Americans for Middle East Understanding was established six decades ago in the wake of the Arab-Israeli war. Today, the world witnesses the annihilation of Gaza and is repulsed at the aggressions that grow more sadistic each day. Since October 7, at least 13,000 Palestinians have been killed and over 30,000 injured; among the dead, seven out of ten are children or women. Water and sanitation infrastructure has been destroyed, and sewage flows in the streets. Clean water is difficult to come by, and food and medicine are scarce. Sixty-five percent of Palestinians in Gaza are internally displaced.
It must end.
- Alongside an overwhelming majority of Americans, and in step with nearly every nation except our own, we appeal for an immediate and unconditional ceasefire and the urgent delivery of essential humanitarian aid to Palestinians in Gaza.
- The wholesale and indiscriminate massacre of children, women, and men and the destruction of their homes, streets, and neighborhoods must end.
- The despicable targeting of hospitals must stop.
- Nations that enable aggression must be held to account in meaningful ways, whether in courts of public opinion or in courts of law.
The US role in this crisis is unambiguous and unforgivable. President Biden’s refusal to support a ceasefire, combined with rhetoric that dehumanizes Palestinians, is beneath his office and abets Israel’s aggression against civilians. As Vox reported on November 18, “Israel would not be able to conduct this war without the US.”
Never Again is Now. The US president must demand a ceasefire and halt military assistance to Israel immediately. America must emphatically renounce the unfolding genocide, work to secure the freedom of non-combattants, including administrative detainees, and commit to meaningful steps toward a just resolution.