John,
Last week, Israeli soldiers shot and killed 26-year-old American demonstrator Ayşenur Eygi while she was peacefully protesting the illegal occupation of the West Bank.
Another peace activist who witnessed Ayşenur’s murder said: “Americans are now being shot with American weapons by the Israeli army.” They volunteered with the same human rights group that another American, Rachel Corrie, was part of in 2002 when an Israeli soldier crushed her to death with a bulldozer as she tried to block it from demolishing Palestinian homes. The U.S. government never investigated Rachel’s murder.
President Biden said in February that “If you kill an American, we will respond.” But the Israeli military has killed multiple American citizens during his administration, and the response continues to involve asking Israeli officials to investigate their own crimes, while supplying weapons and funding for the murders. This is like calling for the fox to guard the henhouse.
Ayşenur recently graduated from the University of Washington, where she participated in the solidarity encampments against the genocide in Gaza. Weeks before Ayşenur’s murder, Israeli forces shot American teacher Amado Sison and threw stun grenades at Americans protesting illegal Israeli settlements in the West Bank.
The activist with Ayşenur said: “If there had been a lot of retaliation after Amado was shot, she would still be alive. She died because the American government did not do anything to the Israeli army. They didn’t even tell the Israeli army to stop shooting American citizens.”
In 2022, Israeli soldiers killed 78-year-old Palestinian-American Omar Assad during a brutal arrest. Also in 2022, Israeli forces murdered beloved Palestinian-American journalist Shireen Abu Akleh in the West Bank while she was covering an Israeli military raid on a refugee camp. Shireen was clearly identified as a journalist by her blue vest that read “PRESS.” The U.S. government refused to open an independent investigation, though I pushed Congress and the White House alongside Shireen’s family. Her family, and Rachel Corrie’s family, are still waiting for accountability from the U.S. and Israeli governments. Human rights groups note that Israel clears its soldiers of wrongdoing in 99% of cases.
The Israeli government is emboldened to continue acting with impunity, as the United States continues to arm its genocide against the Palestinian people. Over the past 11 months, Israel’s government has killed more than 40,000 Palestinians in Gaza and at least 623 Palestinians in the West Bank. Israel also imprisoned more than 10,000 West Bank Palestinians, holding many without charges in inhumane conditions.
Back in July, the world’s top court affirmed that Israel’s occupation of Gaza and the West Bank is illegal apartheid, ordering Israel to end the occupation, dismantle settlements, provide reparations for Palestinians, and allow displaced Palestinians to return to their homes and homeland. Instead of abiding by international law, Israel’s military began its biggest assault on the West Bank in more than 20 years, bombing and killing people while forcing thousands of residents out of their homes. None of this has prompted the Biden administration to follow U.S. and international law by stopping the transfer of U.S. weapons to the Israeli military.
As the provider of 70% of the Israeli military’s weapons, the U.S. government can and must immediately stop arming this genocidal regime. We will not stay silent as our government continues to send billions of our tax dollars to kill innocent civilians, including Americans.
Another American volunteer who witnessed Ayşenur’s murder said: “I’m ashamed of my government. I’m ashamed of the U.S. government. I’m ashamed of the Israeli regime, that they would allow this ongoing persecution of not just internationals, but Palestinians. That’s why we’ve come here, because we don’t want to sit and wait for the world to do something about genocide.”
We must hold Israel to the same standards as we do other governments; we must follow U.S. and international laws that demand an end to arming any governments committing human rights abuses and war crimes. We will not rest until there is justice for Ayşenur and others killed by the U.S-backed Israeli government with American weapons. We will continue demanding an arms embargo and Palestinian liberation.
In solidarity,
Rashida
Not authorized by any candidate or candidate’s committee.
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