One year since she introduced a resolution for a permanent ceasefire in Gaza, Rep. Cori Bush, D-Mo., said she hasn’t seen any indication that a Kamala Harris presidency would result in a different U.S policy toward Israel.
“I have not seen anything different than, we continue to send the weapons to facilitate the violence,” Bush told The Intercept. “As long as we are continuing to send the weapons and the funding to bomb people, to destroy, to exterminate a whole people, then everything else is just talk.”
“We can’t say that we want the violence to stop, and then we help hand over the weapons that cause the violence.”
Amid growing public outrage over U.S. support for Israel’s war, President Joe Biden has reportedly used tough language with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and in one instance, paused a weapons shipment. Yet there has been no fundamental shift in policy: the U.S. has sent $17.9 billion to Israel over the last year, and even as the administration this week warned Israel that its failure to improve humanitarian conditions in Gaza could affect U.S. military aid, a White House spokesperson said the letter was “not meant as a threat.”
For Bush, the White House’s admonishments ring hollow so long as the military aid keeps flowing. “I hear the stern words,” she said. “We can’t say that we want the violence to stop, and then we help hand over the weapons that cause the violence.”
Bush, along with Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., was one of the earliest congressional proponents for a ceasefire in Gaza — a position that was seen as a third rail in Washington. During a White House press conference, press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre described calls for a ceasefire as “repugnant,” “disgraceful,” and “wrong,” while congressional Democrats piled on Tlaib. Since then, Israel has killed more than 40,000 people in Gaza and expanded its war into Lebanon, where it has also killed thousands of people.
“We had foresight at that time,” Bush said. “Had the administration listened then, where would we be now?”
With diplomacy all but stalled as the war widens, the calls for a ceasefire have evolved into a stronger policy demand. “What we need is for the Biden administration to take action to end the violence, not enable it,” Bush said. “What we need is the arms embargo.”
Playing With Words
A year after the White House publicly disparaged calls for a ceasefire, Harris and Biden have now at least rhetorically adopted that same demand. Harris first called for a ceasefire in March, before Biden did so and before she became the party’s presidential nominee. At the August Democratic National Convention, the vice president repeated the call to the sound of raucous applause. And Biden has repeatedly made similar comments. But activists argue that without an arms embargo, the language coming out of the administration feels hollow.
“For all of their rhetoric of being appalled at the level of violence,” said Samer Araabi, a member of the Arab Resource and Organizing Center, a Bay Area advocacy organization. “Not a single material action has backed those feelings of concern.”
Araabi said a ceasefire has always been the goal, but it’s now crystal clear that an arms embargo is the best shot to get there. “The only thing that the U.S. has done to bring Israel to bear has been leveraging military aid,” said Araabi.
Activist organizations, including Jewish Voice for Peace Action and IMEU Policy Project, are rallying around a new resolution from Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., that would block the latest $20 billion weapons sale to Israel.
“We are over a year into a genocide and the U.S. has spent over $17.9 billion dollars on the Israeli military and on sending weapons to the Israeli military,” said Beth Miller, political director at JVP Action. “The only way that this regional war stops, the only way that this genocide stops is when the U.S. stops sending weapons.”
In the month since Israel intensified its assault on Lebanon, at least 1.2 million Lebanese nationals have been displaced by Israel’s bombing campaign. And just this week, the United States deployed 100 troops and an air missile defense system to Israel.
“I don’t think we’re any closer to a ceasefire than we were a year ago,” said Sumaya Awad, a Palestinian writer and the director of strategy at Adalah Justice Project. “In some ways, I think we’re even further away because we’re now in a place where the U.S. government is entering into a war that could have been stopped with a ceasefire a month ago, two months ago, certainly a year ago.
Instead of genuine action, all we hear from our government is empty words about the need for a ceasefire and humanitarian aid, all while they continue to supply arms and bombs to Gaza and Lebanon.
The call for an arms embargo is crucial in the push for a ceasefire, according to Awad, a member of the New York City Democratic Socialists of America. She emphasizes that a ceasefire must be accompanied by a halt in arms shipments to be truly effective.
Although over 90 members of Congress have called for a ceasefire in Gaza, many of these calls lack substance due to conditions and caveats. Only one piece of legislation in Congress is specifically dedicated to calling for a ceasefire, with limited support from lawmakers.
The issue of ceasefire in Gaza has sparked intense involvement from political donors, with groups like AIPAC spending millions to influence elections and oust supporters of ceasefire resolutions. This interference raises concerns about the impact on future legislative efforts.
Despite setbacks, activists believe there has been a significant shift among Democrats in Congress regarding the Israel-Palestine conflict. There is a growing consensus that the status quo on Israel needs to change, marking a significant shift in political dynamics.
While the Biden administration has not implemented policy changes in response to the conflict, activists continue to push for action. Repression against those speaking out against the war highlights the moral clarity of the movement’s message, indicating a growing awareness and support for their cause.
As Congress prepares to address the Sanders resolution to block a proposed $20 billion arms sale to Israel, there is hope that this step will send a clear message against funding military actions and contribute to ending the cycle of violence. Can you please rewrite this for me?
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