Friend --
In the wake of last month’s horrific escalation, the situation in Gaza remains extremely precarious. Thousands of Palestinians are homeless, power and water supplies need urgent repair, families are sleeping in schools and the medical system, already pushed to the brink by the pandemic and Israeli supply restrictions, is running far beyond capacity.
Right now, a bipartisan allocation of $75 million in humanitarian aid to Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank is ready for imminent delivery. Maddeningly, this desperately needed aid is being held up by the Republican ranking member of the Foreign Relations Committee, Senator Jim Risch, who is abusing legislative prerogative to single-handedly delay the funds.
Two-thirds of House Democrats have signed a J Street-supported letter calling on Senator Risch to end his stonewalling. 17 Senators have signed a J Street-supported letter calling for robust, immediate humanitarian relief to Gaza. These letters send a clear signal to the Biden administration that there is strong, broad support for the White House to move forward with releasing this urgently needed aid. Given the dire situation in Gaza, J Street believes the Biden administration should simply override Senator Risch’s obstruction and disburse these Congressionally-authorized funds -- just as President Obama was forced to do when faced with a similar stunt in 2012.
To build upon this momentum, we’re asking our supporters to contact the White House now to encourage them to take swift action to override this bad-faith hold on Palestinian humanitarian aid. Can you take a moment to send a message now?
Email The White House
In delaying this aid, Senator Risch is cynically attempting to turn urgent humanitarian assistance into a political football -- despite these funds already having been passed by Congress on a bipartisan basis and signed into law under the previous administration. Like all aid to the Palestinian people, these funds carry some of the most stringent safeguards used by the United States to ensure aid can only be used by approved organizations for legitimate purposes.
At J Street, we know that Palestinian suffering does nothing to make Israel safer. As Israeli security experts themselves have made clear, the cycle of poverty and deprivation in Gaza and the West Bank strengthens the hand of extremists whose only answer to injustice and desperation is violence.
The reality is that the effort to delay these funds is just a continuation of the Trump playbook on the conflict. It’s a playbook that aims to bolster Israel’s far right, sideline the Palestinians and entrench a permanent military occupation with no regard for justice, human rights or Israel’s long-term future as a democratic homeland for the Jewish people. It's a playbook that provides no solution to the humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza, just endless suffering in a cycle of injustice, retaliation and violence.
As residents of Gaza seek to rebuild, and as a government in waiting takes shape in Israel, it’s vital for the Biden administration to give real meaning to its stated commitment to the rights of both Israelis and Palestinians to live in security, peace, and dignity. We cannot allow partisan political games at home to get in the way of urgently needed assistance to Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank.
Together, we must show the Biden administration there is broad support for swift action to override this bad-faith hold and deliver urgently needed aid. Please take a moment now to let President Biden know you support the immediate release of US aid to Gaza and the West Bank.
Yours,
Dylan Williams,
Senior Vice President for Policy and Strategy
