Dear John,
More than twenty years ago, Congress made a series of decisions that led to 20 years of war and 4.5 million associated deaths. They’re facing another momentous decision now.
Did we learn anything from those 20 years of war?
The White House and Congressional leaders have now called to double down (or actually, triple down) on support for the Israeli military. Their timing couldn’t be worse.
The Israeli government’s onslaught of Gaza has cost nearly 9,000 Palestinian lives, including more than 3,500 children. Experts from the United Nations, the U.S. State Department, and international human rights organizations have referred to Israeli government’s actions as war crimes, ethnic cleansing, and genocide. All of this follows years of what rights organizations have labeled apartheid.
Every country has a right to defend itself. No country has a right to target civilians.
The Biden administration has called for a massive $105 billion military aid package that would include aid to Ukraine, military aid for Israel, funds to militarize the Southern border, and funds for the Indo-Pacific. Instead of funding wars, those funds could fund ALL of the following:
- Keep childcare centers open for millions of kids
- Healthcare for 4.8 million children
- Public housing for 6 million families
- Resettle 1.4 million refugees
-
Solar power for 23.9 million homes.
Peace organizations, the international community and some courageous members of Congress are calling for a ceasefire in Gaza that would save lives and allow for negotiation of the return of Israeli hostages.
That’s a far better path than spending billions to support the Israel government’s assault on Palestinians – especially when those same dollars could be used to fund life.
In solidarity,
Lindsay, Ashik, Alliyah, & the NPP team
