The Shift: Senators accuse Israel of ethnic cleansing in Gaza and say the U.S. is complicit

Senators Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) and Jeff Merkley (D-OR) recently returned to the United States from a fact-finding delegation in the Middle East.

The lawmakers, who are both members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, released a report on their findings. They say that they saw evidence that Israel’s government is implementing a plan of ethnic cleansing in Gaza and that the United States is complicit.

“The fact that both the Netanyahu government and now the Trump Administration are framing their plan as a call for the ‘voluntary’ exodus of Palestinians from Gaza is one of the most fraudulent, sinister, and twisted cover stories ever told,” wrote the senators. “It is a farce to suggest people who have been subjected to destruction and dehumanization on such a vast scale would be departing Gaza ‘voluntarily.’ The plan is clearly to pressure Palestinians to leave Gaza by making life for them there virtually impossible. For some, like Smotrich and Ben-Gvir, that has been a longheld vision, just as they seek to push Palestinians from the West Bank. For others, that may have become a goal of the war along the way. And even for those that may not intend that result, it has become the undeniable reality based on the facts on the ground.”

“Whether or not Palestinians will ultimately be driven out of all or most of Gaza is yet unknown,” they continued. “The world has a moral and legal obligation to stop the ongoing ethnic cleansing there. Strong words alone will not be sufficient. The world must impose penalties and costs on those who are implementing this plan.”

Days after the report, Bernie Sanders became the first Senator to say that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza. 20 congress members have now made the accusation, the vast majority of them Democrats. The Sanders announcement came amid the release of a UN Commission of Inquiry report that concludes Israel has committed four of the five genocidal acts defined under the 1948 Genocide Convention.

With the midterms looming, it’s clear which direction Democratic voters want their lawmakers to go. A new survey from the Arab American Institute (AAI) finds that a plurality of American voters believe Israel is committing genocide and are more likely to back candidates who agree. Just 15% of likely Democratic voters would be less likely to support a candidate who think Israel is committing genocide, compared to 50% who would be more likely to support.

“Americans are witnessing a U.S.-enabled genocide and they know it. No amount of recasting Gaza will shield candidates from the consequences of inaction. This poll debunks the misguided notion, still propagated by Democratic leaders and consultants, that, to win elections, candidates should embrace moderate positions on Israel. The truth is that moderate voters support cutting aid to Israel, and they want the war to end now. These results outline a path for candidates who want to represent and act on Americans’ concerns,” said AAI President James Zogby in a statement.

Despite all this, many Democrats won’t even publicly back Democratic mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani in New York City’s upcoming election.

“That kind of spineless politics is what people are sick of,” declared Van Hollen this past weekend. “They need to get behind him and get behind him now.”

In response to Van Hollen’s comments, a spokesperson for House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) referred to the Senator as “Chris Van Who?”

It’s an interesting stance for a congress member who might be facing a primary challenger soon enough.

D.C. delegation

On Tuesday, members of five American families made a historic trip to Washington, D.C., to demand justice for loved ones killed by Israel.

The delegation included the families of Saif Musallet, a 20-year-old Floridian beaten to death by Israeli settlers in the occupied West Bank this past July, Ayşenur Ezgi Eygi, a 26-year student from Washington, shot in the head by an Israeli soldier in September 2024, Tawfic Abdel Jabbar, a 17-year-old from Louisiana killed by Israeli gunfire while driving in West Bank in January 2024, Rachel Corrie, a 23-year-old activist crushed to death by an Israeli soldier driving a Caterpillar bulldozer in 2003, and Mohammed Ibrahim, a 16-year-old from from Florida imprisoned by Israel for over 6 months.

The delegation met with congressional leaders and attended a press conference led by Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-WA). It also included Reps. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI), Summer Lee (D-PA), Lateefah Simon (D-CA), Mark Pocan (D-WI), Delia Ramirez (D-IL), and Chuy Garcia (D-IL).

“In the early days of the genocide, there were planes that were arranged to get American citizens out of Israel, but for the American citizens who were trapped in Gaza, there was nothing they were left to fend for themselves,” Lee told the crowd. “I think of the Pennsylvanian family whose children were attacked in the bombing as they made their way to Rafah. Right now, there are Pennsylvanian, American children who are permanently disabled and traumatized because the U.S. government didn’t help them to get out in time.”

“The reality is we have one system of treatment for one group of folk, and we have another system for another group of folk,” she continued. “Why aren’t Palestinian Americans protected in the same way from a foreign government as Americans of any other background? Why aren’t their members of Congress standing here with us today? These families, these children, their loved ones, have been murdered or terrorized by a foreign government with no justice and no accountability.”

The delegation visit and press conference weren’t mentioned much in the mainstream media, and the administration predictably ignored them. Secretary of State Marco Rubio was in Jerusalem over the weekend, quashing any rumors that the Doha strike had strained the United States/Israel relationship.

“It’s obvious that Israel has no better ally than America,” Netanyahu told reporters. “The American-Israeli alliance has never been as strong as it is now.”