Why Contact Congress?

Since 1948, the United States has provided $310 billion to Israel without demanding the money be used in compliance with US and international law. In April 2024, a supplemental appropriations bill provided another $14.1 billion on top of the $3.8 billion in annual military aid Israel was receiving. These funds were approved despite overwhelming evidence that money and weapons supplied by the United States are being used in devastating attacks on civilians in violation of US policy. These attacks have killed over 40,000 Palestinians and wounded over 86,000 in just 11 months. 

Amid global calls for a ceasefire and US condemnation of indiscriminate attacks on civilians, Israel has continued its brutal assault on the Gaza Strip. At the same time, it has launched provocative raids on Palestinian villages throughout the West Bank that have killed at least 520 Palestinians and wounded hundreds more, destroying scores of homes, roads and water supplies. There is mounting evidence that Israel is using the preoccupation with events in Gaza to create another uprising and pave the way for annexation of the West Bank, which is illegal under international law.

Meanwhile our nation's global prestige has suffered immeasurably since we are widely perceived as sustaining a humanitarian catastrophe that many are labeling a genocide. The US has stood increasingly alone at the United Nations in opposing the recognition of a Palestinian state, though it has stated repeatedly that it endorses a two-state solution. Israel's prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu has defied requests from the United States to bring an end to the conflict in Gaza, and a CIA intelligence assessment in June 2024 suggested he will continue to ignore US requests, while demanding that US taxpayers maintain their funding for his wars.

Netanyahu has also placed additional burdens on US taxpayers, as he has blocked most delivery of humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip by land and attacked UNRWA, the main agency for refugee assistance. This led the US to spend $250 million to construct and repair a pier on the Gaza Coast which can only handle a small trickle of the aid required to prevent widespread famine. Charges against UNRWA were never substantiated, leading the European Union, Canada, Australia, Denmark, Finland, Sweden, Germany, France, and Japan to rrestore their funding, but a bill in Congress, HR 8771, would still withhold US support. It is ridiculous for Americans to keep bearing the cost of Netanyahu's defiance and his influence over US lawmakers.