Hey John,
I sat down with journalist Mehdi Hasan recently for a conversation about foreign policy and what it means to stand on principle, even when groups like AIPAC will target you for saying it.
During our discussion, he asked me:
“Do you recognize Israel’s right to exist as a Jewish state?”
Mehdi wasn’t asking this to corner me — he was asking the question because we both know exactly how it’s used to trap candidates into endorsing an unequal standard.
I highlighted the hypocrisy of that question.
Why is it that no one ever asks whether Palestine has a right to exist?
Instead, why don’t we ask our elected officials why our government continues to aid and arm foreign militaries committing genocide and other vicious acts overseas?
John, I grew up spending summers in Egypt, a country that receives billions in U.S. military aid every year.
I’ve seen firsthand what that money does. It doesn’t make people freer or safer. It cements the power of dictatorships and deepens inequality.
That’s why my position is simple: Under no condition should we be sending taxpayer dollars that should be invested in our kids' schools, healthcare, or clean water to a foreign military to buy tanks.
It’s not about left or right. It’s about speaking with moral clarity.
Every dollar we send to fund war abroad is a dollar not spent to improve life here at home.
I know that’s wrong. You know that’s wrong. People of all political backgrounds can agree that sending taxpayer money overseas to fund wars is wrong.
Yet it continues because the old guard in Washington accepts money from AIPAC and defense PACs in exchange for votes to keep the money flowing overseas.
It’s a broken system, and I’m fighting to change it. But I can’t take them on alone.
Thank you for standing with me.
In solidarity,
Abdul
