Ilhan Omar has been consistent in speaking out for Palestinian rights & we need to make sure her voice is supported while Israel continues home demolitions & land theft! |
Dear friend,
You may have heard the news that Israel’s horrible Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu has been replaced with a new horrible Prime Minister: Naftali Bennett. Some are celebrating the end of an era, where Netanyahu empowered settlers and continued Israel’s legacy of land theft and violence. However, Neftali Bennett is just a new face to that same story. Under Bennett, Israel will continue its gross human rights violations and we need a champion for Palestinian rights in Congress more than ever. For the last week, Representative Omar was under fire by her colleagues.
Ilhan was being criticized by other members of Congress after she asked Secretary of State Blinken where Palestinians could seek justice if not the International Criminal Court. After Blinken’s unsatisfying response, Ilhan went on Twitter and said “We must have the same level of accountability and justice for all victims of crimes against humanity. We have seen unthinkable atrocities committed by the U.S., Hamas, Israel, Afghanistan, and the Taliban". Her point was that the U.S. should welcome ICC investigations into alleged war crimes no matter who commits them. Now, legislation has been introduced by Republicans against Ilhan and three other members of the squad!
The attacks against her, both from Republicans and her Democratic colleagues, are ridiculous and come at a time when we desperately need Congresspeople who stand up for Palestinian rights. Prime Minister Neftali Bennett has promised to expand settlements and is a far-right ideologue, read my article in Common Dreams to learn more. Despite the excitement of Netanyahu being gone, Bennett will continue Netanyahu’s legacy of killing Palestinians and stealing their homes and land.
Bennett once said that he “killed lots of Arabs in my life – and there’s no problem with that.” In no way should we be applauding the transition of power in Israel. Honestly, we need to be as vigilant as ever. We need to uplift the limited voices in Congress that we do have to support Palestinian rights.
Towards Peace,
Ariel, Danaka, Carley, Ally, Ann, Carley, Ciara, Cody, Emily, Farida, Grace, Jodie, Kelly, Leila, Leonardo, Madison, Mary, Marcy, Medea, Michelle, Moses, Nancy, Paki, Sana, and Teri