| Pamela - I'm writing today to share a few thoughts on the ongoing war in Gaza, and to ask you to stand with me in calling for an immediate ceasefire in the region. As someone who has experienced the trauma of war, displacement, and living in a refugee camp firsthand, my heart is broken for the nearly-32,000 Palestinians killed, the many more tens of thousands wounded, and the countless civilians displaced by the ongoing violence in Gaza. Gaza's population of over 2 million people is mostly children who live under blockade, in what Israel's own former intelligence chief has called an open-air prison. The overwhelming majority live in poverty. Many suffer lifelong psychological and physical trauma. Palestinian residents of the West Bank have scarcely better lives than Gazans — with the routine destruction of their ancestral homes, destruction of their crops, and violent attacks by Israeli settlers and military alike. According to Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, the United Nations, and Israeli human rights group B'Tselem, Israel's policies meet the definition of apartheid. We know occupation and systematic apartheid are a violation of international law, and it must come to an end. It is long overdue that the United States stop ignoring the tens of thousands of Palestinian lives lost, the millions at stake, and use all diplomatic tools available to us to stop the bloodshed and violence immediately. The solution to this horror, as ever, is a negotiated peace with Israelis and Palestinians enjoying equal rights, protections, and security guarantees. That is why I am urging the United States, at long last, to use its diplomatic might to push for that peace — and it's why I'm asking you today: Will you join me in adding your name to demand an immediate ceasefire in Gaza? It's critical that our progressive movement is united on this monumentally important issue. Thank you for reading, and thank you for adding your name today. In solidarity, Ilhan Omar |
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