Some US Representatives Call for Relief for Palestinians

Last week, 54 members of Congress sent a letter to President Barack Obama asking him to pressure Israel to allow relief supplies to get to the thousands of Palestinians in Gaza.

The letter, which was initiated by Rep. Jim McDermott and Rep. Keith Ellison, say in part:

“The people of Gaza have suffered enormously since the blockade imposed by Israel and Egypt following Hamas’ coup, and particularly following Operation Cast Lead. We also sympathize deeply with the people of southern Israel who have suffered abhorrent rocket and mortar attacks. We recognize that the Israeli government has imposed restrictions on Gaza out of a legitimate and keenly felt fear of continued terrorist action by Hamas and other terrorist groups. This concern must be addressed without the resulting de facto collective punishment of the Palestinian residents of the Gaza Strip. Truly, fulfilling the needs of civilians in Israel and Gaza are mutually reinforcing goals.”

Only two Michigan Congressmen, Representatives Conyers and Dingle signed the letter to President Obama.

The Washington-based End the Occupation Campaign is calling on people to contact Representatives to either thank them for signing on to the letter or to confront them for not signing on. For those like West Michigan Representatives Ehlers and Hoekstra, the End the Occupation Campaign has an online message prepared for you to send to them.

However, it is worth noting the language of the letter, which states that Hamas came to power through a coup, when in fact they were democratically elected. Second, the Congressional letter implies that Israel has imposed the brutal blockade on Gaza because of “of a legitimate and keenly felt fear of continued terrorist action by Hamas and other terrorist groups.” In fact, Israel has claimed all along that there attack on Gaza was because Hamas violated the ceasefire agreement, when in fact the opposite is true.

Author and activist Stephen Shalom responds to Israel’s claim that Hamas violated the ceasefire agreement by saying, “No, Israel broke it, on November 4, 2008. Israel and the United States claimed that Hamas refused to renew the ceasefire when it expired in mid-December. No, Hamas was prepared to extend the ceasefire if the murderous blockade of Gaza were lifted, as was supposed to happen during the ceasefire and as ought to have happened on moral grounds in any event.”

Despite some of the misplaced language of the letter sent to President Obama, it is a far cry from the near unanimous vote from Congress last year to support Israel’s attack on Gaza.