Bernie Sanders called on by 330 democrats to demand ceasefire in Gaza
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The delegates are urging Sanders to support an end to the blockade of Gaza, the occupation of Palestinian land, US funding, and the expansion of Israeli settlements.
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Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., talks with reporters following his meeting with President Joe Biden at the White House in Washington, Aug. 30, 2023. (AP)
Sen. Bernie Sanders has received a letter from 330 delegates to the Democratic National Convention who backed him during his 2016 and 2020 presidential bids, urging him to introduce a resolution for a ceasefire in Gaza.
The delegates also urged him to support an end to the blockade of Gaza, the occupation of Palestinian land, US funding, and the expansion of Israeli settlements.
The letter read, “We’ve progressed beyond the stage of seeking mere condemnations or symbolic gestures,” adding: “We concur with your assertion that these ‘unspeakable crimes’ must cease and that ‘the bombs and missiles from both sides’ should be halted. But Palestinians require more than just a ‘humanitarian pause.’”
This comes as Congress is considering a funding request, including over $14.3 billion for "Israel", as part of a national security supplemental package.
The bill is intended to be a support bill for the House resolution introduced by Rep. Cori Bush, Rashida Tlaib, André Carson, Summer Lee, and Delia Ramirez last month. At least 31 members of Congress, including Sen. Dick Durbin, have shown support for a ceasefire but on condition of the release of Israeli captives.
Avoiding the word 'ceasefire'
This comes in light of a letter sent to Sanders three weeks after hundreds of Sanders' presidential campaign alumni urged him for a ceasefire. Since its release, he has only called for a humanitarian pause; to “stop the bombing”; and asking Congress, the Biden administration, and the world to “take action.”
Read next: Netanyahu less likely to listen to ceasefire even if by US
The letter coincided with being one day after over 115 former staffers for President Joe Biden and former President Barack Obama praised US President Joe Biden for his “staunch support of Israel.”
Marcy Winograd, a 2020 Sanders delegate from California’s 24th congressional district, and a co-founding member of the Los Angeles chapter of Jewish Voice for Peace, expressed, “As a Jewish person of conscience watching Israeli genocide in real time, I say, not in my name, not with my tax dollars, shall Israel bomb and deprive a trapped population, half of them children, of water, food, medicine and fuel”.
“As a Jewish member of Congress, Senator Sanders’ voice would be particularly persuasive in demanding an end to Israel’s violations of international law that shock the world to leave us feeling unmoored from our own humanity”, she added.
Earlier this month, while he called for an end to the killing of thousands of “innocent men, women and children," Sanders reiterated his stance against a ceasefire in the Strip, saying, “I don’t know how you could have a permanent ceasefire with an organization like Hamas which is dedicated to destroying the state of Israel … and has got to go."
Garnering dissent from within
As of yet, campaign staffers, 411 current congressional staffers, 400-plus current Biden administration employees, 500-plus former Biden campaign alumni, 133 Obama staffers and appointees, and 260 former presidential campaign staffers for Sen. Elizabeth Warren issued statements in demand of support for a ceasefire.
Taran Samarth, a student organizer and 2020 Sanders delegate from Pennsylvania, said, “From coastal cities to rural valleys like mine, millions of young people turned their attention to politics for the first time in 2016 and 2020 because we shared Bernie’s vision for peace and justice”.
She stressed how much Sanders is needed “more than ever, to champion those values once more and call for a ceasefire in the face of the Biden administration’s unconditional support for the collective punishment of the Palestinian people.”
Read next: US public support for 'Israel' waning; majority backs ceasefire: Poll
It is worth mentioning that three days ago, a State Department dissent memo accused Biden of "spreading misinformation" on the war on Gaza and acknowledged that "Israel" is committing "war crimes" in the Strip, as per a copy of the memo obtained by Axios.
The memo, organized by a junior diplomat who has previously indicated on social media that President Biden's support for "Israel" implicates him in genocide in Gaza, reveals significant internal divisions within the Biden administration regarding the war on Gaza.
Signed by 100 US personnel, the memo calls on senior US officials to reconsider their policy toward "Israel" and push for a ceasefire in Gaza, where more than 11,000 Palestinians have been killed including over 4,500 children due to the brutal Israeli aggression, as per the Palestinian Health Ministry.
