John,

Last week, 62 Democrats joined Republicans in the House of Representatives to vote to ban the U.S. State Department from citing the Gaza Health Ministry’s data, including the official death toll of Palestinians.

Nearly nine months into this U.S.-backed and well-documented genocide against Palestinians, there is so much anti-Palestinian racism in Congress that my colleagues don’t even want to acknowledge that Palestinians exist at all—when they’re alive or even when they’re dead.

The Gaza Health Ministry’s data has been proven reliable and used for years by the UN, the U.S. State Department, Israel’s government, and other international agencies.

So I read into the Congressional record that this genocide has killed at least 38,000 Palestinian civilians, including more than 15,000 children. Save the Children estimates that an additional 21,000 children are missing or buried under the rubble.

As the only Palestinian American serving in Congress, I won’t remain silent while my colleagues attempt to erase those who were killed with our own weapons.

Please sign to tell Congress and the Biden administration: Stop sending weapons to Israel’s military, and use all of the U.S. government’s leverage to force Israel’s government to let in humanitarian aid to Gaza now.

Recent UN reports have confirmed that the Israeli government is intentionally targeting Palestinian civilians, which we’ve seen with our own eyes for months.

Despite recent binding orders to stop the violence from the UN Security Council and the UN’s International Court of Justice, the Israeli military keeps bombing refugee camps and UN schools—continually attacking so-called “safe zones” where Palestinians have been forced to flee.

Israel’s government has destroyed all of Gaza’s water and sanitation facilities, including sewage pumping stations and water desalination and wastewater treatment facilities. Israeli attacks have also targeted and killed workers while they repaired wells.

Because Gaza’s 2.3 million residents are forced to drink dirty water and are stuck in unsanitary over-crowded conditions, hundreds of thousands of people are sick with preventable illnesses.

We cannot look away: The scale of devastation is only possible because of the U.S. government’s continual funding and arming of Israel’s military. Our country is the primary funder and arms supplier for this genocide.

After the International Criminal Court’s chief prosecutor announced that he is seeking an arrest warrant against Israel’s Prime Minister Netanyahu for war crimes such as forced starvation, Republican and Democratic leaders of the U.S. House of Representatives and the Senate formally invited this genocidal war criminal to address Congress later this month.

Instead of honoring this war criminal, our government must heed last month’s warning from the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, which told governments around the world to stop sending weapons to Israel’s military.

Please sign to tell Congress and the Biden administration: We must use all the leverage our country has to save lives, stop this genocide, and force the Israeli government to allow humanitarian aid into Gaza now. At minimum, the U.S. government must immediately stop sending weapons to Israel’s military.

In solidarity,

Rashida

---------- Forwarded message ---------
From: Rashida Tlaib
Date: Tue, Jul 2, 2024
Subject: Sign to tell U.S. government: Stop sending weapons to Israel’s military now!
To: [email protected]

John,

Last week most of my colleagues in the House of Representatives voted for genocide denial, trying to prohibit U.S. officials from even citing the Palestinian death toll.

This is an unconscionable attempt to hide the U.S.-backed Israeli apartheid government’s genocide of Palestinians, which is happening in real time right now. So I spoke up and read the latest numbers of Palestinians killed and injured into the Congressional record.

Palestinians are not just numbers: They’re real people who’ve had their lives stolen from them and their families torn apart. I cry thinking that if I could somehow humanize the Palestinian people more to my colleagues or show them the unimaginable suffering, they might finally stop it. But the majority of Congress doesn't see Palestinians as worthy of life, safety, and protection.

Recent UN reports found that the Israeli government has intentionally and directly attacked Palestinian civilians, committing crimes against humanity including forced starvation and extermination.

Due to the Israeli government’s deliberate targeting of Palestinian civilians, 10 children a day in Gaza lose at least one of their legs, and six children are killed every hour. There are about 1 million children in Gaza and 90% of them now lack the nutrition they need, facing “severe” threats to their “survival, growth and development,” according to another UN report.

Please sign the petition now to Congress and the White House: Immediately stop sending weapons to Israel’s military and use all of our leverage to force the Israeli government to allow humanitarian aid into Gaza now.

Gaza’s health ministry has confirmed that 15,000 children have been murdered since October, but my colleagues in Congress want to ban the State Department from using this data—even though Israeli and U.S. authorities and the UN have trusted the ministry’s data for years.

I also submitted a recent forensic report into the Congressional record, which found that Israeli forces fired 355 bullets from a tank at the car where six-year-old Hind Rajab was stuck for hours, while she begged paramedics to rescue her after her family members were killed around her. The report found that she was close enough to Israeli soldiers that they had a clear view of her while firing into the car.

Other recent reports have found that around 500,000 Palestinians are currently facing “catastrophic” starvation and going days without eating food. In addition, hundreds of thousands are getting sick from preventable illnesses, due to Israel’s deliberate destruction of Gaza’s water and sewage infrastructure.

Because Israel’s government has also intentionally destroyed Gaza’s medical system, Palestinians in Gaza can’t get care for their injuries, malnutrition, illness, or dehydration.

Another UN report also found that Israeli forces systematically use sexual violence against Palestinian captives in Israeli prisons, “amounting to torture and cruel and inhuman treatment.”

I keep telling my colleagues in Congress: Believe the government of Israel and its leaders when they say they want to eliminate the Palestinian people.

Too many members of Congress and the White House don’t see Palestinians as human beings who deserve to live. They must at least listen to the American people, who do not support this genocide. Polls have shown that across political parties, the majority of Americans—including a majority of Jewish Americans—want the U.S. government to stop sending weapons to Israel’s military.

Please sign to tell Congress and the Biden administration: We must use all the leverage our country has to stop the violence and force the Israeli government to allow humanitarian aid into Gaza—including stopping the sale or transfer of weapons to Israel’s military.

Thank you for taking action. Together, we’ll continue demanding our government’s leaders see Palestinians as human beings who deserve dignity and safety. We must keep up the push to save as many lives as possible.

In solidarity,

Rashida