Twelve House members have sent Secretary of State Antony Blinken a letter, calling on the Biden administration to commit to a foreign policy that “supports the human rights and dignity of Palestinian people.”
The letter asserts that Biden should oppose all forms of annexation, withdraw the Trump administration’s “peace plan” for the region, and call on Israel provide the COVID vaccine to all Palestinians living under occupation. The letter declares that”settler-colonialism in any form- including Israel’s settlements in East Jerusalem and the West Bank- is illegal under international law and will not be tolerated.”
The letter was led by Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) and Rep. Mark Pocan (D-WI). It was also signed by Rep. Jim McGovern (D-MA), Rep. Hank Johnson (D-GA), Rep. André Carson (D-IN), Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN), Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), Rep. Chellie Pingree (D-ME), Rep. Marie Newman (D-IL), Rep. Ayanna Pressley (D-MA), Rep. Betty McCollum (D-MN), and Rep. Raúl Grijalva (D-AZ).
“I am proud to join @RepMarkPocan and 10 other of my colleagues in calling for @SecBlinken and @StateDept to ground its engagement on Palestine and Israel in international law and human rights and undue the damage done by the Trump Admin,” tweeted Tlaib.
“The US should oppose unilateral annexations & demolitions. Israel should vaccinate all Palestinians,” tweeted Pocan. “@RepRashida & I are urging @SecBlinken to center international human rights & law when engaging with Palestine and Israel. We can reverse the harm caused by the Trump admin.”
The letter was welcomed online by activists and human rights groups. “When a Palestinian-American congresswoman leads ten of her colleagues in explicitly calling out Israel’s settler-colonialism, you know something is changing,” tweeted the Adalah Justice Project’s Sumaya Awad.
In a Twitter thread, the US Campaign for Palestinian Rights (USCPR) explained how organizers helped make sure a letter possible. “From the long-growing movements to abolish ICE, defund & abolish police, & end military funding to Israel to ensure Palestinian freedoms, we’ve learned that speaking truth to power eventually forces politicians to say what’s right,” they wrote. “This is one example.”
“This letter is a signal to the Biden administration that we will not go back to the status quo,” said JVP Action Executive Director Stefanie Fox in a statement. “These members of Congress are making it clear that if you believe that U.S. policy must be rooted in human rights, there can be no exceptions – including for Palestinians. Members of Congress are ready to advocate for Palestinian rights and dignity, and they have the power of a global movement behind them.”
Good job Progressives. Shame on the rest of House members, who have no spine to stand up for human rights, and the freedom of occupied people. If only those who speak out are the majority.
Cue in the attacks from the nasty side.
How many members are there in the House of Representatives?
How many members in the House of Representatives “self” identify as “progressives?”
How many members in the House of Representatives “self” identify as “Justice Democrats?”
Who did President Biden employ as the top three (3) government employees at the State Department?
Did President Biden ever “self” identify as a “Christian Zionist?”
How many times?
Before whom?
Just saying …
dennis hanna