John,

Just days after the International Court of Justice ordered Israel to stop military operations in Rafah, Israel’s military dropped U.S. bombs on multiple Rafah refugee camps, burning children alive with their families in tents.

Many of the Palestinians sheltering in these tents have already been forced to flee multiple times, including over the past few weeks—to areas that Israel designated as “safe zones.” But nowhere is safe in Gaza.

A CBS reporter just asked President Biden’s top security spokesperson: “How many more charred corpses does the president need to see before he considers a change of policy?”

President Biden previously warned that attacks on Rafah could cross his “red line” and prompt pauses on certain weapons shipments. But his administration has made clear in recent days that the latest atrocities haven’t crossed a red line for him. Many of us are wondering: Where is the red line? What will stop U.S. leaders’ support for this genocide?

Instead of condemning the Israeli government’s war crimes, too many lawmakers are instead condemning attempts to hold Israel accountable for violating international law.

Please sign now to tell U.S. Congresspeople and the Biden administration: Stop enabling Israel’s government to commit war crimes with impunity. Stop vetoing United Nations resolutions and undermining the International Court of Justice and the International Criminal Court. Instead, you must abide by and enforce international law, which prohibits war crimes and genocide.

For decades, the U.S. government has helped ensure that Israel can commit atrocities against Palestinians with impunity, including by blocking attempts at accountability in the United Nations.

Now, Israel keeps refusing to comply with binding orders from the UN’S International Court of Justice to stop the violence and to stop blocking humanitarian aid. Rather than enforcing the court’s binding orders, President Biden and U.S. Congresspeople continue to unconditionally fund and arm the Israeli military.

Now, the International Criminal Court’s (ICC) chief prosecutor has applied for arrest warrants for Israel’s Prime Minister and Defense Minister, citing well-documented war crimes such as starving civilians and intentionally directing attacks against civilians.

President Biden called the ICC prosecutor’s action “outrageous,” and spokespeople for his administration publicly oppose the move. Secretary of State Antony Blinken even said he welcomed working with GOP Senator Lindsay Graham to “support a bipartisan effort to sanction the ICC.”

Top Republican Senators recently sent a threatening letter to ICC officials, saying: “Target Israel and we will target you. If you move forward … we will move to end all American support for the ICC, sanction your employees and associates, and bar you and your families from the United States. You have been warned.”

Sign now to demand Congress and the Biden administration stop shielding Israel’s government from accountability as it commits genocide. Instead, our government’s leaders must uphold U.S. and international law by ending U.S. military assistance to Israel.

Thank you for taking action to stop this genocide. Our movement for liberation is growing, and we aren’t going anywhere.

In solidarity,

Rashida

---------- Forwarded message ---------
From: Rashida Tlaib
Date: Thu, May 30, 2024
Subject: U.S. must stop shielding Israel from accountability as it commits genocide
To: [email protected]

John,

This week, the Israeli military used U.S. bombs to commit massacres at multiple refugee tent camps in Rafah, burning Palestinian children and families alive.

Now Israeli tanks are advancing further into Rafah, all in defiance of the world’s highest court, which ordered an “immediate halt” to military operations in Rafah last week.  

Our country is the primary funder and arms supplier for this genocide, and our government’s leaders are continually enabling Israel to act with impunity.

President Biden had previously warned that attacks on Rafah would be a “red line” for him, but spokespeople for his administration have said these latest atrocities haven’t crossed a red line, noting that there will be “no policy changes” to limit support for Israel’s government.

Instead of condemning or acting to stop Israel’s well-documented war crimes, President Biden’s administration and members of Congress are condemning efforts by the world’s top courts and the United Nations to hold Israel accountable.

For example, Secretary of State Antony Blinken recently told GOP Senators that he’d like to work with them on sanctioning the International Criminal Court for seeking arrest warrants against Israel’s leaders.

Please sign now to demand the Biden administration and Congress stop interfering with the international legal process and stop shielding Israel from accountability. The U.S. government and its allies are not above international law, which prohibits war crimes and genocide.

Israel’s government has committed multiple war crimes this week alone, including bombing an ambulance and a field hospital in Rafah, blocking crucial humanitarian aid through Rafah’s border crossing with Egypt, and targeting journalists and aid workers.

Rather than condemning these horrors or implementing consequences, President Biden’s administration and members of Congress are trying to stop international legal bodies from holding Israel accountable for its human rights violations.

In response to the chief prosecutor for the International Criminal Court’s (ICC) application for arrest warrants against Israeli leaders for war crimes, President Biden called this move “outrageous” and said: “We will always stand with Israel.”

Republican senators have also threatened the ICC, including Senator Lindsay Graham, who met with Israel’s Prime Minister and President to talk about undermining the ICC. Graham has also said the International Court of Justice (which is pursuing a genocide case) can “go to hell.”

The Guardian and Israeli media outlets just published an investigation about Israeli intelligence agencies pressuring and threatening the ICC’s former top prosecutor for years, trying to get her to drop her investigation into Israel’s human rights abuses in Palestine. Former President Trump participated in this effort, issuing sanctions against her.

The ICC’s current chief prosecutor recently warned that he will act against “attempts to impede, intimidate or improperly influence the officials of this Court.” He said, “such threats, even when not acted upon, may also constitute” a violation of law.

Please sign if you agree: Our country’s leaders must stop enabling Israel to act with impunity. Instead of interfering with the process of international law, Congress and the Biden administration must abide by and enforce international law.

Thank you for continuing to demand a world that values all life, no matter faith or ethnicity. We will not give up in the struggle to save lives.

In solidarity,

Rashida