To President Biden, Members of the U.S. Congress & State Department:

As we witness the catastrophic impacts of Israel’s continued occupation, total blockade, bombardment and raids in Gaza, I echo the voices of millions around the world to implore you to stop all military aid to Israel. 

Just this week, while the WHO calls for the creation of a humanitarian corridor in Gaza, the U.S. contradicted its professed support for this corridor by sending more arms to Israel. Using U.S. taxpayer dollars, we not only expedited deliveries of munitions to Israel but also, sent carrier strike groups loaded with war planes and military personnel to reinforce our existing military presence in the Eastern Mediterranean. How are food, aid and fuel supposed to be delivered to Palestinians in need if Israeli air strikes and raids continue? 

Given that $3.8 billion in military aid go to Israel every year, this week's actions only underscore how utterly false the U.S.'s professed concern is for the safety, survival and well-being of Palestinians, particularly of Palestinian children who constitute about half of Gaza's population. 

Contrary to what the U.S. news media and politicians tell us, halting military aid to Israel does not constitute ignoring the safety, survival and well-being of Israeli children. Rather, this halt and subsequent de-escalation would constitute an acknowledgment of the toll that political violence takes on children, and people of any age, in general. 

That being said, as the numbers show, there are no two equal sides here. The justification that military aid bolsters Israeli "self-defense" is tired. As Palestinian activists, allies and international organizations recognize, Israel is a settler-colonial/apartheid state that is and has been for 75 years systematically engaging in the ethnic cleansing and genocide of Palestinians, using the justification of self-defense all along. So, if history did not make it clear to you, let the present do so: Israel's blockade on food, electricity and fuel and its order for 1.1 million Palestinians to evacuate northern Gaza are acts of genocide. By continuing the status quo of arming Israel, the U.S. is funding and enabling Palestinian genocide.

As Palestinian writer, journalist and organizer, Mohammed El-Kurd, said in his speech before the UN General Assembly 2 years ago, "We Palestinians have repeatedly articulated what kind of transformative political measures must be taken – such as civil society boycotts and state-level sanctions. The problem is not ignorance, it is inaction."

The bottom line: the U.S. is enabling the genocide of the Palestinian people by continuing military aid to Israel.

Use your power to stop the aid and end this genocide. 

Constituents, after signing this petition, please text ‘SIGN PQIGWJ’ to 50409 to send an abridged version of this petition directly to your local legislators. Ask 5-10 friends to do the same.

We cannot be (and should have never been) "neutral" or "quiet" in the face of genocide, especially one that is being funded by our tax dollars. And we are even closer than we were 2 years ago, last year or last week, to achieving a liberated Palestinian state - act NOW. 

Cover image from The Palestine Chronicle.