3rd Thursday Action Alert: Urge Congress to press for a ceasefire, oppose military aid, and support humanitarian aid

Tensions in the Middle East continue to escalate. The policy that the Biden Administration continues to pursue is only helping to build this tension to an untenable height with the recent Israeli bombing of the Iranian Embassy in Syria, and the retaliation of missiles and drones launched towards Israel from Iran and Yemen.

Additionally, due to the continued failure of the Israeli government and Hamas to agree to a ceasefire, Israeli military action continues in Gaza. The Palestinian death toll since October 7th has now reached over 33,000. Under this continued bombardment, Israeli military actions continue to breach conventions of war grounded in International Law which include the recent harrowing assault on the Al-Shifa Hospital. The use of artificial intelligence to target the vulnerable in Gaza also needs to be redressed. Two AI programs, “The Gospel” and “Lavender”, have been shown to target civilians, and destroy protected civilian infrastructure.

First and foremost a permanent ceasefire is necessary to create the right conditions for the release of all those held captive and in prison, deescalate growing tensions in the region, and greatly expand the dire need for humanitarian aid. Parallel to a ceasefire, shifts in U.S. policy need to include the immediate halting of current and future shipments of weapons and aid to Israel.

Faith-based groups began advocating for a ceasefire almost immediately after October 7, and have advocated alongside growing popular demand for the U.S. to shift course on its Middle East policy to support a permanent ceasefire and the conditioning of military aid to Israel. A poll launched in March showed that the majority of Americans agree that the U.S. should halt weapons shipments to Israel until it stops its attacks on Gaza.

International human rights organizations including Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International have called on the United States to implement a comprehensive arms embargo. The Biden administration has consistently refused to take any concrete actions to end U.S. complicity in what the International Court of Justice is investigating as a “plausible case of genocide”. The Biden administration and Congress must act with moral courage and take urgent proactive measures to halt the flow of U.S. weapons to Israel. 

Hundreds of thousands of Palestinian lives are at stake, at-risk of death from disease, bombings, and famine. Call on your congressional representative and U.S. senators to uphold the U.S. obligation to prevent genocide in Gaza by opposing U.S. military aid such as the proposed $16.5 billion in the supplemental bill that is likely to be introduced, urge an immediate and permanent ceasefire, and support continued humanitarian support to Palestinians in Gaza – both directly and through restored robust U.S. financial contributions to the leading humanitarian organization serving Palestinians, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA).