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12/16 Petition to Biden and U.S. Congress

Hospitals have been and continue to be targeted not just in Gaza, but in the West Bank. A father in Jenin had to carry his 13-year-old son to the hospital on foot because of the Israeli blockade of the local hospital. The boy was pronounced dead on arrival. Israel has a long-standing record of collective punishment.

On 12/14 the Israeli soldiers desecrated a mosque in Jenin. Loudspeakers blasted Jewish religious music to the surrounding neighborhood while they performed rituals during the descreation. Meanwhile, besieged Palestinians were locked in their homes for 3 days as soldiers raided, murdered, illegally detained, and otherwise harassed people. 

This isn’t the first time Israel has used religion to try and inspire fear or otherwise conflate Palestinians with the evil “Amalek” from the Jewish holy book. While the “IDF” has stated they have “punished” the soldiers in Jenin, the footage of this incident was originally circulated by Israel’s Minister of National Security Itamar Ben-Gvir on Telegram. He called it “a prayer performed by our heroic soldiers in a mosque in Jenin”. When soldiers left Jenin, they left behind graffiti on the mosque saying “greetings from the [Gaza] envelope”.

Israeli soldiers have been posting disturbing photos and videos showing similar acts of religious extremism since 10/7 – pick a social media platform, look for IDF soldiers, and you’ll find their self-reported hate crimes. None of this is new, the only notable part is the increasing frequency and intensity. 

Ben-Gvir was convicted in 2007 for hate speech against Arabs and supporting anti-Arab terrorist organizations, as labeled by our government. He is a disciple of a rabbi who was banned from the Israeli government and leader of a terrorist group in 1990. Even our State Department spokesman said in 2022 when Ben-Gvir was giving tribute to the rabbi, “Celebrating the legacy of a terrorist organization is abhorrent.”

When Ben-Gvir became the Minister of National Security in 2022, both the Palestinian Authority and Hamas raised concerns that this would be an omen for catastrophic future deterioration of relations with Israel due to Ben-Givr’s extremism.

Israel knew about the 10/7 attack at least a year before it happened. Analysts from Israel’s intelligence agency also sounded the alarm in July about the possibility of this plan being enacted soon. They were ignored. Shortly after the 10/7 attack, Ben-Gvir tried to deflect government responsibility by saying “This is not the time for questions, tests, and investigations.”

This IS the time for questions, tests, and investigations. This is the time to enforce Leahy law and stop providing military weapons, training, and financial aid to Israel. This is the time for a ceasefire – an end to apartheid, occupation, and ethnic cleansing. 

When you say you unequivocally support the government of Israel, people like Ben-Gvir are who you are aligning yourself with. Do the right thing – call for a ceasefire now.

SOURCES

The Times of Israel “IDF suspends several troops for singing Hanukkah songs into Jenin mosque loudspeakers“

New York Times “3-Day Israeli Raid in Jenin Kills at Least 12, West Bank Officials Say“

Haaretz “Israel May Have Committed War Crimes in Jenin Operation, UN Palestinian Rights Official Says“

AA Middle East “Israel’s Ben-Gvir shares video of soldiers performing Jewish rituals inside mosque in Jenin“

Haartez “Ben-Gvir Praises Settlers Suspected of Murdering Palestinian in West Bank as ‘Heroes’“

Mother Jones “The Dangerous History Behind Netanyahu’s Amalek Rhetoric”

Times of Israel “IDF suspends several troops for singing Hanukkah songs into Jenin mosque loudspeakers”

Times of Israel “Gazans say IDF dropped leaflets with Quran verse about flood carrying away ‘wrongdoers’”

Reuters “Israeli far-right’s Ben-Gvir to be national security minister under coalition deal“

Associated Press “Far-right Ben-Gvir to be Israel’s national security minister“

Associated Press “Israel’s far-right kingmaker joins memorial for racist rabbi“

The Jerusalem Post “Ben-Gvir convicted of inciting to racism“

New York Times “Israel Knew Hamas’s Attack Plan More Than a Year Ago”

Al Jazeera “Can Netanyahu survive Hamas’s attack on Israel?“