Friends,
With the Middle East on the brink of catastrophic escalation, Members of Congress are considering adding their names to a letter calling for financial sanctions against two of the most extreme, xenophobic, warmongering ministers in the Netanyahu government: Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich.
As an Israeli-American, I’m writing to ask you to sign our petition to Congress in support of this letter – and to follow up with a call to your representatives and senators.
I ask as an Israeli because these men are attempting to destroy the country I love. They're a dangerous, disgraceful embarrassment, trampling on Israel's founding ideals of justice, equality, democracy and peace. They championed anti-democratic judicial reforms and are pushing to escalate the conflict to Israel's north.
Openly racist and anti-Palestinian, Ben-Gvir and Smotrich are also actively using their positions to incite violence, dehumanize Palestinians, supercharge settlement growth, push families from their land and shield violent settlers from accountability – with deadly consequences for Israelis and Palestinians alike.
I ask as an American because, as Israel’s most indispensable security partner, we must ensure those responsible for lawlessness, violence and violations of our values are held to account – especially when they are government leaders.
Friends – Can you take a moment to read and sign our petition?
Tell Congress: We Support Sanctions on Israel’s Extremist Ministers
Click to add your name if you agree ✍️
President Biden’s West Bank sanctions are having a significant impact on targeted actors.
They find themselves starved from financial support and isolated internationally. Sanctions add a new deterrent to those intent on fomenting division and violence at the worst possible time.
If you’re not sold on why Smotrich and Ben-Gvir deserve sanctions, let me give you the latest:
National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir is leader of the ultra-nationalist “Jewish Power” party.
- Both Israel’s Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and the leader of the Shin Bet security service have branded Ben-Gvir a threat to Israel’s security and its values, saying he is doing “indescribable damage” to Israel’s reputation, social cohesion and security situation.
- Following his campaign to arm settlers, shield perpetrators from accountability and shoot first, ask questions later, he has overseen a significant spike in settler violence and military fire upon civilians, with hundreds of Palestinians killed in the West Bank over the past year, including far too many civilians and far too many children.
Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich – who has outrageously called on Israel to end hostage release negotiations – also serves as a Minister in the Defense Ministry and has consolidated responsibility over the Civil Administration, which oversees the West Bank occupation.
- Smotrich told members of his far-right Religious Zionist party that it’s his “life mission to thwart a Palestinian state” and has pursued increased home demolitions and settlement approvals on Palestinian territory, as well as the largest territorial appropriation in 30 years.
- Last year, following a violent settler rampage through the Palestinian village of Huwara, he called for the town to be “wiped out” – and said the State of Israel should do it.
Both men are fanning the flames in an increasingly worsening security situation on the West Bank, which threatens to boil over at any moment. As the letter says, “settler violence in the West Bank, incentivized by external organizations and even by extremist officials in the Netanyahu government, threatens the long-term strategic security of Israel and the region.”
As Jewish and pro-Israel Americans, we have a responsibility to stand up for the vision of Israel we believe in – a vision rooted in Israel’s founding ideals of democracy, equality, justice and peace.
I believe this includes an obligation to speak clearly and loudly and take action against those pursuing a vision fundamentally at odds with our moral code – and trampling on the rights, freedoms and safety of others in doing so.
Friends – Please join me in adding your name to our petition to Congress. Together, we have to stand up for what’s right >>
With the Middle East on the brink of catastrophic escalation, we can't lose sight of those fanning flames within Israel – risking setting the region further ablaze.
Thank you, sincerely, for your support.
Adina Vogel Ayalon
Vice President and Chief of Staff, J Street
