it is considered privileged, so it can’t be bottled up indefinitely under Senate rules. It could get punted to the lame duck Congressional session after the midterm elections. Regardless, along with other proposed legislation such as the JRD in the pipeline, this resolution can help bring an end to U.S. support for Israel’s atrocities, something most people in this country, especially nearly three-quarters of Democrats, support.
While I doubt hardcore supporters of Israel in this country will be swayed by much of anything, there is a growing political inevitability at play here. Regardless of what one thinks of the state of Israel, its actions, or its “right” to certain territory, U.S. taxpayers are not going to continue to put up with endless amounts of U.S. weaponry and military going to support genocide, apartheid, and gross human rights violations. And it’s easy to connect to the “affordability crisis” in the U.S. and elsewhere. Young Americans who can’t afford to buy a car, let alone a house, and lack the free universal health care Israelis enjoy, have especially turned against Israel. The pipeline of U.S. military support is going to be shut off eventually, and perhaps sooner than expected. Politicians of any party ignore this reality at their own peril.
Kevin Martin is Executive Director of Peace Action, the country’s largest grassroots peace and disarmament organization with more than 200,000 supporters nationwide.
Nenhum comentário:
Postar um comentário