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Pressure on Congress mounts as 400 Capitol Hill staffers ‘sign’ letter urging immediate cease-fire

October 20, 2023 | | Print Article

Hundreds of Muslim and Jewish congressional staffers are pleading with their bosses to support a cease-fire between Israel and Hamas, but they are speaking out anonymously.

In a letter “signed” Thursday, the group of about 400 staffers called for lawmakers to back a cease-fire due to “antisemitism, anti-Muslim, and anti-Palestinian sentiment on the rise nationwide.”

“We are Jewish and Muslim staffers and allied staff across the Hill,” began the “open letter” which was penned “anonymously out of concern for our personal safety, risk of violence, and the impact on our professional credibility on Capitol Hill.”

“Today, we write to implore our bosses, Members of the United States Congress, to join calls for an immediate ceasef-ire between Israel and Hamas. Millions of lives hang in the balance, including the 2.3 million civilians — half of whom are children — in Gaza, civilians in Israel, and Jews and Muslims around the world,” they wrote.

“Nationwide and in Congress, the voices calling for de-escalation and peace have been drowned out by those beating the drums of war. As Muslims and Jews, we are tired of reliving generational fears of genocide and ethnic cleansing,” the letter continued.

The letter comes amid open hostilities in the Middle East after Hamas launched a surprise attack on Israel, murdering over 1,400 civilians, including children, and kidnapping and raping others. Some members of Congress have been pressing the Biden administration to push for a ceasefire while many on both sides of the political aisle have rallied behind Israel and its right to defend itself.

The unnamed staffers went on to relate how they “join in mourning the loss of… Israelis murdered by these acts of terrorism and in prayer for those injured and the around 200 hostages in Gaza, including our fellow Americans, whose safe return is a priority for us all.”

“We join members of Congress and the international community’s denunciation of the horrific war crimes Hamas has committed,” the letter continued. “At the same time, we mourn for the Palestinian civilians who are enduring catastrophic suffering at the hands of the Israeli government. As of this writing, more than 6,000 bombs have been dropped on the Gaza Strip. More than 4,000 Palestinian civilians, including entire families, have been slain, and about 12,500 are injured.”

The letter comes after progressives introduced  the “Cease-Fire Now Resolution” in the House urging Biden to use the “immense diplomatic power” of the U.S. to “save Israeli and Palestinian lives.”

“Palestinians in Gaza are facing critical shortages of medicine, food, drinking water, fuel, and electricity following the Israeli government’s brutal blockade,” the anonymous staffers opined. “As Muslims, Jews, and allies, we believe that denying these basic resources violates the tenets of our faiths, values, and our humanity.”

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“We are tired of reliving generational fears of genocide and ethnic cleansing,” they added. “We are tired of leaders pushing us to blame each other, exploiting our pain and our histories to rationalize political agendas and justify violence. We all are calling on our elected officials to find a new way forward together, through unbreakable solidarity motivated by our humanity.”

The letter was, not surprisingly, celebrated by the left.

But it was met with a combination of mockery and indifference by others on social media”

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Frieda Powers
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