Call on President Biden to End Violence in Gaza, and Pursue a Permanent Peace
Dear President Biden:
On behalf of the undersigned civil rights groups, human rights organizations, and faith-based communities, we write to call on your Administration to urgently seek a ceasefire to protect innocent people in Palestine and Israel, and American citizens in captivity, from further death and destruction.
We also call on your Administration to permanently end these recurring cycles of horrific violence by pursuing credible negotiations to bring a lasting peace, including by ending the Israeli occupation of Palestinian territory.
Killing innocent civilians is wrong, no matter whether the victims are Israeli or Palestinian, American, or any other nationality. That’s why we unequivocally condemn attacks against civilians in Israel last weekend and why we also unequivocally condemn the ongoing bombing attacks on civilians in Gaza.
Our nation must do the same. As your Administration condemns the targeting of civilians in Israel, it must not simultaneously sanction the targeting of innocent civilians in Palestine.
As you know, the Israeli government is currently conducting a massive bombing campaign of the blockaded Gaza Strip, destroying apartment buildings, mosques, schools, marketplaces, and refugee camps. Israel’s far-right defense minister has said that Israel is fighting “human animals” in Gaza and would treat the entire population of Gaza accordingly by imposing a total ban on food, water, and fuel.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned on Monday that the military offensive in the Gaza Strip has “only started” and that “What we will do to our enemies in the coming days will reverberate with them for generations.”
With these words, he is threatening to inflict severe and lasting collective punishment on the people of Gaza. This collective punishment is already underway: over 1,000 Palestinians have reportedly been killed to date, including over 100 Palestinian children. These actions are a violation of international law and constitute war crimes.
The Israeli government is not bombing military targets with precision to avoid civilian casualties. It is bombing many innocent people who had nothing to do with the deadly attack that Hamas launched on southern Israel last weekend. The Israeli government has even admitted that it no longer fires warning shots at apartment buildings before destroying them.
Prime Minister Netanyahu leads a government of far-right extremists who openly speak of ethnic cleansing. In recent years, we have seen what happens when the United States gives such far-right governments unqualified support.
Through the acts of bombing an office housing the Associated Press and other media outlets in 2021, killing Shireen Abu Akleh and other journalists, attacking worshipers at Al-Aqsa Mosque, and enabling wanton settler violence against Palestinian towns, successive Israeli governments have violated international law. The United States must step in to bring the ongoing violence to an end and demand that all involved abide by international norms, rather than violate them.
Giving Netanyahu’s far-right government carte blanche to do whatever it wants in Gaza under the guise of fighting terrorism could lead to the deaths of thousands of more innocent people in the coming days.
This is a critical moment for your Administration. By securing a ceasefire, averting more civilian deaths, and initiating credible negotiations to secure a lasting and just peace, including the end of the occupation, your Administration can make history by stopping the cycle of violence once and for all.
The alternative – enabling Netanyahu’s far-right government to turn Gaza into the latest Aleppo or Grozny – will not bring peace or stability. On the contrary, it will spark further generations of violent conflict.
We stand ready to support your efforts to secure a just and lasting peace for all in the region.
Sincerely,
Americans for Justice in Palestine (AJP Action)
American Muslim Voice Foundation
Birmingham Islamic Society
Brentwood Muslim Community Center
Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR)
Dar al-Hijrah Islamic Center
ICNA Council for Social Justice
Islamic Association Of North America
Islamic Center Of Morris County
Islamic Shura Council of Southern California
Islamic Society of East Columbus
Islamophobia Studies Center
Majlis Ash-Shura (Islamic Leadership Council) of New York
Masjid Ar Rahman Coatesville
MSA West
Muslim Power Building Project
Muslim Ummah of North America (MUNA)
Muslim American Society
Muslim Anti-Racism Collaborative (MuslimARC)
Muslim Association of Lehigh Valley
Muslim Community of Nassau County
MVPA Musalla Islamic Center of Palo Alto
Noor Islamic Cultural Center, Dublin, Ohio
Northern California Islamic Council
Partnership for the Advancement of New Americans
PNW Justice group
Saad Mosque, Ohio
Sapelo Square
South Florida Muslim Federation
The Long Island Muslim Society
United Muslim Masjid
US Council of Muslim Organizations (USCMO)
West Valley Muslim Association
Yemeni Alliance Committee