John,

Michigan’s 12th congressional district is home to one of the largest and most vibrant Lebanese communities in the United States. Right now, my neighbors are grieving the Israeli government’s horrific escalations that have endangered and slaughtered their loved ones in recent weeks.

Israel’s indiscriminate bombing campaign in Lebanon has so far displaced 500,000 people, maimed and wounded thousands of people, and killed more than 600 people—including more than 50 children.

Israel’s leaders have admitted that continued U.S. military assistance is the only way they can sustain their attacks. After facing no red line in Gaza or the West Bank over the past year, Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu is now expanding his violent campaign to Lebanon.

Sign to demand President Biden end U.S. weapons to Israel now. It’s time for our country to stop arming and funding war crimes.

This September, our communities also marked the anniversary of brutal Israel-backed massacres in Lebanon that killed thousands of Palestinian refugees in 1982. After that year’s invasion of Lebanon, Israel occupied southern Lebanon for nearly 20 years.

Israel’s government continues to commit clear violations of international law.

Last week, 124 countries in the United Nations voted to support a resolution demanding Israel’s military end its illegal occupation and withdraw from Palestine. The resolution also called on countries to comply with international humanitarian law and stop sending weapons to Israel.

The U.S. voted against that resolution and continues to provide about 70% of Israel’s weapons. The next biggest arms supplier to Israel is Germany, which has stopped approving new weapons exports because of legal cases charging Germany with violating international law through weapons provided to Israel. The UK has stopped sending some weapons because of similar concerns. The U.S. must follow.

The U.S. military just sent more troops to the region, and the Israeli army chief has warned about the possibility of a ground invasion in Lebanon. Deploying more U.S. troops and more U.S. bombs will only lead to more suffering and carnage. The Biden-Harris administration can and must stop the bloodshed.

Please add your name to demand President Biden implement an immediate arms embargo to end the slaughter of civilians and de-escalate the risk of a wider regional war.

Thank you for continuing to raise your voice against the atrocities and dehumanization of the past year. In this heartbreaking time, I’m sending you love and strength.

-Rashida

---------- Forwarded message ---------
From: Rashida Tlaib
Date: Fri, Sep 27, 2024
Subject: Sign on: Arms embargo now!
To: [email protected]

John,

Our congressional district is home to one of the largest and most vibrant Lebanese communities in the nation. Our community is in deep pain right now.

Many of my neighbors keep hearing devastating news of their loved ones being slaughtered by the Israeli government. Students in our district have broken down crying in school after finding out their relatives were killed.

In just one day this past week, Israel’s government killed over 558 people in Lebanon, including 50 children. As in Palestine, Israel’s indiscriminate bombing campaign in Lebanon has targeted civilian infrastructure. About 500,000 people have been forcibly displaced already, and thousands have been wounded.

The Biden-Harris administration can stop the bloodshed, rather than continuing to allow the Israeli government to operate with impunity as they carry out war crimes.

Please sign to tell President Biden: Cut off weapons to Israel now. Implement an immediate arms embargo to end the slaughter of civilians and de-escalate the risk of a wider regional war.

This week, ProPublica released an investigation showing that U.S. Secretary of State Blinken knew that Israel’s government deliberately blocked humanitarian aid to Gaza, but lied about it to Congress.

Experts from multiple state agencies shared abundant evidence with Blinken. They called for a pause on arms transfers to Israel in order to comply with U.S. law—which mandates cutting off weapons to governments that block U.S. humanitarian assistance.

The U.S. government should have stopped arming Israel’s genocide of Palestinians then. In the months since Blinken’s statement to Congress in May, Israel’s government has continued to devastate and ethnically cleanse Gaza, and recently launched the largest invasion of the West Bank in decades—with fighter jets, drones, armored vehicles, and ground forces.

Now, Israel’s government is expanding its violence in Lebanon, threatening a ground invasion. Instead of deploying more U.S. troops to the region, our government must stop military assistance to Israel.

Add your name to demand President Biden cut off weapons to Israel now.

Thank you for continuing to speak up about the horrors and dehumanization our government is enabling with our tax dollars. Our communities have already been in so much pain over the last year, and my heart goes out to everyone grieving.

In love and solidarity,

Rashida