Dear President Biden,
We write to you as alumni of your 2020 presidential campaign. We fought tirelessly to organize millions of Americans to cast their votes for you. Like you, we believe in the dignity and value of every human life and the need for moral courage from our country’s leadership. We implore you, President Biden, to live that moral courage right now by stepping up to be a leader we can be proud of in the face of injustice. As President of the United States, you have significant influence in this perilous moment — you must call for a ceasefire, hostage exchange, and de-escalation, and take concrete steps to address the conditions of occupation, apartheid, and ethnic cleansing at the root of the horrific violence we are witnessing now.
We were and continue to be horrified by the devastating Hamas attack against Israeli civilians on October 7. Yet, in this moment of pain, we cannot condemn violence and the murder of some civilians while simultaneously justifying and enabling it for others. Right now, the world is watching in grief and anguish as the Israeli military wields devastating force upon 2.2 million Palestinians in Gaza. In one month, Israeli forces have killed over 10,000 Palestinians and displaced 1.4 million people from their homes. Over 800 scholars and practitioners of conflict studies, international law, and genocide studies have warned that Israel’s actions in Gaza may constitute genocide. Save the Children estimates that Israel’s bombardment is killing one child in Gaza every 15 minutes. Mr. President, you have spoken intimately about the unbearable pain and grief of losing a child — we were shocked and saddened to see you justify the death of Palestinian children as “the price of waging a war.”
Leading human rights organizations agree that Israel is imposing collective punishment on the two million people in Gaza — half of whom are children — by cutting them off from food, electricity, and water. And now, trapped in constant terror for their lives and families, Palestinians in Gaza are facing an urgent existential threat at the hands of the Israeli military. As Israel imposes a near-total communications blackout, they are losing loved ones, facing mass displacement, and struggling to access vital resources including almost all health care for the wounded.
As you have said, silence in the face of human rights violations is tantamount to complicity. With every passing day, we will continue to see more bloodshed, more war crimes, and more death. All people of conscience must call loudly and vociferously for a ceasefire now. As a person of conscience with enormous influence, you have a special responsibility to lead this call.
We are not alone in this demand. The majority of Americans (66%) and Democrats (80%), are in agreement — a ceasefire is the bare minimum. Across the country, tens of thousands of people are rising up in protest, demanding an end to Israel’s brutal siege of Gaza, and to the United States’ continued support of Israel’s occupation and war crimes. Some of the most vocal critics of Israel’s actions in Gaza are the families of Israelis who were killed or kidnapped by Hamas. They understand the response to one atrocity cannot be another, and that continued bombardment and a ground invasion will not bring justice for those they lost or bring their loved ones home. We should listen to them.
We have been down this road before, and we must not repeat the mistakes of our past. The U.S. response to 9/11, invading Afghanistan and Iraq, entangled us in a decades-long war that killed hundreds of thousands of people as a result. There is no military solution to Gaza. The only way to achieve lasting justice and peace for Palestinians and Israelis is to take concrete steps to end the brutal conditions of apartheid, occupation, and siege that are at the root of the violence we are witnessing now. If you don’t use the tremendous power of your position to call for a ceasefire immediately, we may never get that chance.
President Biden, it is becoming increasingly clear that this is a moment that may very well define your legacy. We trust that you believe all people deserve safety and freedom, which is why we are calling on you to:
- Publicly call for — and use financial and diplomatic leverage to bring about — an immediate ceasefire;
- Advocate for de-escalation in the region, including demanding that Hamas release all hostages and that Israel release over 1,200 people in administrative detention — 99% of whom are Palestinians — being held without charge;
- End unconditional military aid to Israel;
- Investigate whether Israel’s actions in Gaza violate the Leahy Law, prohibiting U.S. military aid from funding foreign military units implicated in the commission of gross violations of human rights;
- Take concrete steps to end the conditions of apartheid, occupation, and ethnic cleansing that are the root causes of this devastation.
There will be no justice, peace, or security for Palestinians or Israelis without dismantling the status quo of the past 75 years. As the President of the United States, you have power to change the course of history, and the responsibility to save lives right now. We are counting on you to take that power and responsibility seriously and to meet this moment with the urgency it demands. If you fail to act swiftly, your legacy will be complicity in the face of genocide.
Sincerely,
Biden Alumni for Peace and Justice
A coalition of 500+ former 2020 Biden for President and Democratic Party staff
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