JNS
“It is Israel’s responsibility, and within its capacity, to address and resolve the situation,” stated Rep. Brad Schneider of Illinois, who is Jewish.
A growing number of U.S. House and Senate Democrats warned on Friday of “starvation” conditions in Gaza, urging U.S. President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to bring Israel’s war with Hamas in the coastal enclave to an end.
Lawmakers who describe the current humanitarian situation in the Strip as untenable include Democrats known for being staunchly pro-Israel, including Rep. Brad Schneider (D-Ill.), who is Jewish.
“The situation in Gaza is undeniably dire, and Israel must take immediate action to ensure sufficient food gets into the territory and to the people in desperate need,” he stated.
“The world must not turn a blind eye to the fact that children are starving because of this war,” added Schneider. “It is Israel’s responsibility, and within its capacity, to address and resolve the situation.”
The representative also alluded to recent statements about Gaza from the Israeli cabinet, including Minister of Heritage Amichay Eliyahu’s claim that Israel is “rushing toward Gaza being wiped out” and “driving out the population that educated its people on the ideas of Mein Kampf.”
Schneider stated that “Israeli ministers explicitly calling for ethnic cleansing in the Gaza Strip or the West Bank empowers those who accuse Israel of war crimes and crimes against humanity. These ministers shame their country and the Jewish people, and are a threat to Israel’s future security and peace.”
“While Prime Minister Netanyahu has denounced their comments, he must go further,” the congressman said. “These individuals must have no place or role in Israel’s government.”
‘Not in Israel’s national security interest’
Netanyahu rejected Eliyahu’s comments on Thursday and said they do not reflect Israeli government policy.
In May, Netanyahu announced that Israel would resume aid to Gaza after unnamed U.S. senators warned him that they could not tolerate “images of mass starvation.”
Six Democratic senators wrote on Friday that the revamped aid distribution program, led by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, has failed.
“Humanitarian conditions in Gaza are appalling and unconscionable,” wrote Sens. Jack Reed (D-R.I.), Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), Mark Warner (D-Va.), Chris Coons (D-Del.) and Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii).
“The handful of Gaza Humanitarian Foundation sites are wholly inadequate to meet the needs of this starving population,” the senators stated.
The group called on the Trump administration to work with Netanyahu to “dramatically reform or shut down the Gaza Humanitarian Fund” and resume aid operations led by the United Nations.
“Continuing this war with no discernible end is not in Israel’s national security interest, and the lack of a viable ‘day after’ plan has been a glaring mistake,” the group said. “As we know from our own experience following the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, there is no solely military solution to defeating a terrorist group.”
AIPAC has endorsed Coons, Reed and Warner as pro-Israel candidates.
‘Resume airdropping food into Gaza’
Sens. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) and Mark Kelley (D-Ariz.) made similar statements earlier this week, calling on Israel to change course.
The Jewish Democratic Council of America, which calls itself “the political voice of Jewish Democrats” and says it is “among the staunchest supporters of Israel as a democratic and Jewish state,” also spoke out against humanitarian conditions.
“The situation in Gaza is unacceptable and antithetical to our Jewish values, and it’s incumbent on the Israeli government, the United States and all parties to ensure that Gazans have access to food,” Halie Soifer, the group’s CEO, stated on Friday.
“Given deeply troubling reports of starvation across Gaza and violence at aid distribution sites, Israel must do more to immediately ensure aid is widely available and safe to access,” she said.
“We are aware of grave challenges to aid distribution in Gaza and the diversion of aid by Hamas, but the humanitarian conditions in Gaza are utterly devastating, and the parties must find a way to overcome distribution challenges, and provide food and water to those desperately in need,” she said.
Democratic Majority for Israel, another group supporting pro-Israel Democrats, also urged greater humanitarian support for Palestinians.
“The humanitarian situation in Gaza is heartbreaking,” stated Brian Romick, DMFI’s president and CEO, on Friday. “We welcome the news that Arab countries will resume airdropping food into Gaza. This is an important step.”
“Even as Hamas works to prolong this war and prevent food from getting to people in need, Israel—along with the United States, Egypt, Qatar and the rest of the international community—must continue to work to get food to innocent children in Gaza,” he said.
On Tuesday, Rep. Randy Fine (R-Fla.) pushed back on claims of starvation conditions in Gaza.
“Release the hostages. Until then, starve away,” the Jewish congressman wrote. “This is all a lie anyway. It amazes me that the media continues to regurgitate Muslim terror propaganda.”
That comment prompted a rebuke from Rep. Ritchie Torres (D-N.Y.), another Democrat noted for his strongly pro-Israel views.
“Telling Palestinians in Gaza to ‘starve away’ is an evil thing to say,” Torres stated. “The United States must make every effort to secure the release of the hostages, end the war, enable new Palestinian self-governance in Gaza, build a durable peace between Israelis and Palestinians, and expand the Abraham Accords in the service of broader Israeli-Arab peace.”
