Sen. Bernie Sanders called on Congress to reject any more funding for Netanyahu’s war in Gaza.
In a statement provided to PoliticusUSA, Sen. Sanders (I-VT) said:
The issue we face with Israel-Gaza is not complicated. While we recognize that Hamas’ barbaric terrorist attack began this war, we must also recognize that Israel’s military response has been grossly disproportionate, immoral, and in violation of international law. And, most importantly for Americans, we must understand that Israel’s war against the Palestinian people has been significantly waged with U.S. bombs, artillery shells, and other forms of weaponry. And the results have been catastrophic.
Since October 7th, over 22,000 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli strikes, two-thirds of these victims have been women and children – and 57,000 have been wounded.
Since the start of the war 1.9 million Palestinian men, women, and children have been driven from their homes – 85% of the total population of Gaza. According to an analysis of satellite radar data nearly 70% of the housing units in Gaza have been destroyed or damaged by Israeli bombardment. Today, not only are the vast majority of people in Gaza homeless, they lack food, water, medical supplies, and fuel. A recent UN report indicates that half of the population of about 2.2 million are at risk of starvation and 90% say that they regularly go without food for a whole day. The chief economist at the World Food Program said the humanitarian disaster in Gaza is among the worst he has ever seen. This cannot be allowed to continue.
Congress is working to pass a supplemental funding bill that includes $10 billion of unconditional military aid for the right-wing Netanyahu government to continue its brutal war against the Palestinian people. Enough is enough. Congress must reject that funding. The taxpayers of the United States must no longer be complicit in destroying the lives of innocent men, women, and children in Gaza.
Threading The Needle On A Complex Issue
In the statement above, Sen. Sanders tried to thread the needle between supporting Israel’s right to defend itself after the Hamas terror attack and opposing the harm that is being inflicted on innocent Palestinians. The Biden administration has been trying to walk the same line by opposing terrorism while at the same time pressuring Israel to minimize civilian casualties and damage.
The issue is not as simple as Republicans make it seem. It is not a matter of whether or not to support Israel. The issue is that turning a blind eye to what Israel is doing in Gaza is as un-American as not supporting an ally who was the victim of a terrorist attack.
There is no easy answer, but Bernie Sanders has taken the position that the United States should not be funding Netanyahu’s destruction of Gaza.
There are enough Republicans in Congress that support the funding so that Sanders alone can’t kill the bill in the Senate, but his opposition is significant, and it is worth watching if more members of Congress speak out against Netanyahu’s war.
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