Washington DC – Anti-Palestinian sentiment is on the rise in the United States, with politicians from both major political parties supporting Israel’s war in Gaza despite rising Palestinian death tolls and growing accusations of war crimes.
Last week, the war in Gaza dominated the third Republican presidential debate, where the competing candidates were unanimous in their support for Israel.
“I’m tired of hearing the media, I’m tired of hearing other people accuse Israel of just defending itself,” one of those candidates, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, told reporters. ‘audience.
Such statements were recurring throughout the two-hour event, even when the candidates addressed topics unrelated to the crisis. But the Palestinians have almost never been mentioned, despite a death toll in Gaza that exceeds 11,000.
In fact, the only time a candidate said “Palestinian” or “Palestine” was when DeSantis was bragging about banning a Palestinian student advocacy group from state universities.
Defenders say this is indicative of a broader tendency by American politicians – across ideological lines – to justify and deny Israeli atrocities in Gaza.
“There is a bipartisan effort to dehumanize the Palestinian people,” said Ahmad Abuznaid, executive director of the US Campaign for Palestinian Rights (USPCR).
Abuznaid cited recent episodes in U.S. policy that he said underscore hostility toward the Palestinians. Among them, Democratic President Joe Biden expressed doubts about the accuracy of the Palestinian death count and attacked Palestinian-American lawmaker Rashida Tlaib for her criticism of the Israeli military offensive.
“Whether they fail to mention the Palestinians, question the death toll, attack our students and protests, or censor the only Palestinian American representative in Congress, their attempts to silence us will not work,” Abuznaid said.
“As much as they wish we would disappear, we are here and will be here, and they will see a lot more of us in the future. »
Hostility in Congress
During Wednesday’s debate, DeSantis and Nikki Haley, a former ambassador to the United Nations, used similar language to push Israel to take strong action in Gaza.
“Finish the job once and for all on these butchers, Hamas,” DeSantis said, referring to the Palestinian group that launched a surprise attack on Israel on October 7.
Haley echoed that sentiment, saying, “Finish them.” Finish them,” in response to a question about whether she would advocate a “humanitarian pause” during the fighting.
Former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie – another Republican presidential candidate – followed his debate appearance with a visit to Israel on Sunday, where he also rejected calls to end the violence.
A bipartisan delegation of members of the US Congress, including top lawmakers from the House Foreign Affairs Committee, also made a solidarity trip to Israel last weekend.
Ohio Republican Max Miller, who was outraged for saying Palestine would be turned into a “parking lot,” accompanied key Democrats on the visit and posted a photo of the group with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and US Ambassador to Israel Jacob Lew.
This is my statement as I head home #Israel.#StandWithIsrael pic.twitter.com/wcnnmLEp9I
– Congressman Max Miller (@RepMaxMiller) November 12, 2023
Advocates have warned that comments like Miller’s could be interpreted as a call for mass violence against the Palestinian people.
But Miller isn’t the only one who shares his feelings. Congressman Brian Mast suggested earlier this month that there were no innocent Palestinian civilians. “I don’t think we would use the term ‘innocent Nazi civilians’ lightly during World War II,” he told the House.
Such comments did not provoke a rebuke in the House of Representatives. However, the House voted to censure its sole Palestinian American member, Tlaib, for her criticism of Israel.
Twenty-two Democrats, including former Democratic National Committee (DNC) Chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz, joined Republicans in supporting the symbolic sanction, which passed by a vote of 234 to 188.
Attacks on Tlaib continued after the no-confidence vote. On Sunday, Republican Senator Marsha Blackburn baselessly accused Tlaib of having “alleged ties to Hamas” and of “calling for genocide against the Jewish people.”
Rashida Tlaib claimed to have ties to Hamas.
Based on these allegations, it is unfortunately not surprising that she calls for genocide against the Jewish people.
– Senator Marsha Blackburn (@MarshaBlackburn) November 12, 2023
Tlaib is one of more than a dozen Democratic lawmakers who have called for a ceasefire in Gaza, in a chamber that has 435 voting members.
Meanwhile, other congressional Democrats have expressed opposition to the ceasefire efforts, as have their Republican colleagues. Democratic Sen. John Fetterman, for example, waved an Israeli flag as he walked past protesters demanding a ceasefire at the Capitol last week.
To highlight strong bipartisan support for Israel, the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) shared videos of left-wing Senator Bernie Sanders expressing opposition to a ceasefire in Gaza.
Sanders is typically one of AIPAC’s most vocal critics, often chastising the pro-Israel lobbying group for spending millions of dollars on election campaigns to undermine progressive candidates.
‘All’
Anti-Palestinian sentiment also appears in American politics at the state level. In Florida last week, when state Rep. Angie Nixon asked how many Palestinian deaths would be enough to end the violence, fellow lawmaker Michelle Salzman responded by saying, “All of them.”
Nixon had introduced a resolution calling for a ceasefire, but the measure failed by a vote of 104 to 2.
Rasha Mubarak, a Palestinian-American organizer from Florida, called Salzman’s comments “vile” and “disturbing.”
“It’s interesting because when the only Palestinian member of Congress calls for an end to the violence and a ceasefire, she is literally censored,” Mubarak told Al Jazeera, referring to Tlaib.
“And then we have people in the Florida Legislature, but also people in Congress, who have called for the erasure of the Palestinian people. »
Mubarak said support for Israel appears to unify the American political spectrum – except for a minority of lawmakers who “connect the dots” between Palestinian liberation, global human rights and injustices in their country. country.
But Mubarak added that supporters of Palestinian rights are not deterred by the pro-Israel consensus in American politics. She highlighted growing protests across the country in solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza.
“The popular movements and masses – and the few who serve in Congress and in state, local and federal offices – are trying to interrupt and disrupt the status quo,” she said, referring to supporters of Palestinian rights.
Mubarak also warned that Democrats are ignoring and alienating some in their base with their stance toward the Israeli military offensive.
“What we’re seeing is people pledging not to vote for Biden, not to vote against, not to vote for Democrats who weren’t right on this issue,” she said. declared. “I don’t think this time people will forget. People remember it.
USPCR’s Abuznaid echoed Mubarak’s comments, saying unwavering support for the Israeli government could fracture the political left and alienate the Palestinian rights movement.
“Bipartisan support is a challenge for the movement, but the cracks in the system are deepening,” he told Al Jazeera.
“Our movement is larger than ever and growing every day. US complicity in Israel’s genocide of the Palestinians will be another lasting stain in this nation’s troubled history. Palestinian-Americans are undeterred and will continue to press until there is a ceasefire and a free Palestine. »
