Minority leader of the House of Representatives Hakeem Jeffries and Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy just travelled to Israel to reaffirm US ties with the apartheid state. Speaker McCarthy said upon returning to the US that he was, "confident that the best days for Israel and America are ahead of us." Jeffries said the his visit sought to "reaffirm our strong commitment to a safe, secure and prosperous Israel on the eve of the 75th anniversary of its founding."
Sign on to the letter condemning their trips!
Dear Minority Leader Jeffries & Speaker McCarthy,
We, the undersigned, condemn your respective trips to the apartheid state of Israel during the 75th anniversary of the Nakba. Your trip celebrating Israel's "independence" is also cheering on the ongoing displacement, murder, and occupation of Palestine and its people.
The Nakba, or Catastrophe, which was a series of mass atrocities by Zionist forces, including over 70 massacres, that resulted in the murder of over 15,000 Palestinians, and the violent expulsion of over 750,000 more to establish the state of Israel in 1948. The Nakba isn’t an event that ended in 1948, rather, it continues every day as Palestinians are expelled from their homes in East Jerusalem and the West Bank to be replaced by illegal Jewish-only settlements. By ripping Palestinians from their homes in 1948, Zionist forces became responsible for creating and sustaining one of the largest refugee populations in the world. Many of these families were displaced to Gaza and the West Bank, living as refugees in their own country. Others were exiled from their homeland entirely and are denied their right to return to this day. Many Palestinians still have the keys to their homes that were demolished by Zionist settlers or, in places like Haifa and other cities, stand to this day with settlers living in them.
Your trip comes at a time where Israel is increasing its land theft and violence against Palestinians. Your relationship with a government that carries out the murder of Palestinian-American journalist Shireen Abu-Akleh is cause for great concern, and we condemn your trip and ongoing relationship with the occupation.
Sincerely,